Gravity and Grace Movement

01/01/2025

Goodbye, 2024. You were weird🖤

I feel quiet, pensive, somber and sober. And also, grateful. Like really, really grateful.

The themes for me were risk-taking, re-creating, community-building and power-accessing. It’s taken a lot of faith in the mysteries and a large dose of leaning into the solid here-and-now support of my beloveds. My husband has been my sky (possibility) and earth (grounding). My spiritual community has been my thirst-quenching water, nourishing me for another round. They, along with my dearest friends, family, and collaborators, and the privilege of traveling, have kept the fire in my heart alive.

I love my life and I love the work that I know I’m here to do. Even sometimes (okay, a lot of times) when I wake up and say, “I don’t want to”. Serving my community and my clients is such an honor. Thank you for your collective wisdom and willingness to learn & grow together❤️

May we continue to awaken to beautiful AND difficult truths. May we act courageously and with accountability upon that knowledge. May we be in our magnificent bodies and DO THE WORK. May we move closer and closer to the humanity and magic that nature & aliveness intends for us. May all beings and this great, green Earth be free to thrive🙏🏽🍉✨🌍🌈👑🧿💪🏽

12/21/2024

Happy Solstice, Friends🖤🕯️✨ I’m calling this photo FROM DARKNESS, inspired by recent experiences, stories, learnings & prayers with my community.

Badass photo by my badass friend 🙏🏽

May you become who you are meant to be🔥

11/27/2024

💝Looking for a unique gift giving idea? Prefer giving/receiving experiences over things? Passionate about supporting small businesses rather than the morbidly rich???

YES, YES, YES, PLEASE.

💃🏽Consider duet movement sessions with moi for you, a friend, or you AND a friend. I’d love to tailor a session or five specifically for you. Breath, movement, emotional and spiritual support integrated.

🤩These sessions are on sale through the end of the year.

💵Purchase a package of 5 duets for $300 per person. Or purchase one at a time for $65 per person. (Regular price is $75 for one or $350 for five.)

💌 Send me a DM to schedule or if you have any questions.

💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

11/15/2024

A PROFESSIONAL LOVE STORY💚 This man is a treasure in my life. One of those remarkable, memorable people who change things.

I met photographer 16 years ago as a green, naive, new-to-Portland, newly-tagged Lululemon ambassador in 2008. I showed up to our shoot jaded and irritated as I totally don’t like having my picture taken, don’t like “posing” and had had multiple previous shoots that year that were, um, uncomfortable, to put it softly.

Stephen was and is the first, and really, only person, to put me at ease in front of the camera. I felt comfortable, professional and natural. His photos were/are beautiful. Clear, honest, and intentional. But the way he made me FEEL…that was something that impacted me tremendously.

So. We did another shoot sometime in 2010 as I put together a website; as I knew he was the only person I wanted to collaborate with. I was once again held in a good way and I loved the results.

And then all sorts of life happened.

As I opened my new studio this year, we reconnected. And today, we made some magic again. He still gets me and—I don’t know what it is or how to articulate it when you find “your person “…but I know what it feels like. It’s something like home. Safety. Comfort. Fun. Strangeness accepted and welcomed. Easy work. Familiar Treasure.

Thank you Stephen, for your magic, realness, intention, integrity, direction, conversations, presence, and Love. Thank you for your encouragement, your music selections, your love of ramen and for knowing that hyperextended elbows ruin a shot. I’m so so so grateful to know you, to work with you, to call you my friend.

Keep creating all sorts of magic, dear friend.

And, go Birds!🦅 💚

10/31/2024

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND SAMHAIN🖤

First big offer in the new studio…DUETS!

👯Want to work out with a buddy? Curious about Pilates and want a more economical option? Duets are a fun and still-intimate way to work out with me and learn the ropes.

💪🏽You’ll get a flowing session on the Pilates reformer that is tailored to the both of you and full of specifics and support. My superpower is the ability to always offer options, modifications and accessibility.

📅This offer is available at a discounted rate on Tuesdays in November & December at 1230pm and 3pm.

💵Purchase a package of 5 duets for $300 per person. Or purchase one at a time for $65 per person. (Regular price is $75 for one or $350 for five.)

💌 Send me a DM to schedule or if you have any questions.

10/31/2024

🖤First big offer in the new studio…DUETS!

👯Want to work out with a buddy? Curious about Pilates and want a more economical option? Duets are a fun and still-intimate way to work out with me and learn the ropes.

💪🏽You’ll get a flowing session on the Pilates reformer that is tailored to the both of you and full of specifics and support. My superpower is the ability to always offer options, modifications and accessibility.

📅This offer is available at a discounted rate on Tuesdays in November & December at 1230pm and 3pm.

