Max Strom: There’s No App for Happiness

Max Strom: There’s No App for Happiness

by Devinder KaurNo Comments
Start the new year by furthering your self-development and yoga education with Max Strom. If you love proven methods for living a happier, calmer life, and enjoy an accessible, intelligent yoga practice, this weekend is exactly what you need to start your year off right. On January 15-17, we’re hosting Max for a four part series of seminars that will explore a transformational breath practice and gentle yoga, self-healing through strong vinyasa practice, and lectures and writing workshops inspired by his book: There is No App for Happiness – How to Avoid a Near-Life Experience. Read on for praise for There is No App for Happiness, and learn more about Max’s weekend in Ottawa here. In There Is No App For Happiness Max focuses on the many methods we are employing daily to isolate ourselves further from each other, and compares the effects of these trends to a kind of mass autism. Note he is not a Luddite: he offers examples of the...
Read More
10 Reasons to Do YTT at PranaShanti

10 Reasons to Do YTT at PranaShanti

by Devinder Kaur3 Comments
10 Reasons to Do Yoga Teacher Training at PranaShanti  A Spacious Centre Our Centre has four practice Studios, which means that Teacher Training is always in the largest space reserved just for trainings. The consistency and preparation of a space makes training a comfortable experience! You’ll always have the kitchen available to you so you can bring your own food to prepare, and there’s no moving around to other spaces to accommodate classes.  We’re Well Equipped We’re really equipped because of the diversity of trainings and classes we host!  Whether you want to teach Hot Yoga or Restorative Yoga in the future, your Teacher Training will have many yoga props so you can be supported in your training and learn the full spectrum of how to support yoga students.  In A Great Neighbourhood Enjoy free parking evenings and weekends, so if you’re not locking your bike up outside, you don’t need to fuss with parking tickets. There are two vegan restaurants, two locally owned coffee shops,...
Read More

Buddhism and Yoga

by Devinder KaurNo Comments
Considering the shared terms, histories, and desirable outcomes of Buddhism and Yoga, it’s not surprising that their similarities are clearer than their differences. They share many commonalities, particularly because of Yoga’s inextricable history with Hinduism from which it was born. “The Buddha”, born Siddhartha Gautama, was born a Hindu and considered an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu for a time. Like other great spiritual leaders of varying traditions, Hindus and Yogis acknowledge Buddha as a great teacher whose wisdom is worth consideration, even if it is not a part of their system. The Vedas a large body of texts from ancient India and are considered the oldest records of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Depending on who you’re asking, the Vedas are divided into four or five texts that are then subdivided, but Yoga can be traced back to the first of all of these texts: the Rig Veda, which speaks about yoking (yoga) our mind...
Read More
PranaShanti is Turning 7 – Celebrate With Us!

PranaShanti is Turning 7 – Celebrate With Us!

by Devinder KaurNo Comments
This October 6th, PranaShanti celebrates our 7th anniversary at 52 Armstrong in Hintonburg! Over the better part of a decade, the neighbourhood has grown into a vibrant, diverse community where people love living and practicing yoga. As yogis, we look to the meaning of significant numbers (numerology) rather than waiting for a number ending in 5 or 0 to have a special celebration! Seven is a number that consistently shows up in cultures and religions as being particularly meaningful.  For example, there are seven heavenly virtues in Christianity, seven colours of the rainbow, and seven emblems of the Buddha. Seven has a special significance for our anniversary, since numbers correspond to the Chakra system of what yogis call “the subtle body”, or subtle energy system. The seventh chakra is the crown chakra, which represents enlightenment, bliss and spirituality. When Kundalini energy rises during our yoga practice (represented by a coiled snake at the base of the spine), it rises through all seven...
Read More
Healing Sciatica through Ashaya Yoga®, by Todd Norian

Healing Sciatica through Ashaya Yoga®, by Todd Norian

by Devinder Kaur2 Comments
I've helped many students heal their sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve, which originates in the low back and runs down the back of your upper leg bones, the femur) using the Four Essentials of Ashaya Yoga®: Open, Engage, Align, and Expand. Most sciatic pain arises from standing, sitting, or walking with poor alignment; the feet are turned out and the thighbones are forward and externally rotated. When the femurs are forward of their optimal placement, the muscles of the lower back contract and can pull the lumbar spine into a flattened position. Tight hamstrings further exacerbate the flat back condition. When the natural curve of the lower back is lost, the spinal discs squeeze posteriorly (the back of your body) and can press on nerve roots. The First Essential, Open, is the act of softening and remembering your connection to the healing power of the universe. You open to a bigger energy and let go of self-limiting beliefs. In so doing,...
Read More
The Joys and Benefits of Teaching Kids Yoga

The Joys and Benefits of Teaching Kids Yoga

by Devinder Kaur4 Comments
“Here comes Yoga! Hi Yoga! Yay ... it’s Yoga!” Bright, smiling eyes. Tight knee hugs. Tiny high 5's. Occasionally I will get an Anjali mudra greeting coupled with an enthusiastic "Mum-aste!" This is the reception I receive each week at a local Montessori school. These are the voices of toddlers, precious souls around two years old who know my name, I'm sure of it, but to them I'm just "Yoga". Big boots to fill! I teach to all ages, but my children’s classes, whether they are for toddlers or young teens, are the highlight of my week. Children derive huge benefits from yoga. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. In addition, their concentration and sense of calm and relaxation improves. Yoga calms down their highly stimulated central nervous systems, which in turn allows better concentration on schoolwork and other activities. By practicing yoga, children exercise, play, connect more deeply with their inner life of motivations and emotions, and develop an...
Read More

Chair Yoga: The Benefits and Surprises of a Supported Practice

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...
Read More
Winter Solstice Celebration of Light

Winter Solstice Celebration of Light

by Devinder Kaur2 Comments
Date and Time: Sunday, December 21, 2014 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Event Details 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 walk an incredible light-filled Labyrinth that is being created for us in the Spirit Room! The labyrinth is a metaphor for what is sacred in our lives. When we walk the path inward, we carry our burdens with us. When we meditate or pray in the center, we ask for grace, forgiveness, and understanding. When we walk the path outward, we are lighter, more joyful and ready yet again to take on life's challenges. Barbara Brown of Canadian Labyrinth Ventures will be creating our Labyrinth and live music by Canadian Singer Leah Longo and her band, will enhance our sacred...
Read More
Mirabai Ceiba Sacred Chant Concert – Songs of Love & Longing

Mirabai Ceiba Sacred Chant Concert – Songs of Love & Longing

by Devinder Kaur2 Comments
A gentle yet expansive spirit pervades all the music of Mirabai Ceiba. The delicate sounds of harp, piano, and guitar blend with lovingly intertwined voices amid lush celestial soundscapes. Their concerts are group celebrations for peace—joyous and loving occasions that embody the duo's profound belief in music as a universal language uniting all the world's peoples, cultures and traditions. Join Mirabai Ceiba for an intimate evening of heart opening chanting, conscious breath practice, meditations and spiritual songs to embody the Song of our Lives. About Mirabai Ceiba: Mirabai Ceiba is a duo consisting of guitarist/singer Markus Sieber and singer/harpist/pianist Angelika Baumbach. They come from different parts of the world. Markus is East German. Angelika was born in Tucson, Arizona, and grew up in a small village near Mexico City, the daughter of a Mexican mother and German father. Together, Angelika and Markus have forged engaging new style of world devotional music blending Gurmukhi mantras from the Kundalini Yoga tradition with original songs in English and...
Read More