Go Fit Girl

My friend and yoga teacher Vickie is offering some of her Hatha Yoga classes at the beginning of the year as free open house classes.
I was a student of Vickie's for many years. Then she taught me how to be a Hatha yoga teacher and a Restorative yoga teacher. And I can still take yoga with her while she is in Oakland and I am in Tucson.
Open House Yoga Classes:
*Thursday, Jan. 1 Mixed Level Hatha 9:30-11 a.m. Pacific/10:30 a.m.-noon
*Friday, Jan. 2 Therapeutic Yoga 9-10 a.m. Pacific/10-11 a.m. Arizona
*Friday, Jan. 2 Intermediate Hatha 1-2:30 p.m. Pacific/2-3:30 p.m. Arizona
*Sunday, Jan. 4 Mixed Level Hatha 9-10:30 a.m. Pacific/10-11:30 a.m. Arizona
Register for her classes here: https://www.vickierussellbell.com/pages/vrb-schedule

Happy holidays, dear community.

As this year winds down, I want to begin with a simple and heartfelt thank you.

Many of you have been practicing with me for years, and nearly all of you made the leap to online practice with me. That kind of devotion, trust, and consistency is not something I take lightly. I appreciate you more than I can say.

This past year, something especially meaningful happened: a number of new students found their way to our community through you. You mentioned a class to a friend, shared a link with a family member, or spoke from your own experience. Because of that, new people discovered a practice that truly supports them. Everyone benefited. Thank you for that quiet generosity.

As we head into the holidays and turn the year over, I share this simple request:

.. if there’s one person in your life who you think might genuinely appreciate and benefit from practicing with me, someone who’s curious, or quietly needing support, I’d love for you to invite them. A personal invitation from you carries far more warmth and trust than any announcement I could send.

I’ll be hosting Free Open House Mixed-Level classes on Zoom:

Thursday, January 1
Sunday, January 4

There will also be two additional free classes on Friday, January 2:

Therapeutics at 9:00am
Intermediate at 1:00pm

Registration for all is available here:
https://www.vickierussellbell.com/pages/vrb-schedule

T’was the night before Christmas, I needed to chill,
So I got on my mat, and I got very still.
The bills I had racked loomed large in my head
I’d done it again, despite what I’d said
To myself—I had promised this year I’d try harder
I’d try very hard to be fiscally smarter.
As I moved into down dog, I breathed in the air
Filled with pine from the Christmas tree standing downstairs,
And the lingering scent of the dinner I made
Of brown rice and mung beans (which nobody ate),
And I gazed at my navel and vowed to ignore
The dirt and detritus littering the floor
The pine needles, the dog hair and discarded clothes
The thing the cat left not an inch from my nose.
I moved out of dog and saluted the sun
The negatives dropping away one by one.
I soared into half moon, feeling strong now
I reached and I stretched and I twisted and bowed.
My body got warm and my mind became clear—
Then I remembered what I’m doing here.
In my imperfect house, with it’s dusty knick knacks
Filled with unruly children eating unhealthy snacks
In my imperfect body, aging each day
And my imperfect mind which won’t do what I say,
I’m living my life here breath by breath
Savoring each moment I have before death.
Remember, remember, I tell myself
Be nice and be kind and be soft with yourself.
You don’t get unlimited Christmases, you know,
So enjoy this one and then let it go.
As I settled into my last resting pose,
And I let the air in and back out of my nose,
I felt light and clean and I knew all was well,
Because yoga, again, had cast its still spell.

~Anonymous~

Happy Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice occurs today (Sunday, December 21) at 8:03 a.m. Arizona time/7:03 a.m. Pacific time. This day marks the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere, signaling the start of astronomical winter, while it's the Summer Solstice for the Southern Hemisphere (longest day).

My friend and yoga teacher Vickie is teaching a benefit class on Thanksgiving morning (9:30-11 a.m. Pacific/10:30 a.m.-noon Arizona). Any donation you make to the Alameda County Community Food Bank (in the Bay Area) gets you a spot in the Zoom yoga class. (Follow the link below.) Food security is more prominent than it has been in a long time. Help others while you gift yourself (and maybe someone else) a lovely yoga class.

Holiday Benefit Class VRB Yoga looks to support community organizations while supporting students' practice during the holidays. The Alameda County Community Food Bank is our preferred community support organization, and this year, we're supporting them through their Virtual Food Drive program. How to Give AND Recei...

