It’s no secret that the media isn’t kind to girls. From unrealistic, Photoshopped pictures of women in fashion magazines to overtly sexualized images of tweens and teens on television and in movies, many girls grow up with diminished self-esteem, believing they’re neither pretty enough nor thin enough to hold worth in our society.
The consequences are devastating, as evidenced by the 2011 film, Miss Representation.
Enter Kids Yoga Instructor Jen Hess and her GirlPower! program, designed to help girls 10 through 13 focus on personal strengths and self-empowerment, instead of the negative media messages surrounding them.
“5th, 6th, and 7th grade girls are at a confusing stage in their lives, “ says Jen. “My goal for this yoga-centered program is to help them increase their level of self-awareness, channel their feelings, and connect those feelings to actions and words.”
In addition to yoga, each girl will be given a book for journaling, and will create an individual magazine to capture the positive messages learned in class.
“I want to affect change in girls’ lives before they hit high school, and absorb the baggage that comes from strong peer influence, and influence from the opposite sex,” Jen stresses. “Girls need to learn how to recognize and trust their own voice, to choose wisely when something doesn’t feel right to them, and to be confident enough to do so. This program will absolutely help with this.”
As a longtime yogi, a certified instructor of children’s yoga for the past 4 years, and the mother to a young daughter, Jen knows firsthand how yoga can foster feelings of self-empowerment and trust. Yoga has been transformative in her own life, and she is passionate about giving kids the same opportunity to find ways to manage stress and how to listen to—and nurture—their bodies and minds. She hopes to teach girls in her GirlPower! program how skills learned on the mat can translate into their everyday lives, a topic she often covers on her yoga-inspired blog, karmaspotkids.com.
Each class will begin with 45 minutes-to-1-hour of yoga, followed by discussion and writing in journals. The class will be a safe space where girls are encouraged to talk freely about their feelings without fear of judgement. Jen, who holds an MFA, will then assist each girl with the creation of her personal magazine.
This amazing program is open to both members and guests of Midtown, and girls are encouraged to reach out to their friends and invite them to enroll. I wish my own two daughters were old enough for this program. Clearly, they believe they’re ready now.
GirlPower! takes places on Sunday afternoons from April 29th through June 17th from 4-6pm in Yoga Studio B. The cost is $140 for members, and $180 for guests.
Contact Jen at jen.hess@midtown.com or Mind/Body Director Randi Lattimore at randi.lattimore@midtown.com with questions. And to learn more about the benefits of yoga for kids, click here and here.
If you have a daughter in 5th, 6th, or 7th grade, the lessons she’ll learn in GirlPower! will prove invaluable for her as she navigates through the confusing and often negative world of our media-driven culture. We hope to see her (and her friends) in class.
Three days a week, my morning begins with a 5am run. I arrive home, get three kids under six (including three-year-old twins) out of bed, dressed, fed, on the bus (or in the car) and off to school. On my off-days, I’m up at the same hour, working before the wee ones arise.
My days are scheduled down to the minute with work, meetings, shuttling children to various destinations, and trying to remember deadlines, doctor appointments, and dinner plans.
I attempt to keep my calendar static, but it never stays that way. I try not to worry about the things I cannot control, like when my nanny’s grandmother died during the same week my son stayed home sick from school and I had a looming deadline, but I never stay nonplussed for long.
Bottom line? I run hard(ish). I work even harder. And I am stressed out.
A lot.
In the fall, as I was circling the drain of “Too-Much-On-My-Plate” despair, I sat down with Mind/Body Director Randi Lattimore to conduct this interview. Something she said while we were chatting hit home for me.
She said, “Yoga is for everyone.”
“That’s a nice thought, Randi. But yoga isn’t for me,” I said. “I’m too tightly wound. Yoga is for people who are more chill than I am. I can’t relax.”
Then I realized the irony in what I was saying.
And the next day, having never before taken a single yoga class, I enrolled in Yoga School, Midtown’s unique program for those new to the practice or those who have been away from it for awhile. Small class sizes ensure personalized attention, which was something really important to me as a Type A, because why do something if you’re not going to do it exactly right? Who’s with me here?
Over the course of the four-week program, taught by the amazing Lindsay Hildreth, I learned:
Yoga School ended two months ago. I’ve practiced yoga almost every week since.
Starting the practice of yoga didn’t eliminate my stress. It’s still there, a product of a busy job, needy young children, and a calendar that’s always packed with responsibilities.
But it has taught me that when I’m in class, on my mat, being present within myself, it’s okay to let go for a little while.
Yoga has allowed me to relax and center my thoughts. To focus on my body and what it can do. To let my breathing guide my movement. To stretch my mind as well as my limbs. To embrace the hour of practice as my own, and to shut out the distractions and pressures that often circle me like wolves.
