the Journey

I started yoga when I was pregnant in 1999. I remember one partner exercise where we had to let go of our arm to let the partner move it around. And I could not do it! I could not let go of my arm! This was a really difficult exercise for me and I still think of that when I ask my Shiatsu clients to let go of their arm, leg, head so that I can do the work instead of them. We did a similar exercise last week in class where we had to trust our body into the hands of two fellow students. At the second go I almost enjoyed giving myself and my fears up. But there is still a lot of work to be done...

My whole life I’ve been struggling (still am!) with myself, my body, the way I look, the way I talk. There is really not much that I like about myself. Yoga gives me the opportunity to be with myself and look at things, practice not to judge but work with what is there. The approach in Shiatsu is actually very similar. Try not to judge, don’t force anything, being without intentions.

After my son was born I kept on going to classes once per week. I really liked it but when we moved from Germany to England I couldn’t continue. When we moved to Winnipeg in 2007 I went to some yoga classes in a Community Centre. The teacher recommended the Yoga Centre Winnipeg and that was it. I started coming to classes, after a while I started to work at the desk and this year I finally enrolled in the Teacher Training.

During my first Spring Sadhana in 2013 I realized that it is possible to change things in your body if you practice regularly. The same is true for life. Most of the time the changes are very subtle but they can have a huge effect.

Yes, it is nice to finally be able to do a pose that you have struggled with for a long time but it’s all the other things you learn in yoga that have so many implications on the rest of your life. Accepting people/things how they are, not judging yourself or others, being patient and humble...

For me yoga has turned from a physical exercise to a journey of self-acceptance, letting go, not judging myself or others – every day over and over again! The more I try the more I realize that this journey will never end. And that’s good. I think.

 Simone Karrasch 

Simone is currently enrolled in the yoga centre winnipeg 200hr  teacher training program

the gift of yoga

At the age of three, I thought I wanted to be a ballerina. My mother enrolled me in classes at a local community centre and at the end of the session, the teacher informed my mother that I would have to repeat the level again. I think I didn’t “get” ballet because I was really doing yoga. Does the picture not look like a budding yogini?

In the early 1990s, a friend invited me to a yoga class during a period when I was going through a stressful situation. I had dabbled in doing yoga at home and attended a few classes in my younger years but neither the style of yoga nor teacher captured my interest. This time was different. After that first and subsequent classes, I felt more relaxed, able to deal with the things I needed to deal with, and became more aware of my body, my own needs, and enjoyed the community spirit. I went on yoga retreats to Mexico, and to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health to do seva for free room, board, and yoga several times. Yoga has helped me become the person I was meant to be and continues to provide tools for me to use when facing the bumps and more difficult situations that life brings. To my surprise, I was drawn into combining two precious areas of my life, yoga and children, into a career. I have taken several certifications for teaching yoga to children and have dropped time in my other career to pursue this livelihood with much joy. Now I feel most fortunate to be in teaching training for adults. It has brought a more serious side to my teaching and I hope to teach seniors and beginners in the future. Yoga is truly a gift and I look forward to it being an integral part of my life for many more years to come.
Cathy
Cathy is currently enrolled in the yoga centre winnipeg 200hr  teacher training program

Joy

This word came up in a class I attended recently and maybe its just the holiday season or maybe I haven't heard it in a while but something about the word struck me. The instruction was "Try to find joy today."   Where do you find joy?

 Sure it can be in a yoga practice knowing that you are doing something good for your mind and body. It could be from your family and seeing their smiling faces everyday. It could be having that first cup of coffee in the morning. It may be one or all of these things. 

 For whatever reason it really made me think about finding joy in my practice and in my life.  As I was thinking about this December 14th came around and it was BKS Iyanger's 95th birthday! 95 years and still teaching and practicing. How is that for inspiration!  He must have some joy in his life and determination. 
So I decided to ask others I put the question onto a social network site "Where do you find joy?".  I got various answers such as: within, laughing children, pets, as well as, some funny answers such as "she lives in transcona" (which i interupt as humour may bring people joy).  

