New Class, New Ways

Friends! It’s been a busy and excellent summer with our Yin Teacher Training offering at Yoga on 7th. What an amazing and diverse group. It’s a deep honour to gather teachers that call people to a space to create great things together. The idea of yoga as union, or community, is in full action. Great things get birthed when we show up, honour each other, support one another's growth and do our best to acknowledge the beauty of our healing. THANK YOU! That was one of my most memorable and beautiful opportunities as a teacher to witness this group transform and connect. I feel the rumbles and waves cultivated from this look at yin yoga as a social practice with deep power to heal and transform our communities. Give thanks to the warriors of light that force the darkness with open hearts. LOVE

We loved our time at this little studio in East Van so much, I have decided to offer up a weekly session of yin classes starting Tuesday, September 8th, 7:30pm, at Yoga on 7th. This 90-minute class will involve longer holds and my new super yin love –sandbags. The beautiful part of offering up yin in an Iyengar studio is that there are more props than your average space. Come along to this class that will utilize longer holds, more props and insight into another realm of yin. I am stoked to share some deeper variations and an opportunity to experience yin with more attention to props and also a place to experience with a safe depth that a regular public class passes. Excited to have another weekly yin class when I am in town and I promise when I am away, you’ll have an excellent prop-loving teacher. Let’s build this yin vibration together for a more relaxed fall. I give thanks for all the yin love and the requests for more offerings. Drop in rate is $15 for 90 minutes, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Stay tuned for the end of October for more Yin studies. We will be offering 6 weeks of Saturday sessions to dive into the yin world of educational studies with the amazing Love Light Yoga team of RMTs, TCMs and other amazing healers that really propel our natural health understanding to new levels. This series will count as continuing education credits or towards a 200 YYTT. Looking forward to heading back to school!

Yin Yoga Teacher Training Immersion: Guest Teacher Bios

See event details here.

Monday July 6th: Dr.Tanya Gee, Dr.TCM is a registered Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Vancouver, BC.  She is the founder of the Bodhi Tree Healing Centre, a multi-disciplinary medical clinic devoted to serving all of humanity.  Best described as a  story teller, belly laugher, international educator and speaker as she inspires by example and encourages everyone to live simply and with consciousness. Dr.Gee has over 20 years of clinical experience in the field of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and esoteric studies of the Tao, Buddhism and more. What interests her the most is the unlimited power of love and the triumph of the human spirit.

Wednesday July 8th: Harmony Shire RMT is a fascial therapist focusing on the realignment of connective tissue. Practicing for eight years, she has found her passion in teaching the benefits and awareness of the fascial body and it's effect on daily living. An early advocate for fascial therapy, Harmony's knowledge of this understudied tissue is connecting and informing the yoga world, and shifting the way we view our practice. She has a full massage practice on Bowen Island and Vancouver, as well as co-teaching workshops.

Thursday July 9th: Muscles and Meridians Workshop by Obediya Jones-Darrell. Obediya is the head therapist of Superior Martial Arts.  He has had the opportunity to work with high level athletes such as Olympians, Yoga teachers and Professional Dancers to the general population who participate in the activities of daily living. Obediya helps these people do efficient stretching for injury prevention.  In this workshop, Obediya introduces specific stretching techniques and how to do some thai yoga based assists. Through a guided discussion he demonstrates how traditional concepts of yin and yang, the foundation of Acupuncture, and scientific principles from anatomy and physiology can work together to help you and your clients achieve balance during your practice.  

Friday July 10th: Dia Penning is yoga activist and Director of Curriculum and Training at World Trust Education Services in Oakland, CA. Through education rooted in love and justice, World Trust serves over 30,000 people each year. Using her 25 year foundation in the arts, social justice and yoga and challenging dominate paradigms through film, story and dialogue, Dia encourages deep reflection about how yogis approach service; within the yoga community AND out in the world. Please visit her website or Facebook for additional information.