It’s not the high-energy, cardio-heavy workout I’m accustomed to. It’s still very hard for me to slow down, and to accept that my heart won’t be pounding and I won’t breathe heavily at the end of yoga class.
No, instead yoga is something entirely different. It helps me feel less anxious and more calm. Less like my busy life is spiraling out of control, and more like I am in charge of it, instead of the other way around.
And it’s helped my five-year-old daughter too, who in the fall finished her own first session of yoga at the club, through the Midtown Varsity program, and is starting her second this week. She adores yoga, and the lovely “Miss Jen” (Hess) who teaches it. The benefits of yoga for kids are numerous, including its ability to foster a bond with your three-year-old little sister.
Check out the schedule for Kids Yoga and other complimentary Midtown Varsity classes here.
The Winter Session of Yoga School begins next week. Morning, afternoon, and evening sessions are offered at a variety of times. Grab a registration form at the club, or contact Randi for more information at 585-461-2301 x103 or randi.lattimore@midtown.com.
Trust me on this: Randi is right. Yoga is for everyone, even scary Type A’s like me. If I can embrace (and love) yoga, then anyone can.
Yogis, please share with us. Why do you love yoga?
Member blogger Kathleen Hermann reflects on the fresh beginnings a new year brings and how Midtown can help you achieve your 2012 fitness goals.
While I haven’t set New Year’s resolutions for years, I periodically take stock of where things are and where I’d like things to go.
As adults, we feel that twinge of time passing. There is always more we want to experience and accomplish. New Year’s is momentous as it reminds us of the value of time. It is a point to remind ourselves that there is never a better time to act than the present.
Whether your fitness goals for yourself are to walk a mile or to establish a new personal best in the marathon, the club has the necessary tools for success. These tools come in the form of the facility itself, and also in the form of the network of people and professionals that work within it.
If 2012 is your year to finally achieve well-rounded fitness, you have unlimited options at Midtown.
Maybe you have a great physique and excel at swimming and cycling, but still find yourself often stressed and hurried. Try expanding into the peaceful, regenerative world of yoga and meditation. Perhaps you love the inner strength yoga has added to your life, but still find yourself slowed by extra weight. Try adding a cardio class to your routine.
Need help getting started? The club has a packed January schedule filled with events and classes specifically designed to help you kick-start all your goals.
Pick something that works for you and mark it on your calendar!
1. Intro and Launch Classes
If you are expanding your routine, or just beginning your fitness journey, but are intimidated to walk into a weekly group class, start with one of the many complimentary Intro classes Midtown offers in January. You’ll learn everything you need to know, as well as proper setup and technique.
Intro to Cycle: Wednesday, January 3, 7:00 – 7:45 pm
Intro to Group Power: Saturday, January 7, 8:00-9:00 am
Intro to Zumba: Sunday, January 15, 2:00-2:45 pm
The Launch classes introduce the new quarterly series of Group Step and Group Power.
Group Step Launch: Saturday, January 21, 9:30-10:30 am
Group Power Launch: Saturday, January 21, 11:00am – noon
2. Yoga and Meditation Classes
Bring balance to your life by trying these Mind/Body classes.
Sunday Afternoon Meditation with Suzanne: Sunday, January 8, 4:45-5:45pm
An Evening of Restorative Yoga: Friday, January 27 6:30-8:00 pm
3. A Proper Goodbye to 2011
What better way to end the year than with a great workout and drinks afterward to celebrate!
Boot Camp and Mimosas with Trainers Justin and Steve: Saturday, December 31, 8:45-9:45am
4. A Fresh Start on New Year’s Day
Kick off the New Year’s right with our packed New Year’s Day class schedule.
No matter what your fitness resolution is, Midtown will be there to help you achieve your goals.
Here’s to a healthy 2012!
Five years ago, Randi Lattimore was working as a substitute yoga instructor when she entered General
Manager Glenn William’s office to introduce herself. On his desk were the blueprints for the Mind/Body Studio renovation project.
She had found yoga years earlier and immediately loved everything about it: how it made her feel, the way it changed her body, the inner strength and peace she felt at the completion of each class. She quickly transitioned from practicing yoga to studying it, visiting studios across the country, absorbing what worked and what didn’t.
On that day in 2006, she sold her vision for the club’s Mind/Body Studio to Glenn. She then came up with her job title of Mind/Body Director. She hired dear friends as instructors. She expanded the offerings to encompass varied forms of yoga.
And she quickly created a culture of genuine connections and care amongst instructors and students that has flourished over the past five years and has made Midtown’s yoga program the best in Rochester.