Then I start to really think how can I find joy? I feel joyful in yoga class and in part that is the physicallity of the asana practice, in part that is the community and small interactions with other practictioners before and after class, and in part the ability to grow and change. I have taken to journalling and that has helped me reflect on some of these more intuitive goals that happen sometimes unconciously.  I looked back on a document I wrote when I first started practicing regularly and I read a goal of mine "to hold crow pose for 3 breaths". Its 4 years later and I still can't... and I laugh at the thought that, that was important to me then. 

Then it hits me. 

I get joy from the ability to recognize my own growth and looking at how we are all ever changing beings and it is fascinating. This lights my fire and pushes me forward.  We are taught to be ambitious and gain sucesses but real joy for me come from using yoga as an opportunity for self exploration.  It may have took me 4 years to figure this out and I wonder what I will think when I read this 4 years from now.

Namaste

Sally MacDonald

Sally is currently enrolled in the yoga centre winnipeg 200hr  teacher training program

peaceful warrior

On page 200 of my Meditations from the Mat book, Clyde B. writes “what I like about yoga is that it is not based on faith, it is based on experience. I know from experience that I carry stress in my body, and the postures are ways not only of releasing that stress but confronting it, experiencing it and understanding it. You have to learn to accept it, to live with it, and to let it go.”

This passage has helped me deal with the challenges that I’ve faced this year. I’ve also learned to be grateful for the gifts that I have received from life’s lessons.

2013 started off being a wonderful year for our family. Not only was I loving my first year teacher training but our new granddaughter was born during my weekend teacher training in February! Gracie, our angel, joined our three other grandchildren. What a great way to start off our year!

Life was going along just fine: beautiful grandchildren, great summer days spent at the lake with family and friends, an incredible workshop with Jan and Shauna (even though I asked myself the second day if I should be participating in this workshop). By day three of the workshop, I knew that I could let go of my fears of inversion and just enjoy the journey. I could feel the support from my teachers and yoga practitioners. Everyone was compassionate and I started to understand that fear was giving me doubts and anxiety. I was the only person putting undue stress on myself.

I completed the workshop with a calm mind and a new appreciation of yoga and my teachers. I felt so empowered and grateful to be a part of this community. I didn’t know what life had in place for me, but this workshop gave me the strength and the experience to accept it, to live with it, and to let it go.

Thank you Jan and Shauna for helping me find this lesson.

At the beginning of September, I came home from a yoga class, walked in to the house and knew from one look at my husband that something awful had happened. He had just received the news that a young man, Tyler, who has been with us for over 17 years and who we love dearly, was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer. This meant an amputation in the following weeks. This vulnerable young man, who suffers from FASD and who has always had the most positive outlook on life, could not understand the extent of his diagnosis due to his challenges. My family was devastated. I became stronger for them, ensuring them that his spirit would stay the same, and that we had to be strong for him. We have to live in the moment.

Less than two weeks later, my brother called me and told me he had to speak to me about something serious. His wife had cancer and needed surgery at the beginning of October. Karen is only 51 years old and has three sons. My brother was shattered. Once again, I found the strength to support him and told him to live in the moment, to not think too far ahead.

Last weekend, we celebrated Christmas with our young man, Tyler, who is walking with crutches and always smiling. I have a new appreciation for grounding the four corners of your feet and the tree pose. He is a true warrior and has not lost that positive outlook on life.

the author is currently enrolled in the yoga centre winnipeg 200hr  teacher training program

So after a very long break without any blogs the yoga centre blog has been revived!!!Once again the upcoming posts will be from participants in the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200hr Teacher Training Program

 enjoy....
__________________________

INNER SPACE

I came to yoga (full time) in Feb. 2011.  I was suffering with extreme anxiety and my body was shaking.  My nervous system was exhausted and I could not relax.
I immediately found comfort in the yoga philosophy and the kindness of my fellow students and teachers.

