Finding Balance with Ayurveda
A 60-Minute Introductory Lecture

Ayurveda, the world’s oldest traditional system of medicine, has guided people toward health and longevity for over 3,000 years. In this engaging introductory lecture, Hilary introduces the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda and its powerful relevance for modern life.

We’ll explore essential questions that affect us all:

• Why do we fall out of balance?

• How can we restore balance naturally?

• What daily practices help us sustain well-being?

Drawing from ancient teachings and contemporary perspectives, this session reveals how Ayurveda offers practical, accessible tools for everyday living. You’ll be guided through the foundational framework of this holistic system and learn how small, personalized shifts can create meaningful change.

Participants will leave with greater clarity, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of their own path toward balance, vitality, and resilience.

register via our schedule

Community Potluck Dinner – Special Collaboration with Greylock Glen

"Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." – MLK

Join us for a cozy evening of connection, good food, and heartfelt community! Normally, our monthly Community Potluck Dinners are hosted at our studio, but this month we’re excited to collaborate with Greylock Glen for a special gathering.

When: Monday, January 19th, 5:00 PM
Where: Greylock Glen Center, 135 Gould Road, Adams, MA 01220

We’ll begin with a community reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Letter From Birmingham Jail", followed by a potluck-style shared meal. You are welcome to attend whether or not you volunteer to read or bring a dish—though we’d love it if you choose to do either!

Expect friendly faces, home-cooked favorites, and a relaxed space to meet neighbors, friends, and new members of our community. Whether you’re a master chef or a take-out enthusiast, everyone is welcome at the table.

Interested in reading? Email info@greylockglenresort.com

No cost to attend—just bring yourself, and optionally a dish to share. We look forward to gathering together and celebrating community!

Qigong Flow & Yoga with Jala
Beginning Thursday, January 8

This calming, slow-paced class blends gentle Qigong movements with mindful yoga stretches to help dissolve tension, release energetic blockages, and restore ease throughout the body.

We’ll begin with a standing Qigong moving meditation to quiet the mind, regulate the breath, and gently awaken circulation. From there, we’ll transition into a nourishing seated stretch sequence designed to support joint mobility, relaxation, and energetic flow.

Class concludes with a deeply restorative savasana, allowing time to fully unwind, integrate, and reset.

This accessible and soothing practice is ideal for all levels and leaves you feeling balanced, clear, and revitalized.

Register via our schedule

Rise & Restore
A twice-weekly nervous system support class

Begins Thursday, January 8 & Sunday, January 11, 2026
Thursdays | 9:30–10:45 AM (75 min)
Sundays | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM (60 min)
Anahata Schoolhouse

Rise & Restore is a gentle, grounding class that blends breathwork, joint mobility, and slow, functional movement to support nervous system regulation and whole-body ease. This non-yoga class is ideal for beginners, burnt-out caregivers, and anyone seeking a calm, supportive space to reconnect with themselves.

Classes move at an unhurried pace with clear guidance, helping you release tension, improve mobility, and cultivate a sense of steadiness and presence. Whether you’re returning to movement or simply needing space to slow down, Rise & Restore meets you exactly where you are.

This class is offered twice weekly, allowing you to build consistency and support your nervous system through regular, intentional movement. You’ll leave feeling more centered, spacious, and supported in both body and mind.

About the Instructor:
Led by Liz Porio, a nationally certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer with over a decade of experience as a registered nurse. Liz brings a compassionate, inclusive approach to movement, blending functional strength, somatic awareness, and calming presence to help students feel grounded, confident, and cared for—no matter their starting point.

Nervous System Reset: 6-Week Kundalini Yoga Series
Recharge, Restore, and Rebalance Your Mind and Body

Step into a transformative six-week journey designed to calm your nervous system, release tension, and restore a sense of inner balance. Each session blends Kundalini Yoga practices—including breathwork, kriyas, mantra, and guided relaxation—with the restorative vibrations of Gong sound healing, helping you feel lighter, more focused, and grounded in your body and mind.

Throughout the series, you’ll:

• Release stress and stored tension

• Cultivate inner calm and clarity

• Strengthen resilience and mental focus

• Experience deeply restorative sound healing

Series Leadership:
The majority of sessions (4 of 6) will be led by Dr. Nancy Quevillon, a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and sound healing practitioner. Howard Rosenberg will join Nancy for the first session to help set the tone and introduce the series. Together, they create a heart-centered, supportive environment that guides you toward physical, emotional, and energetic balance.

