Category: Yoga

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Open the heart to heal

When we sustain a physical injury such as a broken leg, black eye or a sunburn, the injury is visible for the world to see and comment on. “What happened!?” invites story-telling and sharing the circumstances of the accident. Sharing contributes to healing. In contrast, surviving emotional trauma does not always prompt the healing power of sharing. We tend to shy away from talking about our aches of the heart.

Recovering from physical trauma takes time, of course, but is visible. Talking about the injury and noticing physical improvements contribute to healing. Matters of the heart, on the other hand, are less visible and more complex. Although heartache often manifests itself as a furrowed brow, swollen eyes and a sad face, sparking a conversation about emotional pain is a little more sensitive than discussing a physical injury.

So, while the presence of a physical injury invites questions and conversation, the seclusion of an emotional injury has the opposite effect. Isolation and loneliness prevail.

Meanwhile, the owner of the broken heart

seeks an outlet for the pain.

Healing from a physical injury has socially-acceptable antidotes: over the counter painkillers, topical creams, physical therapy. Matters of the heart are shrouded in secrecy, punctuated by solitude and emotional discomfort. Thus, the victim of the emotional trauma is prone to making bad decisions, escaping through drugs, alcohol, sex, and regrettable lifestyle decisions.

So, how to deal with emotional trauma in a healthy way?

The posture of grief is characterized by hunched shouldersslumped spine,and head in hands. Heart opening yoga poses are the antidote to a grieving posture and will create space to let the emotion out, to free the heart from sadness and begin to heal.

Yoga is the union of mind, body and spirit.

Practicing heart opening poses is a gateway to releasing unwanted emotional energy.

Make no mistake, heart openers will trigger a painful release of emotions, often tears, but will ultimately foster tremendous release and freedom from negative energy. Fortunately, the yoga studio and the yoga mat is a safe place to let go of great emotional trauma. The yoga mat is a place of solace and comfort and is free from judgment.  You are always safe on your yoga mat and just like you aren’t passing judgment on the yogi on the mat next to you, you can be certain that (s)he isn’t judging you either. All that being said, if getting yourself to a studio is simply too much for your broken heart, unroll your yoga mat or towel in the privacy of your own home and practice these heart openers there.

Warrior I

Updog/ cobra

Bow pose

Wild thing

Camel

Fish

Wheel/bridge

Dancer’s pose

After a deep heart-opening practice, rest in a long savasana followed by several minutes of sitting still, crosslegged. Take your time and step off your mat and back into the world when you’re ready.

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Springtime Transformation

Online Yoga Teacher Training

CaptureBirch trees are blossoming and birds are singing. Ice is melting and creeks are running. Sun is shining and bike tires are spinning. The oppression of darkness and winter has lifted like a heavy cloak, and long days and music festivals are on the horizon. Spring is punctuated by fewer clothes and lighter shoes and the shedding of the weight of winter garb lends itself to feelings of excitement, change, joy and new energy.

Tragedies and transgressions can be left in the past and new ideas, new opportunities and new friends start to appear. Springtime is a time of transformation, so how about stepping back on to your yoga mat and trying a new pose, a new sequence or a new style of yoga?

Taiga Yoga is offering 25 yoga classes a week, ranging from restorative to vinyasa light to core power. Every class is headed by an exceptional teacher and has a unique feel.  Spring is the time to reignite your love of yoga.

See you on the mat!

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Uncategorized Yoga

Just because it hurts doesn’t mean you should quit

The yoga posture begins when you want to leave it.

Practicing for the past week at an ashtanga-style studio where we contort ourselves into the primary series’ postures and then hold each one for five breaths (that’s four seconds in, four seconds out, times five) has really emphasized Iyengar’s point that la posture commence quand on a envie de s’arreter.

The good stuff starts when you feel like quitting. This is true of adventures.  When you lose the high trail at 4:45pm in November and realize you don’t have a headlamp. THAT’s when the adventure begins.

Because adventure takes on many forms, and the best ones start out uncomfortable.

