Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
Join Laurel and I for an evening of storytelling and asana practice at Yoga Garden this Friday evening! We will explore some of the mythology behind the poses and weave it through a 60 minute asana practice. This event will be appropriate for all levels of yogi and is a fun way to dip your toes into yoga beyond the physical practice!
Friday April 27
6:30-8:30 pm
$35
To register: https://mkt.com/yogagardenmpls?square_lead=button
I hope that you will be able to join us!
Namaste,
Stephanie
Nothing makes me question the location of my home more than snowstorms in the middle of April.
5-8 inches predicted on top of ice from today’s rain…. IF things go as predicted, my classes tomorrow at Yoga Garden will be cancelled. Including the new Kids Club session, we will just start the new session next weekend instead.
If the weatherpeople are wrong and things look safe for driving, I will see you at the normal times!
8 am Mixed Level, 9:15 am Slow Flow and 10:30 Kids Club
I am so ready to move in the sunshine, wear shorts and plant in the garden!
I will make a decision tonight before going to bed, I will post the info on Yoga Garden’s Facebook page as well as my personal page.
Thank you for understanding and be safe!
I grew up around good tasting food and from that experience I learned to make great tasting food that my family loves. Here is the catch, Meat and Potatoes. That is what I know and love. Carbs and meat everywhere, with a side of veg. I am trying to get more plant based meals into our weekly menu but am meeting resistance from the littles. They love veggies, they just aren’t used to them taking up so much space on their plates. I find Pinterest to be hit or miss on the recipe front and full of click bait. So my request today… do you have a favorite vegetarian cooking blog? Please comment below with your favorites! 
This fall I am adding a couple of new classes to my teaching schedule!
Schedule at Yoga Garden:
NEW beginning September 6!! Wednesday: Mixed Level Vinyasa 7:30-8:30am
NEW beginning September 13!! Wednesday: Yoga Garden Playdate 11-11:45am (preregistration required)
Thursday: Yoga Garden Kids Club 4-4:45pm (preregistration required)
Saturday: 8-9am Mixed Level Vinyasa
9:15-10:30am Slow Flow
10:30-11:15am Yoga Garden Kids Club (preregistration required)
To sign up for Playdate or Kids Club, contact me at stephanie.loes@gmail.com!
New Location!!! Paddlesculpt!!!
Paddlesculpt is a family owned neighborhood gym with a focus on Rowing and Stand Up Paddleboarding, located on 34th in the Nokomis neighborhood!
NEW beginning September 8!!! Friday: Mixed Level Vinyasa (focusing on Core Strength) 12-1pm
Sign up for Paddlesculpt classes here! https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/mainclass?fl=true&tabID=7
Mine aren’t babies anymore but we have done yoga together since they were! YG Playdate will be returning after these two go back to school! Yoga Garden Playdate is a 45 minute yoga class for mamas and their babes ages 0-3. Usually the tots end up playing and coloring while the mamas get their time on the mat, although sometimes they join in for some sun salutations! I am offering this class as a 5 week session beginning September 13, it is $45/ for all five weeks. Wednesdays 11-11:45am. 
Please let me know here or email me at Stephanie.loes@gmail.com to sign up or with questions!
Back in summer mode!
My focus becomes zeroed in on creating a fun and memorable summer for my family. I spend way less time blogging, on my mat, and meditating on a cushion. Those activities get replaced with sleeping in, playing on and in the water and making slime with my kids.
No regret ever, it feels right and balanced.
Watch for my September schedule to come out soon!
This last Yoga Garden Kids session was really special. The idea of it was born of their curiousity about Yoga Garden’s puja. Why was it there? What were all the things on it for?
We discussed together about how having a sacred space of their own for practicing their yoga and meditation could be really good for focus and that if the objects in that space were special to them, it would have more meaning.
The kids in my class are ages 5-9 and as they are not my own and I am not a worship leader, we talked more about the physical objects than the spiritual worship of a Puja. In the first class, I gave them permission to explore the space. Some were more drawn to the incense, some to the statues of deities.
The objects that we place in our Sacred spaces to help us meditate can be taught easily to kids by aligning a meditation to each of our senses. We also talked about how they could create there own space at home.
Sight: our personal sacred spaces are typically pleasing to the eye for US. Through art, crystals, candles… the objects we SEE can focus our mediation and make us happy.
Sound: maybe the kids favorite? We listened to different music, thought about what different music made us feel. They also had the opportunity to try using a Singing Bowl and finger cymbals.
Taste: food may not be the best thing to have on a child’s puja, but mindful eating is a wonderful way to meditate for them. Take a bite, chew slowly, think about the taste, the feel, maybe where the food came from and finally swallow. We had fun trying some different foods in class. Only one enjoyed the brusselspout… go figure.
Smell: incense, oils and candles. Smells can brings so many memories forth and make us feel different things. For our smelling meditation we used blindfolds and I had them smell different strong scents. Hazelnut syrup, fresh basil, lavender and lemon.
Touch: for our final meditation of the session we held crystals and touched pencil to paper to color mandalas.
It was fun. I will definitely be teaching this session again!
Join us on Monday! All of the Yoga Garden teachers will be joining forces to teach an all levels class for Spring Equinox.
Ski ski season is done for my family, which means…. Saturday YG Kids Club is back!!! I am excited to welcome back old friends and get to know new.
(Me skiing in Colorado last week)
YOGA Garden Kids Club – In a Kids Club session, we will learn breathing exercises (pranayama), meditation techniques, journaling, we will dance and sing. We will also learn different poses (asanas), the stories behind the poses and how to move into them safely in an age appropriate way.
Our own yoga practice will only benefit from our kids learning about it in their own space. If they have more knowledge and mindfulness about it, they will respect it more, and start to develop their own practice.
This 45 min. class, taught by Stephanie, is for ages 6-9. It is taught in 5 week sessions and requires preregistration.
Please bring your children to class in clothing that is comfortable and that they can move and stretch in and come to the first session a little early to finish the registration process. Contact Stephanie at stephanie.loes@gmail.com to register. /// Thursdays 4:30 – 5:15 pm and Saturdays 10:30 – 11:15 am
The next Thursday session will begin April 13!
Creative play. Yes, children benefit from quiet meditation, but equally important is the imagination and laughter. In fact, one may be sparked by the other and vice versa. We adults tend to take ourselves too seriously in our yoga practice. Every now and then, a made up pose with a finger peacock mask is necessary. ❤
Saturday YG Kids Club starts up again March 4, 10:30-11:15am. YGKC is $45/5 week session
An ongoing Manifesto by Sri Louise
Fitness - Photography - Parenthood - Adventure - Inspiration
Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
TheBest. Food. Shared.
mpls by a girl in the city.
Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
Musings of a wife, mom, doula, and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator
Name a child after a deity, and see what you get?
{ tools to inspire and empower you to live, not just exist }
The gradually emerging story of my grandmother, Naomi Kimball Harris, based on her recollections
Preserving my life's most soul-nourishing moments
Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
Trying to raise a mindful and healthy family in the modern world.
Yoga Mama in Minneapolis 