Overview
Our gentle style of yoga taught at the Center for Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine is one that everyone can practice. It has been designed in such a way that anyone, no matter age, physical ability or experience level can participate and enjoy the many benefits that yoga offers. Absolutely no previous experience is required.
Each intimate-sized class allows individualized attention and allows the student to focus on the movement, and learning to quiet the mind. A chair is used as a prop to support the body. When the student is ready, floor poses are offered.
Judi Bar, Cleveland Clinic's Yoga Program Manager, developed this style of yoga while learning to deal with her own back problems. While specializing in chronic pain and disease, she learned that this style not only helped treat her patients but aided in preventing some of their physical challenges. She further developed this style of yoga for patients who found traditional yoga classes intimidating.
What are the Benefits of Yoga?
Yoga can make a big difference in your life by:
- Decreasing stress
- Reducing chronic pain
- Enhancing immune response
- Lowering blood pressure
- Improving posture and body alignment
- Increasing muscle strength
- Providing a sense of joy and well-being
Community Yoga Classes
Whatever your age, physical ability or health, you can discover yoga’s powerful benefits. Our classes are an hour long and available for anyone in Northeast Ohio. Class options include Wellness Yoga levels 1 or 2, Traditional Yoga or Therapeutic Yoga.
Types of Yoga Classes Offered
All classes are an hour long and are available in Cuyahoga and Summit County:
- Wellness Yoga Level 1 (chair): This class will incorporate postures that are practiced while seated on a chair, or standing, using the chair as a prop. The instructor will be able to guide participants of all ability levels; this is a gentle class, focusing on deep breathing and simple movement for stress management.
- Wellness Yoga Level 2 (chair and mat): This class will incorporate postures that are practiced while seated on a chair, or standing, using the chair as a prop. The instructor will be able to guide participants of all ability levels and may be practiced as gently or strongly as the student prefers.
- Traditional Yoga (mat): This class will incorporate postures that are practiced on a mat, on the floor, and can be done from standing, seated, or lying down on the abdomen or back. While the instructor will be able to guide participants of all ability levels, this is primarily an intermediate-level class.
- Therapeutic Yoga (chair or mat, if needed): This class is specifically designed for participants that feel limited due to chronic illness, injury, or simply being physically out of shape. While mostly practiced from a chair, some poses are done from a standing position. A variety of props are made available to offer additional support. This class is very gentle and is instructed by experienced yoga therapists who specialize in offering simple movement and deep breathing.
- Private Therapeutic Yoga Classes: Develop a home yoga routine tailored to your health concerns or rehabilitation needs. Available for personalized practice and therapeutic needs. $75 per hour.
How Do I Sign Up for a Course?
Due to the challenges presented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the decision to postpone our live yoga classes until further notice.
If you are interested in learning more about the different yoga classes we offer at Cleveland Clinic, please email our team at yoga@ccf.org.
To stay up to date on our yoga program, you can also subscribe to the Cleveland Clinic Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine eNewsletter for the latest information on class schedules and more.
School of Yoga
200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training
At Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, modern medicine meets ancient wisdom. We believe yoga should be accessible to everyone, regardless of age, health, or physical fitness. Our training will provide you with a strong basis in traditional Hatha yoga techniques. In addition, you will learn the essence of Cleveland Clinic Wellness Yoga – that simple movements, done mindfully, can have a profound effect.
School of Yoga courses are led by Judi Bar, Lead Yoga Therapist and Yoga Program Manager at Cleveland Clinic. Guest instructors may include Cleveland Clinic physicians and other Cleveland Clinic Wellness professionals.
Curriculum content includes:
- Yoga techniques, training, practice
- Yoga philosophy, lifestyle and ethics
- Yoga teaching methodology
- Anatomy/physiology
- Meditation and pranayama
- Specialty physician talks
How Do I Sign Up?
Due to the challenges presented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Yoga Teacher Training program until further notice. Cleveland Clinic is, first and foremost, a healthcare system, and we are committed to our organizational goals of prioritizing the delivery of first-class patient care and caregiver recognition. At this time, we must dedicate our resources to those needs.
We plan to restart the program when it can be delivered in the most impactful way, ensuring a comprehensive and hands-on learning experience for our students.
If you are interested in learning more about the Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, please email our team at yoga@ccf.org or call 216.448.8537.
To stay up to date on our yoga program, you can also subscribe to the Cleveland Clinic Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine eNewsletter for the latest information on class schedules and more.
Where Are School of Yoga Courses Offered?
All courses are taught virtually using Zoom or on-site at:
Cleveland Clinic Lyndhurst Campus
1950 Richmond Rd
Lyndhurst, OH 44124
Free garage parking is available.
Our Team
Judi Bar, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Lead Yoga Therapist and Yoga Program Manager, Center for Integrative Medicine
Judi is one of the first to hold such a position in the country with a major medical institution. She is certified through the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
After a personal struggle with chronic back pain and adapting yoga for her own self-recovery and care, Judi taught her style of yoga for chronic pain successfully in her own private practice for 15 years. She then was sought out by the Cleveland Clinic as an expert in yoga and chronic pain to co-write a curriculum for a chronic disease reversal program, Lifestyle 180. That comprehensive lifestyle medicine program laid the groundwork for some of the programs currently offered at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative Medicine.
