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February Workshops + Events at Parallel Yoga

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Yogis–can you even BELIEVE it’s February?!

Seriously.

But guess what? We have the BEST workshops lined up for you this month! Honestly. Check ‘em out:

Acro Yoga with Stef

  • Date: Saturday, Feb 3rd
  • Time: 11:45am – 1:00pm
  • Cost: $10 plus GST

New to Acro? Never heard of Acro? A bit nervous to try? Not to worry! These classes are for all levels and will teach you the techniques and skills you need to fly, base and spot confidently and safely.

Have experience with Acro Yoga? Great!

Come on out and have some fun. In this adult-oriented class (14+), you will have the opportunity to play and practice while building new skills and techniques, so whether you are new or have experience, you will be given options to propel you further along your journey.

Office Yoga with Guest Teacher

  • Date: Saturday Feb. 3
  • Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Cost: $35 plus GST

Do you sit for hours day at a workstation or desk? Do you feel sore in lower back, have a stiff neck and tight shoulders?

We have all heard that sitting for many hours is now considered the new smoking. Sitting for long periods can increase risk of heart disease, diabetes and many other health problems. It also causes fatigue, brain fog and improper posture.

Our bodies are meant to move, not sit for many hours a day!

You will learn how to use your breath to increase oxygenation that assists in reducing stress, to ease anxiety, and boost your mood. We will incorporate yoga poses to release tension, stretch and encourage proper posture while sitting on a chair, as well as learning how to use your desk as a prop to increase strength, blood flow and energize you throughout the workday.

You will be able to take this practice and incorporate it into your daily workday routine at your workstation or home office.

*This is a 2-hour workshop.

Restorative Yoga for Sleep with Sarah

  • Date: Saturday Feb. 3
  • Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
  • Cost: $49 plus GST

Come enjoy a deep relaxation restorative yoga practice and learn:

  • The restorative poses that set your body up to sleep soundly through the night
  • How to quiet your mind for a more peaceful sleep, night after night
  • The science of how to improve the quality of your sleep
  • How to enjoy ‘deep rest’ any time you need it

Led by Sarah Domes, yoga teacher and sleep coach, this workshop builds upon the previous Yoga for Sleep working and is designed for both new and returning participants.

Meditation Teacher Training with Colynn

  • Start date: Friday Feb. 9
  • Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Course cost: $695 plus GST

This 50-hour training offers you the tools to skillfully instruct students through guided meditation and pranayama. Completing the training offers Continuing Education hours towards Yoga Alliance, as well as a certificate.

The course is set up to introduce students to several different types of meditations and pranayama, as well as delve into the chakras, learn to script meditation and pranayama into a regular yoga class and review the business and sales of meditation and breath work as workshops, full classes or in your own business. Includes home-study hours as homework and required reading.

More dates and times: February 9 and 16 6pm-9pm; February 10, 11, 17 and 18 12pm-8pm

This course offers 40 contact hours and 10 non-contact hours for the full 50 hours CEU

Introduction to Meditation with Colynn

  • Date: Saturday Feb. 10
  • Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Cost: $50 plus GST

This workshop is taking place during a teacher training. It’s open to students and teachers that are not looking for a full certification, but rather a shorter introduction to the practice.

This 4-hour teaching opportunity informs participants of the benefits of meditation, how to set up your own practice, as well as introduces a variety of meditations.

Introduction to the Chakras with Colynn

  • Date: Sunday Feb. 11
  • Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Cost: $50 plus GST

This is not the ordinary Intro to the Chakras Workshop, this one is a little more in depth. It is part of a teacher training and is open to those that do not want certification in meditation, but want to know more about the Chakras.

This 4-hour workshop introduces the chakras, the physical, spiritual, and psychological aspects that they govern, the anatomy of, mudras for, and much more. A discussion is generated around the chakras and imbalances, and the class ends with a chakra balancing meditation!