Over the two years I have practiced faithfully. Each day coming to my mat with hopefulness.

I struggle with the fact that I have gained 15 lbs and I have not noticed much difference in my bodies flexibility.  I want to do it “right”.  I want to be “good” at yoga and I’m not.  I need props and I can’t sit in virasana.  I’m having a hard time with my expectations on how a posture “should” look.  I’m struggling with attachment.  I don’t like “letting go”.  All these struggles in yoga are the same struggles that I have life.  (go figure)

Now the good news …………sometimes, when everything is just right, when I’m lulled by my teachers soothing voice, out of my thinking mind, I find something that wasn’t there before-  SPACE. 

I can breathe deep, calm, quality breaths down to the tips of my toes. The breath brings a peacefulness that I didn't know existed.  

 That’s where I have grown. That’s where my diligence has paid off.   On the inside! 

Those magic moments are coming more frequently than they did in the beginning. I’m willing to look at my beliefs about how yoga postures and life “should”  look.  I continue to heal and grow.  I know I will never NOT do yoga.  I think it’s magical.
 I am forever grateful to my humble teachers.

Brenda

Letting Go

We arrive with intent to hang on

Holding tightly to all that is

Then we discover through trial and error

That we only have what we can’t hold

Our will,

            our love,

                        our peace of mind,

                                    our reason for being

                                                            our breath…..

Namaste,

Elaine Klym

Trip of a Lifetime yoga in the Maya Lands

We have just recently returned from our Holiday in Mexico. A group of 23 of us including Jan and myself headed to the Mayan Riviera for a week.  The trip was hosted and organized by the Tao Centre for Inspired Living.

This was not your average yoga holiday on the beach- in fact we spent more time in the jungle. This trip was about connecting with the ancient rhythm of the earth, challenging personal perceptions, and transformation.

We feasted like royalty, did yoga, walked , swam,  snorkeled, floated, hiked, walked, zip-lined, canoed, rode bikes, climbed pyramids, and ventured into ancient caves called cenote’s.
A different aspect of the journey spoke to each of us, awakening of some deep part of our being and asking us to step forward a new.

We began the trip with a ceremony led by a Mayan healer.  In this ceremony we honoured the 4 directions and the elements and set our intentions. From that moment on, the transformations began.
 Perhaps it was the stark contrast of leaving the deep hibernation state of Winnipeg winter and arriving into the lush and vibrant tropics that was so powerful, but, there is definitely something about the Maya lands that wakes one up and shakes you out of your everyday reality. It is the ever present energy of the ocean, and the vibrant  pulse of life that is felt walking through the jungle. Without a doubt the energy of mother earth and rebirth is palpable in the abundance of  hidden water caves (cenotes) which literally connect one to the feeling of being in the womb of mother earth. These limestone sinkholes are often pitch dark, with bats and stalactites, and stalagmites. Visitors must often travel down a little ladder and swim or float through the cave to experience them fully.

Sometimes the Maya lands would teach us to step out of our notion of time and to relax into the moment- when the shuttle did not show-up on time, or our adventure took us hours longer than expected. Somehow it all worked out, helping us to trust the flow of the universe!
 This lesson about time was mirrored in an experience we had on our last day- floating down a mile long canal. In this canal one could not really swim, infact it was counter productive (a little like worrying). Instead, we had to surrender to the flow of the water. Occasionally we bumped into the waters edge or one another but ultimately the current took us where we needed to go and each of us got their in our own time.

 My own transformation took a literal turn when I lost my travel purse containing everything from cell phone to passport. I literally had to replace my identity.  The process was not one I would recommend, but like any transformation involved a feeling of resistance, struggle, doubt, letting go, acceptance, patience and ultimately resolve.
Walking around without the important documents, credit cards & the precious "iPhone" was remarkably freeing!

