Equipose Yoga Studio

10/21/2025

All Levels Flow with Wes is cancelled for tonight!

10/20/2025

Please note that Lee's classes are cancelled Oct. 20-27. Wes's All Levels Flow classes will meet as scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday at 6. THE NEXT BALL THERAPY CLASS IS NOV. 1st.

Dear Yogis:

Before discussing "dead volume," a few cautions about mouth breathing. As convenient as mouth breathing is, it is not as efficient as the nasal passages. Mouth breathing invites a shallow breath, requires more energy than nasal breathing, and creates sympathetic response or fight or flight. Because mouth breathers rely on neck and chest muscles, overuse in these muscles occurs resulting in stiffness and fatigue. In addition, mouth breathing dries out the gums and tongue allowing bacteria harmful to the teeth to develop.

So, what is "dead volume"? This refers to the left-over breath suspended in the upper chambers of the lungs. We know that we process 6000 liters of breath in and out of the lungs every day, but not all of the gases are released in one breath cycle. The result is that each successive inhale is mixed with the remains of the previous exhalation. This adds up to a reservoir of deoxygenated "dead air" polluting the top of the lungs.

When we are sleeping or at rest, we do not need to use the full lung volume, so the upper portions of the lungs become a reserve space for emergencies or activities that require more oxygen. But, these reserve spaces in the upper portion of the lungs must be activated to keep them strong so those areas can be mobilized to force more blood to move through all the tissues of the lungs picking up oxygen while dropping off CO2.

To refresh the upper portions of the lungs, practice inversions which saturate lung tissues with oxygen-rich blood. Also practice "The Dead Volume Refresher" breathing. First, observe your relaxed, passive breath and the diaphragm's natural contraction as it descends. Then observe your natural exhale as the diaphragm relaxes and floats up. When the exhale ends, squeeze out a gentle last puff of exhale and return to your passive breathing and observation. Try to practice this for 3-5 minutes. If you find your abdominals are seizing on your exhale, you are pushing your second puff of exhale too hard. Make this a breathing meditation!

Miller, Jill. Body by Breath (Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc., 2023, 109-110.

SUNDAY:
10AM Yin Yoga
MONDAY:
10:00AM
4:30PM Vinyasa Flow Yoga
TUESDAY:
Lunch Break Yoga, All Levels, 1 hr at noon
6:00-7:30PM Flow with Wes
WEDNESDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow
5:30PM Yin Yoga [ZOOM + IN-STUDIO]
THURSDAY:
5:30 Yin [ZOOM only}
6-7:30pm All Levels Flow with Wes
FRIDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow Yoga

No need to register for classes—just come! Drop-ins are $20, and you can purchase class passes

https://equiposeyoga.com/classes-props

10/13/2025

The human body has an incredible ability to regenerate. From your skin renewing itself every 28 days to the brain repairing itself over the course of years, each organ has its own timeline for regeneration. The heart, for example, regenerates about every 4.5 to 5 years, while muscle tissue takes 4-8 weeks to heal.

Understanding your body’s regenerative abilities can help you take better care of it. Whether you’re recovering from an injury or just trying to maintain your health, regular exercise and a nutrient-rich diet support these natural regeneration processes. Even your liver regenerates in just one year, showing just how resilient the body is when given the right tools.

Make sure you’re nourishing your organs with vitamins, hydration, and rest to help them regenerate effectively. Your body is capable of amazing things—help it achieve its full potential. 💪🌱

10/13/2025

Dear Yogis:

In 1904 Christain Bohr, a Danish scientist, explained what is now recognized as The Bohr Effect: The presence of higher levels of CO2 and an acidic environment, allow the hemoglobin (the protein in your red blood cells that carries O2 to your organs and tissues and transports CO2 from the organs and tissues back to your lungs) to more easily release O2 molecules picked up in the lungs while traveling through the bloodstream. To simplify, it's the acidity or alkalinity in your blood that allows for efficient cellular respiration to happen.

