Welcome! Riverbend Yoga & Stretch is a small, friendly studio upstairs over the frame shop on Main Street, right by the river. I'm Susan, and I teach all of the classes myself. We are not a gym and we are not a fashion show. Nobody here will ask you to stand on your head. Our classes are slow, gentle and safe, and they are meant for people who are new to yoga, people who are getting older and want to stay limber, and people who sit at a desk all week and feel it in their back and shoulders.

Your first class is free. If you've never been, just come. Try it once, no charge, no pressure. If it isn't for you, that's fine, and you'll have had a nice hour anyway.

Please check with your doctor before starting this or any exercise program, especially if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, a back or joint problem, or if you are pregnant. Tell me about any injury or condition before class begins so I can show you the gentler version of a pose. There is always a gentler version.

The fall session runs from Monday, September 13 through Friday, December 17. No classes Thanksgiving Day or the Friday after. You can start any week; you don't have to wait for the beginning of a session.

Please arrive about ten minutes early so you can get settled. The door at the bottom of the stairs is unlocked twenty minutes before each class. If it's your first time, come fifteen minutes early so we can talk for a minute.

Gentle Yoga (Mon/Wed 9:30 a.m.)
A slow, quiet class. Simple standing and seated poses, lots of attention to breathing, and a long relaxation at the end. Good for anyone, and especially nice if you're coming back to exercise after a while away. Most of the folks in this class are in their 40s, 50s and 60s.

Beginners' Yoga (Tues/Thurs 6:00 p.m.)
For people who have never done yoga, or who tried a class somewhere that went too fast. We learn the basic poses one at a time, how to get in and out of them safely, and what to do with your breath. A little more active than Gentle Yoga, but nobody is racing. This is our after-work class and it's a friendly bunch.

Seniors' Stretch (Fri 10:00 a.m.)
Designed for people 60 and better. Much of this class is done sitting in a chair or holding onto one. We work on balance, on keeping the shoulders and hips moving, on the hands and feet, and on getting up and down from the floor comfortably, which matters more than people think. Bring a friend. We always have coffee afterwards downstairs.

The ten-class card is good for any class, any day, and it doesn't expire until the end of the session after you buy it, so you don't have to worry about losing money if you catch a cold. Cash or check, please; I don't take credit cards. No contracts, no membership fees, no sign-up fee.

• Comfortable clothes you can move in. Sweatpants and a T-shirt are perfect. Nothing tight, nothing with a belt or a zipper you'll be lying on.
• A towel.
• Bare feet or socks. Please leave your shoes at the top of the stairs.
• Water if you like. There's a fountain by the door too.
• Mats are provided. We have plenty, and they're wiped down after every class. If you'd rather bring your own, that's fine.

Try not to eat a big meal in the two hours before class. And please don't wear perfume or cologne; in a small room with everybody breathing deeply, it's a lot.

I came to yoga in my thirties with a bad back and a lot of doubts. It helped, so I stuck with it. I did a teacher training program in 1993 and have been teaching since 1994, first at the community center and at the senior center, and since the spring of 1998 here in my own little studio. I've also taken a good deal of extra training in working with older students and with people who have back and joint trouble, because that's who kept showing up in my classes, and I'm glad they did.

My teaching is gentle, plain-spoken, and a little bit funny, or so I'm told. I believe that yoga is for every body, that you should never feel pain in a pose, and that the best class is the one you actually go to. I'm 44, I have two cats, and I still can't do a full lotus. Nobody needs to.

We're upstairs over the frame shop on Main Street, across from the bank. Look for the green door and the flower in the window. There's parking behind the building and along the street. I'm sorry to say there is no elevator; it's one flight of stairs with a good railing.

Phone: (555) 555-0147. If you get the machine, leave a message and I'll call you back between classes.
E-mail: [email protected]

Also in the HotSprings neighborhood: The Tuesday Night Walkers, if you'd like to do something between classes, and Grandma Jo's Home Remedies, which is good sense from a good nurse.