PROGRAM DETAILS
Yoga Otzma Chanukah Journey
December 13, 2020 – January 1, 2021
You may join the cohort for a 1-, 2-, or 3-week-long journey. You may choose your own adventure from the Weekly Offerings listed below. (Scroll down for detailed descriptions of each offering.)
Session Times (Eastern Standard Time):
Sundays: Foundational Yoga Flow @ 3p – 4:15p
Mondays: Grounding Yoga Flow @ 4p – 5p
Tuesdays: Self-Directed Practice, TBD by participants)
Wednesdays: Fire-y Yoga Flow @ 5p – 6:15p
Thursdays: Self-Directed Practice (TBD by participants) & Ecstatic Dance (optional) @ 8p – 9p
Fridays: Deep Chill Yoga Flow @ 2p – 3p
Please note: All sessions are optional.
Yoga Otzma Mindful Leadership Journey
January 3, 2021 – January 22, 2021
As we move from a collectively-challenging 2020 into the continued uncertainty of 2021, one thing is certain: Inauguration Day, “politics,” and “leadership” are topics that will dominate our minds, news cycles, and conversations, for many months to come.
For those of us who feel anxious and tense at the thought of navigating the oppositional and argumentative climate that characterizes our society today, tools such as yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices may prove invaluable for grounding one’s self and remaining calm in the midst of whatever personal or societal storms conspire to overwhelm or derail us.
Nevertheless, a focus on self-care alone is not enough to turn the tide on increasingly toxic behaviors and modes of communication in our culture. If we are to pursue tikkun olam from the inside out and “be the change we wish to see in the world,” we need to learn how to collectively take our yoga-based mindfulness practices off the mat and into the world around us, and actively model a mindfully-Jewish culture of kindness, compassion, and justice.
How can we learn to repair the world without creating more cycles of drama and trauma, while holding and processing our individual and collective drama and trauma? Over the course of three weeks, Yoga Otzma will offer a groundbreaking approach to Mindful Leadership via comprehensive embodiment practices, through a Jewish lens.
To learn more about this program and determine if it’s the right fit for you, please reach out to evan@yogaotzma.com
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
Yoga Otzma has been truly life-changing for me. If you had told me at the very start of quarantine that I would find a new passion, gain a ton of physical strength, find a new sense of calm, connect with my inner self, and make new friends from my bedroom, I would have never believed you. But here we are eight months later and all of that has come true. I will be forever grateful to Evan and Yoga Otzma for giving students like me a community to constantly come back to and that always feels like home.
— Leah Thomas, Emerson College, Class of ’22
Yoga Otzma has given me a space to reflect on my personal wellness through a spiritual Jewish lens. I never thought that these two parts of my life could be so well integrated and connected, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey that Evan has taken us on and am excited to continue to grow in this way.
Yoga Otzma has been a wonderful opportunity to get to connect with people during covid while learning how to stay in shape. I have made so many wonderful friends and I now love yoga! Evan has made yoga both a supportive, fun experience, and also a strength-building, energizing experience.
— Jordana Meltzer, Emerson College, Class of ’23
Yoga Otzma has been both the comfort and the challenge that my yoga practice needed. I was starting to fall out of my routine before I found this community, and now it offers me communal motivation, structure and dependability, and a sense of accountability to show up more, still with a relaxed, flexible, and judgment-free vibe. Thanks for everything!
— Mel Friedel, American University, Class of ’19
ABOUT YOGA OTZMA
Yoga Otzma began as a collaboration between Artist and Yoga Instructor Evan Joblin, Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Greater Boston, and a handful of Boston-area Hillels, with the aim of providing meaningful and practical wellness-based events for students on campus. With the sudden onset of COVID-19 ushering in an entirely new reality, Yoga Otzma transitioned to an online series of workshops, drawing students from schools across the region to practice yoga together in community, from their respective places of residence. As the current situation continues to remain uncertain, Yoga Otzma is committed to helping students build stronger minds, bodies, spirits, and communities, with the aim of repairing the world, from the inside out.
Since April 2020, Yoga Otzma has served students from 30+ campuses across North America, including: Babson College, Becker College, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Brandeis University, Brown University, Clark University, Emerson College, Emory University, George Brown College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Hofstra University, Humber College, Johnson and Wales University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Princeton University, Ryerson University, State University of New York (Potsdam), Syracuse University, George Washington University, The Ohio State University, Tufts University, UMass Amherst, University of Delaware, University of Georgia, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, Western Carolina University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
We’d love for you to join us!
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Evan Joblin brings 20+ years of eclectic personal, professional, and educational experience to Yoga Otzma. Having earned his B.A. in English at the University of Southern California and an interdisciplinary Master’s degree (with a focus on creative writing and philosophy) at the University of Pennsylvania, Evan went on to study herbal medicine in Israel, complete yoga teacher trainings in both the United States and Kenya (with Africa Yoga Project), as well as teacher trainings in Five Element Dance and Breathwork modalities on a tropical Thai island. He has recently been selected to participate in the START incubator, a collaboration between the Glean Network and Columbia Business School.
Over the years, Evan has worked extensively in experiential Jewish educational settings, including four years on staff at Eden Village Camp and Eden Village West, and– in addition to running cross-campus Yoga Otzma cohorts under the CJP of Greater Boston umbrella– he has collaborated with Hillel professionals and student leaders to bring custom-designed, in-person and online yoga/wellness programs to Boston University, Clark University, Emerson College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to his endeavors in the wellness realm, Evan is a working freelance artist and an avid world traveler. Having explored over 40 countries in the past several years, Evan has been preparing a large-scale painting and writing project based on his adventures. You can see his work in progress at www.evanjoblin.com.