Collective Healing

November has always been a season of shifts. With the time change, the upcoming election, and life's uncertainties unsettling our nervous systems, I'm deeply grateful for the steady grounding of my inner practice.

Holding space for the highest good. The intention of practice in the context of the community. At Yoga Among Friends, our mission is to create a space where the community can flourish in kindness and feel a deep sense of belonging.

As a Sangha, we offer whatever we can to bring attention to how we can help ease the fear and tensions of suffering for each other. To create a safe environment where the air we breathe, the water we drink, the trees, and all of nature in the animal kingdom are nourished with the element of peace. We have to live deeply with each moment that is given to us.

The world now needs us to go inward, be mindful, and choose to extend the energy of genuine compassion. We must recognize that love alone is not enough; we must go deeper into understanding and accepting that everyone perceives life through their own lens. Each of us has unique experiences, even within the same family. This practice involves examining our own judgments and cultivating self-acceptance for the shadows within us.

Yoga is neither a self-help industry nor a form of psychoanalysis; it offers a gateway to self-awareness. It helps us recognize our struggles to see clearly, the anger that stems from our survival fears, and the importance of pausing and listening to choose a mindful response. Deep listening can be exhausting when our minds are filled with the noise of outer chaos.

Yoga Among Friends’ Teachers Weekend Retreat

At Yoga Among Friends, we aim to create a safe space for true relaxation—a place to set aside the ego’s drive to fix and instead cultivate a deep sense of ease and nourish genuine presence. In this community, we offer an inner retreat from the chaotic outer distractions. To feel the support of a community has been our full mission since opening in 1998.

Today, we move forward with renewed energy from our inspiring teachers, who are committed to providing enriching workshops and classes that practice these tools for healing collective hearts. In this season of darkness, we remain a beacon of light, raising the vibration for all.

In love and light,

Laura Jane

A New Season Begins

The season is changing as we move away from the heat of summer and into the cooling aspects of fall. The light shifts as the days get shorter, and I am embracing the dark again. My favorite time is to teach in the studio with the light of candles.

Even in the early morning, as I wake with gratitude, I light my candle and set the intention for the day. I do it physically before I begin my personal practice, and I create the awareness of my inner light turning on through my breath.

I begin each day by committing to living my day linked to listening and responding to life with mystery. To be able to cultivate the right thought as it moves into energy, not attached to feelings but to the desire to celebrate this day. The new day always offers the wonder and AWE of beginnings.

It has been a full ride of days leading us to this moment in time. I accept all the responsibilities of living fully with the passion of joy, even when doing the next hard thing. I am thrilled to continue teaching and offering my heart and soul to our community at Yoga Among Friends.

To grow and expand, I am thrilled to announce that the baton is being passed forward. My niece, Sara Shotsberger, will carry on the space as we begin to shift all my other roles. I need to let go of running the studio and managing the daily tasks.

She is a brilliant psychotherapist who brings the mind and body connection to her work as a trauma-based professional and registered yoga teacher. She genuinely embraces all health and wellness tools as we intend to expand into more of a healing center.  Under her creative tutelage, we will only grow and thrive with her passionate direction.  

So, nothing is changing for our students, and yet, for me, everything is possible in this transition. I can enjoy more time and space to teach and see the studio thrive with new beginnings. This new season is offering us an opportunity to expand, and for that, I am grateful. All our classes with our outstanding teachers will continue, and I can focus on sharing my teachings in classes and inspiring students in my private sessions.

This transition allows us to move forward through the integrity of our mission. We hold space for growing and expanding the higher vibration of healing. During these turbulent times of emotional confusion, we offer stability and a place to feel connected to our deeper selves. 

Enjoying the community and mentoring others is my joy, and I know we are only creating more opportunities for everyone to thrive. I am becoming more conscious that my enthusiasm is my superpower, and my laughter needs to be expressed in all my roles. I am welcoming new opportunities to create.

In the dark, we are planting new seeds as we nourish this season for the sweet spark of life unfolding. I am lighting the candle, and thank you for being the sustaining force of Yoga Among Friends.

As always if you have questions or would like to share some feedback, please leave a comment below or reach out to us via email.

Blessings,

Laura Jane

End of Summer Reset: Join Our Yoga Classes to Ease Back into Your Routine

It is September, and the back-to-school agenda begins again. Yes, it is time to ease back into our regular yoga practice on the mat. Life is exciting at YAF with our fall classes, workshops, and events.

The gift of our studio is the welcome each teacher extends and the safety of learning a new way of experiencing our health. I am so excited that we are also bringing other modalities to the studio, with Kim Eisendrath offering a series of myofascial flow workshops, starting Tuesday, September 3rd, with shoulders and neck. This is a great way to release all the tension we hold in the shoulders and neck—especially those of us who work on a computer day in and day out. And the following week, she will offer the myofascial flow for digestion. This is another fantastic workshop with an extraordinary teacher.

Please tell your friends and neighbors about our studio. We need to spread the word about how wonderful our teachers and classes are for all ages and genders. Yes, people still ask me if we offer classes for men and kids. Amazingly, the word “yoga” might lead to a bias about who can do yoga. We know it meets everyone where they are (men included)—especially our great class on Monday mornings, Yoga for EveryBODY. Our Yoga for Kids program (ages 7-12 years) will run on Wednesday afternoons starting September 4th.

A new weekly class, Mat Pilates, will allow our community to explore this alternative mind-body practice. Beginning September 17, the class will focus on strengthening core muscles with Donna Ohman on Tuesday mornings from 11:00 to 12:00.

Also, on September 17th, Jessica Gonsiorowski returns with another fantastic workshop on the therapeutic aspects of working with the feet and legs. Her knowledge of the foundation of our human bodies starts from the ground up.

Then, Donna Ohman returns for an event on Thursday, September 19th, on how to go deeper into alignment with proper props and assistance.

I am thrilled to welcome back Girish, who is returning on Monday night, September 23rd, with the magic of his live healing sound music as I teach a flowing practice leading into a profound savanna of deep relaxation. Then, the very next night, Tuesday, September 24th, he will share his breathwork and healing mantra workshop. We all need to take this time to move deeper into sound and use our voice to heal.

I have invited a wonderful Nashville teacher to share her brilliant understanding of the mystic in learning to listen to our inner voice through the tarot and use it in a yogic practice. She is a gifted yoga therapist who can take us out of chatter and help us to true something in our gut intuition. Listening to the tarot's tools will expand our insights into our healing journey. She is funny and insightful, and I highly recommend this wonderful workshop.

We are thrilled Kim will again offer her wonderful workshop, Yoga for Trauma, on September 29th. In it, we will explore the emotional body of our systems.

I am grateful that we continue our commitment to community and offer our students a place to gather and share these healing practices. It’s exciting that so much is happening this fall. Let’s enjoy this season as we return indoors and meet back on the mat.

Blessings of living large, and let us stay on the path of loving-kindness.

Blessings,
Laura Jane

P.S. Keep checking our website and schedule for all our ongoing classes. Watch for a new Restorative Yoga class with a new teacher starting in October on Saturday mornings at 11:00 am. Finally, I will be starting a new meditation series in October as well.

I’m off to Spain to teach our fall retreat this week. Keep your eyes open for when we post about my next big European retreat, coming in October 2025. I will launch that trip to the mystical ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey.

Also, if there is a class or workshop that we don’t offer currently but you’d like us to consider, please drop us a suggestion or leave a comment below. We welcome all feedback about our current offerings and suggestions for new ones.