The body uses chemosensors or nerve endings that read the chemistry of the blood to alert that brain stem that our pH has dropped below normal range and too much CO2 has accumulated in the blood.
This alert ignites your brain's gasp reflex to deliver a CONTRACT NOW message through the phrenic nerve in the diaphragm. That nerve contracts, draws air in and then its relaxation with the exhale shuts all the excess CO2 out of the body resulting in homeostasis. The inhale is the body's way of guaranteeing an exhale that can help it maintain blood gases in a healthy range.

You have probably heard breathe deeply to get more O2; inflate your lungs to soak up O2 as much as possible and feed your cells with O2-all with obvious bias " the more oxygen, the better." In 2003, Dr. Roger Cole, PhD, a sleep scientist and yoga teacher, wrote that "Pranayamas are designed NOT to increase your O2 levels because those stay fairly constant but to increase your capacity to tolerate CO2." He showed that higher CO2 levels help us induce the relaxation response and improve our parasympathetic capacity.

Miller, Jill. Body by Breath (Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc., 2023, 98-99.

Please note that Lee's classes are cancelled Oct. 20-27. Wes's classes will meet as scheduled.

Regular Class Schedule

SUNDAY:
10AM Yin Yoga
MONDAY:
10:00AM
4:30PM Vinyasa Flow Yoga
TUESDAY:
NOON Lunch Break Yoga,All Levels,1 hr
6:00-7:30PM All Levels Flow with Wes
WEDNESDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow
5:30PM Yin Yoga [ZOOM + IN-STUDIO]
THURSDAY:
5:30 Yin [ZOOM only}
6-7:30pm All Levels Flow with Wes
FRIDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow Yoga

No need to register for classes—just come! Drop-ins are $20, and you can purchase class passes.

https://equiposeyoga.com/classes-props

10/08/2025

REMINDER: Lee will be out of town October 20-27. Wes’s classes will still meet as scheduled. Join him for All Levels Flow, at 6p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.🕉️

10/08/2025

Dear Yogis:

When the longest nerve in your body, the vagus nerve, is able to do its job of providing equilibrium after any stimulating event, everything is fine in the gut, also called the enteric system. But, if you are stuck in worry, fear, emotional upset, or chronic stress, that nerve will trigger irregularities in the gut and digestion is the first to change. Micheal Gershon's groundbreaking work, The Second Brain, revealed that nerve connections and the immune system might allow diseases in the gut to spread to the brain via the gut-brain axis. The gut and the brain are in constant communication!

Further, if your innards are unhappy or inflamed, the brain tries to send messages to the gut to correct the problem and right the digestive course by increasing or decreasing elimination. Sometimes the vagus nerve overresponds and totally wreaks havoc. Those who suffer from IBS or constipation can relate.

The exercise this week is designed to help with these very common digestive problems. You will need your Coregeous Ball or other large soft rubber ball. This is a meditation on your gut feelings which allows you to listen to the voices and messages from your organs that might be depleted from overeating, undereating, or just poor eating. This practice will help you adjust your stress levels and avoid an antacid or laxative.

The Practice: Roll onto your side and place the ball directly underneath the side of your abdomen so that your belly can be fully propped on top of the ball. The ball should gently traction your abdomen outward and away from the spine. Place your right hand on top of the right side of your abdomen and gently coax your innards to "spell forward" and rest on the ball. Breathe slowly and deeply into your gut and into the ball. After 5 minutes, switch sides and repeat. Then REST. This works!!!!

Miller, Jill. Body by Breath (Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc., 2023, 85,87.
Rao, M. and M.D. Gershon, "The Bowel and Beyond: The Enteric Nervous System in Neurological Disorders."

Regular Class Schedule

SUNDAY:
10AM Yin Yoga
MONDAY:
10:00AM
4:30PM Vinyasa Flow Yoga
TUESDAY:
12:00PM Lunch BreakYoga,All Levels,1 hr 6:00-7:30PM All Levels Flow with Wes
WEDNESDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow
5:30PM Yin Yoga [ZOOM + IN-STUDIO]
THURSDAY:
5:30 Yin [ZOOM only}
6-7:30pm All Levels Flow with Wes
FRIDAY:
10AM Vinyasa Flow Yoga

No need to register for classes—just come! Drop-ins are $20, and you can purchase class passes here.

https://equiposeyoga.com/classes-props

10/06/2025

10/02/2025