Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Commit to Showing up on your Mat, no matter what

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 line of the Manifesto here! 

We can always find an excuse not to do something. Sometimes that excuse is legitimate - you are injured so you can't come to a yoga class - and other times, the excuses are barriers to us being or doing our best. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's there is  a list of "9 obstacles" or "vikshepas" to the practice of Yoga, and they range from illness to doubt and laziness (but perhaps we should leave Patanjali for another day :) Look it up if this is your area of interest though!). The reason I wanted to include this second line of the Your Best Yoga Manifesto is because I feel that a lot of people encounter the obstacle of fear, which stops them from trying Yoga.

People fear they won't be able to do it. Fear what people will think of them. Fear what their body is or isn't capable of. Fear of the unknown. Fear of looking silly. Fear of failing. Fear of hurting themselves. Etc. Etc..... Now, I'm not saying not to feel that fear. I'm saying if you feel it, I want you to commit to showing up on the mat anyways. Commit to yourself. Commit to trying something new, that may just make you feel fantastic! Commit to trying your best - no matter what. Let me tell you a little story that may really drive my point home...

My mom has had two knee replacements and has never done Yoga before. When I told her I was going to be offering a Beginner class she said she wanted to sign up, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to do it because of her knee replacements, as she can't put pressure on her knees which makes it difficult to get up off the floor and limits some of the other poses in the practice. I told her that I would happily modify poses for her if she wanted to attend and would make sure she felt safe throughout the practice. I really wasn't sure if she would sign up, to be honest. But then, one morning I had an email that someone had registered for the beginner class - and it was my mom. I sent her a text to let her know I received her registration and she asked where she could go to purchase a mat. She was committed!! When I spoke to her next she told me that she was looking forward to the class because she felt that she could really benefit from the increased movement and flexibility and then she said: "well I'm going to try and if I can't do it, well then I will just lay there I guess, but I'm going to try!". THIS IS COMMITTING TO SHOWING UP ON YOUR MAT, NO MATTER WHAT!!! She was going to show up, do her best, even if that meant she could do very little. She was committing to bettering herself and doing her best. Unfortunately, my mom came across another real obstacle of an injury right before the session started, so she was not able to attend, but she will be there next session - and I couldn't be happier or more proud :) 

Hope to see you in the next Your Best Yoga beginner session or in one of the Go with the Flow classes, happening every Wednesday evening from 7:30-8:30 until February 10th. The next session will start up February 24th and the details will be coming out soon so keep checking back for registration and class info!

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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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 :) 

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 :)