Since Nov., 2011, I have attended Betsy Templeton's yoga class at the Wholistic Health Studio. Previously, I was a yoga student at a local women's club for about 8 years in an excellent experience that established much of my knowledge about proper execution of yoga postures. After the club closed, a few years passed wherein I intermittently (for various reasons mostly due to my too busy schedule) participated at several good studios, and irregularly practiced yoga on my own, until I heard about the class at WHS.
Betsy's class has been wonderful. She is knowledgeable about body mechanics and is an expert at making certain that each person in the class is doing the poses, breathing, etc. correctly at each stage of the session. She "pushes you hard" to NOT push beyond your capacity or your level of ability in a way that avoids injury and overstretching. This part of her practice is an important asset that is often underemphasized in yoga. My only complaint in this aspect of this class is that occasionally, the class has been too cautious about adding skill that would stretch you farther because some in the class are "not there yet", but in opposition to this complaint, Betsy encourages and gives each individual instruction and space to move farther, as you need and desire, beyond the demand of each posture.
Additionally, Betsy's instruction in how to execute various poses has been beyond any I have had in other classes. She excels in her knowledge of proper form and in teaching that aspect.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of her class is her emphasis on the meditative attitude she encourages you to employ as you undertake your practice and to carry out beyond the class space into your regular life.
Speaking of space, the class space at the WHS is beautiful and extremely conducive to the meditative qualities hoped for in a yoga practice. read more