YogaIowa

09/20/2019

Hi yogis! I'd like to share an announcement from Little Village Mag, YogaIowa's parent publication.

In early summer 2020, Little Village will publish the first edition of Rec'd, a new magazine covering all things recreation and wellness in Eastern Iowa, from cycling to cross-country skiing, trail running to—you guessed it—yoga.

As a result, YogaIowa will cease publication. While this new magazine will continue to cover issues of health and mindfulness in Iowa, the focus will be on our home region of Eastern Iowa, where we feel we can best serve both readers and advertisers.

Content planning for Rec'd 2020 is currently underway. If you are interested in contributing, or would like to share a story idea, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Thank you for supporting YogaIowa. It has been a delight to explore Iowa's yoga community through the eyes of YogaIowa's writers, photographers, subjects and readers. Yoga-Iowa.com will serve as an archive for YI content, and this Facebook account will remain active, serving as a platform to reshare articles and discuss happenings in the Midwestern wellness world.

Namaste.

—Emma McClatchey, Little Village managing editor

07/18/2019

"Purashcharana is an ancient yoga tradition. It is also well supported by modern behavioral science. Gradually, your meditation practice will be fueled effortlessly as well by compassion and gratitude, and then you will no longer be a beginner."

For the beginning meditator, the first thing to ensure satisfaction is to find a way to sit alert and calm, the back of your body a strong tower supporting a...

06/25/2019

Sand can be a challenging yoga surface, but for some postures (think handstands and kneeling poses) it can be your best friend.

Whether you're practicing by an Iowa lake or, like Lily Allen-Duenas, vacationing on a Grecian island, Lily's sequence is optimized for summer days at the beach.

After a long winter, summer is finally here! It’s time to take advantage of the warm summer breeze and the fresh air and take your yoga mat outside. If you’re near one of the many lakes in Iowa, or if you’re heading to a coastal destination for vacation, you may want to give beach yoga a try. ...

06/21/2019

Happy International Yoga Day, and happy first day of summer! Consider combining your yogi and outdoorsy selves this season.

From 2018:

Iowa and stand-up paddleboard yoga seem like unlikely mates. Landlocked and known for our fields, we’re not the first state that comes to mind for water sports. But a quick...

06/17/2019

As yoga becomes more widely accepted as a form of health care, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics staff and patients are adding yoga classes to their wellness routine.

"[Cancer patients] will talk about the positive impact that this group has had on their ability to cope with their illness, including less fatigue and less anxiety," said Cynthia West, who leads a class for University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center patients.

The medical community is finally starting to catch up to what yogis have known for over 5,000 years: Yoga can improve your health. The last decade has seen an increasing...

05/14/2019

There's more than one kind of birthstone.

Gemstones and color therapy have long been incorporated into astrological practice. It has been said that the ancient kings and queens of India always had an astrologer in their court....

05/02/2019

Though instructors often work to create a calm, comfortable environment for their students, they may not realize how triggering everything from lighting to hands-on adjustments may be to those suffering from PTSD. On the other hand, trauma-informed yoga can play an important role in one's PTSD treatment.

TRY Trauma Recovery Yoga will offer trainings in Lone Tree this August.

As a yoga practitioner turned instructor, I need no convincing of the positive effects that yoga can have on one’s physical, mental and emotional health. In my own yoga journey,...

04/24/2019

When Amanda Jorgenson opened The Studio Yoga & Barre in Spencer—one of a very small number of yoga studios in northwest Iowa—some locals saw it as "trendy" and "city-ish," others as contradictory to their Christian beliefs.

“A lot of people are scared of yoga. They fear it will conflict with their religion. They also are scared of the intimacy yoga creates with their bodies," Jorgenson says. "Whatever you believe is enhanced by your yoga practice.”

There is a hotspot of yoga in the northwest Iowa town of Okoboji, with three yoga studios nearly stacked on top of each other, relatively speaking — they’re within a 50-mile radius. These include Yoga Okoboji, The Studio Yoga and Barre in Okoboji and The Studio’s second location in Spencer, a ...

04/17/2019

"No event or product can replace the strength of a studio’s commitment to quality yoga instruction, but a little creativity can take your business to the next level of success," writes Cara Clonch Viner of Pedals & Poses, which recently partnered with Hatchet Jack’s Iowa for an event.

No event or product can replace the strength of a studio’s commitment to quality yoga instruction, but a little creativity can take your business to the next level of success. In an age where “boutique fitness” establishments are popping up left and right, yoga professionals are forced to find...

04/16/2019

Journalist, filmmaker and University of Iowa grad Brooke Bierhaus will debut her documentary "The Connected Cup" on iTunes Movies tomorrow, April 17.

Bierhaus listed her favorite coffee shops around the world — from Iowa City to Ethiopia — for YogaIowa last year:

I’ve visited 13 countries in the past year and enjoyed countless cups of coffee and tea while working on my first feature documentary The Connected Cup. From Ethiopia to Iowa City, here are 10 of my favorite coffee shops.

03/21/2019

Yogis of Iowa: Kaity Kemp-Blaine, Dubuque

“Honor your body, honor those around you, use your practice to connect with spirit and your higher power.”

📷 Kirsti Carlson Photography