Winter-Spring 2014 Youth Flamenco & Yoga Classes with Eve Costarelli

Winter-Spring 2014 Youth Flamenco & Yoga Classes with Eve Costarelli

Mondays:
Youth Yoga (Ages 8+)
4:30-5:30PM
Open Spirit, 39 Edwards St., Framingham, MA 
Wednesdays:
Youth Flamenco (Ages 5-16)
4:00-5:00PM (Ages 5-10) Level 1
5:00-6:00PM (Ages 11-16) Level 2
Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA 
Thursdays:
Youth Yoga (Ages 8-14)
3:00-4:00PM (please call to inquire 617-566-9642)
DownUnder Yoga, 1052 Beacon St., Brookline 
Youth Flamenco (ages 4-12)
4:30-5:15PM (Ages 4-7)
5:15-6:15PM (Ages 8-12)
*Brookline Location TBD; please call or email to inquire: 617-5216-1643; AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com

• Bring The Birth of Flamenco to your school or community event. Discover the fiery art of Flamenco, a creation of the Roma (or Gypsies) who fused dance from Spaniards, music from the Moors and song from Sephardic Jews. Through movement, music and words, Eve Costarelli traces the origins of this emotive form from India to Andalusia. In addition to Flamenco’s rich history, students will learn about compás (rhythm) tacaneo (footwork) and the communication between dancer and guitarist. They’ll join in the performance using palmas (clapping rhythms) and jaleo (calls) and volunteers will be called upon to learn a few moves!
  
  Please contact Jason Rabin at Young Audiences of Massachusetts for more information and scheduling questions. Workshops available. scheduling@yamass.org or call 617-629-9262 
• Eve is available for private/semi private/ family lessons, birthday parties for all ages, performances.

Contact Eve Costarelli 617-216-1643 or AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com; www.AlwaysBeDancing.com

Breath Easy Through The Season: And above all dance flamenco!

Thanksgiving is surely a time to be thankful for all the good graces that are in our lives, but truth be told it can also be a stressful time. All ages, kids to adult, have to combat overeating, stress, sadness, lack of exercise and imbalance.

I like to make sure my students have a few good things  in their tool box of way to cope with these feelings.

Remember if things do get stressful:

1. Breath: inhale though your nose and out through your nose. Try to elongate the exhale to calm you.

2. Do a simple inversion: forward bends, which can be done leaning forward onto a chair if the floor is just too far away. Yoga poses like forward bend and downward facing dog raise your blood pressure enough to trigger the body's natural calming mechanisms (do not do inversions if you have high blood pressure-the best thing here to do would be to sit and rest your head on a table).

3. Do heart opening poses to combat depression: cobra, bridge, bow, wheel, locust, fish, camel. Simply you can sit on a chair, place your hands by your sides, lift up your chest and feel you back arching up.

4. You can tame feelings of fear and instability by doing twists, hip openers and side bends. These will help balance your emotions: butterfly, child's pose, 1/2 lord of the fishes, simple lying twist and dimple seated twist (on the floor or in a chair).

5. DANCE FLAMENCO! Above all let your hearts be free, it will help you digest your food and you will feel great!

Here is a past post of mine called "Smell The Roses In Your Poses" 

http://alwaysbdancing.blogspot.com/2012/11/smell-roses-in-your-poses-thanksgiving.html

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

¡Ole! ¡Namaste!

Youth Yoga for Grades 5-8 With Eve Costarelli

    Youth Yoga for Grades 5-8

         With Eve Costarelli

Yoga is the perfect complement to a child’s busy academic and extracurricular life as it nurtures calmness, focus and balance.  We keep it fun and upbeat in a non-competitive atmosphere while exploring yoga poses, philosophy, breath work and meditation as well as journaling. This class promotes self-esteem, confidence, body awareness, concentration, relaxation, and friendliness. We learn to not only practice yoga on our mat but also how to bring these skills off the mat and into the world.

