This is the best news we have had to share in a long time . . .
For those of you who have been at Empower long enough to remember R.J. Lisander, it thrills us to announce SHE IS COMING BACK to Empower!
For those of you who have yet to meet R.J., you are in for a real treat, one that will make an impactful difference in your life.
R.J. is an amazing yoga and mediation teacher and an all-around incredible human. Her practices are peace and love and understanding and nurturing movement all rolled up into one.
If, like so many of us, you are operating in a constant cycle of stress, R.J.’s new offerings are just what your body, mind and spirit need. She will offer 2 unique restorative yoga trainings and a movement and mediation workshop – all will be offered both in-studio and virtually through Zoom. So, whether you would like to experience these sessions in our beautiful studio or have the convenience and comfort of participating from home – we’ve got you covered.
R.J. joins us from Greece (where she is currently) with this message. R.J. takes it away:
Yoga at Empower:
Flow and Restore Yoga: Mondays 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Starting Oct. 4
Accessible In-studio and livestream through Zoom.
This yoga flow helps you focus and reset, even after the busiest of days. In this class, we’ll work the whole body in gentle Vinyasa-inspired moon salutations to work off some of the heat of the day and will wind down in longer held poses designed to bring the body and mind into alignment setting you up for a focused evening to be enjoyed with people and events you enjoy the most. No experience needed. All are welcome.
Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not required. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.
Sign up for Flow and Restore Yoga
Deep Stretch Yin Yoga: Wednesdays 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Starting Oct. 6th
Accessible In-studio and livestream through Zoom
Perfect for everybody, this class will remind you of the importance of longer held, deep poses that stretch tight muscles, lubricate the fascia and strengthen muscles around the joints. Because the class focuses on slow, mostly mat-based poses, the challenge of this class often goes beyond the pose itself and to the power of the mind-body connection. You will leave class feeling stronger, more flexible and agile in body and mind. No experience needed. All are welcome.
Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not required. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.
Sign up for Deep Stretch Yin Yoga
Meditation at Empower:
Mindful Movement and Meditation: 4 Week Series – Sundays, 4:00 – 4:45 pm
Starting Oct. 17th
If you are one of the majority who thinks you can’t meditate because you can’t sit still, we designed this class for you. By incorporating qigong and tai chi-inspired movements prior to meditation, you will release built up energy in the body, allowing the mind to settle so you can receive the benefit of a guided meditation. This 45-minute class is perfectly balanced with movement and meditation so you won’t get bored. No experience needed. All Welcome.
Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not mats. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.
Registration coming soon.
More about R.J. Lisander:
Coming to yoga later in life, RJ was well aware of the physical modifications her athletic, yet aging body needed during yoga classes. Sadly, because of the size of classes, instructors weren’t always able to offer options to provide the ease she needed to practice with confidence. As her practice and interest in yoga continued, she completed yoga teacher training and began guiding others through class sequences. As a guide, RJ quickly witnessed the diversity in range of movement and desire for practitioners to push to a pose that was counter to the needs of not only healthy or aging bodies but also bodies moving with injury and/or dis-ease. While she did what she could to offer alternatives and modifications in class, RJ just knew there had to be a more inclusive way to offer yoga and meditation practices. From there, the seed for that inclusive style of yoga was planted. The result is a practice philosophy that considers the idea that not all bodies have lived the same lives, so it is unreasonable to expect all bodies to move and interpret poses in the same way. With this as a foundation to her offerings, RJ co-creates spaces and sequences with class participants in a way that offers challenge to all, while highlighting the importance of utilizing props and taking modifications to allow for an easing into poses through awareness and compassion for self.
As group and private sessions have grown with the philosophy of making yoga and meditation accessible, RJ has the honor of working with not only healthy, competitive athletes and weekend warriors, she also shares the same spaces and sequences with many individuals recovering from injury, surgery, new and old medical diagnoses (including auto-immune disease), trauma, and caregivers. As a natural extension of these interactions, RJ offers more than a space to practice yoga and meditation, she offers a schedule, mindset practices and online tools to help you make the practices of mindful meditation and conscious movement a more accessible part of your everyday life.
RJ speaks and teaches internationally on the topics of mindfulness and conscious movement. She is the founder of Lotus Seed Meditations and Lotus Seed Lifestyles. She is a certified wellness counselor, Cornell University. RJ completed her 200-hour Prana Flow® teacher certification from Evolve Movement, Raleigh, NC and a 200-hr certification in yoga therapy through Kripalu, Birkshires, MA. Additional qualifications in Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra through Kripalu, and pre/post-natal care yoga through Asheville Yoga Center, Trauma Informed Yoga through Yoga International and Advanced Yin Practices through Yoga Medicine. She is a certified instructor and facilitator with LoveYourBrain’s six-week FUNdamentals Yoga and online Mindset Programs. She completed Shamanic Reiki I and II through Shamanic Reiki Worldwide and has certificates in hand and foot reflexology. RJ holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Creative Writing from West Virginia University.
Welcome R.J. we are so grateful and excited to have you back.
