Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Meet People where They're at

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Read more about the first and second line of the Manifesto here and here! You'll notice I have skipped the third line of the Manifesto - Just do your best - as I feel I have covered that in many a blog post already :) 

My professional background is in Social Services. I have worked closely with people from all walks of life for the past 8 years, forming relationships and building rapport with complete strangers, asking them to take my help. The number one, most important rule that I would share about working successfully with people is meeting them where they are at. So what does that look like? If where you are at is not being able to touch your toes, that is where I will meet you and we won't be starting classes with deep forward folds. If  where you are at is having a sore back, then that is where I will meet you, and I will provide you with cautionary notes and modifications to ensure you won't do more harm to your back as we move through the practice. I am not coming in to our meeting with expectations of my own, you are the one leading. I am not coming to teach a class based on my needs, I am coming to teach a class that meets the needs of the participants. So this line of the manifesto, is sort of like my pledge to you, future student. I will meet you where you are at, no matter where that is, and then we will move forward  together. 

Sign up today for the Your Best Yoga Beginner class (only 8 spots left!) or one of the Slow Flow Classes - All Classes start February 24th :) 

Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Yoga is for Everyone

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Today I am starting with the first and perhaps most important piece - Yoga is for Everyone. 

When I started teaching in 2012 I found that often when I would tell people that I taught Yoga, or invited them to a class, they would respond with a version of “Yoga is too hard for me, I can’t do it”. Certainly, if you see photos of Yogi’s doing extraordinary poses and think that is what you are in for when you enter your first Yoga class, the fear and intimidation factor is understandable (something  I addressed in this blog post). This is truly why I created the Your Best Yoga Program. This program has only one expectation of the participants – simply do YOUR best. Everyone has different levels of ability, flexibility, and fitness, and EVERYONE* can do yoga and reap the benefits! Benefits that can include: improved strength, flexibility, mobility, stress and pain reduction, as well as emotional and mental health. 

Lets try something... 

Stand up, bring your feet hip distance apart, with your toes pointing straight ahead. Stand tall, shoulders back and down away from your ears, arms rest by your sides. Take 5 deep breaths, standing tall, right where you are. 

Congratulations - you've just done Yoga! I'm betting almost everyone can manage that short practice (Note: I understand there are people who are unable to stand and assure you that there are amazing modified chair practices out there as well :)) 

Yoga is NOT just for one gender, body shape, fitness level, age, weight etc. It is for everyone and everyone can do Yoga in some form or another. Let me prove it to you... ;)

If this is your year to try Yoga and you live in Winnipeg, I hope to see you in the Your Best Yoga Beginner or Flow classes this year! If you're thinking about the Beginner class - don't wait - register by January 6th!

*Anyone with health concerns or injuries should always check with a medical professional before beginning any new physical activity.

Your Best Year Yet - Kick Off!!!

2016 is just around the corner, and I want this to be YOUR best year yet! To kick off the New Year, and give you the best start possible, this year's FIRST Your Best Yoga "Go with the Flow" class is turning itself into a bit of a party!!! We will start with a FREE Flow style yoga class - because I think moving your body in a way that feels good for you is an important part of having your best year yet. There will be snacks - because, snacks are always good. And last but not least, there will be some awesome door prizes for Winnipeg retailers and restaurants!! I hope to see you there!

Click here and here for more information on the Your Best Yoga program and the values that I have based this program on. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or if you feel unsure if Yoga is right for you - I would love to chat :) sandrayogawpg@gmail.com

See you January 6th at 7:30pm!!! 

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My Yoga Journey (so far)

Photo found here

I actually started experimenting with Yoga when I was, 17 or 18 years old… and I think it was mostly because I was, at one point, a huge fan of the show Dharma and Greg and was obsessed with Dharma who was all flower child, free spirit and Yoga Instructor. I wanted to be like Dharma, so, I attended a Yoga class at a local women’s fitness centre near my home and was by far the youngest person there. I would say this was just before Yoga became as mainstream as it is now. 

Fast forward to being about 21-22 years old, and I started attending Hot Yoga classes with a couple of girlfriends as we heard it was a killer work out. I LOVED it! I went to a Bikram studio and would attend a couple times a week loving the feeling of being detoxed and “worked out” at the end of class. To me, this was about fitness and working out. I continued to practice Hot Yoga for a few years, eventually moving from Bikram to Moksha as I found that I liked the slightly cooler rooms and the way the teachers spoke during classes – in Moksha hot yoga classes the teachers don’t stick to the same rigid script and rules as they do in Bikram classes, which sometimes included yelling and telling students not to wipe their sweat or drink water. I guess I was starting to enjoy different elements of the practice aside from the physical work-out. After practising for a couple of years, I eventually stopped as I started going to the gym, and as Yoga was a “fitness class” to me, I didn't feel the need for both. 

