Hey Reader,

It's been a month, y'all! And I'm back with a rundown of what's up in movement for me in the past month, as well as in the month ahead.

Of course I have also been writing weekly essays over on my substack, What Moves You. If you're also subscribed there, you've definitely heard from me more frequently -- especially in the past few days, as I sent out a new essay on Friday and a monthly "What Moved Me" yesterday. Thank you for hanging out with me in both spaces.

In this monthly message, I'm offering a snapshot of my yoga and movement offerings from the past month: YouTube videos, upcoming programs, online studio updates, and other special events.

Here's what I shared on YouTube in June:

I released 2 videos in June, including one just this past Sunday!

(If you are not yet subscribed to my YouTube channel, subscribing is totally free for you and helps me out so much. Click here to subscribe)

This first one is called "How to Build a Flow" and it's a class featuring one of my all-time favorite ways to teach a flow sequence. I call it a "building flow", which means you start with one pose, then add one pose at a time until you've done between 9 and 11 poses in a sequence. The final 2-3 poses are typically a bit more complex or challenging, but after successively doing the first 8, you're very effectively warmed up for them. If you've been on retreat with me or have taken live classes with me in MOVE, you're probably familiar with these flows. In fact, these are some of my most requested sequences! Try it out and get into the flow here:

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The second class is for the moms and caregivers. If you're having a difficult time connecting with your kids or it's been a busy summer so far without much play, this class is for you. I co-created this class with my 2 daughters (my son was with us, just playing video games in the background). They each collaborated with me to come up with 4 playful ways to move together. The first part of the video is with my younger daughter, who is almost 5 and it's a bit less instructional, more exploratory. The second half is a series of 4 exercises with my older daughter (11) that are a bit more structured -- built off of yoga poses but with an intentional element of play. I had so much fun doing this with my kids. I hope it inspires some playful movement for you and yours, too. Check it out here:

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Lastly, if you're curious what we're doing in MOVE in July, here's a tiny taste of a baddha konasana flow in a 4 pose flow from our live class in MOVE yesterday:

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This is just the beginning sequence of the full length flow I'm teaching on Wednesday, which actually gets you all the way up off of the ground into a balancing pose, before landing you back down into a seated pose again. I played with it this morning and I am so excited to teach it this Wednesday. If you join MOVE before then, you can do it with me!

My online studio, MOVE with Naomi, is an absolute labor of love. The classes I share there are not your typical yoga classes and not even your typical strength-based classes. My style of teaching is nontraditional, creative, curious, and intentional. If that sounds like your kind of movement adventure, I'd love for your to join me on the mat there.

I have a huge goal to have 100 people in my online studio. Having even double the number of members I currently have, would make the studio sustainable -- currently, it's essentially breaking even after paying the wonderful folks who help me run it, plus the basic overhead costs of running a business.

Despite the fact that many folks have gone back to in-person yoga, I still very much believe in the great benefits of online movement classes. They have absolutely changed my life for the better. If you're curious how and why, please email me to ask.
And if you'd like to give MOVE a try, use coupon code COMMUNITY2 and get 80% off your first 2 months of membership.
​Click here to get started.

A little more movement news:

I was interviewed for the Connected Yoga Teacher podcast and the episode came out a few weeks ago. You can listen to it here. I absolutely adore Shannon Crow, the host of the Connected Yoga Teacher podcast and her commitment to social justice, peace, and compassion.

In this episode, I talk about something near and dear to my heart: how to move your body as a parent and why movement for moms is very different than it is for non-parents. People disagree with me on this, even some parents. If you'd like to hear my thoughts on yoga and parenting, you can listen using the link above or find it on the Connected Yoga Teacher, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lastly, if you you're not following me over on substack, I'd love to see you there.

June was a big month for me on substack. I wrote a piece about what it's really like to be a military spouse, which has probably been my most widely read and commented on essay so far. I also wrote an essay about how I wish that TV and movie parents were more realistic, which had a lot of people sharing their own observations about onscreen vs offscreen parents. Both of these essays are free to read, with or without being a free subscriber -- although I would so appreciate if you subscribed!

I also wrote 2 essays for paid subscribers. One is about why movement for moms is different and the other is about the realities of soloparenting, as well as how it's not the same as being a single parent. For paid subscribers I've included one of the June 2024 15-minute classes from my online studio, MOVE in each essay. This is one of the perks for joining as a paid subscriber -- each month you'll get 2 15-minute classes typically only available to MOVE members.

If you want to support my work and my art, please consider paying for a subscription. Your support makes a huge difference in terms of what I can create.

Art and writing are severely undervalued in our culture. We get so much for free. And I am happy to contribute what I can. It's why I have a free YouTube channel, still share at least once or twice a week on Instagram, and make more than half of my content on substack free.

I’d also be enormously appreciative if you are able to show your support for writers (like me) and the time we spend crafting words into sentences, paragraphs, and essays that we want to use as a tool for connection.

​Subscribe for free or for $5/month here.

That's it from me, Reader. I'll check in again at the beginning of August.

Until then, sending so much love.

Naomi