Yoga at The Redding Senior Citizens Center

01/19/2026

For my fellow insomnia sufferers. I have practiced Yoga Nidra in the past with little success-mostly because of the length of the practice. Here's a link to a free course that is very doable.

Hello and welcome! This experiential, self-paced free course is your time to sit back, listen, and receive all the benefits that iRest Yoga Nidra Meditation offers. Previous students report: Falling asleep easier, staying asleep, and waking up well-rested. A calmer and more content mind and inner wo...

01/13/2026

From Bruce:

The Pacific Rim

I’m lying on the beach next to my thatched roof hut. I notice the sky is a deeper shade of blue as I travel toward the equator. I’m in Bali and I’m struck by how laid back everyone is. The Balinese woman tending to the huts along the beach brings me a breakfast of fresh fruit and tea and offers a massage afterward? I could get used to this.

After a few days, I made my way up the volcano to the village of Ubud. It’s a small village that appears not to have changed much for a very long time. Shopkeepers open their doors in the morning with prayers and offerings placed on the sidewalk. Buddhism is the major religion and philosophy of Bali. its focus is on ending suffering through wisdom, compassion, and ethical living. Whether in a temple or on the streets I could feel the spirituality, it was breathtaking.

Ubud is known for its master woodworkers and silversmiths. Art forms near and dear to my heart. The art was not of the clever mechanized designs I was used to, but rather emerged through an unhurried and organic process. It was an honor spending time among the craftsmen. I was struck by how present the Balinese people were. They weren’t hurrying to the next thing they were in the moment. Calm and relaxed. It was clearly a culture of people who were comfortable in their own skin.

Walking along a wooded path looking out over terraced rice fields I heard a chattering noise. As I walked along it was getting louder. Soon I am joined by about a dozen monkeys, pulling on my pant legs and climbing on me. They even checked my pockets. This was not their first rodeo. It was a raiding party. They were looking me over to see if I had any food. Satisfied that I wasn’t a food source they scampered back into the forest, gone as quickly as they appeared.

The rest of Indonesia is quite a different story. Crowded, hurried, poorer in sprit. I could feel my body tightening. After leaving Bali and taking a ferry to the island of Java I was on a very old and rickety train heading north. Rather than terraced rice fields, we passed shanty towns. Sitting on a wooden bench across from me was a military officer. A greeting clarified I was American and he asked if he could practice his english on me. We were chatting when he waved a young lady over to sit by him. They spoke for a few minutes, he said she speaks no english and he told me she was a college student. They were both staring at me, I began to feel something was off. They spoke again for a few minutes. The officer asked me if I was married or had a girlfriend, I said no and he and the young lady began an animated conversation. Now I’m sure there was a problem. He looked back at me, reached into his coat and pulled out a handgun, pointed at me with his hand on the trigger. I want you to marry this girl and take her back to America. I looked at him in disbelief, then at his gun and then at the woman. She sat quietly with no expression. I looked back at the officer and gun. I swallowed and said, okay. I was trying to get my head around this, with my brain going a thousand miles an hour. The train pulled into Yogyakarta, a city of more than a million people. This is where she lived and was going to take me to meet her parents. The officer stayed on the train going north. The woman and I exited the train and I hailed a rickshaw. I asked the driver to take her home, I had a feeling she was as much a victim in this as I was. She looked very confused as the rickshaw began rolling and I walked away, I needed to be more careful on the trains.

The next day I spent the afternoon at the outdoor market. It was the size of a small town. I felt like I’d been dropped into A Raiders of the Lost Ark adventure. People from every culture presenting food, art and things I couldn’t identify were pulling on me to see their wares. It was like the monkeys in Bali, but weirder. I lost count of how many different languages I heard. The colors displayed were like a rainbow that didn’t know when to stop. The food looked more frightening than edible. there was no refrigeration and flies were everywhere. I decided to stick with fresh fruit.

A few days later I was back on the train, north to Jakarta, I decided to sit alone. Ahhh…

While I was in Jakarta there was a large military parade. Streets were blocked, tanks rolling and soldiers marching in formation. (When I left Australia, at the airport, I noticed the executive waiting area was open. I went in and there was a machine to make business cards. How could I resist. I made ten cards that said I was a photo journalist for the New York Times with offices in New York, London and Katmandu.} Back at the parade, I went to the VIP gate and flashed my business cards and camera. I was treated like a celebrity. Up on the bandstand shaking hands taking pictures. Even though I didn’t speak the language, everyone wanted their picture taken.

