This article appeared in the Feb. 12, 2003 Cambridge Chronicle

Relax through Yoga with Billie Jo Joy

By Suisie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

It seems there are as many branches of yoga as there are asanas (yoga postures), but here’s an appealing one. Billie Jo Joy is beginning a series of Restorative Yoga Workshops, geared especially to those who are stressed, fatigued, ill, or afflicted with poor sleep quality.

This Friday from 6-8 p.m., and again on March 30 from 6-8 p.m., Joy’s classes, which are open for any level of experience, will be held at Art & Soul, a newly-renovated studio she helped found in September, 2001, which is located at 91 Hampshire St. in East Cambridge. Dedicated to the contemplative and expressive arts, the orange-yellow, triangular-shaped building at the corner of Hampshire and Windsor Streets features yoga, art and performance classes and workshops.

“Restorative Yoga is appropriate for anyone wanting a quiet, centering respite,” said Joy. “When doing the asanas for restoration, we look for a quality of non-action, or rest.” Whether the poses are done lying down, sitting, or standing, Joy employs props to assist in relaxation and support remaining in the pose for as long as possible. “Relaxation has stages; it is something one can develop,” she explained. “It's not about being flaccid - it's about being expanded, like the height of a yawn. Relaxation is not the goal - relaxation creates the conditions through which other things can happen.”

The classes are Iyengar in style, and small enough to allow for individual attention. Joy is also leading a yoga series which meets at the space every Tuesday evening from 6-7:30 p.m. and explores traditional yoga postures including standing poses, twists, inversions, backbends, forward bends, along with restorative yoga. Her March 21 Moon Salutation workshop, which will meet from 6-8 p.m., will focus on, she said, “an asana flow that stirs and stimulates the core energy of the body gently through grounding, broadening, lengthening and emphasizing release through the pelvis.” She has also recently taught Improvisation Laboratory and Body-Centered Performance Skills workshops.

Theater artist and yogi Joy, M.Ed., R.Y.T., is Kripalu certified, and trained

for 12 years in the Iyengar style of yoga. She spent time with the Dalai Lama in India and Qi masters in China, has studied trance states, and worked in mind-body medicine projects at Harvard University. A current recipient of a V-Day artist grant, she has performed a variety of improvisational forms in the U.S. and at the Roy Hart Theater in France. Her credits in the Boston area, where she has performed and directed work since 1989, include her solo piece Small White Woman Impersonating Martin Luther King, Jr., 2000’s highly successful production of The Vagina Monologues at Harvard, Homeward Bound in the same year, and last year’s Venus De Minivan, Mothers in the Breakdown Lane.

Art & Soul also offers performance classes on Monday and Thursday nights and children's art classes on Tuesday afternoons, as well as individual coaching, special performance evenings and art shows.

“We hope this beautiful building will offer a place for all of us – younger and older – to have more art and soul in our lives,” said Joy.

Feb. 28 and March 30 Relaxation Yoga classes are $25. Drop-ins for the Tuesday classes are $15 per session. The March 21 Moon Salutation workshop is $20. 

Art & Soul, at 91 Hampshire St., is available for rent for rehearsals, workshops, and special events. There is ample resident parking, some metered spots, and some visitor parking on Hampshire Street, near Prospect Street.

For more information and to register for classes, please call 617-661-7376.