Barn Yoga

Kaiut Yoga Online and in Person Classes in Boulder

Soniashnyk Means Sunflower in Ukrainian

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When we chose a sunflower theme for the Barn Yoga logo nearly five years ago, we had no idea that the sunflower was the national flower of Ukraine. Being Barn Yoga, it seemed only fitting to use an image which might be associated with a barn, but more importantly, those sunflowers standing tall, each one unique, but all reaching for the same sun, evoked in us feelings of hopefulness and joy. Those were feelings we had experienced in our own Kaiut Yoga practice, and were feelings that we wanted others to experience in their practice as well.
 
The sunflower (soniashnyk in Ukrainian) was also chosen by the people of Ukraine as their symbol of hopefulness and joy. And in these dark times for their country, the sunflower has become more important than ever, serving as a powerful reminder to keep reaching for the light even in the midst of great adversity.
 
We at Barn Yoga would like to lend our support to the people of Ukraine with whom we share this beautiful flower symbol. We will be donating a portion of our revenue this month to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
 
If you would like to make a donation yourself, please consider donating to the International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, or to a Ukrainian relief organization of your choice.
 
In this time of great uncertainty, we invite you to remember the unwavering hopefulness of the sunflower and to keep reaching for the light.

Meet Our Student – Brad Silsby

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Two and one-half years ago, at age 71, the back pain Brad had been living with for most of his adult life was getting worse.  Many everyday activities, longer car trips, and even the commute by bus from Boulder to Denver had become difficult.  An avid long-distance hiker, Brad found that he had to limit himself to shorter hikes because of his back issues.

At the encouragement of his daughter, Brad started coming to Barn Yoga classes twice a week.  The teachers supported him by providing many accommodations, including working from a chair, supporting his back leaning against a wall and adding extra bolsters when needed.  After just a few months of practice, Brad experienced modest but definite improvement.  Encouraged by his results, he invited his wife Angela to come to class with him and they have been coming to class together ever since.

Angela and Brad in Sukhasana

Last year, while spending the winter in Arizona, Brad was able to continue his yoga practice by coming to class online. He increased his attendance to three times per week which greatly accelerated his progress.  He found that he was able to move from needing to practice many poses seated in a chair to practicing almost entirely on the floor.

 

This year, now back again in Arizona for the winter, Brad is practicing Kaiut Yoga almost daily, and the results have been dramatic. His back is much more agile, and he is experiencing very little back pain.  He is able to go on six-mile hikes, his blood pressure has dropped to the point where he has been able to discontinue his blood pressure medication, and his sleep has improved.

      

Brad is also very excited to report that just within the past few weeks, he has been able to come down from a chair and practice 1/2 virasana on two bolsters!

1/2 Virasana!

Whether he is on his yoga mat or out and about in in the world, Brad  is committed to living by what he is learning from his Kaiut Yoga practice: engaging with his body from a place of greater kindness, applying sincere effort, but only when effort is needed,  backing off before sensations start to become aggressive, and resting when that is what his body needs.

These days, when he is hiking in the Arizona high desert, he has taken to stepping off of the trail from time to time to lie down and rest by the side of the trail, stopping not because he Is in pain, but rather to replenish and reset so that pain doesn’t even show up.

After two minutes lying on my back, everything relaxes…
it puts everything back together.


And after resting, Brad gets up and he carries on down the trail…

 

Life As It Is

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Life As It Is  

2022 was supposed to be the year when things got easier. While it’s only January, and we can still hope that there are better days ahead in 2022, right now there is a lot that feels just plain hard.

Amid all that life is delivering, we come to yoga class…and it usually feels pretty great. But however great it might feel, our practice of Kaiut Yoga doesn’t merely provide an hour of escape from the press of life. It actually affords something much more profound:  nothing short of a deep transformation of our bodies and our minds. Cultivating strength and flexibility in the body, calm and focused awareness in the mind, kindness and steadiness throughout, our practice educates us from the inside out to better meet the challenges of life off of the mat.

While we sincerely hope for those brighter days ahead, we can also take heart from knowing that our practice of Kaiut Yoga not only feels great, but is helping us to engage with greater ease with life as it is, however it is, in 2022 and beyond.

Meet Our Teacher – Sara Truitt

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When Sara first encountered Kaiut Yoga, she had been practicing yoga for a number of years, but had not found a yoga community in Boulder in which she felt fully safe and comfortable.  After just one Kaiut Yoga class, she knew she had found her yoga home.

I immediately fell in love; in the first class it was a yes.

She continued following that yes, taking more classes, and eventually enrolling in Francisco Kaiut’s teacher training, not with any intention of teaching, but simply to deepen her understanding of the method.  She began learning about all the many ways in which Kaiut Yoga was different from other approaches to yoga, in particular the ways in which it supported a kind, non-judgmental attitude:

I hadn’t realized that I had spent years judging myself in relation to my yoga teachers and in relation to other unspoken standards/expectations in the yoga world.

I would compare myself to the teacher who was modeling a pose and was always giving me the message that this is the full expression of the pose…That self-judgment affected my body image, the way I was perceiving my aging process, my weight, my physical abilities, how I was supposed to look as a woman, my clothing… I didn’t realize how much comparing myself to the teacher was impacting me.

When I took Kaiut Yoga classes, the instructors were rarely modeling shapes with their own bodies. There was every type of body in the room:   deeply practiced yogis, athletes, different body sizes, different ages, and that is the kind of community I want to be in and that is the kind of world I want to live in. [Read more…] about Meet Our Teacher – Sara Truitt

Kaiut Yoga Grand Reopening – New Location

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After more than a year of online only classes, Barn Yoga Boulder is reopening in a new location. All of our online classes will continue and we are once again able to offer in-person classes as well. To celebrate this momentous new beginning, we will be hosting a grand reopening event with a speical 90 minute Kaiut Yoga workshop: Going Deeper, in which we’ll explore in more depth some more familiar poses as well as some poses which don’t show up in our regular classes. We’ll have limited spots to attend in person so that we’ll all have plenty of space. Whether you are attending in person or online, stay after class for a drawing for a free one month unlimited membership, to connect with others, and for light refreshments if attending in person.

 

Note: To attend in-person events:
  • You must be at least 14 days post full vaccination against COVID-19
  • You must have no symptoms of illness
  • Masks are optional but not required
If you meet these criteria and would like to join us in person, sign up here.
If you do not meet these criteria, or if you prefer, you are welcome to join us for the event online.

 

Details:
Saturday June 5th, 9AM-11AM
3990 Broadway (above Lucky’s Bakehouse in north Boulder)