– WORKSHOPS –
Zoom links for online classes will be sent to you close to the Workshop date.
Yoga Functional Anatomy
with Sandy Zirulnik
10-WEEK SERIES
Mondays, Sept. 8 - Nov. 10 | 5:45 - 7:15 pm
$350 for series
I invite you to join me in a spirit of curiosity, exploration, and collaboration as we consider what we can feel and what we can see as it applies to human anatomy relative to yoga practice.
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This course presents engaging and appropriate learning, whether anatomy is part of your daily life or you haven’t taken a science course since middle school.
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We will learn elements to immediately deepen yoga practice.
The 10 weekly sessions will include a combination of presentation, discussion, and anatomy topics coordinated with and preparatory to specific asana teachings related to future modules of The Yoga Room’s Advanced Studies Program. This includes physical landmarks, bones and joints/muscles/soft tissue, and movement practice relevant to families of asanas such as back bends, forward folds, and twists.
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Sandy Zirulnik, E-RYT 500, YACEP, leads yoga classes that explore structure, movement, strength, and balance through the practice of asanas, breathing awareness, and the study of anatomy. Classes are enjoyable and appropriate for students of all ages and interests. Sandy worked in healthcare administration for nine years, during which time he designed several anatomy training programs for allied health workers. He also teaches anatomy and physiology courses for Yoga Advanced Studies programs. Sandy began studying Yoga in 1998 and graduated from The Yoga Room’s Advanced Studies Program.
ADVANCED STUDIES CLASS
Practice of Standing Poses
with Betsy Weiss
Tuesdays, Nov. 4 - Dec. 16 | 5:45 - 7:15 pm
7 classes / $224
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The standing poses strengthen the legs, improve the mobility of the hip joints, and create a firm and steady base for the elongation of the spine. In this course, we will explore proper alignment, sequencing of poses, and the use of props.
One year of yoga experience needed. This class can be taken for Advanced Studies Program Credit or for your own personal learning.
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Betsy Weiss has been practicing yoga since 1988 and teaching since 1994. She graduated from the Berkeley Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program in 1996. Her primary instructors have been Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin, Gay White, and Judith Lasater. Betsy has run two yoga studios in Alameda where she is also an elementary school teacher. She believes that yoga is an antidote to our busy lives and finds great joy in assisting other people on their quest for self-awareness through teaching yoga.
Sound Bath Meditation
with Carol Jean Patterson and Rachel Michaelsen
Saturday, Nov. 15 | 5:00 - 6:30 pm
$25​​
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Nurturing your heart is a vital act of self-care that has profound benefits for your well-being. Please join Carol and Rachel in nurturing your heart with a guided meditation and “bathing” in Carol’s vocal healing sounds and Rachel’s sound healing instruments. Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Alameda County Community Food Bank to nurture bodies throughout the County.
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Carol Jean Patterson is a certified Soul Voice Practitioner in the Soul Voice method developed by Karina Schelde (see www.SoulVoice.net). Carol is a 2011 graduate of the Yoga Room Teacher training and in a previous life was a yoga teacher, a metaphysical minister and a social worker.
Rachel Michaelsen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Diplomat in Comprehensive Energy Psychology. She uses energy and sound in her work healing emotional issues. She also provides a free, weekly, online Energy and Sound Healing Gatherings. For more information: www.rachelmichaelsen.com
Honoring Hallowed Eve*and El Día de Los Muertos:
Exploring our Deep Somatic Connections to Mother Earth and the Ancestors
A Feldenkrais-informed, DeepConnections Somatic Practice, ® Workshop
with A. Ifátólú Gardner, MD, MPH, PhD
Sunday, Nov. 16 | 1:30 - 3:30 pm
$50 ​​
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In this workshop we will explore the rich resonance between Mother Earth’s body and our own, focusing particular attention on their shared qualities as sentient vessels that hold, are informed by, & give expression to varied forms of Ancestral Presence (“the Ancestors”). The main body of this workshop is composed of two complementary sections, and ends with a discussion/Q& A, sharing our experiences and inquiries. Main Body of the workshop: resting comfortably on the floor, atop blankets (& any other support/s) with your eyes gently closed. • An opening meditation: guiding you to playfully, with wonder & curiosity, direct your awareness and attention to Mother Earth’s vibrant presence; how she ‘has your back’ – holding, carrying, & protecting you; and the resonance between her deep core and your root chakra, lower dan tien, idi/inu t’o jinle : (subtle body) center of creative and procreative power. • a series of delicate, gentle, simple movement patterns: exploring how to move with greater ease, supported by your bones and your breathing. Noticing how these ‘choreographies’ clarify more of your skeletal self and connections – within your entire body-being and to Ancestral Presence. And how the Ancestors support & protect your being & moving in the world.
**Please feel free to bring a photo or token of a valued Ancestor to the workshop. Any Ancestor you treasure - biological, from your chosen personal practice, etc - or from a place/culture that is special to you. We will create a communal space honoring our Ancestors, prior to the opening meditation.
