Winter Wonderland – Winter Solstice Celebration

Winter Wonderland – Winter Solstice Celebration

Our Annual Winter Solstice Celebration is Thursday, December 21! Midwinter's day has been an important time for celebration throughout the ages. On this shortest day of the year, the sun is at its lowest and weakest, a pivot point from which the light will grow stronger and brighter. This is the turning point of the year. To celebrate this sacred time we will begin with an inspirational intention setting, followed by yoga, a meditation, and immersive sound experience. Live music will enhance our sacred experience with ambient soundscapes as we practice. The Spirit Room will be magically transformed into a full sensory Winter Wonderland experience...complete with live tress, twinkling white lights, snow and more! Warming and delicious drinks, a vegan gluten free dinner meal and desert are included and catered by Whole Foods. Please come dressed in white clothing to further add to the ambiance of this sacred time. Cost: $65.00 per person. Limited space for a maximum of 50 participants. To plan for participant take home...
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300 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training

300 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training

300 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Announcing Our Program Launch – January 2018 PranaShanti Yoga Centre’s HYTT 300-Hour Program is a comprehensive course of study that delves deeply into all aspects of Yoga, thus, building on the knowledge and skills developed at the 200-Hour Level. This self-paced modular approach to advanced Yogic education allows you to customize a pathway based on your own unique needs. Believing in studying with a variety of highly trained teachers increases everyone’s knowledge and depth of experience, our dedicated and skilled faculty deliver a well-rounded curriculum that enables you to refine your expertise in particular areas of interest due to their areas of specialization. Join us for our FREE Information Sessions Bring your questions, learn more and meet our Program Co-ordinator, Kathleen Burr, Our next dates are: Monday, January 15, 2018 – 6 pm to 7 pm Sunday, January 28, 2018 – 2 pm to 3 pm Sign Up HERE! PranaShanti Yoga Centre is a Registered Yoga School (RYS) and Registered Yoga...
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Vote for PranaShanti Yoga Centre! Top Yoga Studio of 2018 in Ottawa!

Vote for PranaShanti Yoga Centre! Top Yoga Studio of 2018 in Ottawa!

Vote for Us!  PranaShanti Yoga Centre has been nominated as Top Yoga Studio of 2018 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, by Top Choice Awards! Thank you for your nominations and your support of PranaShanti Yoga Centre!  We are deeply touched that so many voted for us as Top Yoga Studio for 2017 and we are in deep gratitude for being nominated as Top Yoga Studio in Ottawa for 2018! We are here to set high standards within our category and within our community. Your vote is important. It helps Top Choice Awards discover new, noteworthy businesses, and helps other people in Ottawa enjoy better overall products and services. By voting you are also thanking those who proudly serve you and our community every day. Please show your support and vote for us!  Voting is OPEN until January 2! Vote HERE!...
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Meditation

Meditation

Meditation Spelled Out! By Devinder Kaur M - Mantras, mudras and asanas are the concentration points.  They provide you with the form and focus for the meditation.  Mantra is a repeated sound rhythm that directs the mind.  Mudra means ‘seal’ used to seal the body’s energy flow into a particular pattern and asanas are the body postures. E - Eliminate Mental Intrigues.  Mental Intrigues are what happens when the mind is left on automatic and thoughts and feelings dominate you.  The combination of the subconscious and thoughts start the mental intrigues and self-defeating patterns.   Meditation helps to clean the mind of these thoughts and break your old patterns.  It is a sort of mental housekeeping. D - Don’t over analyse or intellectualise.  This takes you away from the meditative process.  Intellectualising thoughts expands the intrigue and your mind weaves the thoughts into an elaborate story that goes to all parts of your mind.  You lose track of your real self and then become...
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What is Toning? By Kathleen Burr

What is Toning? By Kathleen Burr

Please join us in welcoming Kathleen Burr back to teaching at PranaShanti Yoga Centre.  Kathleen returns to the Class Schedule with regularly scheduled classes and will be offering a variety of workshops and events. Known for her enjoyment of sound and mantra, please find below an article by Kathleen about toning. "At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique, and yet which connects us to everything in the universe. The act of getting in touch with this pulse can transform our personal experience and in some way alter the world around us." – George Leonard Sound has been used as a healing tool for thousands of years in many cultures. Modern science confirms what the ancient mystics knew: everything in the universe is in a constant state of vibration. Think of the body-mind system as an orchestra with the potential to...
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Prenatal Yoga for the Perfect Birth

