I have exciting news! My first two official yoga classes will be starting very soon!
Little Yogis and Vinyasa Flow!
Little Yogis is a class specifially designed for children ages 4-9! This is an unparented class where children will learn the basics of yoga including breathing techniques, basic postures and relaxation all while having fun with friends! This class will run on Saturday Mornings at 11:30am for 4 weeks. It is a registered class and starts on January 21st. Class cost $25/child
Vinyasa Flow is a class for anyone interested in practicing yoga! This class will teach you the fundamentals of yoga while challenging yourself into new asanas (postures). There is a focus on flowing movements with breath. This is a great class for all levels! This class will run on Sunday evenings at 7:30pm for 4 weeks and starts on january 22nd! Class cost: $40/person
Contact me today to register!
purebalanceyoga1@gmail.com
403-594-4902
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Positive vibes
Positivity and happiness spreads like wild fire! I believe that the more positivity you put out into the world the more you get back! It spreads like a ripple on a lake!
This is my positivity wall! I ask all of my fitness class participants to pick a different statement every time they come to class! It is a great idea to keep motivation and positivity up! My daughters even pick one every day!
These are my words for today!
I encourage you to make your own positivity board! It is easy and fun!
This is my positivity wall! I ask all of my fitness class participants to pick a different statement every time they come to class! It is a great idea to keep motivation and positivity up! My daughters even pick one every day!
These are my words for today!
I encourage you to make your own positivity board! It is easy and fun!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Letting go
After months of practicing yoga, and loving it, I started to realize that yoga is not about the asanas or poses that you see in yoga magazines or on dvd's. Yoga is really about letting go. Letting go of your expectations, your competition with yourself and others, and letting go of all of the mental and emotional clutter that holds us down every day!
I went to a weekend long yoga revolution at my favourite yoga studio in the summer and had kind of an awakening! I realized I was holding on to a lot of junk mentally and emotionally that I needed to let go of.
One of the things I did after that weekend was write a letter to my father. I have not had any type of relationship with him bascially since I was a small child. I had always said that I was fine with it and it was his loss not mine. But after that weekend I realized that even though I was fine, I needed to release all of the clutter that I was holding on to. So I wrote a letter that told him how I felt and that I was ok, and not mad and that I didn't want our lives to pass without at least trying to communicate with each other. I felt a huge weight lifted when I finished that letter, a weight I didn't even know I was carrying around.
I wrote that letter in August, I folded it up and put it in an envelope and addressed it and then I left it in my gym bag. I left it in my gym bag for a long time...4 months in fact. Finally, I placed a stamp on it and dropped it in the mailbox. I didn't hesitate at all when I dropped in the mailbox, I just did it. And I felt amazing afterwards. I had let go of my expectations of myself and of my father. I had let go of years of clutter. I had let go of anger and resentment that I didn't even know I was holding on to. I felt free! It was amazing!
I sent that letter in November and have had no response yet, but that is not why I sent the letter. I sent the letter to let go of MY stuff. I don't need any response from my father. I just needed to let go.
That is what yoga is to me. It is a physical, emotional and mental release. You learn to let go physically and go deeper into the poses and let go mentally get deeper into the things that hold you back emotionally and mentally. Once you let go and just be in the moment, amazing things can happen!
I went to a weekend long yoga revolution at my favourite yoga studio in the summer and had kind of an awakening! I realized I was holding on to a lot of junk mentally and emotionally that I needed to let go of.
One of the things I did after that weekend was write a letter to my father. I have not had any type of relationship with him bascially since I was a small child. I had always said that I was fine with it and it was his loss not mine. But after that weekend I realized that even though I was fine, I needed to release all of the clutter that I was holding on to. So I wrote a letter that told him how I felt and that I was ok, and not mad and that I didn't want our lives to pass without at least trying to communicate with each other. I felt a huge weight lifted when I finished that letter, a weight I didn't even know I was carrying around.
I wrote that letter in August, I folded it up and put it in an envelope and addressed it and then I left it in my gym bag. I left it in my gym bag for a long time...4 months in fact. Finally, I placed a stamp on it and dropped it in the mailbox. I didn't hesitate at all when I dropped in the mailbox, I just did it. And I felt amazing afterwards. I had let go of my expectations of myself and of my father. I had let go of years of clutter. I had let go of anger and resentment that I didn't even know I was holding on to. I felt free! It was amazing!
I sent that letter in November and have had no response yet, but that is not why I sent the letter. I sent the letter to let go of MY stuff. I don't need any response from my father. I just needed to let go.
That is what yoga is to me. It is a physical, emotional and mental release. You learn to let go physically and go deeper into the poses and let go mentally get deeper into the things that hold you back emotionally and mentally. Once you let go and just be in the moment, amazing things can happen!
Saturday, 31 December 2011
My first 'real' yoga experience!
Where did it all begin? I guess my real fitness/yoga journey began in 2010.
2010 was a big year for me! I became a certified fitness instructor even though I was terrified! My husband convinced me that I had something special to offer class participants...I had been very over weight for all of adult life. I had lost 85lbs and kept it off all on my own, never even setting foot into a gym! So I jumped off my edge and went for it and became certified in November 2010 and began teaching bootcamp style classes and the local YMCA and I LOVED it!