Introduction to Pranayama with Colynn

  • Date: Saturday Feb. 17
  • Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Cost: $50 plus GST

This workshop takes place during a teacher training, but is open to teachers and students not interested in taking the full certification. This 4-hour class starts with a restorative breath practice, to connect the student with their breath and how it feels in their body.

There is a brief intro to the anatomy of the breath and the benefits of pranayama with a discussion, followed by several different techniques of pranayama and class ends with a meditation.

Silent Meditation Experience with Colynn

  • Date: Saturday Feb. 17
  • Time: 5:00pm – 8:00pm
  • Cost: $50 plus GST

This workshop is taking place during a teacher training and is offered for students or teachers not interested in the full certification, but wanting to experience an afternoon of the most interesting meditation techniques.

This 3-hour workshop introduces the participants to 3 different types of silent meditation, that will help you to unwind & let go of tension. Most of the experience requires silence from the student, followed by a half hour discussion of the effects of the practice. Guaranteed you will leave feeling like a new person.

*Please inform studio of any food allergies on registration

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Sarah

  • Date: Friday Feb. 23
  • Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Cost: $299 plus GST

Open to current yoga teachers, wellness therapists, and other individuals look to deepen their own practice, this Restorative Yoga Teacher Training is sure to give you the tools you need to teach restorative classes and in private sessions in a meaningful way.

Taught by Sleep coach at registered yoga teacher, Sarah Domes, this course is either taken over the weekend or in separate 3-hour modules that pique your interest.

The curriculum will cover:

  • Grounding and Personal Practice
  • Props and Postures
  • Deepening Relaxation
  • Meditation and Mindfulness
  • Teaching and Integration

*15 YA CECs

If you’d like to register for any of the classes, you can do so online, in-studio, or over the phone.

ALSO: we’re running an Instagram contest this month, guys–a 28 day InstaChallenge! Here are the details:

  1. Practice yoga once a day, in the studio or at home, for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Post on IG, tag us, and use hashtags #parallelyoga and #pyinstachallenge.
  3. Comment on our daily posts starting today (February 1) with a simple “done.”

Open to local residents, only! Each comment and hashtag will count as one entry. The winner will receive lots of awesome yogi stuff! See our Instagram wall to find out exactly what the prizes are.

Good luck!

 

 

Living with Intent

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We hear a lot about mindfulness and intention within the walls of Parallel Yoga, but what do these words really mean? What do they mean to you? Living mindfully and with intent is a way to steer your daily life in the direction of your goals.

It’s also a way to be certain you’re taking full advantage of each and every day, because most of us glide through our weeks looking forward to the weekend—that is to say we “get through” things in order to appreciate what’s on the other side.

But what if the “getting through” is what we should be focusing on? We may never reach the other side, but we certainly have this moment, right here, right now.

When we choose to live with intent, we choose to slow down and consciously make decisions about our actions, and reflect on how our actions will affect other actions that take place after. We recognize that life is fleeting, and by taking the extra time to capture small moments around us, we become more attune to what we may not notice if we didn’t mindfully decide to do so.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” –Lao Tzu

Here are some ways to help you practice living with intent:

Practice Gratitude

We are all grateful for a variety of our life’s gifts, but we often forget to acknowledge this gratitude. By actively taking time each day to recognize what we have to be grateful for, it reminds us to be gentle, have patience, and appreciate life’s incredible gifts, both big and small.

Say Thank You

As with gratitude, we are all thankful. Take a few minutes at the end of each day to say aloud (to your family or just yourself) what you are thankful for. Even on our worst days, we are all thankful for much. Saying what we’re thankful for aloud on a regular basis helps to remind us that life is not a guarantee and to develop a deeper appreciation for what may seem to be mundane.

Meditate for 5 Minutes Each Day

The 5-minute meditation is practiced by more than just a handful of people—in fact, its popularity as a way to recharge and slow down has been helping people from all over the globe in all aspects of life to gain insight, develop new ideas, and flow through their days more easily and with grace.

