My yoga journey began long ago when I found a book on yoga.

 I no longer have the book and I don’t remember the name of it, but I was fascinated with it as an exercise and I tried to learn the poses on my own.

 I was not successful and I gave up!

Life happened and several years later I found myself moving to Winnipeg and buying a
house in the West End. On the corner, one block over and literally a few steps away
from my back door was a yoga studio called Yoga Centre Winnipeg. I didn’t pay much
attention at the time, but my daughter was practicing yoga elsewhere and she
encouraged me to check it out. I decided it might be a good way to get in shape, so I
took out a membership. I took as many classes as I could with as many teachers as I
could. I found the poses very challenging, but it did not take very long for me to notice
that I was feeling more flexible and aches and pains that I had attributed to aging were
disappearing. I was hooked!

At the same time, I was slowly becoming aware of the spiritual component to the
practise. I loved the attention to breath and body, the centering guidance from the
teachers and the encouragement to practise loving kindness, compassion, and
equanimity. It was perfect timing and complimentary to other things I was doing to help
me through some difficult life experiences.

I have been a member of Yoga Centre Winnipeg ever since. When I come to the yoga
centre I feel as if I have come home. I can bring in any emotion of the day and leave it
on the mat. The quality of teachers is excellent, the atmosphere is always one of
support and serenity, and I am able to make friends with like-minded people.
The spiritual component has become as important to me as the physical component
and I am so pleased to be a part of a centre that dedicates care and attention to this
practise.

Marilyn

What I love about yoga is that it is an endless opportunity to learn. As an information junkie that would love to be a professional student for life, I seem to have chosen the correct path.

As a practicing student, I am continuously learning. The other day while reading an article for the course, I had what may have been a lightbulb moment. Realizing all at once that I had been processing information without a proper understanding of ‘equanimity’, and then learning (and understanding) what the definition actually was.  In hindsight, I can see signs of there being a lack of understanding – I had difficulty pronouncing it (equa…ni..niminity, or something), I couldn’t put my finger on a clear definition in my mind, and the context in which it was used often didn’t seem to be clear to me. If I would have been asked, I would have given some vague response as to what the definition was, summing up the vague idea I had in my head (something connected to equality…?) So, when it came across my path and I was presented with the actual definition which caught my attention and resonated, I knew this was a lesson that it was time to learn.

e·qua·nim·i·ty

/ˌekwəˈnimədē/

Noun

mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

"she accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity"

This certainly was not what I’d been showing an abundance of lately. The concept of mental calmness was feeling like a mix of past memories and future goals. As someone who also learns best through experience, I had a very suitable opportunity to gain practice in developing equanimity.

Yoga will continue to teach you.

Forever. 

Always in the right moments, always with the right lesson.

Oh, and I can pronounce it now.

Emily