Judi Bar specializes in using yoga to help treat patients with chronic pain and other chronic conditions as well as caregivers and families. Her unique yoga style is a heart-centered approach that is inclusive and accessible to everyone, even those not comfortable in a traditional yoga class for any reason. This style is also used in the Cleveland Clinic’s Caregiver [Employee] Wellness Programs.
She was part of a Cleveland Clinic team involved in a study exploring whether the practice of yoga, breath and meditation could support improved walking and balance of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Judi also developed a protocol for a patient-directed recovery, that is, a cost-effective and drug-free approach for patients after liver transplant and their caregivers. She was voted the Best Yoga Teacher in Cleveland in 2008. She presents nationally as a featured speaker at the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and Integrative Medicine and Women’s Health Conferences. Judi has been featured in Yoga Journal, the leading yoga magazine in the country, International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and Yoga Therapy today and regularly on various local and national media outlets, both broadcast and print. She is on the team researching and creating further criteria for Yoga Therapy testing credentials and is on the advisory board for Yoga Therapy Today and yogatherapy.health.
Presently, she is the creator and Program Director for Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, established in June 2015. Judi sits on the panel of experts for several blogs for social media and events for the Clinic. She has created two yoga DVDs, “Come As You Are Yoga” and “Come As You Are Yoga: in Nature” thus making yoga more readily available to all.
Linda Baron, E-RYT 500
Yoga Specialist, Faculty of Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, Center for Integrative Medicine
Linda Baron is a Yoga Specialist at the Faculty of Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga and a Reiki Master. She has a thirty-year career working with those who have a wide range of abilities, including cerebral palsy.
Linda’s interest in yoga and meditation carved out a lifelong path of exploration. She finds great fulfillment in sharing this heart-centered yoga practice as a means to explore one’s inner and everyday life. Linda realized that with such explorations we are better able to cultivate a connectedness to a deeper part of us and from that place continually refine how we offer ourselves to the world.
Linda values functional movement and the inherent joy that life offers. She had an affinity towards her first yoga practice back in 1973, which placed her on a lifelong path of self-discovery. Yoga, meditation and good nutrition together continue to keep the wind in her sails while navigating through life with a joyful and open heart. She believes that sharing this all-inclusive practice to enhance one's life is simply pure grace.
Paula Brown, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Yoga Specialist, Faculty of Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, Center for Integrative Medicine
Paula Brown is a Yoga Specialist on staff at the Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga and a Reiki Practitioner. Her interests are heart-centered yoga, stress management, the psychological effects of health issues, and yoga for abuse/trauma survivors. Paula believes in the connection between the mind, body and spirit and encourages understanding of, and making that connection through her teaching.
She also believes that personal growth through yoga translates into improved self-esteem, communication and understanding of the world and relationships with others. In 2017, Paula received a Certification from the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Sally Sherwin, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Yoga Specialist, Faculty of Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga, Center for Integrative Medicine
Sally Sherwin is a Yoga Therapist on staff at the Cleveland Clinic School of Yoga and a Reiki Master. Her interests include stress management, chronic pain, mindfulness and meditation, and heart-centered yoga. Sally loves that every time she practices yoga, it’s a whole new adventure.
She believes in an affirming and compassionate practice that meets you where you are. Her teaching style blends traditional and modern forms of yoga that create connections in the body, breath, and mind to help build strength, flexibility, and focus.
Sally is passionate about helping participants have fun, reduce stress, feel better, and reconnect to what truly inspires them. In 2017, she received a certification from the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Resources
Try a DVD
Judi Bar designed two instructional DVDs with yoga techniques to release muscle tension, improve posture and balance, and breathe deeply and de-stress. It's gentle and user-friendly is perfect for beginners or experienced yoga practitioners. A chair is used for standing and seated postures, no need to change clothes or get on the floor.
- Come As You Are: YOGA - Gentle Yoga Anyone Can Do Anywhere (Total Running Time 55 minutes)
- Come As You Are: NATURE - A Variety of Postures for Beginners and Intermediate Practitioners (Total Running Time 60 minutes)
Stop by one of our stores to purchase your copy or buy online.
Start Using Yoga at Home or Work
| Yoga on the Go | A printable handout with of 8 easy poses you can do while sitting or standing. Hold each post for at least 2 to 5 deep breaths to release tension and stress. |
| 12 Yoga Poses You Can Do Wherever You’re Working | Yoga is a great tool for lowering stress and relieving tension. Take a quick break from your chaotic work day and do these 12 yoga poses at your desk to get through your day. |
| Energizing Yoga Poses to Start Your Day Right | Yoga is a great way to stretch your body and get moving! Try these energizing yoga poses in the morning and get ready for the day ahead. |
| Think You Can’t Do Yoga? You Might Be Believing One of These 8 Yoga Myths | The benefits of yoga range from stress reduction to improved balance and better self-awareness — and nearly everyone can do it. A yoga therapist debunks common things people get wrong about yoga. |
| Can Yoga Make You Taller? | Wish you were a little bit taller? Find out whether or not yoga can actually help from a yoga therapist. |
