Evolution in Yoga Evolution in Me

By Kim Nelson

I remember as a child my thoughts of yoga as intriguing and mysterious. As I got older these ideas evolved into a vision of yoga involving standing on one’s head, sitting in the same position for extended periods of time and mental concentration exercises that led to an intangible experience called meditation.

 I knew there was more to it. I just didn’t know what it was. Eventually, armed with uncertainty and unfamiliarity, I ventured into my first yoga class. What first struck me most was that in a roomful of people, I could find my own place of privacy, solace, peace and profound silence. I never thought that I’d find that among other people. To me, that was something that could only occur if I was alone with no external stimuli. If I was perhaps in a bubble or if I had learned the mysterious, elusive art and science of meditation.

Yet, here I was having an experience different than my preconceived notions. There was something to this. It reached me and so began my journey. Almost five years later, I’m still practicing yoga, still learning and it still reaches me, still challenges me to know myself and to be true to myself.

Here are some of the things I have learned along the way. I can breathe. I can be quiet and still and be with myself. I can listen. I can become aware. I can feel. I can understand. I can surrender and let go. I can really breathe. I can be.

Our physical bodies are inextricably connected to our entire being in this human experience. I did not always believe this. Practicing the physical postures of yoga was my starting point to tuning into myself in a new way, opening doors to self awareness that had been closed.

Yoga has certainly branched out in a myriad of directions from its Sanskrit roots dating back thousands of years ago to the Sutras, the Upanishads and the Vedas. It has been through an evolution and continues to evolve. Yet what remains constant is its essence, what it always was, a path of discovery, a way to connect to who we really are and the divinity from which we all come. Namaste

Kim Nelson is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

Finding Peace in a Busy World

 I have just read the article “Busyness Plan” by Sally Kempton and completely related to her message on so many levels.  Ms. Kempton makes the point that we are often addicted to busyness in our “capitalist” society and frame of minds.  She offers insight into finding the spaciousness in the gap between time and timeless.  That perfectly blissful and peaceful place where you experience just “being”.  She goes on to explain that activity is fine and essential but our state of mind while engaged in an activity can be peaceful.  As in the story about the two monks, one scolds the other for sweeping instead of meditating.  The other’s reply is, “you should know that there is one inside who is not busy”. 

Accessing this is the key to bliss.  It reminded me of my life lately.

I have always valued busyness.  My family, culture and ego have always promoted and responded to busyness.  It is a state of being that was ingrained and learned through proud comments of, “oh, I’ve been so busy today” or “today I worked on this, this and this, made supper, took the kids to swimming and painted the bathroom”.  I have learned that being busy is a desirable, sought-after trait and way of being.  I have been conditioned with the praise and adulation that follows a statement of “I’ve been so busy…”  However, as I grew older and my children became more self-sufficient and eventually moved out on their own, I discovered I was burnt out emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I was a mom, worked full time, took university courses, managed my home, volunteered for everything, had my boys in as many activities as we could cram into a week and thrived on the busyness of it all. It wasn’t until I realized when life slowed down that my state of health was a mess.  I had anxiety, panic attacks, stomach problems, irritability,  jealousy, anger, illogical fears, unhappiness, illness and unbelievable exhaustion.  I was DONE! 

I had been living on a diet of caffeine, sugar and adrenaline.  My  adrenaline switch had no off button.  Out of desperation I began looking at myself, my patterns, habits, diet, and recognized a deep inner longing for peace, ease, relaxation and wholeness.  This process of discovery took me to naturopathic doctors, alternative healers, informal group therapy and study groups, psychics, card readers, past life regressions, traditional doctors, exercise routines, more self-help books then I can count and eventually yoga.  I felt such a strong calling to do yoga.  My body craved it.  As I began to practice at home to DVD lessons, my state of being began to alter.  Eventually this search for peace took me through a 2 year detox, a new way of eating, and accidently an experiment in which, out of desperation, I left my ego behind and found a new point of view I called “the observer”.  This brought me so much peace it was quite incredible the first time I “left my body” and viewed a stressful situation from this position of detachment. From this perspective I  had clarity and calmness.  I was rational and thoughtful. I was kinder, more patient, wiser and more in-tune with what was happening.  Essentially, my ego got out of the way and the “one inside me who is not busy” was allowed to be present.