A number of us chose to participate in a Mayan sweat lodge ceremony called a Temescal. This ceremony was spiritual equivalent to letting go of one’s identity and cherished notions of self and coming out reborn. Impossible to describe, beautiful, challenging and freeing!

The people we met were friendly and loving with, hearts wide open. We were fortunate to have several ceremonies with Mayan elders, as well as touring the area with guides who were deeply connected to the land and the people. We learned so much- not just about the maya- or the land, but about life. One of the messages of the traditional Maya was the honoring of the present reality but also the heavens and the underworld equally. This understanding of nature and the cosmos led them to honor death and life equally.  Our guides reminded us that we are all part of an intricate web of life, and that what one does effects the whole.

 I can only speak for myself, but I have a feeling that most would agree- the blessing and transformation of this trip was a visceral knowing that change is an essential part of life and that we are deeply interconnected  to each other and all of life.

 I am so grateful to my fellow travellers, and the beautiful people we met who  facilitated & guided us on this journey, the ocean, the jungle, and all that came together to make this trip a reality.

In Lakesh, ( I am a reflection of you)

Namaste

Shauna

Why Yoga and Why Yoga Teacher Training

Five years ago I was working at a job that I had lost my passion for, I had this constant noise in my head that wouldn't turn off which brought out more negativity than normal.  The same advice was being given to me by my friends, mentors and career coach – What do you love?  Find something you Love and you won’t have to work a day in your life right?  Listing what I didn't love was easy but I struggled with what do I love?  What would recharge me both mentally and physically instead of draining me?

I started taking yoga four years ago at my workplace. The instructor’s passion for yoga was contagious.  Her willingness to share the challenges she experiences in her own practice enabled me to be more forgiving of myself.  I love the feeling of peace and contentment that come from practicing yoga.  I felt strong both mentally and physically.  I could have the crappiest day at work and after yoga class I would have a smile on my face.  When the breath and postures align during my practice it is one hour of true peace.  The emphasis on breathing as you move in and out of postures helps quiet my mind. I am not always successful but I aim to embrace the yogic philosophy of compassion and patience and accept I am a work in progress.

The idea of teaching yoga came from a comment in passing from my yoga instructor.  Teach yoga?  Why not?  I love yoga and share my joy of yoga with everyone I meet.  The idea was germinated.  Find something you love right? 

After a few years of taking yoga classes I decided to take yoga teacher training and as happens in life found a new job that has renewed my passion which makes it easier to go to work in the morning.

Year one of teacher training is almost over and minus the stress of the testing weekend coming up, I have enjoyed learning about the subtle details of the poses and attempting poses I wouldn’t dream of doing myself and working outside my comfort zone.  The variety of classes offered at the YCW has given me a more balance yoga experience which has flowed over into my personal and professional life.  What could be better than that? 

Namaste,

Beverly Wood

The Middle Way

Since birth I have been drawn to ‘the middle way’. A Libra, and a middle child in a “mixed” marriage, I guess I was pre-disposed.

What is the Middle way?

I guess it depends who you ask.

The phrase “everything in moderation” immediately comes to mind. It is a favorite saying of mine and many people I know. In general, I believe it is a healthy adage to live by, but  sometimes it is also necessary to be moderate in ones pursuit of moderation!!!

Buddhism is often called ‘the middle path’ or ‘way’. While not a Buddhist, I do follow the teachings and writings of many who are. The interpretation that speaks to me is mindfulness; responding to what is happening in the moment, rather than from dogma, habit, or preconditioned expectations.  

The Buddhist intention: not too much attachment or too much aversion also comes to mind. Awesome intention- but hard to put into daily life!!!!

Yoga also is often perceived to be a middle of the road practice as well with its emphasis on acceptance and not-attachment. Yet, the path of yoga can be quite extreme in its requirements, depending on how the teachings are interpreted. In addition, different styles of yoga often contradict each other when it comes to alignment or what is recommended on a particular path of healing. Many of my yoga teachers over the years have been definite in their beliefs and protocols and yet very few of these wise and well respected people actually agree on what those protocols are.

