Now And Zen Yoga

We have raised nearly $50 for the Springfield MSPCA through our used book sale and we’ve sold about 1/3 of the books.  We still have plenty of great titles in the used book sale.  All books are available on a first come, first served basis … so be sure to visit the Indian Orchard studio soon to get a few good books!  A sample of the titles we currently have in the used book sale collection:

Real Men do Yoga

Yoga for Golfers

American Yoga

Power Yoga

Fitness and Health 5th edition (6th edition is show in picture)

Body for Life

Smart Guide to Healing Back Pain

New England Camping

The Knee Crisis Handbook

The Life of Buddha

Dalai Lama, My Son

     Everyday Zen

Real Fitness for Real Women

Short Bike Rides Central and Western Massachusetts

Alicia Wendolowski taught at Now and Zen Yoga for almost 3 years.  An avid outdoors person, she rides horses, kayaks, hikes, and she still finds time to teach yoga.  You can find her at the Hampshire Regional YMCA teaching Family Yoga classes, where she can incorporate her love of children and her expertise from being a mother of two into the classes.

The used book sale is going strong.  We started with three shelves packed tight with books and now we are down to two shelves packed tight with books.  The book topics range from yoga to meditation, philosophy to fitness and hiking to personal finance … so there is something for almost everyone!

 The deal is you pick the book or books you want, put as much as you can or you want into the donation box on top of the bookshelves.  All money raised through the sale of the used book will go to the MSPCA of Western Massachusetts in Springfield.  You get good books cheap and a local non-profit gets some well needed help.  Everyone wins!

 So far we’ve managed to raise over $35!

All the books on the remaining two shelves MUST be sold … so come in, poke through the shelves and take a few gems home to read.  What have you got to lose? 

Yoga Journal sponsors a conference in Boston each year.  You can take classes with some amazing teachers, meet other yoga practitioners and teachers, and of course there will be vendors where you can buy a wide variety of yoga gear and related items.  The conference will be May 16th through May 19th at the Sheraton in Boston.  If you are interested in attending, you can view the schedule and register at:

http://www.yjevents.com/yjevents/boston08/

Now and Zen Yoga will be close on Saturday May 17th while Ruth attends the conference.  Along with three intensive workshops, Saturday includes three special events.  Dean Ornish, MD will be giving the opening remarks on Saturday morning.  Donna Karan will be the keynote speaker at lunchtime on that Saturday, and Duncan Wong will be giving an asana demo at the end of the day.

There have been several “animal incidents” at Now and Zen yoga over the last 4 years.   As we are working to raise donations for the MSPCA this month, it seemed it might be fun to recount some of the more memorable critter moments at the yoga studio.

The Pigeon Incident:  In our old studio in Cabotville/Chicopee the windows would tilt in when we opened them.  There were no screens on these windows to prevent bugs or any other flying critter from coming in.  On a warm sunny day while our windows were all wide open, one of the neighborhood pigeons felt this was a delightful place to perch.  The teacher had to gingerly close the window so as to encourage the pigeon to fly out and not in.  The pigeon went on his merry way and was not harmed in the de-pigeoning of the window.

Pepe Le Pew:  One evening there was a very well fed skunk just outside the main entry door to the building.  The skunk was taking its own sweet time exploring the area along the canal and near the entry door.  A couple of yogis waited safely inside as the skunk roamed the area.  Eventaully the skunk waddled off into the night.  All of the yogis made it out to their cars without any further run-ins with the skunk.

(Brody, formerly named Cocoa Butter, adopted from MSPCA)

At Now & Zen, we like to give back to our community.  In the past we have raised food donations for Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen in Chicopee with great success.  This year we are raising donations for the Springfield MSPCA during our 4-year anniversary celebration.   After all, Ruth adopted 4 cats from the Springfield MSPCA, and many of you who come to Now & Zen have also adopted an animal from there.  So let us unite our efforts and give back to a local non-profit organization!

Our Used Book Sale is “by donation”.  Pick a book ( or two, or four) that you would like from our used book collection, pay what you want or what you can.  All the proceeds from the sales will be donated to the MSPCA.  The used books are on yoga, meditation, pilates, fitness, nutrition, camping, hiking, prenatal fitness, and more.  All the books must go … so stop by our Indian Orchard location and stock up on a few books!

Part of our Anniversary game asks that you bring in donation items for the MSPCA and we will donate them all at the end fo the month.  Items the MSPCA needs include:  rawhide chews, cat toys, new or gently used fleece blankets or comforters, newspapers, canned dog food, canned cat food, dog treats, rabbit food/treats, guinea pig food/treats, dog toys, Care Fresh small animal bedding, dryer sheets, and so on.  You can find a wish list for the Springfield MSPCA online .  We ask they you DO NOT bring perishable items in to Now & Zen Yoga for donations. 

And if you happen to be looking to adopt a cat, dog, rabbit or other pet - please visit the Springfield MSPCA website at :

 http://www.mspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ACAC_WNE_Animals_Avail_Springfield

For those who have not have the pleasure of attending a class taught by Faith Jackson, she teaches 3 classes at Now & Zen Yoga:

Tuesdays    3:00PM  All Levels Yoga   In Chicopee
Tuesdays    6:00PM  Beginner Yoga    In Indian Orchard
Thursdays  6:00PM  Beginner Yoga    In Indian Orchard

Faith trained at Kripalu in Lenox, MA.  Along with being a yoga teacher, she is also a Reiki practitioner and a massage therapist.  She uses her humor and compassion as she teaches class, making it an all around great experience for anyone who attends her classes.  She has been getting rave reviews from those who have tried her classes.  You should definitely check her classes out soon to see what all the buzz is about!

Indian Orchard Studio (3/26/2007 to present)

Our Former Chicopee Studio (2/23/2004 to 3/24/2007)

We opened our doors in Chicopee on February 23, 2004.  We moved to Indian Orchard and opened our doors there on March 26th, 2007.  So, we celebrate our Anniversary in March to honor a full year in Indian Orchard and over 4 years of yoga in the Chicopee and Springfield community.  We have had hundreds of people walk through our doors for classes, special workshops.  Over the years we have offered classes in yoga, pilates, prenatal yoga, power yoga, gentle yoga, yoga with weights and vinyasa yoga.  We have offered a wide variety of workshops - everything from a Rockette Kick Line (taught by a Rockette) to Guided Meditation.

In all of this, what truly matters is the sense of community that we have fostered over the years.   We have laughed, cried, joked, sweated, stretched, loved, grown and dreamed together.   Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the studio in some way during these four years.

 During the month of March we are doing a used book sale (in Indian Orchard) to benefit the MSPCA in Springfield.  We are offering workshops almost every weekend.  There is a sale on certain class cards.  All clothing items at the boutique in Indian Orchard are on sale.  And there is a game you can play to win prizes.  Please join us for this fun filled month and celebrate your yoga practice as we celebrate the anniversary of Now and Zen Yoga.