💵Purchase a package of 5 duets for $300 per person. Or purchase one at a time for $65 per person. (Regular price is $75 for one or $350 for five.)

💌 Send me a DM to schedule or if you have any questions.

09/14/2024

NEW CLASS ALERT⚡️⚡️⚡️ Beginning On October 4th I’ll be teaching in-person, regularly Fridays 415-515pm Yoga & Pilates .pdx

This is my first return to a weekly class since March of 2020…I hope you’ll join me🖤

Class will be held in the large (North) studio. And you can register ahead of time; link in my bio. Sliding scale $12-$28/class🙏🏽

09/13/2024

TWO WEEKS IN THE NEW SPACE🙏🏽🖤🙏🏽

08/27/2024

This week I’m moving into this magic space🖤

7+ years ago spirit gave me an unexpected shove and I opened my own movement studio. I was surprised finding out the place I worked was closing, but oddly, not dysregulated. My gut knew what I had to do. I made the decision without much stress; 2 weeks later I became a small biz owner and was seeing clients in my own space, with Pilates, yoga and PT equipment bought on credit cards.

I didn’t know if it would work. It felt really risky.

My old employer, one of my closest friends, supported & encouraged me. My clients committed and stuck with me. A few respected practitioners (extraordinary mental health professionals and a brilliant chiropractor) sent me, and continue to send me, constant referrals. The landlords have been truly generous humans to endure a pandemic with and I know I wouldn’t be here without them. My husband :) This biz and its success is a testament to community effort. When I opened, I got to own & acknowledge that after 10 years teaching in Portland (and 7 years in SF before that), I had built a solid reputation & deep connections…and a unique niche & flair as a teacher/healer.

People trust in me. THAT is the most beautifully humbling thing and also what I’m most proud of.

So here I am, I’ve physically & spiritually outgrown the 1st little space that held me so well.

This new space will allow me more room to move—literally—and to host duets and small workshops. It will still be me holding it down and loving it up into being. It feels risky again. But I deeply trust in this magical, alchemical process with my community.

My experience now includes 23 years teaching Pilates, 20 years specializing in injury/rehabilitative movement, 18 years specializing in chronic pain management, 17 years teaching yoga, 15 years specializing in movement & mindfulness to marginalized populations, 11 years specializing in trauma informed practices, and 10 years practicing traditional Native American ceremonial ways.

After all these years, I am still excited, fascinated and honored every day to work with bodies, breath, spirit and the deep possibilities within.

Thank you! Muchísimas gracias! Grazie mille!!

08/25/2024

05/31/2024

UPCOMING WORKSHOP: Sat June 8th, 230-430pm 🖤

Power and strength are often thought of as hard, solid or unyielding, and yet true, lasting strength lies in adaptability. Our adaptability depends on a practiced, felt connection to center: knowing how, how much, & when to engage or relax effort and when to make changes. Within this core-focused movement practice, we will approach strengthening with a measured sensibility, giving way for more efficiency, endurance and adaptability. We’ll warm up with nervous system regulation & mobility skills, condition core muscles for integrated, functional strength and practice standing poses to explore the edges of center.

Equity pricing available. Contact me directly at avazeely@gmail.com🙏🏽

Link in my bio to register 🔗

03/08/2024

WORKSHOP WITH ME, March 16th 230-430pm🩵
Embodied Activism
The Breathe Building
$50
Equity pricing available
No one turned away for lack of funds
All proceeds to &

Link in bio to register

I first created this workshop last year when I was invited to present at the Youth Migrant Conference in Salem. I shared it with kids ranging from 6-12th grades, mostly children of immigrant families from Mexico, Central & South America, many the children of agricultural workers. There were also a few adults in each workshop. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the adults reached out for more. I knew then that I wanted to find ways to bring it back.

The heart of this was born out of an attempt to teach people, especially young people, skills to keep sustained in their own liberation work.

Here’s the description updated & reimagined for you and the moment we’re currently in:
​
Engagement in transformational & social change work can often be lonely or lead to burnout. Witnessing and resisting injustice takes a toll on our individual and collective nervous systems and ecosystems. And, our presence and steadfastness is critically needed right now.

We can foster sustainable endurance by practicing attention & connection to our bodies, our communities and to the natural world around us.

In this workshop, we’ll practice accessible skills and remember immediate resources for building strength, stamina, and spirit. There will be movement, skill-building exercises, land-based meditations, and rest practices.

This workshop is for all ages, all bodies, and anyone who wants to engage in actions (big and small) for a more just world.

** I continue to study traditional ceremonial ways and healing with a Native American Chief + healer, a husband and wife team, and am grateful for their guidance. This work reconnects me to Indigenous wisdom, and that of my mother’s ancestry, Mexican & Apache.

