June 2015 - PranaShanti

Chair Yoga: The Benefits and Surprises of a Supported Practice

June 29, 2015February 14, 2021 by Devinder Kaur3 Comments

Chair yoga is an incredible experience for both students and teachers. Students who don’t believe they can exercise or improve their overall heath find accessible, rewarding techniques; and teachers find incredibly devoted, grateful students who cannot make it to traditional classes. The journey for myself began by wanting to share yoga with my grandparents who were in their nineties, and I needed to come up with ways to adapt the techniques to suit them. At the time I had never heard of "chair yoga", but it seemed like a natural way to adapt yoga for people in their early 90’s. After a chance meeting led me to taking over a class at a senior’s residence, my student base grew from these initial two! We started with a monthly class and the residents kept protesting until it was offered weekly. Their devotion to the practice and its results was second to none, and it had nothing to do with being family. Over time I've realized that chair yoga...

The Deep Benefits of Gentle Yoga

June 17, 2015July 28, 2015 by Devinder Kaur1 Comment

Gentle yoga There is a general misconception that “gentle yoga” is not as beneficial as the more active styles. However, the gentle styles of yoga, such as Restorative Yoga, Somatic Yoga, Therapeutic Yoga, can stimulate the immune system and improve one’s overall health. Gentle yoga styles help to get the body out of stress-mode, release tension, calm the nervous system, gain clearer thinking, and even restore an overall sense of balance to the body, the mind and the soul. While stress is essential in certain moments where we need to achieve a goal and the stakes are high, the body's stress aparatus (the brain, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and muscles) become chronically over or under-activated when even low-levels of stress are persistent. Chronic stress can produce mental and physical illness over time, and the list of potential effects is too long and sad to list to here. People often think that gentle yoga classes are easy, but these may be students who...

Benefits and Bliss of Hair and Scalp Massage

June 9, 2015July 28, 2015 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

From the Sanskrit words "shiras" (head, which you might recognize from the Sanskrit for headstand "Sirsasana") and "dhara" (flow), shirodhara is the gentle flow of warm oil from a brass oil fountain onto the third eye chakra (Ajna) just above and between the eyebrows. It's an incredibly relaxing, meditative practice that stimulates circulation, brain function, and a healthy head of hair. Should you not be able to get to your local Ayurvedic practitioner, you can reap the health benefits of massage with Ayurvedic hair massage oils. Massaging increases blood flow to the treated area, and helps with fatigue, stress, and pain. This is also true for scalp massages, and they also benefit the skin, scalp, hair follicles and hair to grow faster and more luminous. Only oils appropriate for the hair should be used for scalp massage. We have Banyan Botanicals Healthy Hair Massage Oil for you to try this at home, but you can also use Almond or Castor oil to...

Novel Inspired by the teachings of Yogi Bhajan

June 2, 2015July 18, 2020 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

Fuming. That’s how Cam, the main character in The Merit Birds, feels about being dragged to Laos, Southeast Asia, by his mother. His absent father, his lifetime of anger issues, and his recent basketball fight only serve to compound his strong emotions. Gradually, Cam’s change comes when he learns about the power of the breath and of serving others. Written by Kundalini Yoga instructor, Kelley Powell, the novel ends with KRI-approved instructions for the One Minute Breath. Inspired by the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, The Merit Birds is unique in that readers are introduced to Kundalini Yoga through fiction. It is about the friendships that Cam eventually and often reluctantly makes and how a lifetime of anger can be transformed from the inside out. It’s about how daily attention to the breath and bringing focus within can melt away years of anger and hurt. And it’s about how this realization of inner peace leads to a bursting open of the heart...

New Class and Video: Yoga for Runners with Cat Edward

June 1, 2015October 31, 2016 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

Yoga for Runners is a new class on our schedule to address the needs of the active Ottawa community. Students will appreciate the focus on flexibility and movement through the hips to counter the repetitive, strengthening motions of running, and core and shoulder strengthening and stability to ensure an even distribution of strength and flexibility throughout the body. Of course, the class is for anyone (in Cat's words: sitter, walker, runner, or athlete), looking to bring relief and ease to the whole body when it's primary movements or posture are repetitive. The delightful Cat Edward has been teaching yoga for almost five years and plays recreational soccer, as well as participates in various run clubs, snowshoeing, and skiing. Active and affable, Cat is a great addition to the PranaShanti team....