ONLINE COURSES

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

During the time of COVID-19, I moved all my yoga classes online to keep my students and myself safe and healthy. While online practice is not for everyone, many people have relished the opportunity to practice in the comfort of their own homes. Online classes have also given friends and former students who live outside of Utah the opportunity to be able to attend classes. It’s been fun to welcome friends from around the U.S. to my classes. It’s also been fun to “meet” (virtually) my students’ four-legged companions as they wander through their living rooms. 

However, my class schedule is not compatible with everyone’s lifestyles. So after several students requested that I make video recordings available, I’ve begun recording my classes and am offering them to rent or to purchase. These recordings are from classes I’ve been teaching in my own living room during the pandemic. You’ll also get to meet my three cats, Pushkin, Lily and Anushka, as they occasionally drop in. I hope the casual nature of these classes will help you feel at home in your own practice.

While online yoga makes classes available to a wider community, there are limitations. For example, I can’t simply scan the room and make sure students are practicing safely. In a video format, it’s impossible for you to ask questions should they arise. 

Because of this, I’d like to offer some suggestions that I hope will make your practice experience more pleasurable and more supportive of your health and wellbeing. 

• Have some yoga props available. In these classes we generally use a nonskid yoga mat, two 4-inch-wide yoga blocks, a yoga strap and two firm blankets. You might want to have a throw pillow handy as well. My favorite place to buy high-quality yoga props is Hugger Mugger Yoga Products.
• There is no good knee pain. If anything we practice causes knee discomfort, back off or skip the pose altogether.
• Yoga is not a competitive sport. Practice with relaxation, rather than intensity, in mind. The sensation of stretch you feel should be mild to moderate. Pushing yourself into an intense stretch is not helpful, and can cause injury. 
• If anything we practice feels uncomfortable, back off or stop practicing it entirely. I don’t teach yoga’s “fancy,” pretzel-like poses because many of them can cause acute, or in some cases, chronic long-term injury. But even the simpler poses may be contraindicated for certain individuals. I often suggest alternatives to poses, but without being able to see everyone in an online or video format, I can’t know for sure whether your particular situation warrants a completely different pose. Please be kind to your body and skip any pose that doesn’t feel right for you. 
• One advantage to the online environment is that people are less likely to compare their practice to that of their peers. Still, many of us have a habit of attempting to push or force ourselves into positions our bodies weren’t designed to do. We all come into the world with different skeletal structures. One example: some people’s hip joints externally rotate easily, while other people’s hip joints are designed for internal rotation. As a result, some poses will be more accessible to the former, while others will be more accessible to the latter. This is just one movement parameter in one set of joints (our hip joints can even be different from side to side!). All our joints are similarly variable. So again, please modify or skip any poses that don’t feel compatible with your structure. 

Please feel free to contact me through my website (http://charlottebellyoga.com) if you have any questions or suggestions. While I’ve taught yoga since 1986, this video thing is still very new to me. I’d love to know how I can help make this experience more pleasurable for you.

WAIVER OF LIABILITY:

In choosing to participate in Charlotte’s online yoga offerings, the student willingly agrees to the following:

I understand that yoga includes physical movements as well as an opportunity for relaxation, stress re-education and relief of muscular tension. As is the case with any physical activity, the risk of injury, even serious or disabling, is always present and cannot be entirely eliminated. If I experience any pain or discomfort, I will listen to my body, discontinue the activity, and ask for support from the instructor. I assume full responsibility for any and all damages, which may incur through participation. 

Yoga is not a substitute for medical attention, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Yoga is not recommended and is not safe under certain medical conditions. By agreeing to this waiver, I affirm that a licensed physician has verified my good health and physical condition to participate in such a fitness program. In addition, I will make the teacher, Charlotte Bell, aware of any medical conditions or physical limitations before I rent or purchase these yoga videos, and will seek guidance, via email or phone, as to how I might modify or omit certain poses from my practice. If I am pregnant, become pregnant or I am post-natal or post-surgical, my acceptance of this agreement verifies that I have my physician’s approval to participate. I also affirm that I alone am responsible to decide whether to practice yoga and participation is at my own risk. I hereby agree to irrevocably release and waive any claims that I have now or may have hereafter against Mindful Yoga/Charlotte Bell. 

I have read and fully understand and agree to the above terms of this Agreement and Release of Waiver of Liability. I am accepting this agreement voluntarily and recognize that my acceptance serves as complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law in the State of Utah.