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Dear Folks;  Those of you who have been in my classrooms or spent time sharing the learning and practice here know that my style, though often playful , is very down-to-earth and pointed toward what is effective for your health and well-being; heart, mind and body.  What I share with students is anchored in science, practicality, and direct experiences of my students and me.  I am a scientist by academic training and seldom a true believer in  any orthodoxy or personal opinion of some famous teacher.  About twenty years ago Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work, research, and teaching of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction captured my interest and offered a straightforward, effective, and directly experiential mode of learning I found extremely effective and straightfoward.  Eventually trained to teach MBSR and have done so for over a decade with reams of tangible positive results with hundreds of students here.  Studies conducted in my classrooms document these helpful consequences of the system that Jon assembled.

Encountering Dr. Bush in my recent research I have been stunned by the incredible breadth, depth, and spirit of his medical and social perspective and outreach.  He reminds me of a younger Jon Kabat-Zinn in his insight and practical wisdom.  Given the state of our personal health, medical care system, social and political dynamics,  and the state of our planet’s biologic and climatic systems I urge you to listen and learn from Dr. Bush in a few of his videos and on this website listed below.

His insights are both stark and unyielding to any naive notion that we aren’t at a dramatic tipping point personally, environmentally, socially, and as a species. Equally though he offers a rich and wise personal path toward meeting the immense challenges we face.  His perspective on how to approach personal and community health is a powerful form of changing the direction of our species current trajectory toward immense difficulty.  Doubt this?  Learn below.

Please make time to review some or all of these.  I know you will find realistic hope for personal, family and friends, community, society, and humanity here.

• Dr. Bush, personal 11 minute commentary:  Human and Environmental Health.
• Dr. Bush in an hour-long conversation with a medical interviewer about his background and healing approach: Transforming Health.
• Dr. Bush’s down-to-earth explanation of the solid science behind his work and perspective: Full Lecture.
• Dr. Bush’s Website 

Kindest Regards  —  Brant

 

I was so very delighted when Dan D’Amario found that his yoga practice was improving his golf game as well as his attitude on the course especially when balls fly in the wrong direction!  He was more that surprised because he thought attending yoga class with Linda would be relaxing and a nice thing to share with her then low and behold his golf game improved!

Acknowledging that enthusiasm Dan and Linda assembled a fun and engaging short video about Dan’s journey with golf and yoga side-by-side.

Here is the video they created!

Kind Regards  —  Brant

 

I am so very honored and excited to invite Scott Hein, PT, DPT and certified therapeutic pain specialist (TPS) to come and share his insight and passion about studying pain science and treating patients with persistent pain. Scott will discuss the source of pain and how evidence shows it can best be treated with a biopsychosocial approach. I will lead the topic of the power and practicality of mindfulness practice in the approach to treating pain and stress.  Scott and I will guide you through learning, practice and discussion that may help you in practical ways with patients and with self-care.

Reach out if you would like to attend.  —  Brant

Be our guest on Saturday, April 20; 5-7pm.  For licensed physicians and therapists; MD, PhD, PT, LCSW, PA, LPC, OT, NP, RN & others. RSVP.  Tuition is $20 and a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of training will be provided.

• Learn about the mind-body connection and how mindfulness practice can support both clinicians and patients from the viewpoint of an physical therapist  
• Medical & Therapeutic Clinical Evidence of Mindfulness Practice Discussed      
• Experiential practice with your peers
• Come in informal, comfortable clothing.  Informal and with a changing room if you wish.  

This is an event for licensed physicians and therapists.  There is limited space and these sessions tend to fill.  Reach out soon if you  have interest:  503 640-6006 or  Contact Brant

More Details

 

Dear Folks;  Everyone Welcome!  Bring or send friends, family, neighbors and others.

There will be a book release, hand-crafted woodwork, poetry, yoga and heart rate monitoring, song, weaving, iguana fashion, and much more!  

Check it out below and please just stop in to visit and learn more about what people love.

Downstairs will be the Student Stage to share your music, song, poetry or talk.  Upstairs will be the Student Gallery with wall displays and tables for you to share your love.  There will be many door prizes and unique exhibits.

