Dear Friends,
No Classes Saturday, May 20th to Wednesday, May 24th!
We are taking a few days off and will resume our regular class schedule on Thursday, May 25th! All classes from this past week are available on-demand. Mark your calendars for the following upcoming special events:
1) Thursday, May 25th: 9:30am-10:45am 75 Minute Stop Drop and Dance
@UUMarin (240 Channing Way, San Rafael)
We are celebrating a TRIPLE 50th Birthday for Keala Landry, Rita Ribera Channon, and Sharon Mor! Please wear black and gold for this celebration! If you can carpool on Thursdays, please do so!
2) Saturday, May 27th: 9:30am-10:45am 75 Minute Stop Drop and Dance
@The Garage (1 Thorndale Drive, San Rafael)
Happy Birthday to Leslie Dinham who will be choosing our playlist for class! Please wear one of your "Shine Your Light" tanks if you have one!
3) Saturday, June 3rd: 9:30am-10:30am 60 Minute Stop Drop and Dance Fundraiser Class
@The Garage (1 Thorndale Drive, San Rafael)
Celebrate Alison Endemann's 40th Birthday by dancing and raising money to support the Marin Postpartum Support Center! All donors will receive the recording of class on-demand for the week after. Even if you aren't interested in dancing, your donation is appreciated!
Recap: Mother's Day Class at CPC!
We had a jam-packed week of celebrations starting with last Saturday's Mother's Day Free Community Stop Drop and Dance class at Christ Presbyterian Church in Terra Linda. Thank you to so many of our regular dancers for joining class and filling up the room with your amazing energy! Thank you also to Ashley Pogue for inviting us to teach and offering this generous class to the community!
Recap: Marin Foster Care Danceathon!
Later that same day, we taught for the Marin Foster Care's 5th Annual Dance-a-thon at the Corte Madera Community Center! A special shout-out goes to Leslie Dinham, Jenn Macievich, Debby Strenkofsky, and Monica Jones, who showed up to BOTH events that day!!! Thank you also to Caren Wachtenheim for inviting us to teachand raise money for our Marin Foster Youth!
Recap: Congratulations Lisa Butcher!
This morning we had a special Stop Drop and Dance class celebrating new graduate Lisa Butcher, who went back to college after 20+ years to earn her Bachelors in Political Science! Despite having a busy life with 3 children, Lisa spent the past few years commuting to Sonoma State (and missing dance classes) to earn her degree, for herself. We are so proud of Lisa and showered her with love today! Thank you to Erin Meyers, Sacha Brandes, and Sara Rainbolt for planning this celebration and getting all the decorations!
Thank you for 10 Years of "Come As You Are" Marin Power Yoga (San Anselmo Yoga)!
Last Sunday, we packed the studio like the old days for the final Sunday Service yoga class at MPY taught by Wendy Wilkinson with live music by Gabe Harris & Keenan. It was a bittersweet 10 year anniversary celebration mixed with equal amounts of sweat & tears.
I moved to Marin 10 years ago just went MPY opened.
I didn’t know anyone & had no idea where I belonged. I tried different studios, but did so sparingly because it was too expensive to drop in all the time, & I never felt like I fit in anywhere either.
Then I met Jamie Ginsberg, who had a different philosophy on hiring teachers. He invited me to practice for free for a few months first, to see if it was mutually the right fit. I couldn’t believe his generosity, but admired his process & gratefully showed up on my mat to practice.
MPY soon became my second home and Jamie and Amy Ginsberg became my second parents.
Since MPY was new, there were only a few power yoga classes on the schedule. Jamie let me take risks & teach what I wanted, like “Gentle Yoga” & “Yin Yoga” - who knew 10:45am would be a popular spot? He supported my training to bring TRX to the studio, & to provide next level 500 hour professional development for our yoga staff. He encouraged Wendy Wilkinson, Araceli Santos Bieber & I to lead 5 years of 200 hour yoga teacher trainings. And then there’s Stop Drop and Dance - we started with just a handful of dancers in the upstairs childcare room…
As we cried, hugged & reminisced on Sunday, memories flooded my mind.
I am a different teacher because of MPY. I am a different person. I am a different friend. I found my voice when I decided to cut off 20 inches of my hair at the end of an inversion wall class. I found my vulnerability when I decided it was ok to cry and share from my heart. I found myself when I finally danced free for the first time without judgment.
Click on the image below to watch a video that summarizes how ridiculously amazing MPY was. In 2016, the #mannequinchallenge was a thing, & somehow, on a Sunday at 10am, I was able to convince all our teachers & members in a cycling class, TRX class, and yoga class, to freeze in unison.
Community. Joy. Love.
Thank you MPY ❤️
(Photo Credit: Jamie Ginsberg)
Have a wonderful weekend friends,
Grace