Please contact me with any questions 🔥

03/06/2024

UPCOMING WORKSHOP: Fundraiser for Gaza🍉
Saturday, March 23rd 3-4pm

Co-taught by Ned Rosch, Chris Calarco and myself. My dear friend and student, Ned Rosch organized this effort. He is a Jewish man, in his 70’s, raised in a Zionist family, that is and has been outspoken for Palestinian (and all human) rights for decades. He and his wife, a healthcare worker, have visited Gaza twice previously to teach yoga and mindfulness practices. He organized this fundraiser to send $$$ directly to friends/contacts he knows and trusts in Gaza. If you would like to learn more about Ned and his personal path & practices, check out this awesome interview:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rIhgKGCVNQs9eGrPEImCZ?si=zDP__doUSvifqDBkkL-t1g

I’m honored that Ned wanted to collaborate on this and thrilled to co-teach with him and another dear, longtime colleague-in-solidarity, Chris Calarco.

Bring all your pals. Let’s raise lots of money and awareness and vibes for Gaza❤️🖤🤍💚

02/28/2024

Looking forward to sharing these skills with folks🖤

I first created this workshop last year when I was invited to present at the Youth Migrant Conference in Salem. I shared it with kids ranging from 6-12th grades, mostly children of immigrant families from Mexico, Central & South America, many the children of agricultural workers. There were also a few adults in each workshop. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the adults reached out for more. I knew then that I wanted to find ways to bring it back.

The heart of this was born out of an attempt to teach people, especially young people, skills to keep sustained in their own liberation work.

I've updated the curriculum for anyone and everyone. Please join me and share.

Equity pricing available. No one turned away for lack of funds.

All proceeds to Jewish Voice for Peace and Palestinian Youth Movement.

02/19/2024

WORKSHOP WITH ME, March 16th 230-430pm🩵
Embodied Activism
The Breathe Building
$50
Equity pricing available
No one turned away for lack of funds
All proceeds to &

I first created this workshop last year when I was invited to present at the Youth Migrant Conference in Salem. I shared it with kids ranging from 6-12th grades, mostly children of immigrant families from Mexico, Central & South America, many the children of agricultural workers. There were also a few adults in each workshop. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the adults reached out for more. I knew then that I wanted to find ways to bring it back.

The heart of this was born out of an attempt to teach people, especially young people, skills to keep sustained in their own liberation work.

Here’s the description updated & reimagined for you and the moment we’re currently in:
​
Engagement in transformational & social change work can often be lonely or lead to burnout. Witnessing and resisting injustice takes a toll on our individual and collective nervous systems and ecosystems. And, our presence and steadfastness is critically needed right now.

We can foster sustainable endurance by practicing attention & connection to our bodies, our communities and to the natural world around us.

In this workshop, we’ll practice accessible skills and remember immediate resources for building strength, stamina, and spirit. There will be movement, skill-building exercises, land-based meditations, and rest practices.

This workshop is for all ages, all bodies, and anyone who wants to engage in actions (big and small) for a more just world.

** I continue to study ceremonial ways and healing with a traditional Native American Chief + healer, a husband and wife team, and am grateful for their guidance. This work reconnects me to Indigenous wisdom, and that of my mother’s ancestry, Mexican & Apache.

Please contact me with any questions 🔥

12/31/2023

I’m going out with a whimper this year. Covid destroyed me even with masking & vaxxing. My heart is broken but full. I’ve lost faith in ways, but found new, aligned communities. I said the best f**k it ever and married my love. I sang my heart out. I resurrected an old practice of head banging. I dressed in drag. I drank wine. A lot of good wine. I read new books. And fell further away from old restrictive schools of thought. I went deeper into study with my dear indigenous teachers. And deeper into conversation with the elements of nature. I slept in a cold, wet tent way more than I thought my poorly-circulating body could handle. I ran to my mother. I hugged my father. I lost friends. Known and unknown. I cried. A lot. I hope you did too.

12/17/2023

Hey, I don't know about you, but the grief and frustration I feel about the current genocide happening in Gaza is overflowing and overwhelming. The atrocities, the crimes against humanity, the murdering of civilians, babies, journalists, poets, elders, women, men, children, is NOT RIGHT. There is no justification.

I don't post regularly on this platform much anymore about the things that I really care about, because honestly, I get zero engagement, but I know there's some of you paying attention.

So, if you're reading this, I beg of you to call your representatives, to call the white house, to email or fax your reps, to watch something other than mainstream media, to critically think beyond the ethnocentricity of the U.S., to speak up and out for humanity and call for a permanent and lasting ceasefire now, to call for an end of the occupation, to call for the release of ALL captives, to support a free and self-determining Palestine.

All of my social change and embodiment work is over at Instagram, if you're interested ❤

How you can write or call the White House. We look forward to hearing from you!