Meet Sarah Zedler, our newest teacher
Sarah Zedler is a longtime friend of ours and she is working to complete her YogaFit certification. Below, she shares some photos and thoughts about her certification class, along with her personal yoga story. Come welcome her at the studio!
Pam Rosenthal-Assistant Instructor, Sarah Zedler-Trainee, Dr. Linda
YogaFit brought Master Trainer Dr. Linda Rowe to Fort Worth for an 18 -hour training seminar September 10th and 11th. Dr. Rowe is a YogaFit RYT 500 Senior Master Trainer and licensed chiropractic physician. She is the creator of YogaFit’s 300 Hour Therapy Program, star and author of YogaFit’s YogaBack(tm) DVD and has been with the company since 1998. Almost thirty instructors/trainees participated. YogaFit vinyasa yoga is part of the hatha tradition and emphasizes doing yoga safely and creating an experience free of judgment and competition. The training overed principles of spinal alignment, creating a compassionate atmosphere in the classroom, and a detailed explanation of foundational poses in yoga.
My name is Sarah Zedler, and after practicing yoga around Fort Worth for ten years, participating in a training that emphasizes the biomechanics of yoga was perfect for me! Dr. Rowe was able to explain why injuries occur as well as teach us how to keep our students safe. I am so excited to ring this knowledge and the YogaFit method to the mat!
Here’s my yoga story. After getting married in 2000, moving Fort Worth (a large city to me), getting a new job, and dealing with my husband’s passive-aggressive dog, running on the treadmill just wasn’t providing enough stress relief anymore. I signed up for a lunchtime yoga class at the downtown YMCA and have been practicing yoga ever since. Now that I’m a mom, I’ve become passionate about core strength and ways to engage and strengthen the muscles so we can lift our kids, our grocery sacks, or our CrossFit weights while protecting our lower backs. Fitness has always been so much a part of my life that I’m not myself without it. I’ve been a college basketball player, martial artist, kickboxer, barre student, and yogi. My passion is to help my students feel empowered and joyful when they practice yoga.
Headstand tutorial
Antother great mini-tutorial by Brandt yoga instructor Cherie Schooley! This one is a step-by-step guide to getting up into headstand. Enjoy!
Welcome to a new teacher!
Come and welcome our new teacher, Tara Galindo! She will teach our Monday evening 6:15 class. Tera believes that yoga will bring you strength, focus, flexibility, and healing to body, mind & spirit. She began teaching in 2001 at the Ryan Family YMCA and volunteer teaches at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church to support the local missions. Tera received training from YogaFit and is mid way through her 200-hour yoga instructor certification from the Living Yoga Program in Austin. She teaches a restorative Vinyasa flow class. She has experience as a social worker, school teacher, fitness instructor for Silver Sneakers, Pilates, KidFit, Muscle Mix & Cardio- Step classes.
Free Day of Yoga pictures
Our D/FW Free Day of Yoga event at the Magnolia Green was fantastic! Five Brandt instructors (Cherie Schooley, Ashleigh Burns, Tripp Miller, Jamie Merritt and Sarah McClellan-Brandt) led and assisted a class of 56 people at 9 a.m. in 70-degree weather. Thanks to our photographer Paul Marsello for shooting these great photos!
Recovery yoga after overhead squats and burpees
Check out Brandt yoga instructor and avid crossfitter Cherie Schooley in this short session designed to help crossfitters recover from a tough overhead squat and burpee workout. This is also appropriate for anyone in need of a quick shoulder/hip opener.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Prison Yoga Project
The other teachers who came to Carswell with me that day (they are all Kundalini instructors, hence the white) and Janie (in blue).
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in the Prison Yoga Project at the Carswell women’s prison (otherwise known as the Federal Medical Center Carswell). When project organizer Janie Portele first approached me about the project, I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive. I had no idea what to expect, but as I thought about it I realized I couldn’t think of a place more in need of yoga. We had to do a four-hour volunteer orientation weeks before actually doing any teaching, which was really interesting. Once we got to the prison, we were separated into groups. Two instructors went to the camp area (which I believe is a lower-security portion of the prison), two went to the hospital area and I went to the admin area, which is the high-security portion. After signing a form, going through a metal detector, getting a visitors badge, and making my way through five or six heavily locked doors with an armed guard (who was present during the full hour), I was finally with my class. Three women attended. After an hour of slow flow and a long savasana, they thanked me profusely. I felt a little sad as I left… I didn’t know what was in store for the rest of their evening, but I was glad that I was able to help them get their minds off of their situations, even if for just an hour. When I teach my regular classes I part ways with my students as they go home to families and nice dinners, so leaving students to an evening in a cell felt different. As I drove home that night, their extreme gratefulness for one hour of yoga really stuck with me…and made me realize that I take my studio classes, fun events like Wanderlust and at-home DVDs and online yoga sessions a little bit for granted. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have access to any sort of yoga instruction at my disposal.
I’m only scheduled for one more month this year, but hope that the project keeps going and we can get more instructors interested. We are only allowed to go in one Thursday of each month, but hopefully someday that can be expanded. If you are a yoga instructor and are interested in participating, please contact Janie at janieportele@gmail.com.