Here is a downloadable link to the Celebration program with bios and details about presentations and displays

DOWNSTAIRS SHARING STAGE: 

3pm – John McGinity, Practice Your Yoga Poses with a Heart Rate Monitor !!

 

4pm – Brant Rogers, Archery as Meditation

4:30pm – Helena Huipe (tentative) – Two Songs

5pm – Dan D’Amario – poetry, Yoga and Golfing Video

 

5:30pm – Kristin Kinnie – Balancing Blood Sugar using Whole Foods

 

UPSTAIRS GALLERY:

Fine Woodworking – Bill & Carol Pressley

Loom and Weaving – Tracy Irwin

Growing, Shearing, Spinning and Weaving Wool – John & Marilyn Harrison

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Fine Sketching – Linda Engstrom

Iguana Fashion Statements – Janie Coleman

Fine Handmade Jewelry – Teresa Shelton

Intuitive Personal Readings (Available from 3-4pm and 5-6pm) – Kristen Spahn

 

 

Book Release.  Gentle Yoga; A Celebration – Linda & Dan D’Amario

Cartooning, Cards, Heart Rocks, and Our Practice – Lea Villalaz

 

Five years ago it was the 10 Year Anniversary many dozens of folks came to share and more than 300 folks came to listen and learn.   It was grand and lovely so let’s make time to create another day sharing with one another what we love..

It’s been 15 years since the doors opened here.  Counting all students  of all the teachers here over the years (Laurie Bass, Sue Fernald, Carole Cotten-Figueiredo, my former wife Marie, Malkiera, Chris Brehms, John McGinity, me, and others!) there have been over 10,000 students attending classes and many thousands of hours of class time offered by teachers.  See come regularly and other drop in once and everything in-between.  What an incredible privilege it has been to be of support to the folks of Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Cornelius, Beaverton, Portland and beyond.

The moving and heartwarming stories students share with me as they find more of their inherent vitality and wisdom continues to inspire me.  Scoll through the Yoga Hillsboro blog to read some of their blog posts and their pictures shared:  Students have their say.

With so many years shared with them I have witnessed the blessings and challenges of life in these classrooms; children growing into adulthood, marriage and parenthood,  elderly folks passing into the great disappearance, illness transformed to health, vitality traumatized by a diagnosis, moments of tearful awareness in transition, the consequences of a car crash, the blessing of a wedding, the loss of a dear one, great laughter, and so very much more.

Let’s ‘Share What We Love’ on March 23rd.  Please reach out to me if you would like to share, have door prizes, or would like to help out in some way: contact Brant.

 

 

This year brings a number of milestones for the work here.  Milestones I can hardly believe.  By my count there have been over 10,000 students registered for my classes here since the doors opened in 2004; yoga students, MBSR students, students in my specialized trainings with governments, universities, corporations, police agencies, firefighting districts, social service agencies, hospitals, and more.  Oh my!   As I tallied the classroom time with these courses and trainings I realized this has been more than 10,000 hours of time in the classrooms with folks.

Of course there are the thousands of students and hours of class time with other dear teachers here over the years; my former wife Marie, Laurie Bass, Sue Fernald, Carole Cotten-Figueiredo, Malkiera, John McGinity, and others!

What an incredible privilege it has been to be of support.  The moving and heartwarming stories students share with me as they find more of their inherent vitality and wisdom continues to inspire me.  Folks think of me as a teacher though I know in my heart of hearts my students are my teachers at every turn.

With so many years shared with them I have witnessed the blessings and challenges of life in these classrooms; children growing into adulthood, marriage and parenthood,  elderly folks passing into the great disappearance, illness transformed to health, vitality traumatized by a diagnosis, moments of tearful awareness in transition, the consequences of a car crash, the blessing of a wedding, the loss of a dear one, great laughter, and so very much more.

 

Also, this is the 15th year of life for this community of kind souls and time for an anniversary celebration!  We did so on the 10th Anniversary in 2014.  On that Saturday afternoon and evening students and teacher brought something in their life that they loved dearly; their music, song, photography, jewelery, woodwork, weaving, writing, crafts, a drag racing hotrod, a bag piper, and a lot more.  The classrooms became galleries and a music venue for the day.  We will do so again this year.