Accessing this state of being is a constant learning curve.  I am more aware of the times I enter this state without effort.  These are the times I am totally engaged in an activity and lose all sense of time.  This is a blissful place to be.  The first time I experienced this sense of timelessness was in childbirth.  It is an incredible experience. A day could have passed, an hour, a minute I had no sense of time just “being”.  I longed for this experience to happen again but never achieved it until I began to practice yoga and learn more about the ego and detachment.  Since this time I  have experienced this state doing more mundane activities such as cleaning my house, writing, painting, doing yoga, working in the garden, and talking with a friend.  When time is irrelevant you know you have entered a place of peace.

I have dabbled with meditation but at this point I am not practicing it regularly.  I have good intentions of beginning this practice and more fully developing a yogic state of being.  Since I have been practicing yoga and taking the teacher training I have had many friends, colleagues and family comment on how calm I am.  How nice to hear after being tormented by the ego and filled with anxiety and exhaustion. 

I see the way I was living in others on a daily basis.  I wish I could sit them down and tell them to take a time-out, breath and leave their ego behind. But I know we all have to find our own way in our own time.  When the opportunity arises to discuss peacefulness I share my story and encourage friends and acquaintances to experiment with going to the place of the observer or “the one who is not busy”.  When accessed it is  pure bliss!  Now I can say with confidence I am a happier person and she’s always been there, lost in the gap.

My wish for all who read this is the opportunity to access their place of peace. 

Namaste, Elaine

Elaine K. is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

On Yoga

Then the  Yoga teacher training assignment  came forth and said.... Speak to us of Yoga.

And the student answered ,saying: Yoga is a freedom song,

 

But .....it is not freedom,It is a blossoming of ones self

But... it is not the fruit

It is a depth calling unto a height,

But.... it is not the deep nor the high

It is the confined taking  wing

But.... it is not a space encompassed

Yes,In very truth it is a freedom song

 

 The human  body knows it's yearnings,and its rightful need,and will not be decieved.

 And my  body is the harp of my soul,

 And it is mine to bring forth sweet music

  from it ,or confused sounds

 

I go  to my field and my garden

And have learned  that it is the joy of the bee to gather honey from the flowers

But it is also the  joy of the flowers to yield its honey to the bee

 

As a yoga student growing in her  practise, I am not unlike the flower and the bee--
Regards,

Laura Lysenko

Laura Lysenko is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

Yoga in Italy

Jan and I just returned back from leading a yoga trip in Italy.

The destination was an 800 year old farm house in the Tuscan Hills.

 23 people joined us in the journey, our ages ranged from early 40’s to early 80s. It was, as they say, the trip of a lifetime. The people, the places, every moment was amazing. 

Each person on the trip was touched by something different: The food, the wine, the flowers, the history, the art, the culture, the shopping.  There is so much to say. I could fill pages, but this is a yoga blog so that is where I will start and end.

The reason I am drawn to yoga is the journey. Every yoga pose and every meditation session is an opportunity to explore an inner landscape as vast as the outer world.

The reason Jan and I have started to offer yoga trips is to provide an opportunity to explore the outer world, with the added benefit of the yoga practice to focus and enhance the journey.

On our trip to Italy I was reminded how clearly the outer journey also enhances the inner. Experiencing the depth and beauty of the world around brought me into a balance of my own body mind and spirit held in the body mind and spirit of the world.

Each day the group came together for yoga at 6:30 am.  We met in an awesome room that was once a stable, but now a lovely yoga space.  While the transformation from stable to yoga room is relatively recent, the sense of time and history was palpable to us as we rested on the uneven floor boards. 

Donkeys and horses regularly stood at the window looking in. Perhaps they too have a sense of history and wondered what we were doing in their space. Or maybe they were drawn to the energy of communion and peace they felt emanate from the room. The morning yoga practice was an opportunity for our group to come together, to stretch, to strengthen and to prepare body and mind for the day ahead. Each evening the group came together again for a restful practice, an opportunity to give body, mind, and spirit, a chance to integrate the day’s events.

 

For me the most profound yoga was experienced in the in between hours, when we were off the mat.  Every day we all hopped into little vans and headed off to explore the spectacular Italian countryside on our way to yet another hill top Etruscan village.