Monday July 13th: Tanya Hollo is uniquely skilled in guiding people in the discovery of magic in everyday life. Weaving a strong scientific background with years of experience in various spiritual traditions and the healing arts, she loves empowering people to heal and transform themselves in a fun and accessible way. She believes that Yin yoga is a profound tool for self-discovery, and that through practice and integration, the skills learned in Yin can be used to transform the planet, one shape at a time. Tanya works as a naturopathic doctor in Gastown, Vancouver, where she is consistently humbled to witness patients on their healing paths.

Tuesday July 14th: Nicole Marcia has been a yoga teacher, therapist and trainer since 2004. In 2009, she was awarded a master’s degree with a specialization in yoga therapy from Lesley University in Boston, MA. Since then, she has been employed by Vancouver Coastal Health at their Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions, where she developed a comprehensive yoga therapy program for in-patient clients in various stages of recovery from mental health and addiction issues. She also serves as the director of training at Yoga Outreach, a not-for-profit organization providing volunteer yoga teachers to marginalized populations. In 2010, she completed the Trauma Sensitive Yoga Training at the Trauma Center in Boston, MA, and a course on the fundamentals of teaching yoga and meditation in military communities conducted by Warriors at Ease in Silver Spring, MD. She is a faculty member at Stenberg College, Ajna Yoga and Langara College Continuing Studies.

Thursday July 16th: Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy was introduced to yoga by her Grandfather when she was young. She officially started her yoga journey in 2002 with the practice of Ashtanga. Four years later Elisabeth travelled the ocean from Edinburgh to Vancouver where she nestled among the mountains and started to explore other yoga styles and philosophies. With inspiration from Anusara, Iyengar, and Yin-trained teachers, Rajanaka Tantra philosophy, and the human body, she settled into her own yoga rhythm. Elisabeth’s focus on wellness-based, ethically conscious living feeds her passion for yoga as a practice that goes beyond physical asana. In addition to teaching yoga, Elisabeth is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia where she teaches undergraduate classes in ethics, political theory, and animal welfare. She is Co-founder and Executive Director of the Animals in Science Policy Institute, a research consultant for the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA), and a volunteer researcher for the David Suzuki Foundation. Elisabeth lives in Vancouver with her partner, Oliver, and together they are preparing to turn their tiny house dreams into a reality.

Join us for two weeks of Yin bliss! Tickets and info are here.

Birthday Wish

Woot, I have made it 33 years on this crazy planet, and I find myself bowing to all that I have seen, been, and achieved in this short time. I dream about the future, and can only imagine the beauty and lessons this world still has to offer me.

I have lived a minimal, non consumer lifestyle for a long time. I have been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old, and got into the habit of making and carrying my own organic, animal free foods everywhere I go in reusable containers. I feel guilt when I purchase something in plastic that is single-use or disposable. I ask myself, “where did this come from, where will it go, am I living my values and voting with my actions and dollars by purchasing this product?”

TINY BITS OF PLASTIC ON THE BEACH

Our house has excellent recycling for when we lax on our efforts, or receive gifts. I am not perfect, but I go without, make efforts to distinguish between my needs and desires. Join me! Do you think you could shift to look at each disposable object as a metaphor for our relationship with earth, or how this world values some people more than others? Can we see our purchases and choices as a direct reflection of what we support and know to be true? I see a deep story in every plastic lid or fork that people consume. Can you imagine a world with less plastic? We have to start imagining this world to make it true.

Removing single use plastic means shopping at places that support programs like bringing your own fabric bags and jars. The stores that I have shopped at for over a decade in Vancouver love that I make the effort, and gives me a discount for not using their bags. I look for products sold in paper, grab things loose, and shop at the farmers market. I have gotten good at preserving food over the years: drying, canning, and freezing things so that I can eat local all year round with minimal waste.

When plastic waste does come into my life, I save it, and every few months bring it to the “mobile plastic recycling centre” in my hood. If you live in East Van, it happens the 3rd Saturday of every month in the parking lot at Britannia. They take all the plastics that the City won't recycle. On that note, did you know that many things you put in the city recycling bin aren't supposed to go there? Check recycling numbers. It takes effort to redirect the waste you create. We have a huge 3 part worm bin at our house and urban farm in the city

I like to make and carry hemp or cotton produce bags (let me know if you need a few, or check them out at the Van Farmers Markets). I also pretty much always have a mason jar or two, because over the course of a day I need liquids and it’s good to carry your own vessels. Plan ahead, buy in bulk, and cook at home. It’s easy if we can all share with each other to stay inspired!