About the Instructors:
Dr. Nancy Quevillon – Kundalini Yoga teacher, Reiki Level II practitioner, and certified in sound healing, Nancy brings expertise in movement, breath, meditation, and vibrational healing to every session.

Howard Rosenberg – Founder of Anahata Schoolhouse and certified Kundalini Yoga teacher, Howard combines coaching and wellness practices to support self-discovery, resilience, and conscious living.

Register via the schedule

Join us for a cozy evening of connection, good food, and heartfelt community! Our monthly Community Dinner is a space to gather, share, and nourish one another—no cost to attend, just bring yourself (and a dish to share).

Expect friendly faces, home-cooked favorites, and a relaxed space to meet neighbors, friends, and new members of our community.

📩 RSVP: Please email info@anahataschoolhouse.org to let us know you’re coming.

Let’s gather, share stories, and enjoy a delicious evening together.
We can’t wait to welcome you!

Winter Qigong Flow — Special Event

Join us for a grounding and revitalizing Winter Qigong Flow designed to support your body and energy during the colder, slower months of the season. Winter invites us inward—toward rest, reflection, and nourishing the deeper layers of ourselves. This special session blends gentle qigong movement, breathwork, and mindful stretching to help dissolve tension, replenish vitality, and restore the natural flow of energy throughout the body.

You’ll move through standing qigong practices that calm the nervous system and warm the body from the inside out, followed by slow, intentional yoga stretches to release stagnation and create ease in the joints. Class concludes with a deeply restorative savasana to help you settle, integrate, and emerge feeling balanced, spacious, and renewed.

This event also offers a beautiful introduction to our new weekly Qigong Flow & Yoga class, beginning January 1st and offered every Thursday from 11am–12:15pm. If you’re looking for a grounding, accessible, and energetically supportive practice to carry you through the winter and beyond, this special class is the perfect place to begin.

Come warm your energy, find your center, and step into the season with clarity and ease.

Join us for a dynamic vinyasa-style practice that seamlessly links breath with energizing, strengthening movement. You’ll move through fluid, intentional sequences with clear alignment cues and supportive options to modify or deepen each posture.

Expect a steady, uplifting flow that builds healthy heat, enhances strength and mobility, and leaves you feeling grounded, refreshed, and reconnected.

All levels welcome — please note, this is a more invigorating flow designed to build energy and strength.

We’re thrilled to welcome Tiffany Poplaski, RYT-200, to our teaching team. With over 15 years of personal practice, Tiffany brings a grounded, accessible, and heartfelt approach to vinyasa yoga. Her background as a nurse practitioner informs her mindful focus on strength, mobility, and the mind–body connection.

She hopes students leave her classes feeling centered, refreshed, and empowered to meet daily life with clarity and ease.

Under the quiet energy of the New Moon—a time for renewal, reflection, and planting seeds of intention—this class invites you to slow down and come home to yourself. Through restorative yoga postures, nurturing bodywork, and the deeply healing practice of Yoga Nidra, you’ll be guided into a state of profound rest and energetic reset.

Supported by props and gentle, mindful touch, the body is encouraged to release tension and restore balance. The practice concludes with Yoga Nidra, or “yogic sleep,” a guided meditation known to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, improve sleep, and access the subconscious for emotional healing and clarity.

As the New Moon symbolizes new beginnings and the fertile darkness from which growth emerges, this practice offers space to pause, replenish, and plant intentions for the cycle ahead.

Register via our schedule

Foundations of Meditation: A 4-Week Introduction

Host: Jill Rand

This 4-week series introduces meditation as an accessible, practical way to calm the mind, settle the body, and cultivate focus and inner balance. Through breath awareness, gentle body scans, and guided attention practices, participants will develop tools to reduce stress, improve clarity, and support overall well-being.

About the Facilitator – Jill Rand

Jill Rand has practiced meditation for decades, studying Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, completing Buddhist teacher training with Dr. Matthew Flickstein, and attending yearly 30-day silent retreats. She founded and directed The Briar Rose Center in St. Augustine, where she offered meditation, yoga, and personal growth programs.

With a B.S. in Psychology, Reiki Master, and licensed Massage Therapist, Jill brings a compassionate, down-to-earth approach to making meditation accessible for everyone.

Over four weeks, students will explore:

• Breath awareness for grounding and focus

• Body scans to release tension and connect with the body

• Observation of thoughts and feelings without judgment

• Practical strategies to bring meditation into daily life

All levels welcome. No prior experience needed.

Why Meditation Matters

Long ago, powerful stress chemicals gave our ancestors the strength to fight a bear or run from a tiger. Today, those same chemicals flood our systems—not because of wild animals, but because of nonstop worries and pressures. A single stressful thought can trigger the same chemical reaction as a real threat, leaving the nervous system in overdrive.