It’s being at the trailhead with a too-heavy pack. It’s climbing a mountain that no amount of training could have prepared you for. It’s deciding to go to another country for six months. It’s realizing you can’t get back to the other side of the mountain because the tunnel closed twenty minutes ago. It’s dragging your blistered feet to the summit. It’s enduring the storm in an inadequate sleeping bag. It’s sneaking into the museum and then getting locked in. It’s moving away from everything you know and attending university in a foreign language. It’s sharing a cab with the locals. It’s trusting the locals. It’s arguing with your travelling partner, even though he’s the only person with whom you can speak English. It’s sprinting through the station, but missing the train anyway.  It’s realizing the next train isn’t for three days.

Adventure is a chance to push beyond the discomfort and see what awaits on the other side. It’s sticking with the plan, even when you feel like quitting. It’s enduring the pain and knowing it’s not in vain.

See you on the mat. See you on the mountain. See you on the adventure.

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Yoga

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

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Uncategorized Yoga

Acro Yoga

I just got home from my very first acroyoga workshop and I am hooked! I have always admired photos and youtube videos of acroyoga and today I got to fly and support flyers with an amazing group of people at White Gold Yoga!

At its simplest, acroyoga is a partnership between two people: the base and the flyer. The base works to create a strong and stable platform to support the flyer who moves through a variety of dynamic poses.

Both roles are equally important but remarkably different. The base must be grounded and have excellent alignment (“bone-stacked”), while the flyer needs to have confidence, balance and core strength.

The beauty of the practice is the intense mental concentration that is required of both base and flyer: both must be giving 100% concentration to the pose. There is no opportunity for hair-fixing, mind-wandering or grip-adjusting. As soon as the base creates the support and the flyer accepts that stability, there is no room for any distractions. In the pose, in that moment of support, trust and fearlessness, there is nothing else happening for either party. Being fully present, fully concentrated on the acroyoga pose is an opportunity to cultivate clarity and precision.

 

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Mobility for increased athletic performance and strength

It has come to my attention that many of my friends and acquaintances don’t practice yoga because “it is just stretching.” A comprehensive yoga practice is far more than “just stretching,” but the point of this post is that stretching is beneficial. The majority of my friends are extremely active: they play soccer and hockey, work out, ski and snowboard, surf, run marathons, climb mountains, ride bikes and generally the spend the majority of their free time outdoors. Great! Me too! Here is my question directed to all you athletic yoga naysayers: why wouldn’t you want to be limber and flexible so that you can perform all those sports to the very best of your ability and reduce your chance of injury?

Mobility issues plague almost everyone. Tight shoulders, stiff knees, poor posture….these are ailments that reduce athletic ability. The price of immobility extends beyond poor performance though; being limited in one area means that another area will pick up the slack, increasing your risk of injury. Yoga will help by increasing your mobility, leading to less pain, greater flexibility, increased performance and more strength.

Ankle Flexibility Lack of ankle flexibility forces you to compensate by leaning forward; this compensatory action will unnecessarily strain your spine. To test: assume a lunge position with both knees bent 90 degrees and the big toe of the forward foot 90 degrees from a wall. Try to touch your knee to the wall. Repeat with other knee. Good ankle flexibility will allow you to tough both knees to the wall without raising your front heel.

Pelvis Flexibility Poor flexibility in your pelvis contributes to tight hips which can create instability and unnecessary pressure on your knees in any activity that requires deep squats. To test: lie on your back on the picnic table with your butt at its edge. Bring your knees to your chest, hugging them with your arms. Release, and slowly lower one leg as far as you can. Return it to your chest and repeat with other leg. You have good flexibility in your pelvis if you’re able to bring each thigh below parallel to the table.

shoulder flexibility. Lack of range of motion in your shoulders forces you to compensate by leaning back when you need to reach overhead. Also, limited shoulder mobility will force you to twist your spine should you unexpectedly swing your arms in a fall. Unnecessary strain on your spine can be avoided by working towards full range of motion in your shoulders. To test: stand with your head, shoulders, and low back flat against a wall, heels eight inches away. Keep your arms straight and try to touch the wall above your head with your thumbs. You have good mobility if you don’t arch your back or bend your elbows.

