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Yoga for Stress and Anxiety

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There are many benefits to practicing yoga, and relief from stress and anxiety is just one of them—but it’s a big one.

Many medical professionals believe that stress and anxiety are underlying issues that contribute to a huge variety of diseases, including digestive disease, some types of cancer, obesity, skin conditions, and many more.

By ridding yourself of the triggers that cause anxiety 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! And 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 can help to alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety, while also teaching you to deal with them in ways that are productive and healing:

Yoga Teaches You to Use Your Breath

We all breathe, but learning to breathe consciously and mindfully at times of stress and anxiety 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 helps you realize that everyone walks a different path, and consequently, 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 powerful in combating chronic stress that leads to anxiety.

Poses and Postures Help Reduce Inflammation

Your organs feel your stress and anxiety, 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.

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 emotions within ourselves that we can draw from when we feel the need to.

Kind of 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 thought 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 anxiety 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.

Creating Space in the Spring

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Guys. It’s officially spring, and for many of us, the opportunity to purge our crowded, winter-dictated lives is exciting.

In the winter, we collect. We hunker down and surround ourselves with comfort, whether that be food, people, habits, or whatever. We often become fragile versions of ourselves and feel the need to look inward and reflect on the year’s events.

But now? Now, it’s spring, and spring is a time for new growth—and not just for newly budded plants or the arrival of animal babies. Spring is a time of blossoming for us, too, to purge what we’ve collected and organize our priorities.

We often shed a little bit of weight, we remove the dust that’s settled on the furniture for many dark months, and we begin to adjust our faces towards the increased sunshine that grants us permission to clean up and refine our lives.

Spring also affords us to opportunity to ask ourselves if we’re present in our ideal mental state. With extra vitamin D coming our way and being earthlings who crave all the elements of our planet, we smile more and ask ourselves if we’re okay. We assess the events of the past months and finetune to create increased happiness and subsequent health.

So let us ask you this: how are you feeling?

How do you want to roll out this beautiful year? Is your mental health an accurate reflection of your physical well-being and your daily habits? Of your intentions?

This is where we come in.

At Parallel Yoga, we strive to inspire connection; always connection. To connect with each other, and ourselves. To create space where everyone who walks through our studio doors in given the opportunity to ask themselves how they feel and then work on their desired outcome.

We want to promote tranquility and peace. Not just with those around us, but within ourselves. We’re here to help you spring clean your whole self, and in turn, the environment in which you choose to surround yourself in.

So again: how are you? Let’s connect.

Namaste.

Intuition and Connection

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Your body is intuitive.

We are remarkably designed beings, capable of knowing physically, emotionally, and spiritually what we need and when we need it. Although sometimes difficult to remember or wrap our heads around, we are complete and perfectly molded.

Your body is not separate from your mind, which is not separated from your soul. Intuition flows seamlessly though these moving parts of each one of us, and we need only to pay attention to know the answer to this question: what do I need?

When our eyes feel tired, we close them and gift them rest. When our stomachs growl, we eat, and feel fulfilled. When we are sad, we shed tears, and become cleansed. We know, intuitively, how to care for ourselves, and by extension, others.

Even Albert Einstein, who of course is known as a scientist, has been quoted as saying: “I believe in intuition and inspirations…I sometimes feel that I am right.”

The practice of yoga helps us to connect the seemingly separate parts of ourselves, because it emphasizes connection. We use our breath to connect our muscles and our minds. We chant together to enrich and liven our souls; to connect to one another. We close our eyes and place a hand over our heart to connect everything that is us.

“Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships; they’re all a projection of you.” –Deepak Chopra

At Parallel Yoga, we like to help inspire connection within ourselves, as well as others and the community. If you’re new to our studio, we hope you leave your mat feeling above anything else, connected.

You and I and everyone within our studio—we are the same, and we are intuitively connected because we are divine.

Namaste.

 

 

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!

 

 

Welcoming Change

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Change can be scary, but can also refreshing and motivating. It’s up to every single one of us to decide how we wish to perceive it.

It’s all about our ability to live with acceptance and grace, and to understand that there are some things we cannot control—and that this is okay.

Seasonal Changes

We’re sure you’ve noticed the darker, shorter days and what seem to be very long nights, lately. While this change in weather and season often feel a little constricting or depressing, it’s important to remember that it’s nature’s way of sloughing off the old, so we can welcome the new in spring!

While Mother Nature is doing her best to transition into a new season, we can all look to her for her great example, and decide what changes we need or want to make in our own lives to create more happiness and health for ourselves and those around us.