* Allhallowtide, the Western Christian season- from late Oct thru mid Nov.- to remember & honor the dead
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A. Ifátólú Gardner, MD, MPH, PhD is a healer (MD/more >40 years), Yorùbá priestess & spiritual teacher (>30 years), Feldenkrais practitioner (~15 years). DeepConnections Somatic Practice® is Ifátólú’s unique creation and interweaves fundamental aspects of Yorùbá spiritual practice, Dunham technique, Qi Gong, & Yoga into the structure of Feldenkrais lessons. DeepConnections Somatic Practice is a path for more richly experiencing your fundamental rootedness in, & resonance with, Mother Earth. This opens the way for deeper somatic awareness and spiritual awakening & greater ease in yourself/life, enabling you to contribute more fully – in & through your being - to healing the “broken calabash of the world” (spiritual and social justice).
Extended Yoga Practice
with Luisa
Friday, Dec. 5 | 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm
$25
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In this extended class, we will explore the power of gentleness in a deep Yoga practice. The balance between strength and flexibility is emphasised. The intelligence of using props has been taught by teachers at The Yoga Room will be shared. Most importantly, this practice will invite you to feel inside of yourself to find your inner teacher and your own asanas.
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Luisa is a student of Mary Lou Weprin and later Gay White since 2016. She graduated from the Advance Study Program at The Yoga Room in 2019. As a licensed psychotherapist in California, she has worked with countless clients and herself, and knows first hand how an embodied Hatha Yoga practice is essential to the wellbeing of mind, body and spirit.
Asana, Meditation and Art Journaling
with Luisa
Friday, Dec. 12 | 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
$30
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One of B.K.S. Iyengar’s biggest contribution to the world is that he makes Yoga practice accessible to everybody by creatively and scientifically using props. Since then, Yoga is no longer a practice that only extremely talented yogis can benefit from. Iyengar is an artist. I have never heard of anyone who doesn't like to play with art supplies, being in the creative flow and uniquely expressing themselves artistically, except for those who had been critically judged, shamed, or dismissed. What if everyone can claim our artistic sides back, enjoy and benefit from expressive art regardless where we are in terms of our artistic skill levels? What if we let the process of doing art take us to a deeper knowing of ourselves? Or, can it be just for fun? These are what I hope participants will experience by the end of the practice. The class Asana, Meditation and Art Journaling is about cultivating a state of being, where body, mind and spirit are in alignment. One of my teachers, Joseph Satlak whispered into our ears after a few days of intensive Yoga practice, “mind~ dear mind… come with me~” In that moment, our bodies were spacious and still, so ready to welcome our minds and souls to breathe together in the absolute presence. In this class, we will start with a mindful Asana practice, follow with a meditation, and end with art journaling. Come join me: to create and play!
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Luisa is a yogi, a healer and a process artist. She believes that being embodied, emotionally intelligent and creative are essential dimensions of being fully human, which is often the best we can do.
Celebrating Winter Solstice in Yogic Practice
with Kalima Rose
Sunday, Dec. 21 | 12:30 - 3:00 pm
$50 (in person)​​
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Aligning yoga practice with the rhythms of the season can prepare us for the upcoming season, allow us to shed what no longer serves us, set intentions for the coming months, consciously center ourselves in our breath and asana practice and celebrate the beauty of earth and celestial movements. The Winter Solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky, casting the longest shadows, marking the longest night of the year and heralding the return of the Sun. This workshop will bring a ritual sense of focus on quiet, restful breath; time for written reflection and intention setting; and a supportive asana practice built around folding inward to the shelter of long nights and the restorative darkness that prepares us for the hope, renewal, and promise of new beginnings.
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Kalima Rose, a student and teacher in the BKS Iyengar and The Yoga Room lineage, will lead the workshop–bringing an orientation to the rhythms of seasons, the beauty of nature and the wisdom of poetic expression.
– INTENSIVES –
THANKSGIVING INTENSIVE 2025
with Mary Lou Weprin
Friday, Nov. 28 — Sunday, Nov. 30
Friday: 10 am—noon and 2–4 pm
Saturday: 10 am—noon and 2–4 pm
Sunday: 9:30 am—noon
$180 for full series; $152 for 4 classes. $120 for 3 classes; $84 for 2 classes
(In-person and on Zoom.)
There are a limited number of in-person spots. Please contact Mary Lou at mweprin@comcast.net for space.
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Join us for a 3-day Thanksgiving Yoga Intensive. Mornings will be devoted to more dynamic asanas, such as Standing Poses and Backbends. Afternoon Practices will focus on Inversions, Forward Bends and Restoratives. This Intensive is for Level 2–4 and 3–5 students.
NOTE: Participants must register for 2 or more classes. Please indicate which classes you wish to attend on the
Registration form.
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Mary Lou Weprin has taught at The Yoga Room for over 40 years and enjoys supporting the practice community
In its endeavors.