 

The countryside was hilly, filled with the vivid greens of the various crops that includes olive groves and wine groves. Other green fields were dotted with red poppies, and beautiful yellow and purple flowers. The beauty of the landscape inspires me to source out my own inner beauty and offer it out, and to invite others to do the same.

Each village visited had its own magic. Quite possibly the magic came from a loving attention to detail demonstrated every where you looked. In the way the flowers hang from the balconies against ancient stone walls, beautiful artwork visible everywhere you turn, exquisitely fashioned  clothes, shoes and bags, or the enticing gelati, cheese, and wine displays.  

As someone who easily tires of details, Italy inspired me to begin to bring such caring appreciation to my own life- to slow down and patiently, lovingly attend to what is in front of me, for its own sake.

While the yoga practice at times emphasizes sense withdrawal,  and one reason is to help us attune to the subtleties that exist. Italy is a delight to the senses- an invitation to appreciate the subtle nuances along with the not so subtle!-Drink it all in! Taste! Feel! Breathe! Italy inspires us to live fully.

There is so much to absorb and experience, you cannot help but be fully in the moment and at the same time profoundly aware of an ancientness beyond words and a future is limitless.

This is yoga at its best.

 namaste
 Shauna

Looking at the World Upside Down

“Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant---”

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise

As Lightening to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind--

Emily Dickinson        c. 1868

I love this poem by Emily Dickinson.  For me, she is saying that at some point in our lives, when we are ready and open, we will  be dazzled by the light of a right alignment with our world. A kind of getting right with the light.  Until we have capacity to comprehend and life experience to inform our views, we are best served by taking in information in gentle digestible bits.  Chunking it down.  Swallowing the elephant - one bite at a time.  Of course, life can throw curve balls, and the lessons are lived and learned at lightening speed.  Assuming one is not blinded by a direct hit of lightening, what can be meant by “the Truth’s superb surprize”? 

I have been taking classes at the Yoga Centre Winnipeg for the past four years.  Last year, I decided, it was time to take the plunge and enrolled in the Teacher Training Program.  Did I want to teach?  Perhaps.  Did I want to learn more about the path of yoga?  Absolutely.

I had retired from a fulfilling career in human resources.  Sure, I was trained to mediate, but could I meditate? I knew how to utilize personality preference systems such as MBTI but could I make sense of the Elements of Yoga (fire, air, earth, water, space) that the yogis favoured?   I wasn’t looking for a new job.  Facing facts - I was no spring chicken, as my mother would have phrased it.  I did not think I would or could build up to not so gentle Vinyasa or fire breathing Ashtanga classes.

I had felt very body conscious when I first started participating in beginner classes.  I did not get the concept of being on the mat, in my own space, that everyone was taking classes for their own reasons, relaxation, exercise, or socializing.  That people, generally, did not notice you, that they were so wrapped up in their own lives.  The studios were kept fairly dark.  After a few of months of beginner alignment and relaxation classes, I decided to “graduate” myself to a beginner flow class.  Before class, I ran into a former work colleague.  I mentioned to her how it was my first flow class and that I did not have a clue about how it would go and how ridiculous I might look trying, for the first time, to move fairly rapidly from pose to pose.  Her response spoke to her modesty and kindness: “when I am in class, I am so focussed on my own practice and that I rarely notice anyone or anything else in the studio”.  How pathetically egotistical I felt.  Of course, she was right.  She was all about being present in the yoga moment. 

Entering the studio for a yoga practice is about entering a special space that has been intentionally cordoned off from the mundane world, to invite you to bring your awareness into the moment, to still your mind.  Big Lesson: this is all about you (emphasis added).

Of course, the ego never lets up.  I wondered why it was that some people seem to move readily into what seemed to me to be complicated poses. I felt very frustrated that I could not kick up into head stand - or understand the euphemism of “float up” into the pose.  I felt my earthiness as I crumpled to the right in a spastic heap to the floor, my heels never making it up the wall. I was experiencing the inkling of the pose, but it was experienced in a truly “slant” manner, to paraphrase Dickinson, and pun intended.

One day, half a year ago, I made it up the wall and felt my heels contact the wall as I fully inverted.  Success.  The ego was satisfied.  Even for only 5 seconds. I notice when I think that it is force that will carry me up the wall, I do not succeed.  When I surrender to the breath, align my limbs, I am up the wall almost effortlessly.  Some days, I “float” up, and other days, I require a few tries before inverting.  I still ruminate on this pose - the ego knows no bounds!

