sarah_DSC3387-427200pxSarah Barnaby teaches developmental movement, yoga asana and anatomy in NYC in group classes and private sessions. She is co-founder and co-director, with Amy Matthews, of Babies Project, which supports caregivers and babies in the NYC area and offers developmental movement education for babies, toddlers and adults. Sarah is certified as a BMC Teacher and Infant Developmental Movement Educator through the School for Body-Mind Centering. She is also certified in Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga and Embodied Anatomy and Yoga, which are Body-Mind Centering® programs that teach developmental movement principles and an embodied approach to anatomy in relation to yoga practice.

Class Descriptions

Classes are open to any level of movement experience.

Adults: Yielding, Rolling, Standing
As adults, how can we inhabit the open-ended possibilities of being where we are and moving from there — and living into what could be, which isn’t necessarily where we were?

This movement class explores developmental patterns in the context of our adult bodies. Moving through these patterns in our current bodies can help us understand our movement choices and offers a way in to adding more choices.

Informed by a Body-Mind Centering® approach to developmental movement, Adults is an opportunity to consciously re-engage with the early learning process of finding our way to walking. Each class will start with rolling on the floor and sequence through several developmental movement patterns on the way to standing upright.

No previous experience with developmental movement or Body-Mind Centering is required.

Elders: Getting Down & Up
This class focuses on developing and practicing movement skills that support changing levels, including getting down to the floor and back up again. Movement explorations also include mobilizing and articulating the feet, rolling, crawling, getting into and out of sitting, and balancing.

We will draw upon developmental movement patterns and principles of Body-Mind Centering® to cultivate clear pathways of support and ease in movement.

This class is open to any level of movement experience and any age.

Babies!
This class is a supportive space for infants and their caregivers to observe, explore and learn about developmental movement: the layered progression of movement patterns, reflexes and perceptual integration that underlie the physical, emotional and relational well-being of the child as she makes her way from birth to walking. Through appreciating and engaging with each child where they are, we can best encourage and facilitate their curiosity and growth. This class is led by certified Infant Developmental Movement Educators through the School for Body-Mind Centering, and is based on principles of Body-Mind Centering® such as “baby ball,” balancing extension with flexion, the value of “small falls”, and prioritizing the process of learning rather than achieving a particular position. Infants (birth to walking) and their caregiver(s) are invited to attend this class free of charge. We also welcome those interested in observing and learning about the developmental movement process, including planning and expectant parents and students and teachers of movement.

Testimonials

Sarah, you made my day yesterday. I found the spinal work very interesting, but the class was more than that. I woke up in a resentful mood, but that had entirely vanished by the end. I felt cleansed and relaxed. A “work-in” as much as a workout. Thanks for everything.
—CB, student

I love Sarah’s yoga class. It’s a renewal for me each time. Her knowledge of anatomy makes those interior explorations fascinating puzzles to be solved. She’s a patient and generous teacher, supportive and encouraging, and always interesting.
—AM, student

I love Sarah’s Anatomy for Any Body classes. They’re geeky—in the sense that you can’t miss her expertise and enthusiasm for her subject—but always accessible. In addition to plenty of cool information, there’s time for gentle physical explorations and individual questions, too!—KC, anatomy enthusiast

—ID, student

You were the first yoga teacher I had  who really helped me understand why so many people love yoga, and certainly the seminal force in my practice, as inconsistent as it may be.
—CD, student

I always appreciated your open and accepting attitude. Too many classes get bogged down in doctrine and get stale quickly. It was always fun to see what you would bring to class and generously share with us from your ongoing studies. How the class has progressed as a group over the years is really impressive. The community has been a special one.
—JS, student

It’s what you do: helping to recognize patterns.
—KB, student

FAQs

Why the ampersand?
Mostly I like it because of the “and-ness” it conveys. Per Geoffrey Glaister in Glossary of the Book:

The word ampersand is a corruption of the phrase “and (&) per se and”, meaning “and (the symbol &) intrinsically (is the word) and“.

I love its etymology and its history. It used to be recited at the end of the English alphabet as the 27th letter. The symbol serves as a container for expression by typographers, who have come up with cool and interesting ways to represent it (e.g.,ampersand2ampersand3ampersand1). And when it’s used in film credits, “&” (as opposed to “and”) indicates a collaboration rather than sequential involvement. And it’s a logical operator, which pleases my analytical computer programmer side. Language, logic, symbols, expression, meaning, and… How would it be to approach asana practice with intrinsic and-ness?

And what’s up with the formula?
The formula started as a humorous attempt to succinctly express my perspective, and was refined with help from Lydia, Leslie and Amy (& a few cocktails). And it ties back to the ampersand philosophically: the idea of openness to inquiry and infinite possibility, of saying “yes, and… and…”, and letting go of the constraint of fixed ideas.

Here’s an alternative, longer version:

(asana + anatomy (and other useful maps such as embryology, water, fractals, cells) + exploration) – dogma = possibilities

Body-Mind Centering® and BMC℠ are service marks of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, used with permission.