               Tuesdays 4:00-5:00 PM

 February 26-April 2^nd, 2013

          $80.00

     Reserve your spot online or in studio

               www.SpiritBearPowerYoga.com/workshops

            9 Main Street, Natick, MA

                  508-655-YOGA (9642) 

How many ways can we sit in yoga?

This afternoon's youth yoga for grades 5-8 was so much fun. Really! I had the kids sitting still, focusing on their yoga, relaxing. The hubbub seemed to just come to an end!

We placed our five mats out in a ray pattern. One block per students. We began seated or lying down on our mats. Our voices were kept low and staying on the mat was a must. I asked everyone to sit. I did not specify how they should sit; they just needed to sit. Looking around, I noticed everyone was "sitting" a different way. So I posed the question..."How many ways can we think of to "sit" in yoga?" Look at yourself right now. One by one, we noticed how we were sitting and saw the yoga poses that they were.

We did:
1. Easy Pose (making sure our feet were under our knees)
2. Frog Pose (like a beginner turtle pose. Seated, knees bent, feet flat on floor, arms reaching to floor between legs)
3. Lotus (trying a quick lift and balance here)
4. Butterfly
5. Bharadvajavasana I (carefully twisting in both directions  but making sure our shoulders stayed in alignment and to not allow are arms to move without the shoulder girdle)
6. Squat/Garland Pose
7. Staff Pose

I then had them all lie down on their mats using a block, in low position, as a pillow. Chins dropped slightly. Focusing, their attention being drawn inward. Noticing sensations. And suddenly all the electricity went out. I don't mean in the building, but in their bodies. Shut down. Calm. Relaxed. Breathing. All of a sudden a deep sense of stillness entered the room and it settled down on us. We stayed here for a good five minutes. IN silence, listening to the ticking of the heaters.

To bring back sensation, we began noticing our breath in our nostrils and deciding which side was breathing more strongly. Notice if you are breathing through both nostrils? Mentally can you take your breath in through the right and out the left and then reverse?

Coming up to stand...Posing the question, "How many ways can we stand in yoga?"

We did:
1. Mountain Pose (feeling the triad of the big tow, little toe and center of heel)
2. Up-Mountain Pose
3. Chair Pose
4. Skiers Pose (belly on deeply bent legs, but they do not drop below the bottom)
5. Bent knee forward bend (hands on floor, let head drop, like a standing deep child's pose)
6. Bent knee chest lift (stay with legs bent, but lift collar bones and roll shoulders back)
7. Standing forward bend, legs bent enough to support the torso on the thighs (standing child's pose)
8. Airplane
9. Goddess Squat
10. Dancer's Pose
11. Tree Pose
12. Triangle Pose

Now a mini Savasana. Noticing which nostril was breathing more strongly, we rolled to that side and sat up.

Today we began our yoga journals. I brought B.K.S. Iyengar "Light on Yoga"; B.K.S. Inyengar "Yoga The Path To Holistic Health"; Baron Baptiste " My Daddy Is A Pretzel" book and card deck; Marsha Wenig "Yoga Kids". We looked for all the poses we had done today and started to draw them in our journals writing an English translation for the pose, plus the Sanskrit. I wanted to help the kids have a visual to help them understand their bodies in space in these poses.

I will keep the journals at the center ad every week we will add a new section. We will continue drawing and naming poses, but we will also collage, to make dream boards, work with affirmations, and delve into the Yamas (the restraints of yoga: Ahimsa (non-harming); Sateya (non-lying); Asteya (non-stealing); Bramacharya (of Brahma); Aparigraha (non-hoarding)) and ideas of how to practice yoga off the mat.