I think it is safe to say that, not unlike the child in Dickinson’s poem, I am being dazzled gradually by the brilliance of the yoga practise and the surprizes/gifts of the teachings I am honoured to receive. 

Nancy

Nancy M. is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

Teaching my first Spring Sadhana

Last year while in teacher training, I saw the posting advertising Spring Sadhana. I was devastated that I could not attend because I live far away, so I instantly thought of teaching one myself.  I already had been teaching for a few years, I offered it to my class and they loved the idea. Then I realized that it had to be at 5:30 am to fit into their morning schedules, so I agreed and prepared to teach for 30 days straight.  I knew it would be an amazing experience and felt lucky for the opportunity.  The first day I was shocked that people were early and excited; it seemed much too dark and cold in April at that hour.  I made some tea, warmed up and taught a beginner level class.  Everyday I would make a new class for the next day, had to look up new ideas and poses. I learned so much.  As the days went on the classes lifted to another level. I taught everything I could and we were all stronger.  The students enjoyed meditation before and after class and we all felt closely connected, in love with the morning.  By the end I was so tired; I wished I had taken the weekends off to sleep in.  This year I am teaching another Spring Sadhana but in May and at 6:30 am so I can come home and start my day.  Not all the students can make it at this later time, but I know I need to take care of my body and mind. I'm also taking weekends off!  It will be 20 days instead of 30 days but it will still be wonderful and transformational.  I will do yoga, come home, play with my flowers, wake up my children, eat breakfast outside maybe, and then walk the children to school. It’s a beautiful morning. 

Lorissa Kowalchuk  

Lorissa Kowalchuk is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

Averting the Gaze

Amazing how close is 'avert' to 'averse'…

Why withhold eye contact from neighbours? Why avert the gaze?

Here are some reasons:

Pair-bond Dynamics ---

Play it cool for other's sake;

Avoid the jealous other-other;

What if other shares attraction;

Giving one a chance to look.

Selfishness ---

Hope I'm not solicited;

I don't wanna talk to you;

Don't meet neighbours, build high fences;

Isolated suburbs, here.

Sketchiness / Emotional Toil ---

Inner self, I scream too loudly;

Lack of care or empathy;

Guilt & fear & real emotions;

Scared of being victimized.

Absorption in What I Do / Think ---

Lack of presence, mindfulness;

A space cadet lost beyond reach;

There's not room enough to list here;

Fill in blanks, your life is yours.

Non-Imposition / Respect ---

Giving others privacy, space;

It's the social norm 'round here;

No one's into people prying;

Or are we just conditioned such?

Meekness / Shying Away ---

obscure;

diminutive;

introverted;

fading away…

          ~ Cory

Cory Ash is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program.

The Transformative Power of Yoga

I was a driven Type A outside sales women who decided to open her own startup business 10 years ago.

Being more in control of my destiny and the ability to make things happen my way brought down my stress levels but I still felt an undercurrent of anger when I paid attention and heard myself on more than one occasion predicting the only thing that was going to take me out (of this world) was my stress levels.

I had celebrated my 50^th birthday and thought, I have to at least try something that I will like to do and relieve some stress and anger.  I started trying different things and one was yoga.  I did it off and on, tried a few different studios and ended up at the Winnipeg Yoga Centre a couple of years ago.  That is where things really began to change.  There are many different teachers and many different styles of yoga to practice so when I began feeling a little restless with one there was always another class to try with another teacher. 

At first I thought, what a great workout, I feel more relaxed and practicing after work was the perfect way to shift into home life.  I found myself enjoying my evenings more and worrying or thinking about work less.  I also found I didn’t feel so burnt out which lead to less anger and stress.  Maybe I am on to something here.

As time went on I started noticing different things about myself, I began to examine old thought patterns and recognized that we all have a recording we play to ourselves that most times isn’t accurate or kind.  It can be anything but for me it was things like, this will never change or I don’t think I can do that (headstands) and just recognizing that helped me to stop those recordings and play kinder ones.

Now my body was getting stronger and my mind was getting stronger as well.  I wondered how I ever lived without yoga and where else I could go with it.  I decided to try the Teachers Training course and thought I would just do it for interest’s sake, I didn’t plan on teaching and I most definitely wasn’t going to stand on my head.  Well I learned if you quit resisting life it quits resisting you and now I not only stand on my head but actually find it enjoyable and I have started teaching classes.

