Weekly ScHedule
All classes must be booked 6 hours in advance of class start time. If your plans change, please cancel your booking within 6 hours of class start time to receive a full refund. Each class is $15 drop-in unless otherwise stated. Find your class bundle here.
Classes take place every Monday on the third floor of Swan River Yoga Mid-City Mandir, 2940 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119.
View our current COVID-19 protocols.
Sound Therapy for Serenity
Mondays 9:15 am–10:30 am (75 minutes)
Start your week with a gentle wake-up call. Sound Waves is a sweet journey in Nāda Yoga, the yoga of healing vibrations. During this immersion in therapeutic sound, we’re invited to practice deep listening in the presence of crystal bowls, the harmonium, sacred mantras, tuning forks, chimes, the hang drum, and more. Interspersed throughout the music are spoken passages from spiritual scriptures and poetry. If you’ve always wanted to begin your week from a more contemplative, grounded place, your opportunity is here!
This class involves no physical movement. However, feel free to quietly move in and out of seated, supine, or prone restorative poses or stretches. No props are required (except a face covering!).
Suggested props:
A mat or blanket to lie down on.
A blanket or pillow to support the head.
A bolster, pillows, or blankets to place beneath the knees, behind the back, etc.
A cloth or eye pillow to place over the eyes.
Reservation required 6 hours in advance.
Mondays 11 am – 12:15 pm (75 minutes)
In this energy clearing class, we'll focus on a different chakra each week. No prior knowledge of chakras is needed. This practice is both introspective and sensory, including guided meditation, sound therapy, and aromatherapy/essential oils which will be provided (KYOB—keep your own bottle, self-apply, and stay safe!). We'll invoke the deities who symbolically govern each chakra through mantra, and allow the sound of each chakra to resonate in our physical and energetic bodies.
This is an opportunity to explore and contemplate the health of your energy body and to let go of that which no longer serves you in a safe, restorative environment.
This class involves no physical movement, other than the option to place your hands above or on the site of each chakra. No props are required (except a face covering!).
Suggested props:
A mat or blanket to lie down on.
A blanket or pillow to support the head.
A bolster, pillows, or blankets to place beneath the knees, behind the back, etc.
A cloth or eye pillow to place over the eyes.Reservation required 6 hours in advance.
Mondays 5 pm –6 pm (60 minutes)
If you've ever felt like staying in bed instead of going to yoga, now you can have the best of both with Yoga Nidra. Often translated as "yogic sleep" or "sleep meditation," this 60-minute practice is 100% savasana—but don't start snoring yet! Although the body and brain achieve a state of deep restoration, your mind remains awake and aware.
During Yoga Nidra, you journey through a guided meditation in which your awareness travels to different aspects of the body, breath, and consciousness. Yoga Nidra is a form of pratyahara, or sense withdrawal, and is an ideal preparation for seated meditation. This deeply restorative practice will revive your energy better than your best power nap!*
*Not science.
This class involves no physical movement. No props are required (except a face covering!).
Suggested props:
A mat or blanket to lie down on.
A blanket or pillow to support the head.
A bolster, pillows, or blankets to place beneath the knees, behind the back, etc.
A cloth or eye pillow to place over the eyes.Reservation required at least 6 hours in advance.
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Thursday, January X, 2020
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Chakra Restorative
your healing haven
third thursday of the month // 6 pm
90 minutes
This restorative yoga practice moves us beyond the postures and into a deeper experience of our internal energy patterns.
Immerse yourself in each of your 7 chakras through sound, scent, sight, and emotion. We'll move through a restorative yoga sequence designed to connect us with each chakra. As our bodies and energies relax and restore, we'll enter a meditative state where we can probe deeply into our emotional patterns and blockages. Crystal bowls, tuning forks, essential oils, chanting, mudras, and breathing exercises will allow us deeper access to our true internal state.
Sunset Sadhana
your complete practice
fourth thursday of the month // 6 pm
90 minutes
New, extended Sadhana for those who prefer night classes!