Jakarta was a strange city. The most populous city in the world with a massive homeless problem. Life there felt hollowed out, joyless. I decided to take the ferry across the South China Sea to Borneo. I went to the ferry terminal and like everything in Indonesia it was very crowded. I elbowed and fought my way through the crowd and almost made it to the gate but I was no match for the locals, The ferry was full and they closed the gate, I didn’t get on the ferry. I figured I’d try again in a few days when the ferry returned. I left and went sightseeing in Jakarta instead. The next day I learned the ferry sank and there were no survivors. A stark reminder of how precious every day is.

At this point, I decided against taking Indonesian ferries, so I went to the airport and caught a flight to Singapore. Ah, delicious fresh food, drinkable water and a good shower. A welcome change. Once I was cleaned up, fed and spent a few days exploring the city, I decided Singapore was too clean for me. Almost sterile, so off I went.

I arrived in Tokyo with the idea of visiting ancient Buddhist temples. I was not disappointed. The wooden temples I visited were more than 1,000 years old. Assembled with complex interlocking joinery and no nails. The skills and workmanship were magnificent. Then there was the fact that these temples were still in use. Approaching the temple I took my shoes off and bowed three times before I entered. The energy in the building was palpable. I felt like I had been carried back in time.

Wandering around Japan was difficult. I didn’t know any Japanese words and couldn’t use my translation book because the characters of the alphabet were indecipherable. One thing on my to do list was to have dinner at a high end Japanese restaurant. I got a recommendation from the hotel where I was staying and off I went. I was warmly greeted by someone at the door and taken to a table. It was very formal. I was handed a menu. Of course, it was all in Japanese. I assumed like most menus it started with appetizers so I pointed to the first thing in the menu and ordered that. The waiter was very confused. After many hand gestures I realized I’d ordered the maître d’. The waiter was very kind as he laughed all the way to the kitchen. Okay, I told myself, order something with a price next to it. So I ordered something from the middle of the menu. He took my order and in the appropriate time returned with a bento box. It was a large tray with plates all around and a bowl of what looked like broth in the center. I looked around the restaurant and saw the way they drank soup was to put the bowl to their mouth and drink. So I put the bowl to my mouth and began to drink. The waiter rushed up to me shaking his head. After many more hand gestures it became clear what I was drinking was a liquid meant to wash my hands in. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore…

At this point, I’d been traveling almost a year. It was an amazing adventure but it was time to return to the U.S. When I landed in San Francisco I was most struck by the fact that everyone around me was speaking english. It was good to be home.

01/13/2026

01/09/2026

Here are the notes from what we did in class today, "Therapeutic yoga for hips and shoulders", beginning our 'Move well' series.

Movement compensation patterns are below the level of awareness

Getting more range of motion is not the goal because that will not improve movement nor pain

Building movement in old habit patterns with compensations will give you more compensation

Focus on easy comfortable movement; tuning into the subtle feelings of the body

As you start to move better you free up energy for better movement. Remembering just because your range of motion is limited today, it does not mean it will always be limited!

1. Butterfly
start with feet in standing; want feet pointing forward, heels in line
place hands on hip crease and start to flex hip, feel the flexors contract
keeping hands on hip crease, moving from the hip joint move slowly in and out of butterfly.
How does the legs move in the socket?
notice any compensations, are the flexors or glutes engaging? any sensations in next or jaw? how’s the low back, the shoulder blades, knees, ankles or feet?

If you notice any sensations other than the external and internal thigh muscles then try moving half as far and half as fast. Notice any changes. If still noticing compensations then move half as fast and half as far from the previous reduction.

2. Butterfly with strap

3. Butterfly with block

4. Butterfly with both strap and block

5. Rest with hands on belly breathing with natural breath about 30 seconds to a minute

6. Explore Butterfly again and see if you notice any changes

7. With knees bent; feet in standing; hold a strap in hands about shoulders width, wider if it is more comfortable for the shoulders. Keeping the elbows straight, slowly raise the arms up and over to where arms are in line with ears, or as far as you comfortably can without compensation. No need to go all the way to the floor with hands.

If you notice any sensations such as in your neck, chest, ribs, back, jaw, knees low back, sacrum, knees, etc; then try moving half as far and half as fast. Notice any changes. If still noticing compensations then again move half as fast and half as far until only the primary movers are active.

8. Set strap aside and with fingers in ‘OK’ position (this keeps wrists not too firm or too soft)
hold hands above the area of the chest in a shape as if you are hugging a beach ball.
slowly move arms wide, moving from the shoulder joint. Noting that the elbows don't bend any further.

