Heeding the Call

This year has been a year that has asked me to step up. The last few years have been about a journey to come back to myself and discover, possibly for the first time since I was a child, who I truly am. I love learning, I love to explore, and I am most comfortable (for the most part) in the background. But, something about this year told me that it was time to come forward, time to share and time to be seen. Maybe every year I am called to do different tasks and just never heard them before. Or maybe I have heard the calls in the past, but what was being asked just felt too scary at the time. For whatever reason, this year I heard the definite call and despite the fear, I have had the strength to follow through. 

There have been three things in the last few years that have made a huge difference in my life and my journey – yoga, breath work, and gratitude. I have now had the opportunity to share all three of these things and pass along the knowledge that was given and passed down to me. I have been honoured to witness the growth of our teacher trainees as I help to guide them deeper into the magical practice of yoga. I had the opportunity to share the power of breath work to educators at the Southeastern Alberta Teacher’s Convention. Finally, last night I shared the influence that gratitude has had on my life.  All of these things have challenged me, scared me and pushed me far outside of my comfort zone. Thank you to all of you who have been present for one or more of these offerings and thank you for giving me this space to share and be seen. If there is anything I can help you with in your journey or any more information you would like, do not hesitate to reach out ❤️         

Why Teacher Training

Yoga You4ia teacher trainers Roxanne & Salli
What yoga teachers do when they're not teaching at the studio . . . . . . have fun with yoga in other places!  

With just over a month until our teacher training at Yoga You4ia begins, I thought I would answer the question . . . . . Why take a yoga teacher training? I could give you all of the generic, general answers, but if you’re reading this, then I know that you have access to the internet and it’s easy for our friend Google to help you find those answers. Instead, I thought I’d share what motivated ME to do yoga teacher trainings.

Yoga Nidra to Connect to Yourself

The crown chakra was the focus for this week's classes.  This energetic centre is very much about finding your perfection, finding your truth, and finding your connection within and with yourself.  My ongoing journey has very much been about coming back to a connection with myself.  I will forever be grateful and indebted to my teacher David Goulet and my training at Pyramid Yoga.  This is where it truly began for me and where it was emphasized that there is no guru greater than the guru within.  David was there to give us the information, show us the techniques and have us experience what had worked for him, but if we discovered, through experience, that it wasn't right for us . . . . it wasn't our way . . . then we needed to let it go.  It was one of the first times I experienced a teacher and teaching that didn't expect me to blindly follow their way and their system.  I was taught and continue to follow the idea that things need to be experienced before I can determine if it is right for me or not.  

Yoga Nidra for Single Pointed Focus

Ajna, or the third eye chakra, was the energy centre that we worked with in classes this week. As you can see from the symbol for this centre, there are two sides. In our dualistic world, there are often two sides to everything we experience - night & day, cold & hot, woman & man, two sides to a story. We concentrated on the dualistic nature of the body and mind. The left side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain which is the imaginative, creative, intuitive, feeling side. On the opposite extreme is the right side of the body controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain which is the logical, analytical, fact based, thinking side. Two very different ways of perceiving and experiencing the world, but both sides are equally valuable and equally needed.  

Yoga Nidra to Hear Your Sound

The throat chakra or Vishuddha was the focus for classes this week.  We tried to let go of all other distractions in order to focus on the sound that we know is truly and purely our own . . . . the sound of our breath.  With all of the noise around us, the opinions that are constantly thrown at us (from society, the news, politicians, Facebook, etc.), and people trying to influence us both consciously and unconsciously, it's sometimes hard to sort through the sounds, thoughts and voices in our head and know which one is truly our own.  Yes, conscious breathing helps to calm and centre us, but it also helps to connect us to ourself and our own unique vibration.  This sound that we produce is just waiting to be shared and wants to be heard. 

Yoga Nidra for Loving Kindness

This week in classes, we worked with the heart chakra, also known as Anahata in Sanskrit. I love working with this energy centre as it is soft and gentle which is how I perceive myself to be, so it feels natural to be in this centre. It is also the midway point in the chakra system, so it is as concerned on the physical lower three chakras as it is with the three higher less tangible centres. This concept of balance is something I constantly try to achieve and one that shows up in my teaching often.We worked with the concept of Mettā which is loving kindness. So we focused on sending out love and kindness not only to other people, but also to the person who deserves it from us the most . . . ourselves!  The Yoga Nidra for this week is focused on this concept of Mettā.

Yoga Nidra for Light

Who's excited about the coming spring equinox? After a long, harsh winter that seems to keep returning, I am getting anxious for some sun, some heat and some time outside without a bunch of ridiculous layers! This week's classes focused on the light. Not so much the light outside that we will start to get more of starting on Monday, but the light within that is always shining even when the darkness descends outside us. This is the centre of Manipura, as it is known in Sanskrit, or the solar plexus chakra. This energy centre is our inner power, our personal drive and our motivation. It is a very active and dynamic centre and is represented by the element of fire. The yoga nidra this week focuses on helping us gain access to and recognize this spark of light that is within all of us.

Yoga Nidra to Express Joy

This week in classes we did some work with the sacral chakra, also known as Swadhistana in Sanskrit.  This energy centre is where we work on dealing with and feeling our emotions . . . . . ALL emotions . . . in order to help us let them go and get those energies moving.  Working with the emotional body and really feeling our postures physically, as well as emotionally, was the focus for the majority of my classes this week.  To learn more about Swadhistana, there are a number of past posts that introduce various aspects of this energy centre.  This week's yoga nidra practice focuses on bringing up, experiencing and feeling the emotion of joy.  Who doesn't want more joy in their lives?  

Yoga Nidra for Grounding

Two student requests in one post! Your wish is my command. There was one recent request for chakra series classes. Sunday night Yang/Yin Fusion classes will focus specifically on the chakras, while the rest of the week classes will be centered around a theme that is associated with these centres. This week we concentrated on the first chakra also known as the root chakra, or Muladhara in sanskrit. To learn more about this energy centre, feel free to check out earlier posts filled with an abundance of information. In general, the root chakra is where we work to get grounded. This is what we focused on within all of my classes this week. 

Coming This Spring

I love being a student.  I love taking courses and going on retreats and taking trainings.  I love learning about new things and acquiring more knowledge, especially if it has anything to do with yoga, energy, or mental work.  However, 2017 has been asking me to step even more into the role of teacher and leader.  Yes, I have taught for many years in different forms, but opportunities have been showing up that are telling me it's time to really share all of the teachings and knowledge and skills that I have acquired over more than a decade that make up my personal practice.  It's with this awareness that I'm excited to share that I am partnering with Salli Siewert to offer a yoga teacher training this spring/summer.  

Sharing Is Caring

I am someone who has had a few different "lives" in regards to a career. I was reflecting on it today, and even though at times I felt a bit concerned about jumping around, there was always a common theme through all of my work. I am a teacher/instructor/facilitator/guide and all of my jobs involved this element. Growing up in a family of a couple generations of elementary school teachers, the last thing I EVER wanted to do was teach. I tried as hard as I could to not be a teacher, but the ironic thing I've learned along the way is that instructing is one of my strengths. Oh life . . . . sometimes you can be so funny!

Lazy Man's Yoga aka Thai Yoga Massage

So excited to share all I learned in Thailand along with the other tricks I've picked up along the way.  To see availability or to book a session go to the MINDBODY website, create an account and select Yoga You4ia.  Otherwise, feel free to contact me for more information or to arrange an alternate time.