Meditation offers another way. By cultivating awareness, we create a “cushion” between events and our reactions. Instead of being swept away by stress, we can pause, stay calm, and respond with clarity. Over time, thoughts lose their grip, anxiety eases, and we experience greater balance in the present moment.

What You’ll Walk Away With

• Practical tools for stress relief and relaxation

• Improved focus, clarity, and attention

• Greater body awareness and calm

• Confidence to continue meditation practice at home or in a group

register via our schedule

Join us for an evening of connecting with your local community over a shared meal. This event is free, all we ask is that you bring a dish to share for our potluck style dinner.

You can RSVP at info@anahataschoolhouse.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

unbecoming
A 1-day workshop on reframing the past to create the future you want

Price: $55

Hosted by: Sammy Orelien & Jala Mohnkern

Your story isn’t a weight; it’s a treasure chest. When you learn how to reframe it, you open the lid, revealing the treasures of transformation.

Every one of us has experienced moments when we felt rejected, inadequate, or like we didn’t belong. In those moments, we formed interpretations about ourselves and the world - stories that once helped us survive but may now be holding us back. Over time, these stories replay like an old record, limiting what we see as possible.

In this workshop, you’ll break free from those limiting narratives by reclaiming authorship of your life. Through powerful exercises and shared insights, you’ll rewrite your story from the perspective of your future self, one rooted in your truth and potential, not your limitations. You’ll leave feeling a sense of freedom and empowerment to create a future that aligns with who you are meant to be.

Takeaways:

• Recognize the stories that still influence you today.

• Spark new possibilities and reclaim your power.

• Gain clarity on how you want to show up in the world, starting now!

• Connect with a supportive community of others on a similar path.

Join us for a full day of free classes! No preregistration required and you are welcome to attend as many classes as you would like. Mats & props will be provided for those who need them. In between classes we will be offering tours of our Healing Arts Center. We look forward to seeing you there!

Open House Schedule:

9-9:45am Gentle Yoga with Ellen Dilthey

10-10:45am Power Flow with Chelsea Mitchell

11-11:45am Restorative Yoga with Gail Sookey

12-12:45pm Intro to Ayurveda (Lecture) with Hilary Garivaltis

1-1:45pm Hatha Yoga with Sara Ruby

2-2:45pm QiGong Flow with Jala Mohnkern

3-3:45pm Kundalini Yoga & Gong Bath with Howard Rosenberg

Join us for this special event led by Gail Sookey. This class will be half restorative yoga and half yoga nidra - the yoga for sleep.

Studies show that yoga nidra helps calm the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response), it helps bring balance to support immunity, digestion & stress management, and the practice of yoga nidra stimulates the pineal gland to release melatonin, which is an antioxidant & may help support blood pressure, cortisol levels & induce restful sleep.

New moon themes will be highlighted and integrated into the class's intention.

Register via our class schedule!

Come nourish your body, heart, and connections with a shared meal. At this time of year, when the days grow shorter and loneliness can sometimes creep in, we gather to celebrate togetherness and the abundance of the season.

Please RSVP and let us know what dish you plan to bring. This dinner is open to all in the community (not just studio members), so bring a friend or neighbor and join us in creating warmth, connection, and joy around the table.

RSVP via email to info@anahataschoolhouse.org

Qigong Flow for Autumn: A Workshop

Autumn is a season of transition, a time when nature prepares for the stillness of winter. The cooler air and shorter days can have a profound effect on our physical and emotional well-being. Qigong offers gentle yet powerful practices to help us navigate this time with greater ease and grace.

In this workshop, you will:

• Explore how Qigong helps release what no longer serves you, creating space for renewal

• Ease seasonal discomforts, like tension, stress, colds, and allergies - through breathwork and self-massage

• Clear stagnation with gentle purging practices to restore balance and energy flow

• Strengthen immunity and cultivate resilience with Qigong Flow to support you through the months ahead

When we align with the rhythm of nature, we can embrace the season and enjoy the blessings each season has to offer.

Meet the Instructor:

Jala Mohnkern brings a grounded, heart-centered presence to her yoga and Qigong classes. A Pittsfield native, she recently returned to the Berkshires after 30 years in Pittsburgh, where she worked as a pharmacist and first discovered yoga during her pregnancy in 2004. What began as a way to relieve physical discomfort soon evolved into a transformative practice that inspired her to share its benefits with others.

