Acro Yoga Fundamentals
Meet Luc Felicidade, Gaiatri Yoga Training grad and acro yoga LOVER, amongst other things! Luc is joining us at Yogalife Studios South to offer Acro Yoga Fundamentals, a playful workshop to learn the basics of acro yoga. This is a great opportunity to learn new skills and deepen the ones you may already have.
In AcroYoga Fundamentals, not only will you learn the 7 fundamentals of AcroYoga, you will learn how to safely practice at home with friends. AcroYoga Fundamentals will take the foundations of yoga into the air in a fun and playful way. This interactive workshop will include foundational postures including therapeutics.
If you have been thinking about giving AcroYoga a try, this is your chance.
All levels of yoga and fitness are encouraged to attend as you explore partner yoga poses and take flight in AcroYoga!
No partner required. Only a desire to have fun with others in your community.
If you are registering with a partner, there is a discount!
Acro Yoga Fundamentals Yogalife Studios South November 8, 2014 2:30-5pm register here!
Ayurveda with Ian Hayward
Ayur = life, Veda = science or knowledge
Ayurveda is the traditional system of Hindu medicine that is rooted in the idea of balancing the body, mind and spirit to maintain health. The wisdom in this science of life is drawn from an understanding of the laws and rhythms of nature rhythms and laws, based around the five elements of ether, air, fire, water, and earth.
The following article comes to us from Ian Hayward. Ian was first introduced to Vedic knowledge in 1984 as he searched for alternatives to Western medicine to aid his health. He was initially instructed in the practice of Vedic mantra meditation. The profound effects of this effortless technique propelled him to learn more about this ancient health system. Over the next ten years Ian attended countless Meditation Retreats and Vedic Science Courses at home and abroad. He learned and regularly practiced Advanced Meditation Techniques including the Siddhi Yoga Sutras and eventually, in the summer of 1993, emerged from the Maharishi Vedic University in Valkenburg, Holland (Deepak Chopra’s training was in the same lineage) fully trained as a Panchakarma therapist offering an extensive range of bodyworks and elimination therapies and as an Ayurvedic Wellness Consultant offering pulse diagnosis and lifestyle solutions.
http://elementallifesolutions.com/pages/ian-hayward
Fall season is now well under way and this can be an excellent time to do a cleansing program. However any cleanse must be approached with a realistic attitude or the results could lead to a destabilization not just to the physical but to the mental & emotional levels as well. When you remove a physical toxin you also disturb the mental and emotional pattern that was involved in the forming of that toxin. This is why the experience of detoxification can be a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions.
Before you contemplate the level of detox you want to achieve take a realistic look at your present toxin level. If you are new to cleansing or have not been living a particularly pure lifestyle then you need to start gently. If you release too many toxins at once you can feel like you are being poisoned, this is disheartening, destabilizing and can set up a negative pattern towards purification. It is much more effective and positive experience to cleanse at a rate that leaves you feeling fresh and clean rather than sick and unstable.
It is also important to do a cleansing program that is right for your Elemental body type and dosha. Click here for more information and specific cleansing guidelines for different doshas.
Ian Hayward, Elemental Life Solutions Inc.
Join Ian at Yogalife Studios North on Saturday, October 18 from 11am to 6:30pm for 'Elemental Intro to Ayurveda', the first instalment of workshops geared towards building the key concepts of the Ayurvedic approach to health and wellness.
Register here and contact us (info@yogalifestudios.ca) with any questions!
Meditation 101 (Guided Meditation Audio Included!)
Starting a meditation practice can be daunting - where do you start? How do you sit? What exactly does it mean to be "in meditation" anyhow? How can you navigate through your inner landscapes with more depth and authenticity? Who am I, beneath all these layers of body and mind? This workshop with experienced yoga & meditation practitioner and instructor, Amanda Ings, provides a space for you to explore each of these questions, and much more. A simple, easily approachable 4-step meditation will be shared and broken down, both in practice and in discussion, step by step. Exactly what we are doing in each step and why, how it works in the body-mind-energy-consciousness field, and how each step can be integrated into your daily life to bring more presence, power, and stillness, in yourself and your relationships with others. This workshop is appropriate for everyone; those wishing to deepen their current practices (in yoga or meditation), and those completely new to meditation and/or yoga. Everyone always takes away exactly what they need.