Just Listen

Do us a favour: walk outside, stand in Mountain Pose, close your eyes, and just listen. Maintain this for 30 seconds, and you’ll gain a temporary appreciation for what you don’t usually notice. If you do this everyday, that temporary appreciation will become permanent.

Practice Conscious Breathing

You can do this anywhere. In the car, at your desk, in bed before you drift off to sleep, or anywhere else you can think of. Just the action of consciously breathing in deep, slow breaths and then slowly letting them out is extremely relaxing and great for your parasympathetic nervous system.

Try to practice conscious breathing for 8-10 breaths, 2-3 times per day, every day.

Make Stretching Part of Your Daily Routine

Even 5 minutes of stretching each day can help your body to release tension and assist in injury prevention. Do it alone, in a safe and quiet space. Close your eyes.

Practice Yoga

Because yoga envelops so many of the above suggestions, committing to 2-3 yoga classes a week can result in huge rewards in the long-term.

Be Kind to Nature

Remember, living with intent means making choices regarding all of our actions. The next time you go to swat a fly or kill a spider, try and direct the insect outdoors, instead. Everything created by nature has a purpose, and it’s not up to us to decide what is more valuable than another.

Pet a dog. Feed a bird. Love what nature has provided for us.

Give Yourself Time

Don’t rush—instead, give yourself the time you need to experience what you need to within your day, and not have to worry and stress. Leave for an appointment ten minutes early. Don’t wait until you feel sick to eat.

Treat yourself with the respect you deserve, and don’t rush. Slow down. Breathe consciously. Stretch. Practice yoga and meditate. Notice nature and listen to her sounds. Be thankful and grateful and love your life—it’s a gift, remember. Don’t accidentally waste it.

By choosing to live with intent, we can enrich our lives in many ways.

Namaste.

 

Yoga for Heart Health

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Channel your energy and consciously shift your focus towards promoting good heart health.

Too many of us are allowing stress, anxiety, poor diets and lack of physical activity affect our lives—all of which are key contributors to heart disease and stroke (currently affecting 1.6 million Canadians).

The good news is that we can make conscious decisions and simple lifestyle changes to avoid such damage. Mindful breathing techniques, intentional movement, and meditation are 3 simple ways that one can help promote good heart health. Yoga actually encompasses all three of these recommendations, as well as encouraging self-love (the most important kind of love). Also? It’s suitable for anyone, at any skill level.

Here’s our summary of the three ways yoga directly contributes to good heart health:

Movement

Yoga is built on the foundation of intentional movement, which is very important for good heart health. The various poses and postures help to stretch, strengthen, and tone your muscles. You establish balance and stability while improving circulation and reducing inflammation.

Studies have shown that people who practice yoga combined with other forms of movement are more likely to stick to their exercise routine.

Breath

Yoga includes dedicated time for meditation and breathing techniques. Focusing on slow, deep breaths activates our parasympathetic nervous system and induces a state of relaxation, which helps to release stress or anxiety that has been harboured deep within body. As you enter a state of quiet calmness, your blood pressure lowers and your heart rate settles into a peaceful rhythm.

Hatha is a popular form of yoga we practice which is great for beginners–it’s a more gentle and slow form. Hatha would also be recommended for anyone recovering from a heart condition as part of a rehabilitation and strengthening program. But we don’t just practice hatha here at Parallel Yoga–see HERE for the complete list of classes we offer.

Stillness

Most yoga classes end with a few minutes of meditation, often done through a pose called Savasana, which entails lying flat on your back with your eyes closed. Meditation quiets the nervous system and eases stress and anxiety or depression—all contributors to serious cardiovascular diseases.

Feel calm and at peace by quieting your mind and creating a stress-free environment, letting your body work for you, instead of against. Be one with every single beat of your heart and every single breath you take.

For your mind, heart, body and soul, explore the benefits of yoga. Your risk of heart disease and stroke can to be avoided, and we want to help spread that message. If you want to learn more about how you can improve your heart health, visit the website for the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.