I wake up many mornings and wonder “What is going to happen next?”  I’m excited.

In Peace

Brenda Parsons is a current member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hour teacher training program

Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Just Be.

A lot of people say that Yoga makes them “feel good”. No matter what stress happens in my day or week, once I get in a Yoga room, lying on my mat, I already feel better. Once I hit the last Savasana of the class, an almost blissful feeling comes over me and stress has melted away. Now, there are many reasons that Yoga makes people feel good, but for me, I believe I can narrow it down to one: Presence.

One of my favorite quotes reads: “You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present”. Yoga promotes breathing, moving and feeling everything in the present moment. No room for worrying about the future or ruminating about the past. It isn’t an easy task all the time, but, learning to remain present has taught me a lot in the Yoga room. It has taught me to be patient with myself when my arms shake in my arm balance. Compassion, when I feel frustrated. It forces me to feel vulnerable when I open my chest in bridge pose, but allows me to feel safe and supported by my own strength. It has shown me the benefits of moving outside my comfort zone and has encouraged me to try (insert ANY challenging pose), sometimes fail, and try again. It reminds me to let go in forward folds, and of any fears, expectations or outcomes. And then, in the last Savasana of the class, I am able to “just be” and stay present with the joy that comes over me.

Sandra McNeill 

 Sandra is a current member the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200hr Teacher Training Program.

If you are following this blog, you may have noticed that the recent posts have been from current members of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hr teacher training program.  The majority of posts, and perhaps all, in the next two months will be from them. They have been given an assignment to write a blog addressing something that inspires them in their yoga practice or teaching.   We thought it would be a great opportunity to feature different voices in the yoga community: some may inspire, some may provoke. Whatever the case, it is an opportunity expand our circle of awareness and embrace the symphony of others in our community

Taking the Plunge

                        

    “A ship in the harbour is safe, but that’s not what a ship is made for.” This is one of my mother-in-law’s favourite sayings. I use it often when giving advice to others. It was with this in mind that I agreed to teach my first yoga class.

    The moment I enthusiastically said yes, I began to doubt my decision. How could I be sure my ship was actually sea worthy? As with any yoga challenge, I first had to trust the wisdom and experience of my yoga instructor. She seemed to believe I was ready for this step. Next came the really challenging part; trusting myself. I had to believe that I had all the tools necessary to successfully complete this task. Besides, it’s just yoga, right?

    How to begin? What kind of class should I teach? Looking for inspiration thought about my own yoga instructors. What was it about their teaching methods that really connected with me? What kind of classes was I passionate about? I knew immediately what to do. I love it when my own practise becomes like a dance. I decided to develop a yoga flow class. I would built up an asana sequence that was repeated and added to several times, just like choreographing a dance .I would keep the poses simple and basic, gradually adding a few more challenging poses for the students to attempt if they were game. I tried to keep it light hearted and fun.  I felt happy about the class I had created. Was I really prepared? Again, I remembered my own teacher saying “trust yourself “. Time to take a breath and take the plunge!

   Turns out, you can’t be prepared for everything. When I arrived at the venue the morning of the class, I found myself locked out. Yikes!! After a few phone calls, I managed to get inside and calm myself. As the students began to arrive, a young woman came forward to tell me she was pregnant and I’m thinking “but I haven’t covered that in teacher training yet!”. As the class progressed I found that I became more and more confident. As I guided the students through the poses and I followed my own instructions, my own practise became calmer and more grounded. I was having fun! The students all seemed engaged and enthusiastic. I wasn’t prepared for the joy I felt at the end of the class. An unexpected gift.

    So it all worked out and I made it safely back to harbour. What a ride!!   

Deborah is in  the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200hr Teacher Training Program.

If you are following this blog, you may have noticed that the recent posts have been from current members of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200 hr teacher training program.  The majority of posts, and perhaps all, in the next two months will be from them. They have been given an assignment to write a blog addressing something that inspires them in their yoga practice or teaching.   We thought it would be a great opportunity to feature different voices in the yoga community: some may inspire, some may provoke. Whatever the case, it is an opportunity expand our circle of awareness and embrace the symphony of others in our community.