Amanda will be leading the first workshop of a 2-part series, Meditation 101 this coming Sunday at our North location. Find out more here!
Bonus—for a sample of what you'll learn this weekend, try out one of Amanda's guided meditations here: Guided Meditation with Amanda Ings
Learn to Fly: This Saturday with Sara Cueva
This weekend, Yogalife Instructor and Karma Coordinator (and co-host of our current Instagram challenge!) Sara Cueva is leading her popular Arm Balances and Inversions workshop at Yogalife South. Check out the video we shot with Sara last year to learn a little more about why she's so passionate about taking flight within yoga practice—and gain some insight into the goodies you'll learn in Saturday's class!
Arm balances and inversions with Sara from Yogalife Studios on Vimeo.
Learn to Fly with Sara Cueva runs this Saturday, September 6th at Yogalife South from 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Sign up here.
Sean and Keia's Upcoming Retreat: Video
Have you met these two? After getting to know these loving goofballs throughout this video, it's pretty tough to pass up on an opportunity to go on their upcoming retreat this September in Golden, B.C. Yes, there will be plenty of silliness, but time for serious stuff and stillness, too.
Check out their video, enjoy all of the bloopers (there are many!), and if these two speak to you, head on over to our Retreats page to learn more or sign up for some sweet time away!
Embrace the Spirit from Within with Sean and Keia on Vimeo
Embrace the Spirit from Within runs Wednesday Sept. 24th-Sunday Sept. 29th at the Quantum Leaps retreat centre in Golden, B.C. Visit our Retreats page for more details, or send us an email with your questions.
Core Shri
Core work has the potential to place us in moments of spontaneous and unavoidable vulnerability. It’s that quality of the practice alone that has me so drawn to it. My core practice has unraveled parts of myself that needed to be loved, seen and acknowledged.
Through the offering of ‘Core Shri - Core Work As A Spiritual Practice,’ my intention is to offer tools for you to empower yourself. In the winter months, I was granted an opportunity to put the teachings of yoga into practice, and what I was given as a result of my willingness to go into the discomfort, was massive self empowerment. My body craved deep core movements. However physically demanding my practice would be, the energetic quality of those movements helped me redefine what being in my center meant for me.
Through that willingness to be in discomfort, and surrender into the pain and tenderness of what I was going through, I had discovered an enormously powerful place within. For the first time, maybe ever in my life, I fell in love with myself.
Core work as a spiritual practice means allowing yourself to be so in the flow with Spirit that you are constantly empowered in each moment. However that may look or feel. Through getting into your core practice more deeply, you not only strength your body, but your capacity to hold space for your own radical transformations and shifts in life. Getting grounded in your body with a core practice is such a powerful tool to be consistently living the life you deserve. The tools offered in this workshop can be translated into your yoga practice, as well as the way your create your own reality off the mat.
The goddess archetype Lakshmi is the embodiment of radiance and luxurious self love. So, in the midst of core intensity, the invitation in this workshop is to soften into that place within that is inherently self nurturing and accepting.
Where can we lovingly invite awareness into places within that may have been disowned or pushed aside and instead, fearlessly acknowledge those shadow aspects of the self? We’ll invite this powerful archetype into the practice with some mantra and a short meditation. Simply tools to invite the remembering of that which all ready is.
You are already abundant, radiant and magnificent!
As movement is highly medicinal, so is knowledge. Charging the core is valuable, but so is an understanding of how these muscles work to get to that place of strength. Simple break downs of your core muscles and the way they work with your breath will be offered to build an even more clear foundation for empowerment. I’ll provide you with take home worksheets that will complement your existing yoga practice, whether it be in studio or at home.
How can we each stand stronger within ourselves to offer the gifts and radiance we were truly meant to offer this planet? Where are we holding back from standing in our power and really owning our strengths? Choose to step into yourself and boldly offer your gifts. All via your core practice!
Join us for an afternoon of transformation and empowerment Sunday, April 20th from 2:30-5:30 at Yogalife Studios South.
If you’re seeking any clarification or have any questions on this workshop, please contact Brittany at b.rudyck@gmail.com
In the empowered radiance of Spirit,
Brittany
Namaste Patrick!