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fall schedule Yoga

No More Zero Days: the 21-day Yoga Challenge

The Non-Zero Day

My friend recently wrote a very inspirational essay for reddit. He doesn’t know it, but I think about his comments every single day. The premise of his words? Do something, anything every day that is related to your goals. Do not let a single day go by where you do zero productive things. In other words, every day must me a non-zero day. Based on the popularity of the post, the volume of re-posts and the fact that you can google “nonzero day” and find his words, clearly the concept has resonated with a lot of people. It appears that many people suffer from zero days. I’m one of them. Less and less frequently as I age and mature, to be sure, but there were many days in my past where I did absolutely nothing. Nothing.

There have been many changes in my life that have led me to get up off the couch and do something every day, but no single activity or lifestyle choice has added more value to my days than yoga. Yoga is many things to me: a source of physical strength and flexibility, an emotional solace, a retreat from the world, a challenge, a passion. As a teacher of yoga, my goal is to share the value of a regular yoga practice with everyone who crosses my path. I know that there are infinite reasons to practice yoga and my emphasis is this: no matter what kind of yoga you’re doing, and no matter why you came to your mat, you’re doing it right. Yoga is the unity of breath and movement and that union can be fast and powerful or it can be slow and contemplative. Whether you practice for five minutes or for two hours, that time on your mat will be time well-spent and will meaningfully contribute to whatever physical, professional or personal goals you have. Yoga gives you an energetic physical boost and simultaneously offers a chance to clear your mind of clutter and make space for productive ideas.

Taiga Yoga is currently offering a 21-day yoga challenge. You come to yoga for 21 consecutive days between October 15 and November 4 and you will be entered to win a one-month unlimited yoga pass. Beyond the prize though, Taiga’s goal is to help you establish or solidify your own habitual behavioral patterns. In other words, by stepping on to your mat every day, you are creating a good habit which will have positive ramifications on all aspects of your life. As in, no more zero days.

Try it. Taiga has a wide range of classes to accommodate your schedule and physical ability.

As always, I can’t wait to practice yoga with you.

Here’s a link to the original article on Reddit. The article is raw and unedited, but is heavy-hitting and affecting. Read it.

Here’s a link to Taiga Yoga’s website, including an up-to-date schedule and information on the 21-day yoga challenge.

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Yoga

Constructive Feedback: KEEP STOP START

Keep Stop Start

In my yoga classes, I want to emphasize student expectations by accepting feedback in the keep, stop, start format.

Your presence, your emotions and your contribution to the world are a projection of your acquired experiences and memories. This is fact. Your interactions with the people around you are affected by reciprocal expectations. Sometimes, however, expectations are misunderstood, miscommunicated or not communicated at all. The expectations between two parties must be clearly expressed and understood by both. This is true for professional relationships, romantic relationships and is also applicable in the relationship between yoga teacher and student.

When I step on to the mat at the helm of a yoga class, I am presenting a series of ideas that are based on my previous experience of learning and practicing yoga and on my memories of classes that I have attended. My expectations are that the students who come to my classes will be open to listening to my ideas and trying the poses which I suggest. Conversely, and this is the part that I often forget, my students arrive on the mat with experience and memories of their own. Their contribution and presence in the class is as essential as my own and I want to clearly understand their expectations.

A technique I learned to effectively convey expectations, praise and constructive criticism is as follows:

KEEP___________________STOP________________START_________________.

For example: keep starting the class with pranayama, stop doing backbends without warming up the quad muscles and start doing balancing poses earlier in the sequence. (An extrapolation of some recent feedback I received).

I want to be the best yoga teacher I can be. We all want to be the best partner we can be in professional and romantic relationships. Please use this format to offer feedback on my teaching and I urge you to try this format when changes are required in your professional and personal life.

We all bring our experiences and memories with us every day and sometimes we forget about the value of the experience of those we interact with. I want to make a change in my teaching and begin placing more value on the experience and expectations of my students.

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Yoga

Collective Strength

Today I substitute taught a class for my favourite teacher. Not only is she my favourite teacher, but her Friday Core class is my favourite class. Not just me though; she is a lot of people’s favourite teacher and Friday core is a lot of people’s favourite class, as indicated by its usual lack of available floor space due to the volume of mats. I felt honoured and excited to teach this class, but the reason for me subbing the class was omnipresent. You see, recently, the life of our favourite teacher and one of my role models was changed irrevocably by the sudden and unexpected death of her son.