We’re at the end of one year, and the cusp of another. This is a fantastic time of year to focus on what changes you would like to make in your own life, and make a plan on how to welcome those changes with love and grace in our hearts.

While personal change is obviously amidst and inevitable for all, we’re incorporating our own changes over here at Parallel Yoga:

Scheduling Changes

We’re changing our yoga class schedule to accommodate requests and create more opportunity. Here are some changes we’re making:

  • Mondays Stretch moved to 12:00
  • All evening classes start at 4:45
  • The new, full online schedule will be posted on our website on December 3rd

Staff Changes

Garth Van Gaalen

Garth will be teaching at 6:30am and 12pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, as well as taking kinesiology appointments. Want to know more? Check out his bio online HERE.

Jessica Hart

Welcome, Jess! Jessica will be offering a preschool yoga class starting in January (we don’t have it up online yet). Cool, right?!

The Entrance at PY

Changes in Retail

We also welcome you to check out The Entrance for Christmas gift ideas! We’ve loaded up on everyone’s faves, and there are TONS of gift ideas for everyone. If you’re looking for something useful and unique, we can help you out.

Happy holidays, yogis!

Namaste.

 

 

 

 

 

BMR Counselling & Consulting at Parallel Yoga

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Sports psychology is a proficiency that uses psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and well-being of athletes, developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.

Because we work with so many athletes at Parallel Yoga, we’ve found a match made in heaven with BMR Counselling and Consulting, who now provides therapeutic counselling, sports psychology, and mental performance coaching.

Friends, meet Trevin!

Trevin has been working with athletes since 2010 and has a realistic approach to athlete and performance counselling. He is a Certified Sports Psychology Coach and is a strong believer that, in any sport, 90% of the sport is mental, and when you cannot perform mentally, it will reflect in the physical aspect of the game.

Growing up, whether it be a job or a sport, Trevin understood what it was like to try and perform under pressure and how not being able to perform at peak levels can take a negative toll on your body mentally.

At PY, BMR will develop a plan enhancing the specific skills needed to improve and maintain individual performance.

Trevin advocates for nutrition and diet plans to help the athlete in the physical aspect of the game. He’s a firm believer in positive reinforcement if the work is being put into effect. He also teaches the importance of behaviours of being at and away from the rink, field, court, or stage and strongly emphasizes education and nutrition as a motivation to succeed.

Trevin, who is a Certified Sports Psychology Coach (CSPC), focuses on thought patterns, coping styles, communication skills, relaxation exercises, and visual techniques to maintain a focus on success and to enhance performance related to:

  • Coping with pressures of competition
  • Psychological recovery of injuries
  • Goal setting
  • Mental performance
  • Positive mental imagery
  • Managing emotions
  • Maintaining concentration
  • Anxiety

Sports Psychology (Performance) Therapy helps athletes, performers and others reach goals and cope with the anxiety that can impede performance in different areas. If you can relate or know someone who does, chat with us about booking an appointment at Parallel Yoga.

How exciting is this? For more information on what Parallel Yoga and BMR Counselling & Consulting are offering, pop by the studio, email us, or give us a call.

Namaste.

 

Spring Equinox, Yoga, and Balance

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We welcome March with open arms, and are truly excited for Spring Equinox! Although temperatures are still cool, the earth’s soil is erupting with life and the birds are singing a new song. It’s nature’s time of cleansing, starting fresh, and finding an equal balance within—not just in our physical surroundings, but within our hearts and souls, as well.

It’s common over the winter (and not just for animals) to feel inclined to hibernate. The early darkness and cold air makes it easy to stay indoors and get cozy. This is Mother Nature’s way of letting us know that it’s time to slow down and rest for a while.

During this time, life tends to feel unbalanced in many ways. With limited exposure to sunlight and a typical cutback in physical activity, our bodies and minds can take an emotional and physical hit of sorts.

Naturally, after some time, we begin to feel ready to get back outside and take in deep breaths of warm sunlight. How sweet it is to step outside, stretch your arms towards the sky and let the sun beam down on your face!

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox for the northern hemisphere takes place on March 20th, when the earth’s two hemispheres unite with equal amount of darkness and light (night and day). This creates a true moment of balance and the dawning of spring, which many of us regard as hope for new beginnings and a fresh start.

Embrace this moment to find your own balance alongside the earth’s. What kind of balance are you looking for or think you may need?

spring equinox balance

Physical Balance

Physically speaking, achieving proper balance isn’t just necessary for standing on two feet, but for all things we enjoy doing again as spring sets in. (Riding a bike, hiking, walking, paddling, swimming and so on.) These activities will help improve your overall well-being and can help prevent you from illness or getting hurt.

