Beth Kaplan Yoga

06/05/2024

One of the joys of moving into a new (old) house is watching to see what comes up in the garden.

The other day a flash of red caught my eye: tangled in a thicket of forsythia that desperately needs pruning is a lovely old rosebush (that also needs pruning), with many buds. It was there the whole time, I just hadn’t noticed it.

We’re still unpacking, and painting, and finding our way around. The kittens are loving having more space to inhabit. And while I miss seeing DC friends and neighbors, I’m so grateful for technology that allows me to continue to teach yoga from wherever I am.

If you’re needing a little connection … or a little time to get quiet and move and breathe …. or wanting to be able to focus enough to notice what is right in front of you … yoga is good for that! Join me this week! Signup at bethkaplanyoga.com

And, I have two slots opening up later this month for private one-on-one yoga therapy. Curious? DM me, we’ll talk!

05/29/2024

Hi there! I just sent a wee video to folks on my email list. You can have it too, just pm me with your email address and I’ll add you to the list! You’ll get messages from me about yoga and life, resources about living with chronic pain, and links to free practices.

04/17/2024

Today, when I should have been packing, instead I went down a rabbit hole of looking at pictures on my phone from the Tregaron Conservancy. Tregaron is 13 acres of historic gardens, meadows, and trails, free and open to the public every day, and right in the middle of Washington, D.C.

Over the past 3 years I’ve had the good fortune to teach outdoor yoga classes there, and it’s been such a lovely experience.

So, to avoid packing, and because it felt important, I posted some memories and a bunch of photos on my blog. Lots of frogs, tadpoles, native plants, stonewalls, dogs, yoga classes.

Take a look, if you like that sort of thing!

https://bethkaplanyoga.com/blog/2024/4/17/im-going-to-miss-this-place

04/17/2024

Today, when I should have been packing, instead I went down a rabbit hole of looking at pictures on my phone from the Tregaron Conservancy. Tregaron is 13 acres of historic gardens, meadows, and trails, free and open to the public every day, and right in the middle of Washington, D.C.

Over the past 3 years I’ve had the good fortune to teach outdoor yoga classes there, and it’s been such a lovely experience.

So, to avoid packing, and because it felt important, I posted some memories and a bunch of photos on my blog. Lots of frogs, tadpoles, native plants, stonewalls, dogs, yoga classes. Take a look, if you like that sort of thing!

As we prepare to move from DC to Providence, Rhode Island, I’m thinking about some of the places I will miss. Today, when I should have been packing, instead I went down a rabbit hole of looking at my pictures from the Tregaron Conservancy. Over the past few years I’ve taken hundreds of pictures...

04/14/2024

Less is more, especially for folks dealing with hypermobility in all its forms.

Less is More with EDS / HSD.

We honestly don’t need to push, force, squeeze, work to fatigue, progress quickly, do multiple sets of one exercise, work harder than others or compare ourselves to others to be successful in movement & daily functional life.

There’s still some old school approaches out there for working with EDS / HSD. This invariably ends up with the patient being blamed when this old school approach doesn’t work out. The patients are told they are being lazy, not working hard enough, not doing their homework, not pushing through the pain, catastrophising their symptoms and so on.

The secret lies in doing less in our approach to movement. Less stress, less pain, less emotional strain. The secret lies in listening to patients. And really, deeply understanding how EDS responds to movement. Less is More every time.

I did a video to demonstrate my approach to working with EDS / HSD & Less is More a couple of years ago. Link in the comments.

Have a great relaxing Less Is More kind of day. See how it feels.

04/12/2024

What color should I paint the new yoga space??

03/13/2024

My father and I commiserated about our back pain for so many years. And we both found great relief in lying on the floor.

We even had some little jokes about it. I would call him when I got home from work and say, in an NPR-ish voice, “this is your daughter, reporting live from the floor, Washington, D.C.”

Or if I called and complained about my back he would urge me to “get horizontal” and then call back.

So I was reminded of this recently by an article in the New York Times called “Are you a ‘floor person’? Why lying on the ground feels so good,”which points to some interesting theories about what it is exactly about this that feels so beneficial. It also shares a few choice quotes from committed floor people, all of which hit home for me:

“It’s like going outside and sitting in the sun for a few minutes.”

“You don’t have to have a serene, natural environment. You just need the floor.”

“It’s like pressing the reset button for a second.”

Now, to be sure, lying on the floor is not for everyone. And for some, getting down to the floor and back up feels arduous at best, unsafe at worst.

I also know that the prospect of floor lying prevents some people from coming to a yoga class. (That’s why my thrice-weekly classes for the Cleveland Woodley Park Village are a mix of standing and chair sitting, i.e., no floor work, and my public zoom classes involve just one transition up to standing and one transition back down to the ground.)

That said — if you’d like to be able to come up and down with more confidence and more ease, let me know! I love helping people learn to master this set of maneuvers, which can also help mitigate the fear of falling.

Reporting from the floor, Washington, D.C.

03/13/2024

My father and I commiserated about our back pain for so many years. And we both found great relief in lying on the floor.

We even had some little jokes about it. I would call him when I got home from work and say, in an NPR-ish voice, “this is your daughter, reporting live from the floor, Washington, D.C.”

Or if I called and complained about my back he would urge me to “get horizontal” and then call back.

So I was reminded of this recently by an article in the New York Times (link in first comment) which points to some interesting theories about what it is exactly about lying on the floor that feels so beneficial. It also shares a few choice quotes from committed floor people, all of which hit home for me:

“It’s like going outside and sitting in the sun for a few minutes.”

“You don’t have to have a serene, natural environment. You just need the floor.”

“It’s like pressing the reset button for a second.”

Now, to be sure, lying on the floor is not for everyone. And for some, getting down to the floor and back up feels arduous at best, unsafe at worst.

I also know that the prospect of floor lying prevents some people from coming to a yoga class. (That’s why my thrice-weekly classes for the Cleveland Woodley Park Village are a mix of standing and chair sitting, i.e., no floor work. And that’s why my public zoom classes involves just one transition up from the floor and one transition back.)

That said — if you’d like to be able to come up and down with more confidence and more ease, let me know! I love working with people to learn to master this set of maneuvers, which can also help mitigate the fear of falling.

Reporting from the floor, Washington, D.C.

01/04/2024

It’s 2024, and, warranted or not, I’m feeling a touch of optimism.

The days are starting to get just a little bit longer.

My own back pain cleared up quite a bit this year, and even though it returns from time to time, it’s not constant and nowhere near as intense as it had been for a long, long time.

I’m learning SO MUCH in my yoga therapy training and loving working with private clients. (Let’s have a party when I complete my certification in March!)

I’m grateful for so much this year, and I’m grateful for all of you.

So tell me, how are you doing?

What could you use a little more of this year? What would you like to let go of?

What would help you do your work, whatever that may be, with the energy and focus it deserves?

Would some slow, mindful movement and breath help?

When we feel better in our bodies, EVERYTHING is so much better. And easier. And what I am learning, and what I am seeing, over and over again, is that it is possible to feel a lot better, no matter how old we are or what diagnoses or limitations we may be experiencing.

I invite you join me for a class or get in touch about booking a package of private sessions. (Sign up link above, or feel free to DM or email me.)

Wishing you all the best for 2024.

*****
Here's an old picture of me, by Emma Weiss Photo , with a picture of my mother, taken by my father, and some of my father's books.

12/28/2023

I’m kind of obsessed with movement therapist Jeannie Di Bon lately. Her approach to working with hypermobility and HSD/EDS is brilliant for the rest of us too. Take a look.