Prenatal Yoga for the Perfect Birth

Prenatal Yoga for the Perfect Birth by Jennifer Gillean Wouldn’t it be nice if we could guarantee a desired birth outcome in some way-with yoga?!  Insert EASY button here!  As most of us have discovered, at least for the bigger events in our life, rarely do things unfold as we expect or can possibly plan for.  So why do so many health professionals recommend yoga and meditation? Could this be the same reason behind the natural draw many women feel towards yoga when expecting? Practicing yoga during pregnancy gives you a renewed opportunity to connect with your mind, body and heart, accepting all that arises during this transformational period in your life. During the Prenatal Series, we aim to support you at every stage of this exciting time while helping to build on skills of coping and more. In each session of the Prenatal Yoga series we will wade through mindfulness and breathing strategies (aka Pranayama) to align with where you are...
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Yoga in the Park

Yoga in the Park

Every Saturday morning in July and August come join us over at the Parkdale Market for Yoga in the Park.  We begin on Saturday, July 8th! Take classes with some of your favourite PranaShanti teachers and some of our recent Teacher Training graduates! These classes are FREE and ALL ages and levels are welcome!  Bring your yoga mat or beach towel and get ready to practice yoga outdoors in the summer sunshine! Rain or shine, we'll be there! ...
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What Are the Benefits of Power Yoga?

What Are the Benefits of Power Yoga?

Let’s start by defining Power Yoga: Since I coined the term (but never trademarked it), I’m a good source for its definition, kind of. Well, since it’s not trademarked (even though Beryl Bender Birch tried, but since my use and others’ use was first, she couldn’t or wouldn’t), Power Yoga is just a cool name or a stupid name, depending on your opinion, but it is NOT a system. So, anyone can call their yoga Power Yoga and lead any type of class they would like. This is what Beryl did. She actually led traditional Ashtanga yoga classes, as she learned from her teacher Norman Allen, who seems to be the first Westerner to have studied with Ashtanga yoga creator K. Pattabhi Jois. Yet the name “Ashtanga” seemed too esoteric at the time, so she changed the name to Power Yoga. So, if you happened to practice Power Yoga with her, you would actually be doing Ashtanga yoga. So, there...
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Summertime Fun Savings is Back! FREE Yoga in August!

Summertime Fun Savings is Back! FREE Yoga in August!

Our annual Summertime Fun Savings begins on June 15th! We're always so impressed how dedicated our yogis are through the Ottawa winter, that when it comes to summer, we want to help you maintain the benefits of a regular yoga practice for health and vibrancy through the warm months. That's why between June 15tht and July 31st, 2017, when you purchase a 10 or 20 class package or sign up for Auto-Renew, you'll receive some FREE yoga in the month of August. The class packages you purchase are good for a year from the date of purchase, and the bonus classes are valid for use between August 1 - 31st, 2017. When you purchase... A 10 class package = 5 free August classes. A 20 class package = 10 free August classes. The Monthly Unlimited Auto-Renew (studio membership) in June or July = one month of free yoga. Because the Auto-Renew is a minimum 4 month commitment, you'll pay for your first month at time of...
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Sadie Nardini – My Yoga Style

Sadie Nardini – My Yoga Style

What is Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga? By Sadie Nardini I prefer to call Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga a “perspective” on all yoga, rather than just its own style. I created it after years of training and study where I was seeing a lack of either understanding or focus on the core of our yoga poses on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic. Along the way, I was fortunate to meet one of my formative teachers, Leslie Kaminoff of The Breathing Project in NYC, and author of the bestselling Yoga Anatomy. Under his expertise in yoga, philosophy, anatomy and pranayama, I continue to evolve my understanding of the multi-faceted core. Out of my journey into deep Center came my Core Principles, ways to clarify what the core is, exactly how to instruct it and activate the core within the yoga practice. To help students experience their Center, I created my Core Poses, specific movements, postures and sequences that bring the student into more...
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