Latham launches yoga class at upscale mixed martial arts center

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 I will be launching a new yoga class at Mushin Mixed Martial arts. I'm honored to teach along side some of the world's best Mixed Martial Arts fighters, bringing another element of spiritual discipline and physical fitness. This vinyasa flow class will support the training regime of MMA pro-fighters, amateur fighters, and those looking for joint and flexibility support along with elongation of the muscles and connective tissue. You don't have to be a fighter to join in the fun- you just have to train like one.

Try out your first class FREE and sign up for a class pack- 10 for $200.00
We are also offering private yoga sessions at Mushin- please contact Erik to sign up: 212.242.1600

sign up online: www.mushinnyc.com

Yoga with Latham
Thursdays, 7-8pm
starting December 2nd
Mushin Mixed Martial Arts
78 5th ave between 13-14th streets

Girl Friday TV: Shoe Queen: Latham Thomas

Latham is the featured SHOE QUEEN on Girl Friday TV. Please check out the article below.
CLICK HERE

Tender Shoots Wellness Sponsors Miles for Midwives 2010

New York City's largest celebration of midwifery!

Join the NYC Chapter of American College of Nurse-Midwives and Choices in Childbirth for a day of fun to promote community wellness, increase awareness of midwives and the valuable services they offer, and raise funds to help us improve maternity care in our city.

Tender Shoots Wellness is proud to be a Bronze Level Sponsor. Latham Thomas will be offering an hour long post-race stretch/yoga session and raffle giveaway. You don't want to miss it!

Location

Prospect Park
Bartel-Pritchard Square, 15th Street and Prospect Park West

Fees

VIP: $50 (includes post race snacks and VIP Gift Bag!) Adult: $20.00 Ages 6-14: $8.00 Under 6: Run Free!

Registration Closing Date

Thursday, September 30, 2010 @ 11:59 PM

The 8th Annual Miles for Midwives 5K Walk/Run brings together runners, families and midwifery supporters for a fun day devoted to maternity care improvement and community wellness. Enjoy great silent auction prizes, a kid's corner, and our FREE Wellness Fair activities including yoga, reiki, and acupuncture. Proceeds from this event benefit the work of CIC and ACNM to improve maternity care in our community.

Additional Information

The 5K Run/Walk will start at 10AM, the Pee-Wee race and FREE wellness fair will follow. Same-day registration will be available from 8:30-9:30AM ($25.00) All race participants receive gift bags - VIP registrants receive extra products and coupons in VIP gift bags and post-race snacks!

Register Here

Yogis for Haiti- with Latham Thomas & Tigist Selam

Yogis for Haiti

with Latham Thomas & Tigist Selam

Saturday, January 23rd, 6-8pm

Om Factory 265 W.37th street, bet 7-8th aves- 17th floor

Suggested donation $20

Join us for an incredible evening of grounding meditation, soulful music, inspired asana, and healing vibes to benefit our brothers and sisters in Haiti. This special practice will honor those who have passed away and our efforts will serve those who have survived and need our help. Latham & Tigist will guide you through a meditation & vinyasa class with live music from Yoga Organix, Tom Rossi, and special guests. Suggested donation is $20, please feel free to give more if you are moved to. Thank you for your contributions and your support.

For more info on the Organizations we are supporting visit them online:
Cine-Institute www.cineinstitute.com
Yele Foundation www.yele.org

For more info on the class visit- www.omfactorynyc.com

(This is a vinyasa yoga and meditation practice open to all, regardless of your level or ability)

New Year's Day 108 Sun Salutations

Om Factory- 265 W.37th street, 17th floor, between 7th-8th aves

www.omfactorynyc.com

Celebrate your transition into 2010 with a vibrant ceremony of community and GRATITUDE for the amazing future that lies ahead. Release all you are ready to leave behind through a deep and sweaty moving meditation of 108 transformative salutations. Our spirits will vibrate high to the music of an unbelievably fun and upbeat playlist!

This ceremony begins by setting your particular sankalpa (wish or intention) for your mala. You will set an over all sankalpa, as well as one for each salutation. The tapas (heat and austerity) of your practice will create a fire that devours impurities and obstacles. Your positive thoughts will collect to manifest beauty, abundance and healing for you to receive through out your New Year.

Why 108? Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance. According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.

This will be fun, this will be special, this will be something you remember for years to come. Give yourself this gift of yoga ceremony. You need not have ever done a single salutation to join us. The initial salutations will be led though you will soon be carried away in the wave of your own moving meditation. Each salutation will be counted for, so your only responsibility is to show up, open up, breath, have fun, and flow!

Mama Glow Yoga and Prenatal Beauty Services at Euphoria Spa!

Tender Shoots Wellness has joined forces with Euphoria Spa to offer prenatal yoga semi-privates. Sign up for a package and get a Complimentary health history consultation! This special collaboration will begin November 30th, just in time for the holiday season. Euphoria Spa is a holistic day spa located in the heart of Tribeca. Owner Kristen Haines believes in using natural products to promote healthy skin rejuvenation. I love the hydro-facials where my skin is drenched in moisture. Every time I leave I have a luminous glow that lasts! If you are pregnant you might be interested in the pregnancy massage treatments (buy one-get one free) or learning how to perform baby massage on your new bundle of joy.

