Ottawa Yoga Blog - PranaShanti Yoga Centre Ottawa

Healing Sciatica through Ashaya Yoga®, by Todd Norian

July 22, 2015October 31, 2017 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,...

What do stacked stones mean for mindfulness?

July 13, 2015April 17, 2023 by Devinder Kaur3 Comments

As we look forward to our autumn programming, we're always happy to have Dr. Kim Sogge back to the centre. Dr. Sogge brings a wealth of experience and information to her mindfulness-based courses, and this year we've expanded upon her original Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course and will also be offering her Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Course. Whenever we start spreading the word about these beneficial offerings, we look for our favourite pictures that communicate a sense of mindfulness. We are mindful in our choosing - while we love pictures of peaceful-looking people sitting on docks or in wooded landscapes, we want to cultivate the understanding that this is a practice for your daily life. You do not need to escape the city, your job or your family to cultivate mindfulness, and so for promotion, we turn to the stone stack. You may be confused though! After all, what's a stack of stones got to do with a mindfulness-based stress reduction course? It's a great...

The Joys and Benefits of Teaching Kids Yoga

July 8, 2015April 17, 2023 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...

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....

Summertime Fun Savings – Practice Yoga for FREE in August!

May 21, 2015July 15, 2016 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

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 1st and July 31st, 2015, when you purchase a 10 or 20 class package or sign up for Auto-Renew, you'll receive 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, 2015. 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 registration, and then your second month will be free,...

The Desire Map

May 11, 2015April 17, 2023 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

The Desire Map fits like my favourite yoga pants. Comfortable. Transformational. Practical. Versatile. Natural. Like putting on a hug. An investment in awesome. An investment in forward motion. An investment in life: lived on purpose, with purpose. It also solved one very big problem. First, a little back story. Danielle Laporte, creator of The Desire Map, lights up truths and pulls it all together – practically and poetically. She asks us to turn old habits, beliefs, and ways of getting stuff done inside out. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she’s globally known as a powerhouse of manifestation. Without post-secondary education, she rose up through The Body Shop by achieving new goals, and then asking for promotions. The Desire Map is premised on the clarity of intention. Clarity of desires. Clarity of choices. Clarity of action. Yet (and this is a big yet), the approach is oh-so-soothing. to body, mind AND spirit. Soothing to the soul. It’s gentle, powerful and life affirming. I was an early...