Sandra Nicht, MS Yoga Therapy, C-IAYT, AYT-NAMA began learning yoga from a book given to her by her mother back in high school (we won't tell you when THAT was...). After meandering through life as a professional Spanish Dancer, attempting to work in photography, and eventually ending up as an aerobics and fitness instructor and group exercise program director before she circled back to yoga via a Kripalu certified teacher who was hired by the fitness club she worked for.
After that teacher left to open her own yoga studio, Sandra took over the class (having memorized the class template) and began looking for training programs and books on teaching yoga. She found Beryl Bender Birch's Power Yoga book, just published, and began learning the Ashtanga Primary Series from the book and was able to study directly with Beryl and her husband Thom. Her main teacher was David Swenson, recommended by Beryl as the best teacher for learning how to use hands-on assistance to lead students to a better understanding of how the pastures affected their bodies.
Over the years Sandra studied with many teachers from several traditions (including Qigong, the traditional Chinese movement practice) and after meeting Scott Blossom at Kripalu School of Ayurveda spent 14 years studying within the little known Shadow Yoga school which is rooted in traditional Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga practices. She extends gratitude to all of her many teachers who helped her survive menopause and recover from a major car accident which, despite having severe osteoporosis, broke no bones. Her self observations during her ongoing recovery has helped her better serve her students and private clients who may be suffering from injuries or other issues affecting their daily lives.
Sandra's mission is simply to guide others towards self acceptance as they practice, learning how to adapt any activities to their current experience.
She has also launched a SubStack at https://grumpyyogicat.substack.com/subscribe
If you can breathe, you can practice. The foundation for everything I've learned, continue to practice, and now teach is rooted in awareness of the breath. You can learn and practice for free by enrolling in my short course on Teachable here. Once you feel you have a reasonable mastery of your breath (don't panic, there are audio files to help guide you through each practice) you may notice that you feel better right away.
IN PERSON CLASSES WITH SANDRA monday 1 - 2 pm small group weight coaching at severn senior activity center 2 - 3 pm yoga for balance & mobility (via AACC) | |
| tuesday 1030 - 1115 am Aqua yoga at brick bodies reisterstown 4--5 PM SMALL GROUP WEIGHT COACHING AT SEVERN SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER 615 - 7 pm power yoga at coppermine MAC harbor east baltimore | |
| wednesday 1030 - 1115 AM making waves aqua exercise AT BRICK BODIES padonia 1 - 2 small group weight training at Severn senior activity center | |
| THURSDAY 1 - 2 PM SMALL GROUP WEIGHT COACHING AT SEVERN SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER 615 - 715 pm slow BURN vinyasa yoga at brick bodies padonia. | |
| FRIDAY 1 - 2 SMALL GROUP WEIGHT TRAINING AT SEVERN SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER 2 - 3 yoga for balance & mobility AT SEVERN SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER SUNDAY 4 - 5 PM RESTORATIVE YOGA/MOVEMENT AT BRICK BODIES PADONIA |
Please visit my FB page where there are some tutorials and practice: look for Sandra Nicht Ayurveda & Yoga Therapy and look for the Videos page..
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coming soon
Try this text-based sequence:
Standing upright, inhale raising the arms up.
Exhale, fold forward (bend your knees as much as you need until your fingertips can touch the floor if possible. Yes you may separate your feet if that helps you keep your knees pointing the same way as your toes).
Inhale again, exhale step the right foot back. Keep the right leg as straight as possible without locking the knee, keep the left foot flat on the floor with that knee bent over the ankle so the heel stays down.
Finding your balance, inhale one hand to your waist, don't stand up yet, and exhale.
Inhale again to bring the other hand to your waist but don't stand up yet.
If you are challenged by this balance just put the hands back down, step your feet together, and try the other side doing the same steps.
If you're fine, inhale and stand upright keeping the left knee bent and right knee straight, once upright reach the arms up. Take as many breaths as you need.
Exhale and fold forward until your hands reach the floor again.
Inhale step your right foot forward to your hands, Exhale fold forward.
Inhale push into your feet to stand up, arms reaching up, and exhale the arms to your sides.
Once you feel ready, repeat everything with the LEFT foot stepping back first!
coming soon
Preparing for the infamous "yoga pushup" might begin with an elbow plank:
Take an all-fours position on hands and knees (be sure to press your ankles down firmly so your knees don't hurt, if you fold a blanket for padding set up so your knees and ankles are ON the blanket and your toes are OFF the blanket).
You could stay on your hands if you can press your fingers all the way down and then step back until your body is in a straight line and then work on regulating your breathing BUT if your hands or wrists need to strengthen first, put your forearms down with elbows under your shoulders and THEN step your feet back.
You will be able to hold the plank longer and will be able to better regulate your breath in this position.
