Category: classes

Savasana-spiration

Animals know how to relax… something that many people have forgotten how to do.

My dog Sofie does savasana (corpse pose)Here’s my dog Sofie totally relaxed.

If her stillness inspires you to find some relaxation of your own, join me at Bound Lotus Meditation & Yoga Centre tonight!

The evening yin yoga class on the last Friday of every month features an extra long savasana (corpse pose), including a long guided relaxation. The guided relaxation (also known as yoga nidra) encourages you to mindfully and deliberately relax your whole body and then sink into that relaxation and stillness for a few minutes.

Class runs from 6:30-7:45pm… and I’ll see if I can convince Sofie to come along and provide savasana-spiration in person!

 

Smile because it happened

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.Tonight I teach my lass class at Body Harmony. The present studio space is being redeveloped and the owner is taking a hiatus before re-opening in a new location.

While I’ve only been teaching there since spring, I’ve grown really attached to the space, other teachers, and, of course, the students. I’m going to miss teaching there and it’s hard not to feel melancholic about the transition.

Dr Seuss brings a little perspective to the situation. Instead of being sad that I won’t be at Body Harmony in the coming months, I’m focusing on being grateful that I’ve been able to teach and practice there.

Catching the tail end of the space farewell celebration tomorrow evening should help with the smiling part, too 🙂 On Friday evening, Body Harmony teachers and students will be celebrating the space with live music and good food. Nothing like a party to drive away sadness!

And if you’re in the mood for a hatha class this evening, join me from 7:30-8:45pm tonight for the last evening class at this incarnation of Body Harmony!

Learn to relax and rest deeply

Restorative yoga is a practice of being, rather than doing. Opening, rather than stretching. Resting, rather than sleeping.

Restorative yoga poses help us learn to relax and rest deeply and completely.
Judith Hanson Lasater

I did Relax and Renew® training with Judith in September and it deepened my appreciation for the benefits of restorative yoga. I liked teaching restorative yoga before doing the training with Judith, now I love it.

One of the most meaningful things I took from the training is the concept of being so well-propped in a pose that the body can’t help but relax. This style of yoga is phenomenal at bringing ease into the body — and the mind nearly always follows.

Restorative yoga poses help us learn to relax and rest deeply and completely

From Oprah’s mouth…

The June 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine features a piece on How Yin Yoga Can Help with achy joints. There’s not a lot to the article – a couple of quotes from yin yoga teachers, one endorsement from a doctor, and three suggested poses – but it might be enough to bring yin yoga to the masses.

Just think of the influence Oprah had on book clubs!

Yin yoga is a fantastic counter-point to the swirl of activity most of us have going on in our lives. It’s a timeout for body and mind, where students get to hang out in postures (like supported fish pictured at right) for several minutes, allowing stillness to take over.

There are lots of yin yoga classes offered at studios in North Vancouver. I teach four regular yin classes a week and friends and fellow teachers I admire teach a bunch more!

 

Balancing

Despite the change in weather and return of the rain, I’m no longer feeling the unsettledness of Spring. My plea to bring the balance worked!

Somehow, the warmer nights and a string of dry sunny days have brought me a sense of equilibrium. I’m feeling less drawn to twisting and side bending poses in my yoga practice and while planning the classes I teach. Balancing postures (including tree, pictured at right) have taken the place of those side bends and twists.

I’ve been battling a low-grade cold that’s taken up residence in my head, so it’s a bit strange that I’m inclined to do balancing postures when my sense of balance is compromised by blocked ears. But something about balancing postures is calling to me loud and clear right now.

Tree (vrksasana), warrior III (virabhadrasana III), eagle (garudasana), standing splits (urdhva prasarita eka padasana), half moon (ardha chandrasana), dancer (natarajasana)… these are the poses I keep finding myself holding in my personal practice and the ones I’m being drawn to as I plan my classes.

Starting next week, Autumn is taking over the Wednesday night hatha and core flow class at Body Harmony. I’ll miss teaching that class, but will be back teaching with a core-centric focus on June 21 when I take over Rachel’s 4:30pm class at Body Harmony.

If you’re also feeling a sense of equilibrium – or if you’re looking to find it! – check out my schedule and come join me for a balanced (and balancing!) class.

Tell me what you want…

Laura with fellow yoga teacher Holly

I’ve had the privilege of teaching a few private yoga classes recently and I’m amazed how different it is teaching group and individual yoga sessions. A private yoga session is all about that student and their unique needs, which means I shape my teaching style much more to their preferences.

At first, I had a strong desire to fill the space with words and interact with the solo student all the time… but then it hit me that teaching that way is not going to work for everyone on every day. In fact, I wouldn’t respond well to constant attention from a teacher – I’d start to feel anxious and worried that my every move was being watched and possibly judged. I also sometimes want a really calm, chilled out practice and other times want something more energetic and invigorating.

So I thought about the questions I’d want a yoga teacher to ask me in a one-on-one session:

  • What kind of practice are you looking for?
    • Do you want to do more poses with shorter holds? Or fewer poses with longer holds?
    • Is the purpose to energize you? Or relax you? Or both!
  • Are there any particular areas you want to focus on? Or postures that really resonate with you?
    • Any areas that are particularly sensitive or need a different kind of attention?
  • What level of hands-on are you comfortable with?
    • Can I gently adjust you and apply a bit of pressure to settle you in poses? Or is verbal guidance better?
    • Are there any joints or areas you’re nurturing that shouldn’t be adjusted?
  • How much or how little instruction/guidance do you want?
    • Should I be quiet as much as possible? Or do you prefer reminders about breathing, relaxing, etc. and suggestions for deepening the pose or lessening the intensity?
    • Do you prefer a guided relaxation or quiet savasana at the end of the practice?

Now I ask private students for input on how they want to be taught. That’s one of the most amazing parts of solo yoga sessions – students can get precisely what they want and need!

If you’re lucky enough to get one-on-one yoga instruction, think about what you want to get out of that practice beforehand and odds are good that the teacher will be able to deliver.

In the immortal words of the Spice Girls, “Tell me what you want; what you really, really, want!”

A quiet power

Statue in Memphis "shhh-ing"I had the pleasure of teaching a really incredible yin yoga class on Tuesday at Bound Lotus. The amazing part of it was getting out of the students’ way and enabling them to sink deeply into their own practice.

I was comfortable with all of the students and knew that they would be okay with minimal guidance. Other than getting them into the poses, marking the halfway point of the hold, and signaling the transition to the next pose, I did my best to stay quiet.

There was an awesome power in that quiet.

It was a deep practice and I felt a profound change in the energy of the studio as the students sank into each long-held pose and turned their focus inwards. I’m so honoured to have led that class and I look forward to more quietly powerful classes.

Join me on Friday at 6:30pm for yin yoga – and a little slice of quiet – at Bound Lotus. It’s the last Friday class of the month, which means a short (35 minutes or so) asana (posture) practice followed by a long yoga nidra (guided relaxation). Who couldn’t use 40 minutes of savasana (deep relaxation)!