The 30-minute prenatal massage ($55) helps work out the aches and pains associated with carrying babyweight 24/7, while the ‘Expecting Exfoliation’ treatment (45minutes for $99) uses all natural ingredients to replenish oils lost during pregnancy. Once the baby is born, their services keep coming: New moms who have gone through hours of labor can surely benefit from the 60-minute, $129 ‘Fresh Air Facial,’ designed to restore glow and balance. When 4 am feedings leave you exhausted, treat yourself to the ‘New Mommy Hot Herb Thai Massage’ ($139 for 60 minutes or $169 for 90 minutes), a blissful combination of Thai, aromatherapy, and hot stone massage. Private yoga lessons for new mommies and babies are also available.Try the Blue Agave Facial- to die for. Make your appointment today. Visit- Euphoria Spa online

Euphoria Spa is located at: 18 Harrison street, 2nd floor between Greenwich and Hudson

Pose of the Month- Upward Lunge Variation

In the Autumn I find it a nice time to draw energy down into our lower body, strengthening our legs, the arches of our feet, arms, and grounding us into the season. I like to teach lunges and have students pulse down deeper into the lunge. Try it.

Start in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog). Exhale and step your right foot forward between your hands, aligning your knee over the heel. Keep your left leg strong and firm.

Inhale and raise your torso to upright. At the same time, sweep your arms wide to the sides and raise them overhead, palms facing.

Be careful not to overarch the lower back. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor and reach back through your left heel. This will bring the shoulder blades deeper into the back and help support your chest. Look up toward your thumbs.

Be sure not to press the front ribs forward. Draw them down and into the torso. Lift the arms from the lower back ribs, reaching through your little fingers. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute.

Then exhale, release the torso to the right thigh, sweep your hands back onto the floor, and, with another exhale, step your right foot back and return to Down Dog. Hold for a few breaths and repeat with the left foot forward for the same length of time.

Benefits- releases sacrum and reduces sciatica.

Works & Strengthens- Ankles, Calves,Thighs, Groins, Abdomen, Chest, Shoulders, Armpits, Neck

Yoga Playground- Soul FLow Sunday

Join me for a Soulful Sunday morning at Om Factory. A Journey into the soul. Heart & Hip Openers & 70s Soul Classics. 10-11:30am at Om Factory- 265 W. 37th street, 17th floor, near 8th ave. This is an open level vinyasa class. Come get your Soul flow on!!

Pose of the Month: Natarajasana (Dancer's Pose)

I love natarajasana because it feels so regal. Being rooted through the standing leg and feeling extension through the thigh, groin, abs, and arms is beautiful. I am reminded of the ballerina wind-up music boxes I coveted as a child. Enjoy this graceful pose and if you're pregnant savor the wonderful opening of your shoulders and chest.

Find your center. Stand firm in Tadasana (Mountain Pose).
Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee. Press the head of your right thigh bone back, deep into the hip joint, and engage your knee cap to keep the standing leg straight, strong, and rooted.

Reach back with your left hand and grasp the outside of your left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower back, actively pull the pubis forward toward your navel, and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the floor.

Begin to lift your left foot up, away from the floor, and back, away from your torso. Extend the left thigh behind you and parallel to the floor. Stretch your right arm forward, in front of your torso, parallel to the floor.

Benefits
Stretches the shoulders and chest
Stretches the thighs, groins, and abdomen
Strengthens the legs and ankles
Improves balance

Modifications
To help with balance place the extended hand against a wall

Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga DVD with Jennifer Wolfe

I am pleased to share a wonderful prenatal yoga dvd with you all. This is the second dvd of this style from Jennifer Wolfe. In this new dvd she has 3 different mini sequences, 15, 30, and 45 minutes in length. Designed to give you a real workout, Wolfe's prenatal vinyasa is nothing like the sleepy prenatal yoga dvds out there. She really warms up the body through fluid sequences, and strengthens and tones the legs and pelvic region for labor.

This is a great dvd for practitioners who want a more intense yoga class. It is not a great absolute beginners' video, but if you have a familiarity with vinyasa, and power yoga, this will be an excellent video for you to have in your library.

Order online at amazon.com, or from Jennifer Wolfe's site- www.jenniferwolfeyoga.com

Prenatal Yoga Shoot for WE Network- The Secret Lives of Women

I would like to thank the participants who attended Mama Glow prenatal yoga last night at Realbirth. The class was filmed by the WE Network for a special television segment on the hit show, "The Secret Lives of Women". The camera follows the life of a women who is a maternity model and she joins our lovely group of expectant moms for prenatal yoga. The show will air in the fall, stay tuned for more info. Special thanks to WE Network, Dawn, Annie & Realbirth, and Hyde, (for the yoga clothing).