Come down from your day in the beautiful, serene space of the Swan River Shala with a universal spiritual practice that will bring you back to your center. Sadhana is any daily spiritual practice. It is not a pre-defined set of rituals, but is unique to each individual. Sadhana is any practice performed towards a spiritual goal.
The AUM iteration of sadhana is built around Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga, or Raja yoga. The practice begins with a dharma talk on a yogic, Buddhist, or other spiritual topic that is drawn from sacred teachings (Yamas and Niyamas, limbs 1 and 2).
We then move into some light movement and stretching—no prior knowledge of yoga necessary—to honor Asana, the third limb. In the context of Raja Yoga, the purpose of asana was to prepare the body for sitting in meditation. This is how asana is treated during AUM Sadhana.
After bringing movement to the body, we practice Pranayama, limb 4 (breathing exercises). The fifth limb is Pratyahara, or sense-withdrawal, which we access through a brief practice of Yoga Nidra.
We end in meditation, which is the focus of limbs 6-8. Afterwards, we celebrate with a cleansing fire puja ceremony and kirtan (chanting).
This is a sacred, special practice best savored in the company of others. People of all faiths, as well as those who are non-religious, will benefit from this universal spiritual practice. Everyone is welcome!
Private Instruction
Laura Cherry offers private instruction in various types of asana, including Hatha, Yin, and Vinyasa.
Laura is certified to teach beginners, as well as practitioners of all levels. She is trained in Adaptive Yoga for those whose bodies present challenges when pursuing a "typical" asana practice.
Laura is also available for private sessions in Yoga Nidra, Sound Therapy, meditation, pranayama, and dharma.
Laura gives introductory harmonium lessons and private Reiki sessions.
Additional Classes, Workshops,
and More
Swan River Uptown Shala
5422 Magazine Street
YIN YOGA
with Laura Cherry
Sundays 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Our Yin Yoga promotes space, & conscious stillness with poses that are simple, slow and low to the earth. The length of each pose is long, the attention inward, the affect deep. There are minimal standing poses. There are no sun salutations or flow. It is a class designed to settle the nervous system, advocating an accessible healing that comes from within. Some props for restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises or visualization may be introduced at the end.
Swan River Mid-City Mandir
2940 Canal Street
YIN YOGA
with Laura Cherry
Mondays 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Our Yin Yoga promotes space, & conscious stillness with poses that are simple, slow and low to the earth. The length of each pose is long, the attention inward, the affect deep. There are minimal standing poses. There are no sun salutations or flow. It is a class designed to settle the nervous system, advocating an accessible healing that comes from within. Some props for restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises or visualization may be introduced at the end.
Swan River Arabi
7011 St. Claude Avenue
QUICK FLOW
with Laura Cherry
Wednesdays 8:30 am - 9:30 am
A continuous flow through a variation of poses with modifications for beginners, including sun salutations, standing postures, balancing, and sitting postures that will link breath awareness with movement. Quick Flow brings you the benefits of practice while efficiently fitting the key elements of a class, including a short meditation, into a shorter schedule.
Level: Beginner Friendly / ALL
ARABI COMMUNITY NIGHTS
Every Thursday
Led by Laura Cherry on 6/13, 7/11, and 8/8
SCHEDULE
6 PM - 7 PM-----QUICK FLOW
7 PM - 7:15--------VEGAN DINNER
7:15 - 8:15----------TEA & GITA (Discussion of the Bhagavad Gita—no prior knowledge of the text needed!)
Swan River Yoga Arabi is a completely donation-based yoga studio in St. Bernard Parish that empowers the individual through yoga and other uplifting activities.
Everyone is welcome regardless of their ability to pay. You are welcome to attend any scheduled classes by donation of your choosing.
Workshops
Power in Your Hands: Introduction to Mudras
Sunday July 21, 1 pm - 2:30 pm
Swan River Uptown Shala
Yoga For Anxiety, Depression, and Compassion
TBA
Swan River Arabi