9. In the same arm position, internally and externally rotate arms. Moving from the shoulder joint, notice the elbows moving up and down.

10. With the arms in a more externally rotated position, (elbows lower) moving arms wide as above.

11. Rest hands on the ribs and breath easily, resting for a bit

12. With the strap at shoulder’s width, once more, explore taking the arms up and over to the level of the ears.

12. Repeat entire practice, each move 3 or 4 times. Practice daily the movements that most resonate with you and honor that

The initial focus is to start to notice and also notice what has changed. Is movement better? Or worse? Sometimes it’s worse before it gets better.

What change happened?

From here we can grow practice movements and do it in a way without strain or compensation patterns

01/07/2026

Yes! Stability first, then mobility, strength, and last is flexibility! The version of cobra we practice is perfect for strengthening the deep neck muscles and improving thoracic mobility. This helps to reduce the strain on the upper back and shoulder muscles and improve the head forward position.

Neck Stiffness?

A stiff neck is rarely just “tight muscles.”
Most of the time, it’s a lack of strength and control around the neck and upper back.

Constant stretching without stability can actually make things worse.

Here’s what actually helps 👇

1. Build deep neck strength
Your deep neck flexors help hold your head in a stacked, supported position.
When they’re weak, your neck stiffens up to create stability.

Start with:
• Supine chin nods
• Light holds, slow control
• No pushing, no forcing

2. Improve upper back support
Your neck doesn’t work alone.
If your upper back can’t extend or rotate well, your neck takes over.

Focus on:
• Thoracic extension work
• Controlled rotation
• Upper back strength, not just mobility

3. Reduce constant load, not movement
Neck stiffness often comes from hours of low-level tension (phones, screens, sitting).

What helps:
• Short movement breaks
• Changing positions often
• Light activation instead of aggressive stretching

4. Stability first. Stretching second.
Once your neck feels supported and strong, gentle stretching actually works better and lasts longer.

If you want a simple, step-by-step plan that:
• Builds neck strength safely
• Improves forward head posture
• Reduces stiffness without aggressive stretching
• Takes only a few minutes per day

👉 Comment “neck” and I’ll send you access to my 7-day neck posture reset.

01/05/2026

Bruce said there was a good response to his last post so he's sharing part 2 of a 3 part story...He has lived a bold and authentic life with amazing adventures. Enjoy!

Down Under:

Exhausted and jet lagged from the flight I walked out on the beach, climbed in my sleeping bag and fell right to sleep. I woke up with something dragging my sleeping bag (with me in it) across the sand. I’m thinking this can’t be good so I poked my head out of the bag. I was greeted by 6 wallabies. I didn’t know anything about wallabies, so I screamed at them with flailing arms and they took off.

Welcome to Townsville, Australia. A small sub-tropical beach town in Queensland. So there I was, I didn’t know a soul and had no idea what I was going to do. A perfect starting point.

When I’m somewhere new my way of getting oriented is to walk. I gathered my gear and began walking. I saw a woman sitting near the beach so I approached her to ask her about Townsville. As soon as I began to speak she looks at me and says, ”you’re a yank?” I said yes and she asked me to sit down. We talked for about an hour. It turns out she was filling out a job application as a camp counselor and invited me to apply as well. The next day I went to the office where they were taking applications. I ask for an application and the woman says, “you’re a yank.” Again, I said yes and she asked me if I play guitar. I said yes and she broke into a big smile. You’re perfect. We want the kids to meet people from other countries and music is a big part of our program. I was hired on the spot. For the record, the woman I met also got the job and we were both counselors at the children’s camp and became friends.

This camp was very different than what you might find in the U.S. It was on an island off the coast. It was for children ages 8-13 and was free, compliments of the Queensland Government. It brought together kids from all socio-economic backgrounds. 80 kids were supervised by 10 counselors. Every 6 weeks they rotated in a new batch of 80 kids. The camp included horseback riding, fishing boats, hiking, an obstacle course and a gathering hall for music and storytelling. Besides the counselors there was a full time chef and the head of the camp. It was a place where generations of local kids talked about that camp as being the best summer of their lives. As counselors we spent each day entertaining, cajoling, teasing and bonding with our respective 8 kids. It was as magical a time for us as counselors as it was for the kids.

In the evenings everyone gathered in the hall for music and storytelling. As the resident yank, I was the MC the DJ and one of the musicians in the band consisting of the counselors. The head of the camp was a Scotsman who was learning to play the banjo. In an earlier life I was the banjo player in a Bluegrass band and we quickly became good friends. It turns out the kids thought I was really cool because I was a yank…who knew?