Roots and Rhythm
A former event planner, Randi is originally from the West Coast. She then lived in Chicago for a number of years, and hand-picked Rochester as her new hometown over ten years ago when her husband’s job required them to move East. As a transplant to the ROC, Randi’s Midtown coworkers quickly became her family, a relationship that helps foster the warm community atmosphere and philosophy that permeates every yoga class.
While she feels teaching yoga is what she was meant to do with her life, Randi has big dreams to both appear and act as a guest judge on ”So You Think You Can Dance.” If she couldn’t teach yoga, Randi would love to dance professionally.
Teacher Training
Randi recently worked to certify Midtown as a Yoga School through Yoga Alliance.
Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training* begins on October 28th. The Immersion section, for those interested in become more well-rounded, informed practitioners of yoga, runs for eight weekends (a total of 80 hours) until February 5th of next year.
The Certification Option, for those wishing to pursue the Yoga Alliance standard of a 200-hour training program, includes an additional 40 hours, and extends until May of 2012.
Following the completion of 80 hours of Immersion, 40 hours of certification, and homework, practice time, and reading, graduates will receive Registered Yoga Teacher Certification, a degree many yoga studios, including Midtown’s, look for when hiring instructors.
Says Randi, “Our club has always offered a breadth of yoga workshops and special events, so it’s a natural progression for us to become a Yoga School. Our students are ready for this. Our yoga instructors are ready for this. And the training is diversified, so the instructors will teach to the strength of their students. I am so excited about this program.”
Inside Randi’s Fridge
When she’s not running the Mind/Body studio, Randi enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years, her 15-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son.
When I ask her about the three food items she keeps in her fridge at all times, Randi says, “Greek yogurt, almonds, and fruit. Always, lots of fruit.”
What’s one thing most people don’t know about her?
“I would rather eat chocolate cake-with chocolate frosting-than just about anything else in the world,” says Randi. “Love it!”
Midtown Pride
Randi is to Midtown’s Mind/Body studio as Bill Gates is to Microsoft, so she has experienced many proud moments in her tenure at the club.
“When members approach me and say how they couldn’t get through their divorces, their cancer battles, or their other difficult times without yoga, it’s incredibly gratifying,” says Randi. “It’s one of the best parts of my job.”
Her most memorable moment, though, took place at the club’s first-ever “Thanks for Giving” yoga class, a donation-based class benefitting Bivona Child Advocacy Center held annually near Thanksgiving.
Randi has visited the center, which helps child victims of physical or sexual abuse, and in the one hour she was there, she watched three children walk in needing assistance, something that had a profound effect on her.
The class was in shivasana, Hallelujah was playing, and Randi looked at fellow yoga instructor and friend Karen Lederman and began to cry. There were 90 people in the class, and Randi was full of joy at the contribution the club would be able to make to Bivona to help abused children like those she saw during her visit.
Yoga is for Everyone
Think yoga isn’t for you?
Randi hears this all the time. And to the yoga naysayers, she says, “Give it a try. Yoga is for everyone, for those who think they’re not flexible enough, or not relaxed enough, or who don’t think it’s a good workout. As I like to ask the doubters, ‘When you’re dirty, are you too dirty to take a shower?’ Of course not!”
The four-week Yoga School for Beginners, which will teach you yoga fundamentals and prepare you for taking one of the awesome yoga classes offered at the club, starts on October 17. Check out our Facebook Events page for more information.
Yoga is an Experience and Not “Just a Class”
It’s a practice that enables you to connect with people, to interact, to touch, to laugh, and to share. It helps you to center yourself and strengthens your muscles at the same time.
Randi has made our Mind/Body Studio not just a physical space for members to practice, but has also embodied it with a spirit that carries yogis throughout their daily lives.
And thanks to my interview with Randi, this Type A, tightly wound, former yoga-doubter will be trying it very soon.
*Contact Randi at randi.lattimore@midtown.com with any questions about Midtown Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training. If you have at least one year of yoga practice, you can pick up an application at the front desk.
A discussion on our Facebook page last week resulted in some interesting member feedback. I asked what kind of information you
would like to see featured. Among other suggestions, many members mentioned healthy eating tips and recipes, staff profiles, and member success stories.
The club puts a high value on input from members, and as a result, you’ll soon see many of your suggestions included in our daily social media output.MORE
Think you know everything there is to know about Midtown? Whether you’ve belonged to the club for years, or you’re enjoying your first month as a member, I think at least one thing on this list will surprise you.
I asked Midtown managers and staff about the services, amenities, classes, and general features of the club that they feel are under-utilized simply because members might not know about them.
Here’s what they had to say.MORE
