An Ode to Yoga Seva 

I awoke each morning with nothing to say,
Except this hurts and that hurts – a new ache each day!
“You should try yoga,” my friend Melanie said,
“Then you won’t hurt when you get out of bed!”
I laughed and I scoffed and I chuckled with glee.
“Yoga’s not for people like me!”
But something inside me said, “Why not just try?”
“After all, Melanie looks rather spry!”

 
It’s been three years now since I walked in Ann’s door –
And I couldn’t have asked for anything more!
My headaches are gone – a thing of the past!
My knees and hips bend, and it’s really a blast!
I can twist, I can turn, I get up now with ease.
My back doesn’t spasm whenever I sneeze!
 

Now I’m constantly telling all my poor achy friends,
“The answer is yoga with its twists and its bends”
I’ve never felt better in both body and mind,
And the answer is yoga , this life – altering find.
My sun salutations greet each new great day,
I’m ready for anything – bring it my way.
Now I laugh (never scoff) and I chuckle with glee!
Yoga is perfect for a person like me!

- Heather Van Meenen

I enrolled in yoga as a compliment to my physical therapy for severe neck and shoulder pain. The relief has been amazing. As a bonus, I have experienced a calming and relaxation and even made progress in reducing my headache symptoms. Betty has been a most patient and encouraging teacher. I am very much enjoying my classes and am thankful for her help.
                                                                    Lloyd Mueller

: Having a strong and supportive posture is priceless!

  One of many great benefits I have experienced in yoga is body awareness. Ann has taught me to be body vigilant and to check in with my body throughout the day: while I'm standing in line, sitting on the couch, reading, watching TV, or driving. I have learned to do continual quick body scans and feel an automatic and very beneficial response to good posture. Since I have noticed a real tendency for my spine to curve inward, my awareness to stand up straight and hold my shoulders back has become integral to the quality of my life.

                                                                    Mary Baker

  I have been an active person: running, riding horses, aerobics, walking, hiking, etc. Over time I found myself dropping out of more and more of the things I loved to do leaving a void.  My sister, who had been encouraging me for years to try a yoga class, picked up a Yoga Seva flyer which started a journey of profound connection for me that extends into many treasured areas of my now life.  Thanks for the wit, wisdom and encouragement to renew and rejuvenate two times a week in a warm and welcoming environment. 

                                                                     Paula Hay-Urick

Yoga has been an unbelievable surprise for me! I expected some increased physical abilities, and that has occurred-- especially in terms of my flexibility. I am grateful for this. But I did not expect to continually leave the mat with a sense of wonder regarding life, as well as discovering a warm and embracing community! The intuitive teachings that I have experienced at Yoga Seva have opened the door for increased spiritual growth, so that I have a much greater sense of inner peace and balance in my life than before.

For this, I am most grateful... Betty Andrysiak

When I started yoga in 1998, I had a frozen spine from an automobile accident many years earlier. The first couple of years of my daily practice were difficult. As time passed, I became more limber, in touch with my being, and secure. Ann’s gentle way of teaching has been the key to help release my spine. The inner focus that practicing yoga has given me helps me cope with the recent grievous loss of my husband.

                                                                    Joanne McCarthy

After over six years of yoga practice with Yoga Seva, I have finally discovered that yoga is truly mind, body, and spirit. My reason for doing yoga changes every session from bringing peace into my life to gaining flexibility and strength or reconnecting with my inner self. Every class brings me new insight and reminds me of past personal discoveries. Yoga with Yoga Seva is about who you are right this second without thought to the past or future.

I am very grateful for the gifts that yoga offers... Rita Hickman

I discovered the power of Yoga about two years ago. I was desperately searching for a way to relieve my migraine headaches. I had been on medication for years and I was still spending an average of about 200 hours a month with a headache. I knew there had to be a better way. The better way was Ann and Yoga. Ann taught me how to use the power of me to gain control over my life. Yoga was the release I needed and the way back to better health. I am now able to do some of the things I really love. Last summer I climbed Mt. Rainier! This has been a goal of mine and Yoga helped me get to the top.

I am grateful for the relief that yoga continues to give me...Peggy Dohr

I've found yoga to be an essential part of my life. The stretches and twists that I learned at Yoga Seva have kept me flexible and able to do the physical things I want to do. I also appreciate the total calming effect that yoga has on me, which carries me mindfully through what could be a stressful day sooo nicely. My daily 20-minute practice has a grounding effect and gives me additional focus.

Yoga will always be a part of my life...Becky Rickley

Ann Waring has made it central to her teaching to guide Yoga Seva students in their practice according to their individual needs. She repeatedly and often increases her knowledge through advanced training seminars, thus providing her classes with current and wide-ranging insights from the yoga community at large. I have been privileged to be one of her older students for four years and believe her contribution to my level of well being has been invaluable. I simply don’t know what I would do without yoga in my life...

                                                                    Jacque Suding