This just strengthens my belief in the middle way!!!

Each one has something brilliant to offer. My job is to listen to my own inner wisdom and discern which is right for me. That being said, others would say that I am watering down wise teachings- that in order for transformation to occur you must you pick a path and stick to it. 

 Which voice to follow?

There is a popular Buddhist teaching that says: if two students are walking down the road- one will be told, go a little to the left and the other a little to the right. This teaching is a teaching on the middle way- Both  instructions are accurate for what is necessary in that moment for each individual and include the recognition that to bring the whole system into balance- what is required in the moment may not feel like a to move towards centre.

 

It is common to encounter resistance and uncertainty when we are asked to change a pattern or a habit. Often the recommended steps feel quite dramatic or extreme- they feel out of balance. A great example is learning Tadasana. When most of us first learn how to stand in Tadasana (Mountain pose) it feels foreign, and off centre- when in reality the sensation is the body getting used to a new equilibrium.

Knowing that change feels strange-how do we know if an uncomfortable feeling is an old familiar patterns causing resistance or something genuinely not for us!!??

Sometimes checking things out with a trusted teacher or friend can be helpful and necessary.

Ultimately we can develop the capacity to follow our own inner wisdom by continually returning to the present moment- and checking in

·         pause 

·         tune into the surroundings

·         feel the breath 

·         feel the body sensations

·         open to the wisdom of the body and the moment

·         rest

 

The result is a few moments of presence, a brief opportunity to connect to our own experience within the larger whole. 

From here the path may be clear. In my experience rather than a definitive answer, I encounter a greater willingness to be okay with uncertainty. 

I am more likely to accept the situation and move forward from a place of curiosity and compassion instead of doubt and fear: to walk the middle way.

Namaste

 Shauna

A Change is Gonna Come

one more from the YCW Teachers in Training 

In our fast paced  world, where everything has to be faster better stronger, where we all are  very result oriented, yoga doesn’t really fit, why choose yoga as an activity of your choice when you can lift weights, run, play sports and see results and accomplishments bright, clear and fast?

I must say, these were exactly my thoughts, the classic, ill start yoga for stretching, and hey if I learn to balance on one finger, that’s a bonus!!

It wasn’t till 3 years after I started practicing that I realized, something amazing is happening, I started noticing those oh so very subtle changes in my mood, energy levels, attitude and in my body, things just became....... well...... better, the biggest difference is all of my aches and pains from running and lifting weights went away, I didn’t even notice when it happened, just know that the pain in my knees and lower back that I have struggled with since I was 14 were gone.

When this aha yoga moment happened (notice that yoga moments are actually 3 yearlong LOL)  I knew there and then, I need to learn more about this amazing discipline and culture, so teachers training program was the natural thing to do. When the realization happened my heart was pounding like crazy all  I could think of is – I need to go to there!!!!! Clearly I didn’t know about pranayama breathing back then! ☺

Till this day, yoga amazes me in its subtle power and strength, the slightest miniscule adjustments make a great difference, all you need to do is learn to listen to yourself be honest about your capabilities, and well, be patient.

Yoga changes you on every level, not just the hot yoga booty everybody are talking about, the change is coming from within, therefore it takes time for it to surface. But when it does, you know that there is nothing like it, it gives you wholesomeness, connects your body and mind, helps you to feel grounded and stable, and not just for tree pose but for all your life’s positions.

Now I love hearing ‘ oh yoga is for stretching’ it means that I can tell the wonderful yoga story again, and maybe, just maybe bring one more person to a studio, take a step back and observe how their eyes just open.

Can’t wait to become a teacher and watch the magical yoga transformations happen right in front of my eyes.

Namaste everybody im going to get my – soon to be hot yoga booty on the mat for a morning practice”

 Vera

Vera Rubin is a member of the Yoga Centre Winnipeg 200hr Teacher Training Program