For our class schedule or to learn more about the benefits of yoga, please feel free to visit our website or call our studio. With all our hearts, we welcome you home.

Namaste. xo

Got Stress? Get Yoga.

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There are many, many benefits to practicing yoga, and stress relief is just one of them—but it’s a big one. Many scientists now believe that stress is an underlying issue that contributes to a huge variety of diseases, including digestive disease, some types of cancer, obesity, skin conditions, and many more.

By ridding yourself of the stress in your life (or learning how to manage it more effectively), you can give yourself a leg up when it comes to disease prevention. That’s huge! At the time of year when kids are taking exams and sports are wrapping up, life can sometimes feel out of control.

But yoga helps.

Here are 5 ways in which yoga help to alleviate stress and teach you to deal with it in ways that are productive and wise:

It Teaches You to Truly Breathe

We all breathe, but learning to breathe consciously and mindfully at times of stress can be a huge asset to your health and well-being. Breathing deeply and purposefully allows your body to take the heart rate down, circulate more oxygen to the bloodstream, and feed every single little cell with nutrients.

When this happens, our body is given a signal that we do not need to be in fight or flight, and we can relax.

And we do.

Yoga Invites Humility into Your Life

Practicing yoga makes you realize that everyone walks a different path, and that your problems are not unique to you. You’re not the only one in class with a rebellious teenage son or daughter. You’re not the only one struggling at work.

And you’re not the only one with tight hamstrings.

Yoga teaches us that although we are each immensely important, we move as one and all need to respect one another in order to reap life’s rewards.

This realization can be deeply helpful in combating the stress that crept up on you during your drive to the studio, or anywhere else.

Poses and Postures Help Reduce Inflammation

Your organs feel your stress, and although you may not feel the effects immediately, they do, and it’s only a matter of time until you recognize that.

Your body responds to stress by creating inflammation. In an effort to protect itself, your amazing body creates a buffer between its very important parts, but this buffer is not meant to be permanent or chronic.

Yoga helps to reduce and eliminate inflammation by increasing circulation (bringing more oxygen to the brain and body), calming the mind, and creating a collection of healthy thoughts and feelings within ourselves that we can draw from when we feel the need to.

Like a mental health toolbox!

You Learn to Be Still

Think that 10 minutes in savasana is just a show? Think again. Some people have a harder time staying in savasana than they do in pigeon! Why? Because laying still in the day without expectation of sleep invites thoughts into your mind that you may not want there. But dealing with those thoughts in a safe place instead of avoiding them is the healthier alternative.

Learning to be still can help you eliminate a lot of stress—that’s why meditation is so amazing for your body, too!

Competition Stays at the Door

Many of us compete with each other and even ourselves without even realizing it. While competition can definitely be healthy, it’s also unnecessary to be steeped in all the time. Learning to put aside competitive feelings can have a very positive affect on your body—and your stress levels.

For more information on the health benefits of yoga, visit our blog. If you’d like to see our class schedule, visit HERE.

Namaste!

5 Meditation Tips for Beginners

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If you have an active and long-term yoga practice, then you probably also meditate, or are at least have been curious about it. Although yoga and meditation go hand in hand, people seem to gravitate more easily towards yoga than towards mediation.

Why is this?

If the roadblock mainly consists of not knowing where to start, then we have your back! Here are 5 meditation tips for beginners:

Be Aware of the Benefits

It’s more difficult to begin a meditation practice if you aren’t sure why you’re doing it. Like yoga, meditation focuses largely on breath and inwardness. It encourages those who practice to turn their thoughts inward and focus on the present.

Unlike yoga, meditation encourages stillness and cultivates the ability to be both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. It can help increase your resilience in dealing with stress and anxiety, and helps people prone to unwanted overthinking, otherwise known as rumination.

