Your Best Yoga Manifesto

I'm coming to you mid-week to share something I have been thinking about for awhile now. I have created a Manifesto for Your Best Yoga - the Yoga program I created and run out of Winakwa Community Centre in Winnipeg, MB. I wanted this to represent the values that I built the Your Best Yoga program on. I will be doing separate blog posts throughout the next couple of months, breaking down each line of this Manifesto and what it all means to me.

So, what is a Manifesto anyways?? According to Wikipedia, a Manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. So, without further ado.... I present to you, the Your Best Yoga Manifesto!!!

Stay tuned for new and exciting things coming from Your Best Yoga in the New Year!! Hope to see you in one of the classes :) 

Yoga Props: How to use a Yoga Strap in your Practice

Yoga props are used more in some styles of yoga, such as Iyengar, Restorative and Hatha, compared to others, like Bikram. Because of this, many people have never used a yoga prop before  and find them awkward and confusing. I had never used a Yoga prop before I started my teacher training, but was a quick convert as I appreciate how they allow people to access poses that they may otherwise feel they aren't able to access. Keep reading to see just some of the ways you can use a Yoga Strap - my favourite of the yoga props - in your practice. . 

Supta Padangusthasana

Supta Padangusthasana

Why: If your hamstrings are tight it may be very difficult to reach for the foot with your hand and straighten the leg toward the ceiling

How: Loop the belt around the sole of the foot and stretch the leg up toward the ceiling. 

*Note: You can also use the belt in the standing version of this posture - hasta padangusthasana

Seated Forward Folds

Paschimottanasana - seated forward fold

Why: If the hamstrings are tight you may not be able to reach for the feet in these poses. The belt allows you to stretch into the backs of the legs without rounding through the spine - so you can keep an open chest and long spine - and also prevents from over stretching and straining into the low back. 

How: Loop the belt around the souls of the feet instead of reaching for the toes with your hands.

Gomukasana

Gomukasna arms

Why: If you are tight through the shoulders you likely won't be able to reach for opposite finger tips in this pose. 

How: Place the belt over the shoulder of the arm that is lifted in this posture, continue to reach up through the lifted arm and down through the opposite arm while holding on to the belt. 

Supta Baddha-Konasana

Supta Baddha-Konasana

Why: The belt supports the legs and allows you to maintain the position without effort. 

How: Loop the belt behind the sacrum, over the thighs, and under the ankles, fastening it tight enough so that you can still recline over blocks or a bolster, or on to the floor. Be mindful as to where the metal rings are so they don't dig into your skin. 

King Pigeon Pose

King Pigeon Pose

Why: Reaching back to grasp the foot requires very open quadriceps muscles, a deep back bend and open shoulders - and a lot of practice. The belt allows you to practice this posture while your body slowly opens in those areas.

How: Create a small loop at the end of the belt and slide the foot  of the leg that will stretch back behind you through it.  Once in the half pigeon posture, rest the end of the belt over the shoulder on the same side of the leg that is stretched out. Reach up and over with your arms to grasp the belt with both hands. Begin to walk your hands down the belt as the foot lifts and the knee bends behind you. 

Some people view props as a "crutch" in their Yoga practice - preventing them from going as deep into the postures as possible. I don't see it that way. The belt in these poses provides you the support to access these poses where you are at, and after you work with the belt in these poses for awhile, your body will open more and more and eventually you'll be able to work without the it! 

Namaste! :) 

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 :) 

Real Life: What it takes to Follow your Dreams

I took this selfie right before going to get photos for my website - My first step toward following my dream.... I had no idea what I was in for ;)

The Dream – my dream – is to transition from my current career into a full time Yoga teaching gig and  start my own Yoga program. A bit of background on that dream… I have been teaching part time, a couple classes a week, for a few years now after getting my 200 hour certification in 2012, and I love it! Now, that’s not to say that every day that I teach I am feeling the same level of passion or inspiration – this is real life - however, the way that teaching, practising, and taking Yoga off my mat makes me feel has shown me that this is something I want more of. When I look forward 10 years, I see my life as a Yoga teacher, creating classes and workshops, building community and moving my body every day as part of my career. So how do I get there? Some social media, books, articles etc. would have you believe that it is as easy as visualizing the goal, quitting your job, making the leap, and riding off in to the sunset. Well, in my experience, in real life it takes a lot more work. Continue reading to see just some of what it takes to follow your dreams - in real life. 

It takes… Planning, baby steps, and safety nets. 

It takes… Long and longer days of work at your day job so you can bank the time you need to take off to teach, because this is real life and in real life you have real bills. 

It takes… Learning as you go and not having a hot clue what you’re doing for a while. (But then you figure out how to get that pay pal button set up on the webpage and you feel like you could conquer the world!)

It takes… Computer skills.

It takes… Hitting the pavement with the flyers you spent hours formatting so that you can promote your classes.

It takes… Networking skills. 

It takes… Signatures on rental contracts before having enough people signed up for your classes to even cover the cost of rent. 

It takes… Feeling like you are failing, a lot, and not letting that discourage or disappoint you. (Edit: This is real life – in real life we get discouraged and disappointed, so it’s about feeling that and moving forward anyways)

It takes… Amazing support from your loved ones, especially when you want to quit and they won’t let you. 

It takes… Being vulnerable and sharing your deepest wants, passions, fears, and failures with others, because this is real life and in real life we fail some, we want a lot, and we must go after what we are passionate about. 

It takes… Guts. Courage. Cojones. Whatever you call it, it takes a lot of it. 

In the end, (or should I say beginning - because that is where I am), it’s worth it. You can look at what you have done and are doing and feel really accomplished. You can redefine success in your own terms and no matter what the outcome is, you can always look back and say you tried your best, because this is real life, and in real life that’s all anyone can do.

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 :)