I will send out an official invitation for everyone in the weeks ahead.  The preliminary date is Saturday, March 23rd 3 until 8pm.  Save the date.  All are welcome.  Much more details to come.

It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve, support, and share with you all.  I look forward to the years ahead!  —  Brant

First Responder Yoga & Mindfulness Training last year

I was delighted on Sunday to find a full and generous discussion of yoga practice that lands close to my heart in this New York Times article for military veterans with content parallel to my first responder trainings a few years ago. Many of those first responders are veterans.  It was a triple delight to have two of my  students send me a link to the same article.  I thought I should send this along to many more!

Link to the NY Times Yoga & Veterans article

Those of you who know me and my mode of teaching know that what I share isn’t the ‘yoga-robics’ common in health clubs nor is it a quasi-religious rendering of an other worldly ‘out there’ experience.  Teaching here is inviting the basic elements of attention to the experience of being alive and embodied; offering an attentive presence at the edges of challenge.  Exploring outside the box of what should, was, want, control, avoidance, or don’t want.    Being here in this moment with all its difficulty and joy, as a practice.

I find that this speaks clearly and directly to folks yearning for practical and no-nonsense integration in their life; heart, mind, profession, body, relationships.   In the New York Times article one of the veterans explains, “There is a stereotype that yogis are a bunch of hippie types of people who are not militaristic,” he then said. “But the whole system of yoga is about moral and ethical restraints on behavior and trying to stay calm in challenging conditions.” He related this to his military experience and it is what I found at the heart of my father’s attitude and other personnel while I was growing up in the military.  Of course that is at the heart of yoga and mindfulness practice in my book.

Kind Regards  —  Brant

 

My heart goes out to the federal government employees and contractors who, for no fault of their own, are on furlough, out of work, or working for no pay during the government shutdown.  Having been a federal employee for the US Peace Corps,  USDA, and Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as a contract research scholar on a federal grant for many years I know how hard folks work in service for the common good we all share.  I know how crucial their work is for all of us no matter our political leanings.

I am certain that “What makes America great” is how we can support one another in times of crisis.  

So if you are an employee affected by  the shutdown, for the duration of the shutdown please come as my guest to any of my weekly yoga classes and contact me to arrange deeply discounted or scholarship registration for my other programs; consulting, coaching, workshops, MBSR.  Contact me when you’d like to attend:

Contact Brant

If you know someone who would benefit by this please forward this along to them.   Likewise, please offer something helpful to them in some way alongside your efforts to communicate with your elected officials to help resolve this difficult moment in our history.

Thank you for what you offer our country.  I am here for you and am offering what I can in material and moral support.  I know that the practices  here can be helpful in the face of life’s big challenges and I offer these to you.

Thank you for your service.  I am here for you.  —  Brant

Come and share playful exploration and elements of mindfulness practice with your family; movement, laughter, stillness, affirmation.  Parents and relatives with children 8 and up. 

By request from a few parents. We’ll need a number of families to commit to make this work.  Sunday afternoons in early 2019 TBA.  Probably 4 to 5pm. We’ll have some home practice activities for you to share with family between classes in order to enhance learning for the long-term.  Reach out to Brant to let him know if you’d like to be in such a series.

 

Many of us need wheelchairs, walkers, canes. and otherwise to help us be mobile.  All of us can learn and share a joyful, adapted practice in a chair or otherwise.

We’ll move a bit and gather a sense of how people might want to proceed with

Contact me if you’d like to regularly addend such a class and we can see if there is a time and day that works for us all!  Note when you contact me what days and times would be best. —  Contact Brant

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Dear Folks;

I was delighted today to receive a poster in the mail from the Hillsboro Tribune for a Gold Metal Best of Hillsboro awarded to this studio!

Of course it’s not just the place.  It’s the thousands of students over nearly 15 years who’ve offered kindness toward one another as they arrive willing to practice and learn.  It’s us teachers who are offering our hearts to each student who walks through the door as well as having an earnest devotion to a way of life imbued with the art of compassionate sharing.  It’s the physicians, therapists, family members and friends who continue to refer folks to classes and trainings here.

I bow deeply to you all for helping make these small classrooms a place of safe, kind, and playful way to help meet life’s challenges with one another.  You all remain in my daily prayers and meditations.

Kindest Regards  —  Brant