She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training through the Himalayan Institute in 2015 and now teaches Hatha, Flow, Restorative, and Gentle Yoga.

Jala blends yoga and Qigong, supported by her YoQi® Qigong certification, to encourage energy flow, emotional balance, and inner calm. Drawing from both Eastern wisdom and her background in Western medicine, she is passionate about empowering others to access the body’s innate ability to self-heal through mindful movement, breath, and lifestyle.

Join us for an Ayurvedic journey of self-care that will help you thrive as you navigate the transition from summer to Fall.

This workshop will provide you with recipes, a personal plan, and a simple meditation practice to manage the effects of the seasonal transitions.  

You will:

• Learn the basic theory of the doshas with an emphasis on Vata dosha – the air dosha

• Learn about some diet-balancing tips and go home with some delicious recipes

• Put a personal seasonal plan together that is suited just for you

• Participate in and learn a simple meditation practice, including breathwork to ground the Vata dosha and transitional season of autumn.

Join us in person for $65 (includes a freshly prepared vegetarian lunch and herbal tea) or virtually for $50 - visit our schedule for the virtual registration!

Ayurveda is the oldest traditional system of medicine in the world, dating back over 3000 years. Explore this rich science of health and longevity as Hilary shares its practices and insights.

• How do we get out of balance?

• What can we do to restore balance?

• How do we maintain this balance in everyday life?

Ayurveda has offered insights to these very questions for thousands of years and what was true then is still true today with a few modern twists and perspectives.

Come learn the simplicity of this system as you are guided through the basic framework. You will walk away with personal tools that will get you started on the path to balance.

Register (for free) via our class schedule!

Come nourish your body, heart, and connections with a shared meal. Please RSVP and let us know what dish you plan to bring. Open to all in the community, not just members of the studio.

RSVP via email to info@anahataschoolhouse.org

Ayurveda is the oldest Traditional system of medicine in the world, dating back over 3000 years. Explore this rich science of health and longevity as Hilary shares it’s practices and insights.

• How do we get out of balance?

• What can we do to restore balance?

• How do we maintain this balance in everyday life?

Ayurveda has offered insights to these very questions for thousands of years and what was true then is still true today with a few modern twists and perspectives.

Come learn the simplicity of this system as you are guided through the basic framework. You will walk away with personal tools that will get you started on the path to balance.

Register (for free) via our class schedule!

Can't make it in person? Join us online via Zoom!

Join Link Here

Meeting ID: 845 9973 9685
Passcode: 750310

Join us for this special event led by Gail Sookey. This class will be half restorative yoga and half yoga Nidra— yoga for sleep. New moon themes will be highlighted and integrated into the intention of the class.

Register via our class schedule!

Teacher: Ann Farrell

Class: Restore & Sound Bath every Wednesday at 6:30 PM starting Wednesday, September 3rd

Class Description: Settle into stillness with this deeply relaxing 60-minute class combining gentle restorative yoga and a continuous sound bath. You’ll be guided through approximately four supported postures, each held for several minutes to encourage deep rest and release. Throughout the class, soothing sounds from crystal bowls will help calm your nervous system and promote inner harmony.

This class is open to all levels, including complete beginners. No experience needed - just come as you are and allow yourself to unwind.

More info coming soon!

Register via our class schedule!

Join us at the Schoolhouse for an evening of connection, great conversation, and delicious food.

This is a potluck-style gathering, so bring a dish to share and enjoy the diverse flavors and creativity of our wonderful community.

You do not need to be a member of Anahata Schoolhouse to join – all are welcome! If you’re unable to bring a dish, we kindly suggest a donation of $10-$20 to support the Schoolhouse.

We can’t wait to see you there! 

To RSVP, please email us your name and what you plan to bring at info@anahataschoolhouse.org!

When: august 22nd, 6 PM
Cost: Class price
Hosted by: Gail Sookey

Unwind and restore your inner calm with a special session of Restorative Yoga paired with Yoga Nidra. This class is designed to release tension, promote deep relaxation, and nurture your body and mind. Let go of the stresses of daily life as you experience profound rejuvenation through guided meditation and gentle postures.

Yoga Nidra, often called “yogic sleep,” is a guided meditative practice that brings the body into deep relaxation while keeping the mind gently alert. Rooted in ancient yogic tradition, this powerful practice supports nervous system regulation, stress reduction, and deep rest. By entering a state between waking and sleeping, students are guided through body awareness, breath, and visualization techniques that promote healing, mental clarity, and emotional balance. Just 30-45 minutes of Yoga Nidra can feel as restorative as several hours of sleep.

Register from Class Schedule.