Not only is she a beloved yoga teacher in town, but she is the owner of the only dedicated yoga studio. Her presence within the yoga community is well-known and her absence right now is palpable.

Prior to teaching today’s class, my inner dialogue debated if I should teach the same sequence that she always does, or should I change the class? Is it disrespectful to play the hallmark song of the 110 bicycles that we always do? The answers to these questions are not readily available and perhaps are not important. No matter what I do, our beloved teacher’s mat will be conspicuously empty.  But nonetheless, we will do yoga in her absence and her instruction and anecdotes of wisdom will resonate.

For better or for worse, we live in a small town and here, we bear each other’s burdens. The fabric of our community is founded on interpersonal relationships. Within the community, we know each other by name, we know each other’s routines and we know each other’s families. When someone is suffering in our midst, we know about it and we feel it. Our community is not new to suffering, and each time tragedy occurs, we stoically bear each other’s burdens. We offer condolences, we share greeting cards, we buy flowers and we make lasagnas and pot pies for grieving families.

Whether or not any of this helps with the grieving process, I do not know. Personally, I have never met with grief, and I certainly cannot begin to understand a mother’s pain from losing her son. But I am a part of this strong community and I know that I want to help alleviate that pain.

Objectively, physically, there is nothing that we can do to help. Nothing heals except for time. How much time, who knows?

Prior to that unquantifiable amount of time, abstractly and philosophically  the community can help with the pain of one of our members: individually we can cultivate strength, tranquility and patience and share those qualities with people around us.

We can continue to build our networks of support and care about and forgive one another. We can develop our community’s bonds and create an environment where support is available and compassion is abundant. Those among us who are suffering can know that the bonds of community are tenable against any tragedy. We can present an unbreakable front in a time of tragedy and hold fast against collapse.

“Individually we can cultivate strength, tranquility and patience and share those qualities with people around us”

It is possible that because we live in such a tightly knit community that we suffer more often. The upside of collective suffering is the available support for one another and the strength of the community to persevere through pain and tragedy. We have done it before.

So, on my mat at the helm of the fabled Friday Core class, I chose to emulate the usual sequence. Our teacher isn’t here right now, but we will continue to do yoga in her absence. We will continue to support each other when we stumble and, together in the beautiful studio that she built, we will cultivate the strength, serenity and compassion which she skillfully weaves into her teaching.  All of the qualities of the heart that she has shared with us through yoga will be compiled and sent her way to help her bravely persevere in the face of this tragedy.

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Yoga

end of summer, back to schedule

picnic potluck

What a glorious summer it was! Full of friends, outdoor cooking, paddling, warm evenings, camping and care-free weekends. Although summer doesn’t officially end until September 21, Labour Day weekend may be considered the last long weekend of summer and with the end of summer comes the return to structure.

As children, September is the time we return to school. With a return to school comes a regular bed time and wake-up time, a weekly schedule and requirements to be at certain places at certain times. Septembers of youth are spent in elementary school, high school and perhaps university and are always characterized by flighty and frenetic summer energy  replaced by structured schedules and upcoming deadlines. Even though many of us are not in school anymore, and probably work all summer, there is still a palpable change after Labour Day, instigated by the habit of returning to a more scheduled autumn lifestyle and also by the schedule changes of those around us who have children in school.

Regardless of how glorious the summer months were, with the hot days, outdoor pursuits and easy-going-I-only-need-to-bring-flipflops attitude, I relish the change of season and the soothing effect that having a schedule has on me. By creating an autumn schedule I have a chance to set new goals, build some structure in my life and re-evaluate my priorities. For example, this September I have set aside time to learn a new sport (Squash!). I have also decided that I will arrive at work half an hour earlier than before, so that I can go home earlier and have extra time to prepare meals for myself and my partner. My September goals include adding regular updates to this website as well as developing a new yoga sequence each week. My priority will be to follow through on these goals by working in thirty minute distraction-free blocks of time, with a five-minute break between.

Take advantage of autumn’s deeply-ingrained return to structure to create new goals, priorities and a schedule of your own. Include projects and ideas that didn’t fit into the frenetic summer months. Keep in mind that municipal classes  often resume in the fall. This also might be an excellent time to sign up for a new activity such as dance classes,pottery, bouldering or yoga!