New Schedule!
As of Monday, May 9, our schedule will change! Check out the new classes!
Monday: 6:15 pm to 7:15 pm: Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Ashleigh Burns.
Tuesday: 12:15 pm to 1 pm Flow/Yin with Cherie Schooley, 5:45 pm to 6:45 p.m. Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Jamie Merritt
Wednesday: 5:15 to 6:15 Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Tripp Miller, 6:15 to 7:15 Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Sarah McClellan-Brandt
Thursday: 12:15 pm to 1 pm Flow/Yin with Cherie Shooley and 5:45 pm to 6:45 pm Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Josh Santiago or Cherie Schooley
Friday: no classes scheduled
Saturday: 9 am to 10 am Hatha/Vinyasa Flow with Sarah McClellan-Brandt and 11:15 am Recovery Yoga with Sarah McClellan-Brandt or Tripp Miller
Arm Balance and Inversion Workshop at Brandt
Reminder! On Saturday April 23, Cherie Schooley will lead a two-hour workshop on arm balances and inversions at Brandt Fitness. Many of us struggle with getting into these poses without fear and she will show us how. The workshop is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is $30. You can register in advance by calling 817-878-5777. If you would like more information email Sarah at sarahlmac@hotmail.com.
Brandt Fitness is at 1289 Hemphill in Fort Worth, at the corner of Magnolia in the Near Southside (inside the new police station building).
You can register online here.
Can you be Paleo and a yogi?
The other day I was reading the comments on another yoga blog post and one of the commenters said that you can’t be a true yoga practicioner if you eat meat. The commenter was particularly radical in his beliefs, but lots of yogis believe that. The idea is that yogis practice ahisma, which means doing no harm. Logically, that means not killing anything. But ahisma also means not doing harm to yourself…and I (as do many CrossFitters) believe most humans need meat to be healthy. Vegetarianism is in stark contrast to the nutrition values we hold dear in the CrossFit community. Most CrossFitters at least work towards eating Paleo-style (more info here), which means lots of lean meat, veggies, fruits and nuts, zero processed foods, zero grains, almost zero sugar and very low amounts of dairy. Eating paleo and vegetarian would be almost impossible.
So, because we believe not eating meat would harm ourselves, do we not deserve yoga? Obviously, the answer is no. That would be like saying that because you sin you don’t deserve Christianity. Yoga, like religion, is for anyone. Everyone can practice yoga on their own terms regardless of their religious beliefs, lifestyle or diet. Yoga isn’t just about the poses. It’s about connecting the body, mind and soul–and you can’t do that if you aren’t nourishing yourself properly.
Unless you are really diligent about only purchasing only locally grown foods, checking out the farms they come from and what is used to produce them…you can never really be sure that what you are eating isn’t causing some sort of harm to someone or something. For example, if you regularly buy pasta at the local grocery store do you know where the grain came from? How much fuel was used to power the machines that harvested it? What happened to the animals that lived on the land we now use to grow wheat? Have you researched who picks the coffee beans you use every morning and if they are paid a living wage? There are so many questions when it comes to what we eat and the practice of ahisma. I think that the only way we can start is do no harm to ourselves. I am a true believer in the old adage that “if you don’t take care of yourself you can’t take care of anyone else,” meaning, you have to put your needs first in order to meet your true potential. Thoughts?
Welcome to our new Groupon students!
If you purchased our Groupon deal today, we would like to say Thank You! If you are considering purchasing but have questions, please call us at 817-878-5777. You can also email sarahlmac@hotmail.com. I will be checking it periodically throughout the day. Thank you so much for your interest! I can’t wait to see all the new faces in class next week.
Meet the Brandt crew tonight!
Attention all Brandt Fitness yogis! The whole crew (CrossFitters, martial arts, trainers) is going to hang out together at tonight’s First Friday on the Green event at the Magnolia Green. The green is right across Hemphill from the gym and the event starts at 7 p.m., so we will go right after the night’s CrossFit workouit. Text or call Sarah or Kyle when you get there and we’ll let you know where we are. Bring a blanket to sit on! For more information, click here.
Balance at Brandt — Arm Balance and Inversion Workshop with Cherie Schooley
On Saturday April 23, Cherie Schooley will lead a two-hour workshop on arm balances and inversions at Brandt Fitness. Many of us struggle with getting into these poses without fear and she will show us how. The workshop is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is $30. You can register in advance by calling 817-878-5777. If you would like more information email Sarah at sarahlmac@hotmail.com.
Brandt Fitness is at 1289 Hemphill in Fort Worth, at the corner of Magnolia in the Near Southside (inside the new police station building).
You can register online here.