2013 Classes with Eve Costarelli: Youth Yoga, Youth Flamenco; Adult/Teen Flamenco: Sevillanas; Tap Dance for all ages

2013 Classes with Eve Costarelli: Youth Yoga, Youth Flamenco; Adult/Teen Flamenco: Sevillanas; Tap Dance for all ages

Mondays @ Open Spirit, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA

4:30-5:30PM Youth Yoga for grades 5-12

6:00-7:30PM Veteran’s Yoga (co-taught with Michael Thomas)

Tuesdays @ Spirit Bear Power Yoga, 19 Main Street, Natick, MA

4:00-5:00PM Youth Yoga for grades 5-12

Tuesdays @ Dancing Arts Center, 9 Whitney Street, Holliston, MA

6:00-7:00PM Youth Tap (ages 6-10)

7:00-8:00PM Teen Tap (ages 11+)

8:00-9:00PM Adult Tap

Wednesdays @ the Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

4:00-5:00PM Youth Flamenco 1 (ages 6-10)

5:00-6:00PM Youth Flamenco 2 (ages 11+)

Fridays @ Open Spirit, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA

10:00-11:15 Adult/Teen Flamenco: 8-week Sevillanas Series (Welcoming home schoolers ages 11+) Session January 11, 2013-March 28, 2013

For more information, please contact Eve Costarelli AlwaysBDancing@gmail.com or 617-216-1643.

Flamenco and Yoga Classes with Eve Costarelli Update:

Flamenco and Yoga Classes Update:

Saturday October 13, 2012 @ Framingham Main Library, 49 Lexington St., Framingham, MA 01702 · 508-532-5570

Family Yoga (Costin Room, All yogis ages 5 and up welcome)                                                         Bring your whole family to yoga and practice together! Family Yoga includes postures, breathing techniques and meditation for the whole family, including age-appropriate variations to accommodate all of the students in the class. Bring anyone you love and have fun! This is a free event

Looking ahead to the week 10/15/2012-10/21/2012

Monday 10/15/2012 @ Open Spirit at Edwards Church, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA:

·       Family Yoga 3:30-4:30PM

·       Yoga for the Young Athlete and All Ambitious Kids 4:30-5:30PM

·       Veterans Yoga 6:00-7:30PM

Wednesday 10/17/2012 @ the Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA

·       Youth Flamenco (Beginner) Ages 6-9 4:00-5:00PM

·       Youth Flamenco (Intermediate) Ages 9-16 5:00-6:00PM

Friday 10/19/2012 @ Open Spirit at Edwards Church, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA:

·       Adult/Teen Flamenco Ages 12+ 10:00-11:15AM*

(October Special for this class: 1^st time 8- class card buyers receive an extra 10% off the already discounted price: $20/ Drop-in; 8-Class card/$128. With October discount: $115.20)

Saturday 10/20/2012 @ National Heritage Museum, Maxwell Auditorium, Lexington, MA

·       World on Stage Presents: A Palo Seco Flamenco

http://worldonstage.com/a-palo-seco/

9PM

National Heritage Museum

33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA

781-861-6559

Tickets $25.

Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids!

                           Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids! 

This is a new yoga class that I am running for grades 5-12. It is held at Open Spirit at Edwards Church, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA from 4:30-5:30PM Mondays (except on school holidays). Open Spirit is a new multi-faith center for the wider community, a place to celebrate and strengthen our connectedness, to promote healing and wholeness, and to experience spiritual nourishment.

I have been teaching my veterans yoga class at this same location for about a year now and the center has expanded its focus to include more community based classes in yoga, Tai Chi, spirituality and flamenco!  I am offering a Family Yoga class (Monday 3:30-4:30), Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids (grades 5-12; Monday 4:30-5:30); I teach in rotation a free Veteran's Yoga class (along with Lynn Stoller and Michael Thomas; Monday 6:00-7:30PM); Family Flamenco (Thursday 4:30-5:30) and Adult/Teen Flamenco (Friday 10:00-11:15AM). 

The first meeting of Athlete Yoga we spent our time exploring how yoga can be a great companion for all the other things we do in our life: sports, schoolwork, musical instruments/singing, busy time, free time, happy time, sad time, angry time....We gathered a list of activities we like to do: Basketball, Bicycling, Hiking, Piano, Saxophone, Sing, Ski/Snowboard, Surf, Swim and Tennis. Over the weeks, we will explore each session focusing on one of the activities  Classes will include breath-work (Pranyama), poses (Asana) and Meditation. We will also listen to stories and music, color, talk about healthy living choices and how to bring our yoga off the mat and into the world.