Fall Yoga Series via Zoom will start Thursday, Sept. 4 and run through Dec. 4. Class time is 6 p.m. Pacific. Classes Nov. 6 and later will be 6 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Arizona time.
Fall Yoga Series dates are:
Thursdays at 6 p.m. Pacific Sept. 4, 11, 18*, 25. Oct. 2, 9*, 16, 23, 30. Nov. 6, 13, 20. Dec. 4.

Cost for the 13-week Fall Yoga Series is $110 via Venmo or Zelle/$115 via credit card.

*This series is 13 weeks with two classes being prerecorded: Sept. 18 class and Oct. 9 class. This series is discounted. So you get 13 classes for the price of 12.

Drop ins are $12 via Venmo or Zelle /$13 via credit card. (No discounts on drop ins.) You must email me no later than two hours before class to sign up.

My classes are for an hour and are Hatha-style alignment based and are available to all bodies. Props, variations, adapting shapes and modifications are taught and encouraged. If you've never done yoga before you will be OK practicing with me. And if you've practiced a long time you will still be challenged with me.

I also record all of my classes. The recorded class(es) are available to anyone who pays for a class or classes. If you miss class, you can take it later. If you made it to class and want to take it again (and again) you can!

Email me at [email protected] to sign up for a class at least two hours before start time.

Our discomfort arises from all of our efforts to put ground under our feet, to realize our dream of constant okayness. When we resist change, it's called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into this dynamic quality, that's called enlightenment, or awakening to our true nature, to our fundamental goodness. Another word for this is freedom — freedom from struggling against the fundamental ambiguity of being human ...

We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can't relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.

~ Pema Chödrön ~

Eleven years ago today I graduated from my first yoga teacher training. I'm pictured with my mentor Baxter Bell. I've adjusted my teaching slightly to fit in with life: Wednesday noontime work yoga and Zoom yoga on Thursday nights.

Hatha Yoga (Yoga for the Desk Jockey) with Ann 06.22.2025
This class is for the Desk Jockey (aka a person who sits at a desk). Even if you aren't a true desk jockey our sitting culture has definitely hurt our bodies. This class helps us open our hearts in backbends and stretch and open our hips and hamstrings and elongate our spines and side bodies.

Hatha Yoga (Yoga for the Desk Jockey) with Ann 06.22.2025 This class is for the Desk Jockey (aka a person who sits at a desk). Even if you aren't a true desk jockey our sitting culture has definitely hurt our bodies...

Happy Summer Solstice!
Friday, June 20, 2025, (at 7:41 p.m. Pacific) marks the first astronomical day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also known as the summer solstice or June solstice and the longest day of the year. This day will feature approximately 15 hours and 9 minutes of daylight. (On the summer solstice in Tucson, Ariz., daylight will last for approximately 14 hours and 13 minutes. And in Portland, Ore., daylight will last for approximately 15 hours and 41 minutes.)

Summer Yoga Series via Zoom with Ann will start Thursday, June 5 and run through Aug. 28. Class time is 6 p.m. Pacific. Summer Yoga Series dates are:

Thursdays at 6 p.m. Pacific June 5, 12, 19, 26. July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Aug. 7, 21, 28. (No class on Aug. 14.)

Cost for the 12-week Summer Yoga Series is $110 via Venmo or Zelle/$115 via credit card.

Drop ins are $12 via Venmo or Zelle /$13 via credit card. You must email me no later than two hours before class to sign up.

My classes are for an hour and are Hatha-style alignment based and are available to all bodies. Props, variations, adapting shapes and modifications are taught and encouraged. If you've never done yoga before you will be OK practicing with me. And if you've practiced a long time you will still be challenged with me.

I also record all of my classes. The recorded class(es) are available to anyone who pays for a class or classes. If you miss class, you can take it later. If you made it to class and want to take it again (and again) you can!

Email me at [email protected] to sign up for a class at least two hours before start time.

Happy Earth Day!

Advice from a tree

Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view!

~Ilan Shamir~

Happy Spring Equinox!
On the spring equinox, which occurred today (Thursday, March 20) at 2:01 a.m. Pacific, the sun is directly over the Earth's equator, marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, with roughly equal day and night lengths globally.