Two Dog and Therapeutic Yoga: Annie's Journey
As a child in the early 70’s, I watched my mother navigate her way through Richard Hittlemen’s '28 day yoga exercise plan'. As a teen I was introduced to practicing yoga in
A year later, when I moved to
I was spending hard earned dollars to attend, so when, in the second class of a six week series, I was confronted with the overwhelming feeling of being a 'yoga failure’, it was a hard decision to quit.
But I did and this is why...
I was born pigeon toed, my right leg was internally rotated at the hip. As a child I wore special shoes, night braces, and went to many doctor appointments. In high school I played tennis, cross-country skied and felt no repercussions of my body being ‘impaired'.
Yet I always had difficulty sitting 'criss-cross applesauce' on the floor and never thought about it being a problem, until the ill fated
Even in
So back to a second
We had done a variety of stretches and then were guided to partner up.
I was a “painfully shy” (the way my parents described me) child, and even as an elder teen, I was anxious about asking a stranger to be "my partner" in a yoga class. The thought of following yoga instructions, which were likely going to involve touching, was far from relaxing.
Per instructions, one of us was to lay on the floor on our back, soles of feet together, knees apart. I look back and can remember feeling vulnerable and awkward...
I felt as if I was asking to be laid, flayed or smothered.
I did not feel safe!
But I did not respond to my body/mind signals to stop. I thought something was wrong with ME, if I did not want to follow the instructions.
Next, the partner was to stand over me and place her hands on my knees and push down to “open my hips”.
The pain in my body forced me to say, "Stop!"
My right hip did not want to be pushed by a stranger to a place it had not gone before. It was the pain in my body, not the fear and anxiety in my heart, that made me stop.
The instructor was not attending to any possible physical, emotional or cultural limitations of the students. The Instructor was simply dictating a way to do yoga. I did not return for the remaining four weeks. Therapeutic yoga trainings evolved out of stories like mine.
Not long after, I DID make my way back to yoga through another teacher who sensitively created a safe environment by inviting her students to listen to their bodies and their hearts. From my own experience in this class and other negative experiences in a few yoga classes, I have been moved for three decades now to do my best to reach to those who would otherwise not feel welcome, safe or comfortable in a yoga class.
I taught some of the first so called ‘Gentle’ yoga classes in
Inspired by their own yoga journeys and other healing modalities Two Dog instructors Wendy, Gail, Rainey, Kathleen, and Nancy all have their own unique ways of offering yoga to many who are yoga shy.
Today we offer many classes that encourage you to listen to the teachings and make them your own. In this way you will feel better all over as your healing yoga path honors you just where you are.
Here are some of the varied therapeutic offerings at Two Dog
- Gentle yoga classes - 4 weekly
- Chair yoga
- Monthly yoga Nidra, aka ‘yoga nap'
- Yoga for Pain relief -a new ongoing class offering at Two Dog
- Intro to Meditation
- Monthly Gong Baths
- Intro to Yoga
- Restorative Yoga
- Psoas workshop in October
- Feldenkrais®
Other offerings:
- Two Dog with the help of seven volunteer yoga teachers and assistants we now offer three free Lake City Community ‘chair yoga’ classes.
- Want to join us as an assistant in one of these classes?
Come to an orientation meeting 2-4pm October 27th and meet other volunteers, hear their stories.
- Want to join us as an assistant in one of these classes?
Annie has offered Therapeutic Massage, Private yoga sessions, and Hellerwork for over 30 years in Little Dog.
Contact her for more info. annie@twodogyoga.com -or- 206-367-9608
Our Community
Donate to the Guerilla Garden fund
Contact Annie for larger donations.
Two Dog Tales
Enjoy these highlights from the Two Dog e-newsletter and other writings contributed by and about Two Doggers over the years. It's a story archive that tells the tale of the Two Dog community: its teachers, students, neighbors and friends.
| Three villages: Beloved Communities by Annie Stocker |
Yelapa in Mexico, Vaidyagrama in India, and Lake City in Seattle |
|
Gratitude Flows Over at Two Dog |
Unexpected sources of Gratitude |
| Generosity of Two Dog Community by Annie Stocker |
Two Dog Generous community |
| Annie's Om From Home by Annie Stocker |
How Annie found her voice |
| Mothers and Daughters at Two Dog by Valerie Sasson |
Sharing the experience of sore muscles on Sunday mornings |
| A Dog A Day? by Roxi Smith |
A home-practice story shared by a long-time Two Dogger |
| Turning the Kaleidoscope: Bringing Things to Light by Sarahjoy Marsh |
Bringing awareness to the ever-shifting materials of our inner kaleidoscope |
| A Year's Journey by Shannon McCall |
The story of a milestone year in the life of one Two Dog teacher |
| The Two Dogger Next Door by Jan Mikus |
Read about the life and healing experience of a studio regular |
|
To Plan or Not To Plan |
A reflection on how much our habits press on our thoughts, actions, reactions |
| The Space in Between by Wendy Groesbeck |
What are we really asking for when we want more time in our lives? |
| Why "Two Dog" by Annie Stocker |
Musing on the name of the studio |
|
Favorite Poses |
Wendy, Annie and Shannon reflect on their favorite poses |
|
Teen Kumbha |
A mother/son yoga experience |
|
About Gentle Yoga and Me |
Coming into yoga in the best possible way |
|
Yoga- Another Universe? |
How Yoga made me a better person |
|
Curve Balls and Fowl Balls |
Sometimes things happen |
|
Ayurveda |
Self-care |
|
What Yoga Means to Me |
Musings... |
| Coming Home by Annie Stocker |
Returning from Sri Lanka |
| Healing in Kerala by Annie Stocker |
A story of healing |
| Loving Lake City by Annie Stocker |
Reflection of a spring evening in Lake City |
Lovin' Lake City
Annie Stocker, Two Dog studio owner, has lived in Lake City since 1986 and feels a warm kinship with the ever-emerging neighborhood. Two Dog students bump into each other at local restaurants, the Lake City Farmers Market, the local hardware store, post office, parks and restaurants. More and more people now make Lake City their permanent home in which to grow their families and friendships. Two Dog is proud to be a part of the growth of this healthy, thriving community. Come explore!
Two qualities of life that we sometimes give low priority to are surrounding ourselves with beauty and developing community. These are being practiced at Two Dog Yoga studio. The gorgeous unfolding lotus mural secures the room where yoga, singing, dancing, eating, talking and more are offered with open arms to the Lake City neighborhood.
— Cynthia Lair, author of Feeding the Whole Family
Two Dog Yoga is a compassionate, supportive and nonjudgmental community of teachers and students which has benefitted me in ways I did not expect. I have been able to apply these experiences when I am off the mat to enhance my life as well as help me cope with everything from day-to-day stresses to more difficult times of loss and grief.
—Jodi McClain, Educational Audiologist