Swimming was chosen as our first "activity", as it is something that all the students enjoy. None of these kids are on a swim team but they all enjoy swimming just the same (minus the competitive edge). A yoga practice can complement even an amateur's swim routine by introducing strength building and flexibility. Asanas (postures) utilize body weight as a powerful source of resistance: Outside of the water, gravity helps to build strength and muscle. In addition, postures take the body through a full range of motion, encouraging flexible, supple muscles that are less prone to injury.

We started today's class outside at the church's labyrinth. The kids naturally took to completing the spiral in and then out, sensing the need to follow the path in and out, noticing that somehow it seemed necessary to do this. Feeling the evenness in their bodies and their minds upon completion. The entered and exited repeatedly, sometimes walking slowly, sometimes following each other and at other times running around each curve. In the end, they ended up in the center, smiling and sitting with each other.

Swimmer-asanas:

* Bean bag on belly breath

* Explaining how to and the use of Ujjayi breath (taught as Ocean breath for kids). 

*Gomulkasana Arms in Easy Pose-relieves tightness in shoulders and upper back

*A series (for Utkatasana and Low Utkatasana: diving, even bent knee table top-diving prep; Uttnasana-fall forward into water)
*Dog in Prayer 2

*Malasana

*Bakasana

*Forearm Plank-helps build and maintain core strength 

*Pointer Dog-increases core strength and balances asymmetries

*Locust-also with arms stretched out front

*½ Bow-stretches upper back
*Dancer's Pose

*Trikonasana- maintains good range of motion in shoulder and hip joints

*½ Eagle-arms first then add legs for balance

*Supported Bridge-helps release tension in neck and upper back-

* Supine Twist-stretches both hips and spine

*Savasana

We also talked about being mindful, staying in the present moment both in yoga and in life. I read them the story "The Three Questions" adapted from a book by Leo Tolstoy. Jon J. Muth recasts a short story by Tolstoy into picture-book format, substituting a boy and his animal friends for the czar and his human companions. Yearning to be a good person, Nikolai asks, "When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?" Sonya the heron, Gogol the monkey and Pushkin the dog offer their opinions, but their answers do not satisfy Nikolai. He visits Leo, an old turtle who lives in the mountains. While there, he helps Leo with his garden and rescues an injured panda and her cub, and in so doing, finds the answers he seeks. As Leo explains, "There is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. And the most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side." Moral without being moralistic, the tale sends a simple and direct message unfreighted by pomp or pedantry. Muth's art is as carefully distilled as his prose. A series of misty, evocative watercolors in muted tones suggests the figures and their changing relationships to the landscape. Judicious flashes of color quicken the compositions, as in the red of Nikolai's kite (the kite, released at the end, takes on symbolic value). An afterword describes Tolstoy and his work. 

We ended class in the playground.

Ole! Namaste!
Eve

2012-2013 Flamenco and Yoga Classes with Eve Costarelli

2012-2013

Flamenco and Yoga Classes with Eve Costarelli 

AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com/

617-216-1643/www.AlwaysBDancing.blogspot.com

Mondays @ Open Spirit/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St. Framingham, MA

·         3:30-4:40 Family Yoga (all kids up to grade 4)*

·         4:30-5:30 Yoga for the Young Athlete…and All Ambitious Kids (grades 5-12)*

·      6:00-7:30 Veteran’s Yoga (free for all veterans, family members, and care providers)

*These classes are community classes-suggested drop in rate is $12-$15/per class

Wednesdays @ the Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA

·         4:00-5:00 Youth Flamenco Beginner (ages 6-12)

·         5:00-6:00 Youth Flamenco Int. (ages 7-12; One year flamenco experience required)

Thursdays @ Open Spirit/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St. Framingham, MA

·        3:30-4:30 Youth Flamenco Beginner (ages 6-12)

·        4:30-6:00 Youth Flamenco Intermediate (ages 11-16)

    

    Fridays @ Open Spirit/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St. Framingham, MA

·         Adult/Teen Flamenco Beginner/Advanced Beginner (ages 12+)

            

Private lessons available/Daytime classes can be formed 

Flamenco and Yoga classes with Eve Costarelli 2012-2013

Family Yoga (grades k-4) (Mondays 3:30-4:30/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA ):

·         Bring your whole family to yoga and practice together! This class presents an opportunity to bond within your family and the community. Family Yoga includes postures, breathing techniques and meditation for the whole family, including age- appropriate variations to accommodate all of the students in the class. Bring anyone you love and have fun! All yogis age 5 and up are welcome in this class.

