Harmony in Yoga Through Individualized Patterns of Movement. Having initiated yoga into the local area 20 years ago we at the Willow Tree are now surrounded by several yoga created opportunities. John suggests, “Starting with Gentle Yoga to develop skills in a safe enviroment and proceed safely from there.” John standard suggestion is to, “Go where the body wants to go, Not where the mind wants to force the body.

• Meditation meets each Tuesday at 10 AM
• Susan’s Thursday’s Yoga Class is at Noon
• John’s Chair Yoga continues Tuesday at Noon.

In Chair Yoga John has found a unique opportunity to focus on the spine. He calls it, “Rocking the Core.” This is not building the abdominal 6 pack. It is an opportunity to strengthen the muscles of each vertebrae for spinal support. The movements also increase spinal flexibility. John says, “develop the flexibility of the spine like a snake within the limitations of the human head, shoulder, ribs and hips.”

With John’s methods each vertebrae can be flexed which serves to maintain spine health, enhanced flexibility as it reduces any pain levels experienced. At the same time spinal strength is established and maintained. This serves to protect the spine even when injuries have resulted in physical limitations to the individual.

11 sessions for $50

Meditation allows you to enjoy the peace of present moment awareness.

When your mind is fully engaged in in the here and now, it’s not worrying about the future.  More than this, cultivating present moment awareness through meditation opens you up to the fullness life has to offer. This moment is the only place where happiness, love, and peace can truly be experienced.

$75/6 months. Home Study is Reasonable.

Tuesday Classes from 9:30-11:30 MST

Come in anytime and try a free guided meditation. This will allow one to experience the simple benefits of meditation in a stress free environment. 

To Sleep or to Meditate, That is the Question?

The Willow Tree has classes for Beginning Students as well as Advanced Students. We even have “Yoga in A Chair” for those who can’t or just don’t want to get down on the floor. It’s also a great stress reliever for those days when you spend so much time in a chair.

John is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. 

Through the practice of yoga, the body, mind and spirit are integrated. A sense of well-being, balance and flexibility is created. A state of balanced, free-flowing and expanded awareness is our goal. We want to establish a state of kindness and respect towards our bodies.

The foundation of yoga comes from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Patanjali was a scholar sage who lived in 200 or 300 BC. His manuscript is regarded as the highest authority on the subject of yoga. Our foundation stems from these same roots through meditation and asana.

In the Ayurvedic tradition, our existence has three levels:

• The physical body, which is divided into matter and energy;
• The subtle body, which is divided into mind, intellect and ego; and
• The casual body, which is divided into soul and spirit. Yoga is the unification of all of the levels. 

Exercises through practice guide us so we can have the experience of all. Yoga equals unity, which is the progressive settling down into the field of silence. A silence which is not overshadowed by the activity of the mind. It is our wish that yoga will bring control to your body and peace to your mind.

The movement of the breath mirrors the activity of the mind. The activity of the mind mirrors the movement of the breath. In our practice, we consciously link breath and body. It is the basis for our whole practice. A conscious process is established between breath and movement.

We become fully involved in our actions. Our attention is enhanced and we raise our consciousness. This stabilizes the mind and achieves a healthy body, allowing us to achieve our personal goals.

MEET JOHN

The Magic of Healing is an eight step exploration of mind-body medicine through Ayurvedic principles. The course has been created by Deepak Chopra, MD and David Simon, MD, of the Chopra Center, and is designed for people who have had little or no previous understanding of these concepts. Health is viewed as the dynamic integration of our body, mind, spirit and environment.

During this course you will investigate the nature of consciousness and its expression into emotions, thoughts, desires and actions. The choices we make in our daily life have a profound impact on our health. Attending this course will help you understand more clearly who you are, your true nature and how to create health and harmony in your life by balancing your mind, body, spirit and environment. During the course you will explore the essential components of life, which, when in harmony, create health and well-being.

Upon completion of this course, participants will have received a wealth of information, along with useful, tangible approaches to whole body wellness.

ALSO AVAILABLE, CREATING HEALTH

Creating health is a six lesson program designed and presented for the purpose of achieving physical, mental and spiritual well being through Ayurvedic principles. The program represents an integration between the principles of modern science and the insights from the world’s timeless wisdom traditions. By learning to listen to the inner message our bodies give us, and by becoming familiar with our unique and individualized responses, “Creating Health” provides an easily understood and exciting way to refocus our attention, and by doing so, discover new possibilities for enhancing health, happiness and spiritual unfolding.

This is an interactive course where your participation is welcome. It is truly an enlightening learning experience for all participants. Topics include nutrition, meditation, rejuvenation, emotional response, yoga and problem solving.

The eight lessons of Magic of Healing plus the six lessons of Creating Health are facilitated by a Magic of Healing/Creating Health educator, certified by Dr. Chopra. Each of the Magic of Healing lessons includes a video presentation by either Dr. Chopra or Dr. Simon. These classes can be received at The Chopra Center at La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California, or from Jane Dennell, RN of the Willow Tree.

The Magic of Healing, Creating Health, and Primordial Sound Meditation Seminars are perfectly designed to supply the individual with the tools to create a more positive and rewarding future. Get to know yourself as the dynamic individual you are. Sign up for courses with Jane & John, or the educator in your area. 

“To bring about behavioral change, prisoners who’ve been impacted by chronic interpersonal trauma most of their lives need to be met with dignity and understanding.”

“John Close is a humble, gentle, knowledgeable, radically eccentric teacher that walks like a saint. John was my first Yoga instructor and it warms my heart sincerely every time we meet. His perfect smile glows from within. This is an individual versed in the perennial experience of life and he carries the wisdom that breathes tangible wellness into the dark corners of the human condition. In a prison that feels like a brutal experiment I am thankful to be touched by such a wonderful teacher.”

Thank with heart,

Joshua

“I don’t know all the details of what John had to go through to bring Yoga into this prison, but I do know the bureaucracy of this prison. So I can say that he needed all the virtues of the Warrior-focus, resolve, courage, patience in huge quantities to bring Yoga into the prison. I am profoundly grateful.

The program he established here is suffused with those virtues and we who are fortunate enough to participate can’t help but absorb those virtues.”

Thank you John,

Steve Decker