In December 2010 I knew I wanted something more...I just couldn't figure out what it was. I had heard about this awesome hot yoga class in my town and thought I would give it a try.
So on a cold, snowy saturday morning I went to the yoga studio, never having done real yoga (previously, I had only done yoga dvd's in my basement) I had no idea what to expect and I remember actually feeling neasous! I was so nervous about this class...what if I couldn't do any of the poses? What if I didn't know the names of the poses we were doing? What if? What if? What if? I went anyways and met a wonderful woman named Megan! She is the instructor there and she is the most welcoming and friendly person I have met!
She showed me how to set my mat up and get the tools (blocks and straps) that we may use during the class. The class was very full and she still took the time to help get me get settled. As I sat there waiting for the class to start more and more people came in and she welcomed them all just the same, and helped everyone who needed it!
I was at the back of the class and it was hot in there! I think I was sweating before the class even began! Megan told us to get into downward dog (phew! I know this one!) and we held it as we came into our breath and we held it there. . . for a LONG time! at least 2 or 3 minutes! My arms were shaking and my abs ached but my ego wouldn't let me take child's pose (even though Megan had offered that modification).
I worked through that first class, pushing myself harder then I had ever done before. I worked hard but not hard like a yogi, hard like a fitness instructor. I pushed my physical body but I didn't open up my heart and soul. I loved that class! I had never felt like that before, I was soaked with sweat, my arms and legs felt like jello and my abs ached when I laughed!
I decided to attend class every saturday morning, I was committed. I had found what I was looking for!
I remember one class when at the end there was a girl in headstand and I just watched her and thought to myself 'I am going to be able to do that!' but I had to start off slower, lol. So I decided I would learn crow pose and go home and practice and practice until I got it. I remember feeling frustrated and getting mad that I couldn't do it when everyone else seemed able to do it. I was strong enough to do, I just had to practice.
I remember the first time I got crow in class...it was the first time I let go of the competition and my expectations and just let my body do its thing, and I did it! I held crow for 5 full deep beautiful breaths and jumped back into low plank and flowed through the vinyasa! It was wonderful! It was at that exact moment that I realized that my head had been getting in the way of the beauty of my practice. I was there every saturday for 6 weeks before I finally 'got it'.
I can now do crow, flying crow and headstand along with many other balance poses, but that is not what yoga is to me....yoga is just being there. Even if the only pose you can master that class is child's pose!
Namaste,
Lisa
2010 was a big year for me! I became a certified fitness instructor even though I was terrified! My husband convinced me that I had something special to offer class participants...I had been very over weight for all of adult life. I had lost 85lbs and kept it off all on my own, never even setting foot into a gym! So I jumped off my edge and went for it and became certified in November 2010 and began teaching bootcamp style classes and the local YMCA and I LOVED it!
In December 2010 I knew I wanted something more...I just couldn't figure out what it was. I had heard about this awesome hot yoga class in my town and thought I would give it a try.
So on a cold, snowy saturday morning I went to the yoga studio, never having done real yoga (previously, I had only done yoga dvd's in my basement) I had no idea what to expect and I remember actually feeling neasous! I was so nervous about this class...what if I couldn't do any of the poses? What if I didn't know the names of the poses we were doing? What if? What if? What if? I went anyways and met a wonderful woman named Megan! She is the instructor there and she is the most welcoming and friendly person I have met!
She showed me how to set my mat up and get the tools (blocks and straps) that we may use during the class. The class was very full and she still took the time to help get me get settled. As I sat there waiting for the class to start more and more people came in and she welcomed them all just the same, and helped everyone who needed it!
I was at the back of the class and it was hot in there! I think I was sweating before the class even began! Megan told us to get into downward dog (phew! I know this one!) and we held it as we came into our breath and we held it there. . . for a LONG time! at least 2 or 3 minutes! My arms were shaking and my abs ached but my ego wouldn't let me take child's pose (even though Megan had offered that modification).
I worked through that first class, pushing myself harder then I had ever done before. I worked hard but not hard like a yogi, hard like a fitness instructor. I pushed my physical body but I didn't open up my heart and soul. I loved that class! I had never felt like that before, I was soaked with sweat, my arms and legs felt like jello and my abs ached when I laughed!
I decided to attend class every saturday morning, I was committed. I had found what I was looking for!
I remember one class when at the end there was a girl in headstand and I just watched her and thought to myself 'I am going to be able to do that!' but I had to start off slower, lol. So I decided I would learn crow pose and go home and practice and practice until I got it. I remember feeling frustrated and getting mad that I couldn't do it when everyone else seemed able to do it. I was strong enough to do, I just had to practice.
I remember the first time I got crow in class...it was the first time I let go of the competition and my expectations and just let my body do its thing, and I did it! I held crow for 5 full deep beautiful breaths and jumped back into low plank and flowed through the vinyasa! It was wonderful! It was at that exact moment that I realized that my head had been getting in the way of the beauty of my practice. I was there every saturday for 6 weeks before I finally 'got it'.
I can now do crow, flying crow and headstand along with many other balance poses, but that is not what yoga is to me....yoga is just being there. Even if the only pose you can master that class is child's pose!
Namaste,
Lisa
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