JCC Los Gatos Yoga Instructor, Aya Dunin’s approach to Yoga is informed by Inner Yoga, the Hakomi Method (Mindfulness-Based Somatic Psychotherapy), and Dharma of Trauma (Hakomi).
She invites students to cultivate Inner Yoga principles: awareness, loving, kindness, breath, ease, courage. She provides tools to meet everyday challenges, and to cultivate intimacy with the self and the present moment. Her intention is to guide you home into your body temple, and develop a coherent nervous system.
Aya Dunin is a 500+ hours Registered Yoga Teacher, and has trained in Hatha, Yin, Inner Yoga, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga, and Dance. She has facilitated yoga since 2012.
Aya is a Holistic Birth Keeper (pre/postnatal doula). She hosts retreats and women’s circles and is a practitioner of somatic and quantum healing arts. She is also a gardener, folk herbalist, holistic chef, DJ & musician, and offers various healing arts.
Stretch with Aya
Need help relaxing? Try out butterfly pose, demonstrated Aya. This pose is the Butterfly Pose and it is her favorite pose. Aya says this pose promotes great relaxation.Â
Here is how to do it:
In Restorative Yoga we add props such as blocks under the thighs and a bolster to support the forehead. This deeply meditative posture allows for a gentle reset, release of anxiety, and inward focus.
When holding this posture for over 2.5 minutes, the body’s nervous system will go into ‘rest and digest’ mode, and a moistening of the fascia & cartilages can occur. It’s also excellent for the reproductive organs and the pelvic bowl muscles.
Finally, I call it a melting or surrendering posture. We become one with the Earth once again and we are humbled.
Sit on a gently folded blanket, place your feet close to each other, your legs in a large diamond shape. With an elegant spine, fold forward from the hip crest, and use your arms (locked elbows) as pillars. Allow your back to maintain its length, and this should be a passive posture. I always suggest finding your edge in this posture, and then back off a little so that you can relax even more deeply.Â
Become the observer of your breath, let go of control, cultivate a loving and kind inner voice, and welcome gravity. Come out of this posture very slowly and mindfully, and integrate the benefits by laying on your back in a simple Savasana. Avoid sciatica as it would aggravate it.
Want to take a class with this amazing instructor at JCC Los Gatos? Click here to sign up for one of Aya’s yoga classes!
The Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center (APJCC) of Jewish Silicon Valley is a Jewish nonprofit community center in Los Gatos that welcomes people of all faiths.
Want to receive regular updates on what’s happening at the APJCC? Subscribe to our mailing list.