Yoga for the Young Athlete…and all ambitious kids! (grades 5-12) (Mondays 4:30-5:30/ Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Yoga is the perfect complement to competitive activities as it promotes flexibility, strength, friendliness and equanimity.  Students will learn yoga postures to work the body, breathing techniques to increase the flow of oxygen to the body’s tissues and meditation to calm the mind.

Performance can be improved with yoga:

o   Stablizes autonomic nervous system equilibrium

o   Respiratory efficiency increases

o   Joint range of motion increase

o   Eye-hand coordination improves

o   Balance improves

o   Dexterity skills improve

o   Reaction time improves

o   Posture improves

o   Kinesthetic awareness increase

o   Mood improves

o   Anxiety and Depression decrease

o   Hostility decreases

o   Concentration improves

Veteran’s Yoga (Mondays 6:00-7:30/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA )

·         This yoga class is free for all veterans, family members and providers. This class focuses on the specific needs of veterans. Experience the benefits of yoga to relieve stress, recover from trauma, focus the mind and heal the body. All veterans welcome regardless of age or physical ability. No previous yoga experience is necessary. Mats and props are provided. Please wear comfortable clothing and avoid eating at least one hour before class.

Youth Flamenco (Beginner) (Wednesday 4:00-5:00PM/Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA; Thursday 3:30-4:30PM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Children I (BEGINNER), kids ages 7 to 11

The class is designed for children aged 7 to 11 with zero to 1 year of flamenco dance experience.  This class includes basic technique of flamenco dance that includes correct posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. The student will become familiar with basic flamenco vocabulary. The course will include exercises that will develop the clarity of the students’ footwork, develop their upper-body to lower-body coordination. Basic castanet playing exercises are practiced. Repertoire will be taught. Required attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for girls. Castanets and flamenco boots for boys.

Youth Flamenco (Intermediate) (Wednesday 5:00-6:00PM/Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA)

·         Children II (Intermediate), kids ages 7 to 11

The class is designed for children aged 7 to 11 with at least 1 year of flamenco dance experience.  This class offers Flamenco technique to improve posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. Exercises that will improve clarity of the students’ footwork, upper-body to lower-body coordination as well as stamina and endurance are included. Medium to complex footwork and choreographic variations are taught. Required attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for girls. Castanets and flamenco boots for boys.

Youth Flamenco (Intermediate/Advanced) (Thursday 4:30-6:00PM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Flamenco II/Teens and Adults (12 years of age minimum)

Two to four years of dance experience required. This class offers Flamenco technique to improve posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. Exercises that will improve clarity of the students’ footwork, upper-body to lower-body coordination as well as stamina and endurance are included. Medium to complex footwork and choreographic variations are taught. This class will include elements of yoga to understand the flamenco body.

Required Attire: Flamenco shoes, flamenco skirt, leotard or fitted top, castanets. Other dance accessories may be required such as Spanish hat, mantón and fan,  when necessary.

Adult Flamenco (Beginner/Advanced Beginner) (Friday 10:00-11:30AM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

Flamenco I/Teens and Adults

The class is designed for teens, at least 12 years old, and adults of ALL AGES.  This class includes basic technique of flamenco dance to include correct posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. The student will become familiar with basic flamenco vocabulary. The course will include exercises that will develop the clarity of the students’ footwork, develop their upper-body to lower-body coordination. Basic castanet playing exercises are practiced. Repertoire will be taught . This class will include elements of yoga to understand the flamenco body.Required Attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for women. Castanets and flamenco boots for men.