Understand the Principles

Although many beginners think that the main goal of mediation is purposeful focus without becoming distracted, it’s learning to notice when your mind drifts that results in successful cognitive therapy:

“You can’t restructure your thoughts if you haven’t first developed the ability to identify your thoughts.”[1]

Start with 3-5 Minutes

Beginners don’t have to begin their mediation practice by doing so for hours. Start small. Try sitting in a comfortable and quiet place in your home, eyes closed, for 3 minutes. A great way to try and control your thoughts is to breathe in and out a mantra.

On your inhale, imagine the word “slow” and on the exhale, imagine the word “down.” For every breath, repeat the mantra. You’ll be surprised how after a few times, that 3 minutes becomes 8! (And so on.)

Anything is Better than Nothing

Remember that 5 minutes is better than 2, and 2 minutes is better than zero. By keeping your meditation practice consistent, even if it means only getting in 2 minutes a day, you’re creating a healthy habit that will evolve into something powerful.

Be realistic, and do what works for you and your lifestyle. Which brings us to…

If All Else Fails, Throw the Rules Out the Window

Rules don’t mean much if they aren’t going to be followed. So don’t follow the same ones as others, if they don’t make sense! For example, if one person’s suggested mantra doesn’t work for you, create one that does! If meditating in the evening isn’t realistic, try doing it in your car on your lunch break.

Meditation is about learning to control your thoughts and having the tools to recognize when your mind is negatively affecting your body and vice versa. It’s about aligning your mind, body, and soul for harmony and inner peace.

So it’s worth a try! If you’re a beginner, ask us for more tips on how to incorporate meditation into your life, today.

Namaste.

References:

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-practice/201303/5-meditation-tips-beginners

Research Proves that Yoga Helps Us Live Longer

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We’ve all heard that yoga is good for us. Right? And we don’t need to read the research to know that there are specific things about the practice that contribute to a better life. Things like:

  • Pain relief
  • Self-acceptance
  • Nixing negative self-talk
  • Body awareness
  • Learning to be full— grateful, mindful, and thankful

And more!

We even know that yoga is amazing at actively reducing stress. But what you may not know, is that it’s scientifically proven to do so; that there is a huge correlation between those who do yoga, and those who live longer. Here’s why:

Breath = Improved Mental Health

In an American research study conducted in 2009, researchers concluded that conscious “breath work can affect longevity mechanisms.”[i] They also provide clinical evidence that links yoga breathing to the positive treatment of “depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and for victims of mass disasters.”[ii]

Poor mental health is associated with a decreased life expectancy, but the opposite is also true. If you can improve your state of mind by practicing yoga, then you’re making conscious and mindful strides towards a longer, healthier life.

Meditation = Stress Relief + Clarity

Another research study conducted in 2009 found that meditation can ultimately be linked to slower cellular aging. The idea is this: how slow or fast one ages is determined primarily by one’s telomere length. The telomeres in a person who experience consistent stress are significantly shorter than those who perceive themselves to be “stress-free.”[iii]

“We can actively change the length of our telomeres by changing our lifestyle habits.”

Meditation is an effective way to reverse the aging process by helping to assist us in dealing with our stress, and enabling us to think more clearly about what we prioritize.

Exercise = Decreased Body Mass + Medication

Yoga lowers your body mass index (BMI). In 2011, the International Journal of Yoga published a research study that concluded that regular and consistent yoga practice was a predictor of “lower body mass index and reduced medication use in women over 45 years.”[iv]

Since both higher body mass indexes and regular commercial medication use has been linked to a shorter lifespan, this means that yoga helps you to live longer.

So there you have it! Three scientifically-proven ways that yoga helps us increase our longevity.

Namaste.

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References:

[i] http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1749-6632.2009.04394.x?r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_checkout=1&purchase_referrer=onlinelibrary.wiley.com&purchase_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED_NO_CUSTOMER

[ii] http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1749-6632.2009.04394.x?r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_checkout=1&purchase_referrer=onlinelibrary.wiley.com&purchase_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED_NO_CUSTOMER

[iii] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04414.x/full

[iv] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193658/