Yoga at Chico Sports Club

Yoga programs for all ages and levels of ability.

Getting the Most from Your Yoga Class

  • Adjust your eating schedule so that you can come to class with an empty stomach.
  • There are yoga mats on the prop shelf to use for your first class, otherwise you will want to bring your own sticky mat.
  • Notify your teacher of any physical limitations, recent surgeries, injuries, or pregnancy.
  • Women may not want to do inverted poses (headstand, shoulder-stand) during the menstrual period.
  • Arrive early for class and give yourself time to focus on your breathing.
  • Listen to your body. If you are a beginner, don’t feel you should be practicing at the level of students who may have been doing yoga for several years.

Yoga Classes

Chico Sports Club offers up to 50 yoga classes a week for all ages and levels of ability.

Youth

For younger students, there is a class for ages 4–8 and one for ages nine and older.

Seniors

For seniors, there are gentle yoga and chair yoga classes. Gentle classes are appropriate for members with injuries, recent surgery, pregnancy, or those who just prefer a slower pace. The chair yoga class, where yoga poses are done sitting or standing beside a chair, makes yoga accessible to those who may have physical limitations that preclude getting down on the floor.

Beginners

There are several choices for beginning students. Some beginners will prefer the gentle classes for stretching, strengthening, and breathing awareness.

New students who want to learn fundamentals may attend level one classes or mixed level classes (Levels 1-3). A mixed-level class allows a beginning student to learn from the teacher and experience new possibilities by practicing with more experienced students.

Continuing Students

The continuing student may stay with gentle class for years if they choose, or begin to take advantage of opportunities to challenge themselves with more advanced poses in the mixed-level classes. The Iyengar 2-4 classes and Ashtanga classes are not recommended for beginners, but continuing students of these traditions are welcome.

All Students

The restorative classes offer anyone who feels fatigued or stressed an opportunity to relax deeply while supporting the body on yoga props.

The 10-minute discussion class (Satsang) is for those who want to learn about the history and philosophy of yoga.

The meditation class is appropriate for those who want to quiet the mind and seek peace and guidance from within.

Workshops

Workshops on varied topics such as Ayurveda, back care, menopause, partner yoga, yoga for knees, or weight loss are offered for a small fee.

Yoga Instructors

The yoga instructors at Chico Sports Club are well-trained professionals with years of teaching experience and your best interests at heart. Please feel free to discuss your needs with them.

Nancy Wiegman

A former college teacher, Nancy Wiegman began teaching yoga at Chico Sports Club in January 1994. Her yoga training has been in a variety of styles. Except for the Ashtanga classes which follow the sequences of poses prescribed by Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India, Nancy’s classes vary in style and content in response to the needs and abilities of the students attending a particular class. She had an article published in Yoga Journal in 1989. Many of her vegetarian cooking articles were published locally.

Rex Stromness

Rex Stromness has studied and practiced yoga since 1975. He has studied various styles including Sivananda, Tri-Yoga, Iyengar and Ashtanga. His classes are a reflection of these and his interest in anatomy and meditation. They are vinyasa style classes emphasizing properbreathing, alignment and presence.

Patty Donohue

Patty Donohue began studying yogawith Nancy Wiegman in 1996. An avid Ashtanga practioner who respects the core technique of the Krishnamacharya lineage while incorporating other influences that have deepened her experience of yoga, such as dance(modern, jazz, ballet and Irish) and bodywork.She teaches vinyasa flow classesand Ashtanga yoga. In 2003, Patty spent a month teaching at the award-winning Body & Soul Adventures resort in Ilhe Grande, Brazil.

Tom Hess

Tom Hess received his Iyengar Yoga Teacher certification in 1995. He began teaching in SanFrancisco where he attended the teacher training program at the San Francisco Iyengar Institute. Tom occasionally travels to India to study directly with the Iyengars at their school in Pune, India. He is inspired by the possibilities the Iyengar system presents to transform the body, mind and spirit.

Amaera BayLaurel

Amaera BayLaurel’s background includes dance, karate, theatre and certification in Viniyoga style, through Fitness Resource Associates. Viniyoga is often dynamic, and adapts to meet the needs of the individual. Amaera’s style of Hatha yoga is eclectic, blending what she knows and loves from several styles; she incorporates visualizations, with a focus on internal awareness and breath. She encourages students to find ways to personalize the practice in order to achieve quiet mind and flowing body.

Costs

Members

Free with Chico Sports Club membership.

Nonmembers

Nonmembers may pay at the front desk for a single class at $6, or purchase a 10-class series for $50.

Refer to the yoga schedule for classes, instructors, and times.

For more information, contact Nancy Wiegman at (530) 345–9427.

What Others Have to Say About Us…

This year in California I went to several different places to practice, to learn, to share yoga. The one where there is no competition, the most open and simple, is at Chico Sports Club. —Raquel Levy
The yoga room feels warm, inviting, and safe. You have created a beautiful yoga program, the likes of which I have not seen anywhere else. —Marie Altman


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