So this is my birthday wish for you. Can you make the effort to consume less and create less waste? Can you stop for a hot second and consider the effects of the products you buy on your natural environment? It takes serious practice and training to learn to stand on your hands in yoga, we practice discomfort and peace in these movements. Expanding our practice way beyond the mat is an ode to our honour for our earth and home.

Plastic Free Yogi is a challenge to start the process of making no new plastic waste. It is hard! Really HARD! We live in a world that packages most things in single-use plastics, but small actions by conscientious individuals can have widespread effects. I’m sending love and honour to those who tread lightly and to those who aim to leave this natural environment healed and supported. May we remember each year that we have the power to inspire great actions and small miracles with our love and intention.

Love and bows!

Assisting Seane Corn

It is truly an honour and a privilege to support, learn, grow and maintain a friendship with teacher, leader and community activist, Seane Corn. Her career spans decades –she has taught for nearly 25 years internationally doing teaching workshops, trainings, master classes and large scale yoga festivals.

Over the years, I have assisted her in Jamaica, California, Vancouver and Whistler. It is amazing to see a yoga class from the perspective of support. She moves and weaves through the room to support those who are struggling, offering suggestions for safety, ease and alignment. To witness the entirety of a room without being responsible for holding the full space is a deep honour, as is participating in asana classes for the more intellectual parts of my teaching and the energy of the room.

I find supporting a teacher and leader is an amazing opportunity to express my devotion to that person: making sure they have tea, taking them for good healthy food in quiet places between classes, working the space so they can leave in a timely way post-class, and offering a sounding board for the room. The experience is beneficial for me, both as a devoted teacher and student, and also as a one-woman show in my own right.   

I look up to Seane as a woman that has set an example of what it means to live your yoga off your mat. She is continuously committed to her path of yoga culture. People think that these ‘yoga-lebrities’ are not real people, who have often have two sides. The focus, effort and intention it takes to hold, guide and alchemize energy in these rooms all over the world is really a super-human power, in my eyes. I know personally from teaching groups that it is equal parts fuelling and exhausting. To see my mentor as a human-being, experiencing the same feelings as I have for business, intensity and burn-out is humanizing and inspiring.

I loved watching my teacher grow and shift in this industry of culture change.  It is refreshing and enlightening to talk about the shifts that we have both seen in our communities over the years. It is thought provoking and fire blazing, and takes me back to when I first met her about six years ago and recognized a kindred spirit on the mat. Her commitment to spirit is unwavering, and her edge is unmatched. I knew I had a teacher and friend for the long term in this powerful (yet petite) woman, who can pray publicly like no other I have ever met. She is a thoughtful friend with an amazing memory and the mouth of a fucking trucker.  That blend of sugar and spice, her call to action in the world, and her ability to make a whole room break down in sobs make her a woman who will continue to fuel and inspire me for the long haul.

In this crazy world of yoga, it is an honour to have Seane as a friend and mentor. Someone who can listen, mirror and reflect the struggles of balancing personal and private lives, of teaching and leadership. To have someone to riff off of the challenges of the culture at large and the ways we support and participate in it.

Assisting her during the last vinyasa teacher training in Vancouver was a great way for me to show love and devotion to my friend, my teacher, and my community. It was great to support the energy in the room while silently dancing across the mats to balance that energy. Learning to read Seane’s signs and signals has heightened my intuition of shared space in a teaching room. It is so humbling and inspiring to know that the same questions about space, the same frustrations and fatigues, and the same overwhelming joy of service runs through the veins of all teachers, both old and new. The challenges and celebrations we face daily are mirrored by our choice of teachers and communities.  Assisting one another on this path of this life is the key to sustainable and authentic offerings. It has been a deep honour to continue to learn and grow with my mentor and friend, Seane. Many bows!