Finding balance comes from within and radiates to the outside of oneself, and can be easily achieved through practicing yoga and these three simple rules:

  • Breathing comes first as it is the bridge between your mind and body, and must be established before holding a steady pose. Holding your breath causes tension and makes you shaky in your stance.
  • Focus. Practice focused gazing (Drishti) by finding an object within a few feet and steady your focus towards it for balance. Keep breathing.
  • Finally, plant your feet with even weight and press down on the outer edges.

Emotional and Spiritual Balance

To many religions dating back thousands of years, Spring Equinox is regarded as a spiritual gift from the atmosphere. The energies received from the balance of darkness and light truly reflect in our emotional well-being and peace within. The same energies can be further driven through practicing yoga and meditation where your intent is on cultivating a healthy and balanced emotional setting within your soul.

At Parallel Yoga, we’ll be celebrating Spring Equinox on March 20th with open hearts! It also happens to be our very own Kara’s 40th birthday that day—a new decade to be welcomed with hope, joy, thankfulness, and gratitude.

Join us at the studio to balance your mind and body with the beginning of a new season, and please visit our website to learn about our classes and schedules.

Happy Spring Equinox from Parallel Yoga.

Namaste.

 

 

 

 

 

6 Things to Consider Before Buying Your First Yoga Mat

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When you found yoga, you got excited, right? Most people who come to the studio for their first time are amazed at what yoga really is, and what it can help them accomplish. Mostly reputed to require bendy bones and fascia made of Jell-o, people are delighted to learn that they don’t need to be flexible, and expensive yoga gear is not required. You can simply show up in your old sweatpants and t-shirt, borrow a mat, and follow directions while listening and modifying poses according to the wills of your own body.

Pretty rad, right?

But after a few classes, and once you begin to feel really comfortable with the idea of incorporating this invaluable practice into your life on a regular basis, most people want to invest a little and buy their own yoga mat. While it may seem that all mats are created equal, we are here to let you know that they are not.

(Sorry!)

Here are 6 things we wish we’d known before we purchased our own mats—so read up, and you’ll ultimately save yourself some coin

Not all mats are created equal.

It’s true—they’re not even close. Before you purchase your mat, there are a handful of things to know about the difference of yoga mat quality. These days, you can pick up a mat almost anywhere, but do you want to grab a $20 mat from your grocery store?

Nope.

Why? Read on…

Mat

Buy brand name (aka: spend some coin).

Yep—we said that. We can personally guarantee that when you pick up a cheap mat from Wal-Mart, you’ll be replacing or modifying it within mere months. Less expensive mats break down faster, and are usually made from chemical-smelling plastics, like PVC.

Brand name mats are better, because aside from using better quality materials, that yoga brand knows yoga. They know what yogis need in a mat, and they care about making sure their product represents their brand. Like any brand-name product, it will cost more, but in the long run, it’s a better investment.

Check out this awesome Manduka mat HERE.

Go for thick, not thin.

If you buy a thin mat, you will feel like you’re practicing on hardwood. Even Child’s Pose will hurt the inside of your knees. Look around the studio next time you’re in: if the class is full, we would estimate about 20% borrow a studio mat to place under their own to make it more comfortable.

Thicker is better.

Try it before you buy it.

Honestly—throw the mat on the floor of the store, and get busy. (Doing yoga.)

Test for thickness, stickiness, and texture. While keeping in mind that as your yoga mat breaks in, it will develop more of a grip, try and determine whether or not it feels right. If you’re spending the dough, you want to make sure you’re happy with it.

yoga mat

Think about the environment.

This tip will sound kind of weird, but when you purchase a mat made from eco-friendly, recyclable materials, it will usually break down faster. Although definitely trendy, cork mats don’t last long at all, and 100% cotton mats are not even close to slip resistant—not what you want to discover while in Downward Dog.

The best course of action is to buy something that will be durable; something that will last a long time. It creates less waste, and will ultimately be better for the planet.

Match your mat to your practice.

When purchasing a mat, you’ll want to consider what type of yoga you typically engage in. Yin? You want a pretty thick mat. Hot? You want a mat with lots of texture to give you more grip while you sweat.

That kind of thing.

At Parallel Yoga, we sell mats that we KNOW are quality—our instructors use them, and we can personally endorse their effectiveness and longevity. If you have questions about them, ask us. We want you to know what we know about props and products that will affect your experience in our studio.

Because ultimately, the outcome of your practice depends on the entire experience, not just how well you were able to relax in Savasana (which also depends on the comfort of your mat).

Namaste!