A few weeks into our camp festivities the head counselor called me into his office. He’d just been accepted into a masters program in Scotland and had to leave immediately. I was appointed the new head of the camp. I’d landed about four weeks before and I was now the head of a children’s camp on an island off the coast of Australia. Didn’t see that one coming. The summer went by in a haze of being blissfully exhausted. Every 6 weeks we’d take a boat back to the mainland to return the kids to their parents with hugs all around. ‘Down Under’ the world was right-side-up.

When the summer ended, my friend/co-counselor Alan invited me to keep his guitar and suggested I play some of the coffee houses in town. I played a particular coffee house that I liked and was offered a job to play in an upscale dinner house. I played 4 nights a week, was paid pretty well, could have anything I wanted on the menu and drinks were on the house. I could work with that.

That went on for a couple of months when my friend Steve suggested we go on safari in the outback. So we loaded his all-terrain truck with enough gas cans to travel 1000 miles, rifles to live off the land and guitars for entertainment. Steve, his fiancee and I climbed in the truck and headed into the outback. No plan/no timeline. The outback was like no place I’d ever been. Sandy arroyos that look like they were formed by flash floods and months of dry weather. It reminded me of an old man’s weathered face. Deep creases in the earth with gum trees scattered about like an unshaven beard. Our protein consisted mostly of kangaroo meat, a bit gamey but an acquired taste as well as cans of vegetables. We played lots of music and slept under the stars. Life was good.

Steve’s future father-in-law owned a strip of beach a few miles south of Townsville. We went there to do some target practicing and Steve said, “you want to see something interesting?” So we walked down the beach to where a river flowed into the ocean. It was high tide. There was a 12 ft. aluminum skiff there so we climbed in and went up the river about 500 yards. He said, “now we wait.” Pretty soon this wide and deep spot in the river began to boil up with activity. What is that swimming around us? “Tiger sharks” he said, “now it gets good.” Pretty soon the activity in the water was furious. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Coming into the water from the banks were crocodiles, lots of them. They were fighting the sharks that were landlocked because the tide had gone out. The sharks were the size of our boat and the crocs were even larger. I said, “shouldn’t we get out of the water? “We can’t” he said, “snakes.”

Back in Townsville I was reflecting. I had been immersed in the world of Queensland, Australia for about 9 months. I’d met so many terrific people, but it wasn’t home. I decided it was time to make my way back to the U.S. by taking the long way home. Overland along the Pacific Rim to Japan.

But that’s a story for another time…

12/28/2025

Many of you know Bruce, my husband. He loves to write. Thought I'd share his latest...enjoy!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Apparently, I live in a land where dreams really do come true.

In 1974 I was 24 years old and my superpower was daydreaming. I was visiting my family in LA and I was daydreaming about buying a piece of property in far Northern California. Problem #1: I had $100 dollars to my name. Problem #2: It would cost me all my money to get to far Northern California. I consulted with my 18 year old sister. She was a very good sport and had an old VW square back. So off we went. With the seat down we could sleep in the back.

I talked to a realtor and found a remote 6 acre parcel for $6,000. We were in big tree country. The dense forest, the smells of pine and fir, the deafening silence of the forest completely filled my senses. It felt more like home than anywhere I’d ever been. The realtor watched and waited, with my best poker face I said I’ll take it. I’ll give you $50 in good faith money and I wanted a 90 day escrow. The seller agreed. I had 90 days to come up with $950 and the owner would carry the balance. Off we went back to LA, my sister was in disbelief, honestly so was I.

Back in LA I got a job in a leather shop in Venice Beach. My new boss had a sailboat docked in the marina that I could live on for free. 90 days later I closed escrow and was the proud owner of 6 acres in Trinity County. My boss layed me off, so I could get unemployment.

I pictured myself as a modern day Daniel Boone heading into the wilderness. So once again with $100 in my pocket I bought a used chainsaw and a large army surplus tent, climbed in my truck and headed north. I figured my $50 weekly unemployment check would keep me in food and I was off on my great adventure.

I spent the summer cutting trees and clearing a building site. I met someone in the area who cut and sold firewood. So we joined forces and with my new chainsaw skills I was in the business of selling firewood.