Over the past few days Yogalife Studios North and South hosted a series of workshops led by Patrick Creelman, Whistler-native/Hong Kong-residing yogi extraordinaire! These classes, entitled "Strength and Intelligence", taught us totally new ways to our old tricks. We learned a refreshed intelligence that got us out of our comfort zones and into our bodies, upside down and backwards included!
Here are some of the highlights from the sessions.
Jenn sets up in standing half lotus.
...and flips it upside down!
Caren demonstrates this different approach to handstand prep that we practiced tons.
Caitlin gets an assist in pincha mayurasana.
Getting creative with hanumanasana.
From the entire Yogalife community, thank you for sharing these past few days with us Patrick. Stay tuned for next year! Namaste.
Learn To Fly
Learn to Fly: Sara Cueva's Love of Inversions
If you know Sara Cueva, you know that she loves being upside down, or balancing on her hands. This love of inversions has been there ever since the beginning of her yoga journey and has developed with her dedication, continuous practice, and attendance at workshops with master instructors. Sara's love and experience has culminated into a workshop that she'd like to share with you (yes you!) on Saturday, September 7 and Yogalife Studios North!
"I think that I love arm balances so much because, not only are they challenging physically, but they also challenge our fears" -Sara Cueva
For Sara, teaching arm balances is more than just making students stronger physically. It's about generating the willpower to conquer our fears. Being upside down isn't a comfortable state of being for most people, as we live our lives upright. Being able to go upside down (even if you fall out) is a testament to a person's will to overcome their fears and to venture outside their comfort zone.
Check out our latest video of Sara demoing some of her favourite arm balances, while also talking about why she loves them so much!
To register for Sara's upcoming workshop please click here. Where: Yogalife North When: Saturday September 7, from 1PM-4PM
Cost: $35 Open to all levels!
All About Patrick Creelman
Patrick is a Certified Anusara teacher, masterful and well versed with advanced alignment.
Through years of dedicated study he has developed a high level of personal practice and an expert eye in helping students achieve new levels in their own physical yoga practice and philosophical understanding. Patrick is widely considered as one of the most experienced and inspiring "Teacher's Teacher" in Asia. Well established throughout China and Asia, Patrick has a global community that also extends throughout Europe, North America, and South Africa. His classes include a philosophically based thematic focus, clear anatomy, and alignment for both simple and complex poses within a strong fluid practice.
From the article "Tough Guys Do Yoga" in the Asian Pacific Post
"In high school Creelman was first introduced to Yoga by his uncle who passed him a set of beautiful lecture tapes by Ram Dass. This was his first conscious step towards his spiritual path. After years of ski racing and rock climbing, Patrick took his first Hatha Yoga class in the Sivananda Tradition at Simon Fraser University in the spring of 1996 and was struck by the calm, yet powerful effect it had on his hectic college life. After an 8-week intensive, it became clear that the blending of spirituality and physical experience of Hatha Yoga was a path that had a deeper message than anything he had done before."
Patrick will be at Yogalife Studios South on February 12th.
The Master Class runs from 2-5pm (for teachers and dedicated students) and the Strength & Intelligence workshop runs from 7-9pm (open for all levels of practitioners).
Patrick doesn't post a lot of videos, but for a sneak peak at him in action, you can check out the link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9SA6OQeAUo
For those on the 35 day challenge, Patrick's Master Class counts for 3 non-hot flow classes, and the Strength & Intelligence workshop counts for 2 non-hot flow classes.
Patrick Creelman - February 12th!
Patrick is a certified Anusara teacher, masterful and well-versed with advanced alignment. Through years of dedicated study he has developed a high level of personal practice and an expert eye in helping students achieve new levels in their own physical yoga practice and philosophical understanding.
Patrick is widely considered as one of the most experienced and inspiring "Teacher's Teacher" in Asia.
Well established throughout China and Asia, Patrick has a global community that also extends throughout Europe, North America, and South Africa. His classes include a philosophically based thematic focus, clear anatomy, and alignment for both simple and complex poses within a strong fluid practice.
Patrick will be at Yogalife Studios South on February 12th. The Master Class runs from 2-5pm (for teachers and dedicated students) and the Strength & Intelligence workshop runs from 7-9pm (open for all levels of practitioners). Click here to register!
Patrick doesn't post a lot of videos, but here's a sneak peak of him in action!
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