Photo found here

This takes us up to when I was about 25-26 and I decided I wanted to get back into the Yoga world. I think my fire was re-ignited when a friend of mine who was pregnant enlisted my support at a prenatal yoga class – I was the only non-pregnant person there. I signed up for an intro membership at a new hot yoga studio and re-committed to attending regular classes. After re-introducing classes into my life, I knew that I loved Yoga enough that I wanted to try and become an instructor (just like Dharma! ;)). So, I looked up studio’s that offered Yoga Teacher Trainings, originally looking into hot yoga trainings, but was deterred by the high prices and long time commitments that I would have to take off work. I found a local yoga studio who offered a two year training that involved evening and weekend commitments and went to try a class out there. This class was my first real Hatha style yoga class and it was very different from what I was used to in the Bikram and Moksha studios. 

I signed up for my teacher training, which was Hatha and alignment focused, in 2011 and committed fully to it. I absolutely loved it. I was learning and growing in my personal practice and gaining the tools to actually teach this practice to others. Some people in the training were there without any intention of teaching after, just wanting to grow and learn as a practitioner. I was there with a goal - I would complete the training and start teaching! I was very lucky to be able to start teaching at the studio that was training me before I got my certificate. I was absolutely hooked after the first class I subbed.  

My practice now looks a lot different than it did when I was in my early twenties. I practice 1-2 times a week, but that isn't always attending a community class or even practising for a whole hour at a time. I have a home practice now and attend the classes that I really want to go to – but it isn't to reach a fitness goal. I am actually not someone who is interested in the “hard core” yoga classes that leave you dripping sweat anymore. My favourite style to practice and teach is more of a “yin and yang” where you are moving your body in a way that feels good, in gentle and active ways. There are weeks that I don’t practice asana (which is only one limb of Yoga), but I find a topic that I am interested to research and read about – currently Ayurveda – and dig into that. A few years ago this would never have happened as I was all about the physical practice. I feel like Yoga isn’t about a class for me at this point, but more of a way of life. That is not to say I am someone living a perfectly harmonious "Yogic life" – but Yoga is something that I think about more off my mat than when I am on it. It seems like another lifetime ago I was practising in that hot room – with carpet! Ew! – and sweating through my clothes, but that was the first step in my Yoga Journey. 

Photo found here

If you are wanting to start your Yoga Journey - why not come to the Your Best Yoga "Go with the Flow" class this Thursday?! With no expectation except to just show up on your mat and do YOUR best - whatever that may be - what do you have to lose? And just maybe, this will be the first step to your own Yoga journey :) 

3 things to Expect from an Alignment Focused Beginner Yoga Class

Photo found on http://www.dailyyogareflections.com/

If you have never taken a Yoga class before, it is likely you may feel a bit anxious wondering what is in store for you. Keep reading to learn three things you can expect from the alignment focused beginner yoga class that I teach.

1. Demonstration and Instruction: In the alignment focused beginner classes that I teach, I always demonstrate a pose before the group moves into it. This way, the participant has both visual and verbal cues to work off of when moving into a pose for the first time. It also helps decrease the awful craning of the neck that often happens when you are trying to move into a pose and watch the instructor at the same time.  

2. Props and Modifications: No two people are the same and no two bodies are the same. It is not realistic to think that everyone will be able to access a pose in the same way. Since people vary in their level of flexibility, strength, and activity level – especially in a beginner class – I feel it is important to provide modifications of the poses that will work for everyone. For example, if you can’t touch the toes I would give you a Yoga Block to press your hands in to. Or, when learning triangle pose, it often takes people out of alignment to try and place their hand on the floor, so instead, use a block to support the hand. 

Yoga Block Photo found on http://yogauthority.org/

3. Slower pace: As opposed to a flow style class, where you move from pose to pose without a break in between, the alignment focused beginner class is a slower pace. Each pose is broken down, demonstrated, and practiced. There is time for questions, time to find the correct alignment or modification for the pose, and most importantly, time to feel your body and breath in each pose.

If you or someone you know would benefit from an alignment focused beginner class – there is only one week left to sign up! For more information visit the Your Best Yoga page here. 

If you have any questions or concerns about signing up, please contact me directly at sandrayogawpg@gmail.com

Namaste :)