I was excited about the idea of building a small cabin. Having never built anything I bought a book, cleverly titled ‘How to Build a Log Cabin.’ So I drew a sketch of a log cabin and went to the county office to get a building permit. I proudly showed my drawing to Stacy, the building inspector and he laughed and kindly said it was not standard construction and would need to be signed off by an engineer (Full disclosure, I can be a bit of a smarty pants.) So I left, stood outside for a couple of minutes, and returned to his office. I told him I went to Southern Pacific but all the engineers were out on trains. He got a good laugh at that, sat me down and talked me out of the log cabin idea in favor of a traditional home. He also gave me a list of all the drawings required. I bought another book, this one cleverly titled ‘How to Draw House Plans.’ With plans approved I held in my hand a building permit. Back to problem #1 I still had no money. I decided each time I delivered a truckload of firewood to town I would return with cinder blocks in my truck. After a few months I had enough material to build the foundation.

Southern Trinity County had a Louisiana Pacific Lumber mill and I was told they were closing down and were going to demolish the mill housing. I spoke with the superintendent and he agreed to sell me a house for $1 but it had to be torn down and completely removed within 90 days. So I partnered with two friends and we each kicked in 33 cents, bought the house and proceeded to take it apart piece-by-piece. When we were done I had most of what I needed to build my cabin.

Over the next few months my off-the-grid 600 square foot cabin with a sleeping loft became a reality. Woohoo, I was indoors. As a homeowner I went to the bank to apply for a credit card. To my surprise, I got one. It had a limit of $1,500. I got a permit to add two bedrooms and bathroom to the cabin, even though I didn’t have running water or power. I blew through my newfound credit to buy the building materials and added the additional rooms. Now it was back to the bank. I wanted to get a mortgage on the house. I filled out all the paperwork on what was now my 2 bedroom 1 bath house and couldn’t believe they never asked me if I had water or power. They told me because of the remote location they would only finance to 50% of value and they loaned me $30,000. I took $10,000 paid off my credit card and put in a well, septic and had electricity brought to the house. I can honestly say, I didn’t miss my outhouse.

With $20,000 left over I went into town and bought a 4 unit apartment building with $10,000 down and a lot with 3 houses on it for another $10,000 down. As the rental units became vacant I fixed them up. After 6 years, at the ripe old age of 30, I owned my home and had 7 rentals.

I decided it was time for a new adventure. I found a property manager to take care of everything and moved to Australia.

But that’s a story for another time…

12/25/2025

Hope everyone is having a wonderful and peaceful holiday! We will meet for yoga tomorrow at 9:30. See you then.

12/25/2025

When you move into or out of any asana, begin the breathing first and then begin to move. This minimizes the possibility of an inadvertent conflict between movement and breathing and it maximizes the support that breathing extends to movement.

The most important benefit of this technique, however, is the effect it can have on our mind. You must practice it to understand how important it is. You will see that it is almost impossible to maintain the continuous mental focus required to ensure that the movement is always contained within breathing.

The nature of this technique ensures that it will not become mechanical. On the days when you are able to focus your mind well, you will see that there is considerably greater quietness and calm in your mind following your asana practice.

⭐️ Book link: Yoga Therapy: A Therapeutic Guide to Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness. See more at: https://geni.us/U4bU.
👉 The Svastha Yoga Therapy Training (IAYT accredited) offers comprehensive 300 and 800-hour programs, now available online. Explore more at: svastha.net/svastha-yoga-therapy-foundations/

12/07/2025

Here's a short video from Suzi Hately on pain in bridge pose...I'm excited about learning more bits of information like this to share in class next year. Subtle modifications make all the difference!

You might have told to engage your core before lifting your buttocks in bridge pose and have back pain in Bridge Pose. Let's talk about what most people miss...

11/30/2025

Christmas falls on a Thursday this year. Heather will lead class on Wednesday December 24th and I will be back for the class on the 26th. So, no changes in our December class schedule. Thank you Heather!

Starting in January I will begin our series on Ganesh's Domains of wellbeing. We will explore as much a we can in a group setting. This will be the third year offering these practices. If you're fairly new to yoga it will help you have a better understanding of what we do in class. If you've been practicing a while, hopefully, each time we practice these domains you'll maybe hear something you didn't hear before or have more 'aha moments'!

11/30/2025

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! Here is a link to a 3 minute video from Susi Hately. I'll be taking her workshop next year and hope to share more soon. Here, she is teaching 'pure range of motion'. So often we use 'helper' muscles instead of the main muscle movers to get into poses. This creates compensations and imbalances...which eventually can lead to pain. If you want to try this and don't have a theraband you can use a strap or belt.

Welcome to your Restore In (Less Than) 4 Have a question about movement, exercise and reducing/eradicating pain? Let us know below. What questions do you have about movement, exercises, and reducing/eradicating pain? Let us know below Δ