Yoga at lunch: best way to get through the afternoon
Slumping at your desk, making trips to the coke machine (or coffee maker), crossing your legs, staring at a computer — these are all things we fall victim to when we work desk jobs. I work an eight-hour day that is more often than not at a desk in front of a computer, and sometimes I find myself so hunched over that shoulder openers in an evening yoga class become painful. I’ve found that the absolute best way to stop bad posture and tired afternoons in their tracks is practicing yoga at lunch. Since Brandt Fitness opened its yoga room in January, I’ve been attending at least one of Cherie Schooley’s 45-minute lunchtime yoga classes (12:15-1 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) per week. The difference in what I can accomplish in the afternoon at work on days I make it to lunch yoga and days I don’t is astounding! Come try it out! It’s especially convenient if you work in the Fort Worth South/Near Southside area, including Magnolia Street. First class is free and for a limited time (when you mention this blog post) we will give you a $10 discount on a ten-class pass (normally $90). Email me for more information at sarahlmac@hotmail.com.
Ashleigh and Josh talk about their YogaFit cert
Josh and Ashleigh wrote about their experience at the YogaFit certification last weekend. Come check them out! Josh is subbing for this Thursday’s 5:45 flow class and Ashleigh begins her Thursday 6:45 p.m. CrossFit Specific class this week!
Josh’s take:
The YogaFit Cert. was great! I feel a lot more equipped to teach after attending this past weekend. I have a better understanding on how to structure a class and how to modify poses for different people. The breathing techniques were also great, because at times I find it so easy to forget to breath in certain poses. My favorite part about the cert was actually just meeting the people there. Everyone was so cool, and fun to talk to. Being one out of four men at the cert I was definitely a minority, but I certainly don’t consider it a bad thing being a minority in a class full of women. I brought more diversity to class having a different body type, and coming from a crossfit background. The diversity was a good thing though because the entire class got to see how peoples poses differ with age, gender, injuries and body type. This was great for learning more modifications; pretty interesting stuff ! I’m looking forward to start applying that I learned this weekend to help people with their yoga practice.
Big thanks to my great friend Ashleigh, aka: Tigress, for being an awesome supporter when I had any doubt during the cert. Also, thank you Sarah for encouraging me to become a yoga teacher and showing me that you don’t have to be a human pretzel to practice and teach functional yoga.
Ashleigh’s take:
The YogaFit cert was such a great experience! I really enjoyed getting to know the other beginning teachers who made me feel welcome even though I did this crazy sport called CrossFit. The instructor was hilarious and just made every hour fun and exciting. It can be difficult to sit and listen for long periods of time, but the Yoga Fit curriculum includes a lot of breaking down poses while in them so you feel like you have truly accomplished the poses. I am so looking forward to continuing my knowledge of yoga and can’t wait for what is to come!
New teachers! New class!
We are so very excited to introduce you to Josh Santiago and Ashleigh Burns. For those of you already doing CrossFit at Brandt Fitness, you know them as trainers. They were YogaFit certified last weekend! Josh will be subbing as needed and Ashleigh will start teaching a CrossFit Specific yoga class designed for injury prevention and recovery for CrossFitters at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays as of next Thursday, March 3. Though designed for CrossFit athletes, this class is appropriate for anyone in need of a deep stretch. Josh will be subbing for Tripp on Saturday at the 11:15 CrossFit Specific class. Come check out our new instructors!
My name is Prana. And I know that wasn’t just juice.
This is funny! A deleted scene from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” FYI there’s a bit of cursing near the end if you have kids in the room!
Grand opening was great! Thank you to everyone who came!
Yesterday was our grand opening and the community’s response to Brandt Fitness and Self Defense was astounding! We had two packed yoga classes, at least double our usual numbers in CrossFit and almost 20 excited kids in our martial arts class. Almost 100 people stayed for the Arlington School of Self Defense demonstration team performance and food from Chadra Mezza. We are so excited for things to come! A really big special thanks to yoga teachers Cherie Schooley and Tripp Miller for teaching two fantastic classes. Also a huge thanks to Ashleigh Burns, Josh Santiago, Doug Zedler, Jon Herron and Hans, Henning and Nick Baussus for helping to teach the CrossFit and martial arts classes. Thank you to Stacy and Tommy Stallard and Sam Walling and Matt Lewis for bringing the demo team from Arlington School of Self Defense out to perform. We could not do this without all of your support!
Here are a few pictures of the yoga classes:
Heat building yoga for freezing temperatures
I’ve always found one of the best ways to get warm and stay that way for a little while when the weather is so frigid is a good heat-building flow. Since our classes (and most classes around town) are cancelled due to icy roads, here are a few videos that I find are really great. These three are meant to be done in sequence all at once but are great by themselves as well. They are by Amy Patee, who has a series of yoga videos on YouTube. Enjoy and stay warm!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLqXmpR_4tk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Yoga with a sprained ankle
For the past month (almost) I’ve been trying to get around having a sprained ankle and still teach my classes. For the most part, I’ve managed to modify enough that I didn’t cause myself any extra pain. It took some trial and error though! Here’s a video of a few modifications I suggest for anyone finding themselves with a minor injury to the foot. These modifications also work if you just need a less intense practice. Check it out!
A little video on breath and yoga
A lot can be said about how important breath is in yoga. I could go on and on, but I think Tara Stiles said it in a really nice and concise way in this video on her blog. There is even a short exercise that really feels good. Check it out here.
Brandt Yoga 
