2 upcoming workshops for going deeper

Sunday, October 30th

1:30 - 4

Pranayama, Mudra & Yoga Nidra

Mudra is yoga for your hands, pranayama: for the breath.

Yoga nidra is a healing and relaxing practice of meditation.

Let your hands, breath and mind fall in love with yoga.

Sunday, November 13th

1:30-4

5 koshas: yoga and the self

The 5 koshas represent our physical, energetic, emotional, cognitive and personal qualities.

We will use asana, along with other yoga practices to explore this yogic model of the self.

Workshops will take place at Be Yoga at 474 St.Mary's Road.

Registration at www.beyoga.ca

I hope to see you there!

Jake

Springtime Opening, Inner Blossoming

I have been invited to facilitate another workshop with

Lake of the Woods Yoga with Laurie Jo Lindroos.

Laurie Jo will gently lead an asana practice to reveal the body’s inherent radiance and I will share my knowledge of mudra (hand gestures), pranayama (breathing) and yoga nidra.

Spanda is a Sanskrit word meaning the creative pulsating radiance of the universe; the sacred vibration that exists within us.

Join us as we explore subtle aspects of yoga

to allow the heart’s radiance to blossom.

Sunday, March 27th, 10am - 1:30pm

Location: The Challenge Club at the North West Health Unit, Kenora

Workshop Fee: $45

All Levels & Abilities Welcome !

Bring blankets, a pillow, bolster and mat (if you have them)

For more information or to register:

Contact Laurie Jo at lakeofthewoodsyoga@yahoo.ca

me at yoganidra204@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Jake

Reflections on last weekend's workshop

Thank you to all those who attended the workshop, as well as those who worked so hard to make it happen (Laurie Jo and Sandy, I'm talking to you).

Twenty-two people attended last Saturday's iRest yoga nidra workshop. Thank you for making it a success. I felt so privileged to be invited to present to this vibrant yoga community. We explored many different practices: mudra (hand gesture), pranayama, iRest yoga nidra as well as some asana.

I would love to have some feedback on your experiences at the workshop.

Some mudras we explored were Vayu mudra and Prajna mudra.

Prajna mudra is engaged by bringing the tip of the index fingers to the base of the thumbs, the other fingers are softly extended, palms facing upward. Mudras can be subtle, so be quiet and curious about any changes in how the body feels, in the breath or energy body, as well as the quality of the mind and emotions. Does it have an impact on your awareness? This mudra is said to slow respiration, relax the mind and encourage witness consciousness to unfold. Each of us experiences it differently so stay with your experience rather than comparing it to what is suggested.

Vayu mudra: From Prajna mudra, let each thumb wrap over and rests on the top of each index. Notice if anything changes for you, physically, energetically, emotionally, mentally, as well as to your deeper awareness. This mudra corresponds with the element of air and to the flow of prana (energy). It is said to stimulate feelings of lightness and ease. Some say it's recommended for arthritis, but as I mentioned, what's primary in my opinion is deepening our awareness to increasingly subtle shifts. Ultimately, our awareness turns towards itself "who is aware of being aware?".

What was your experience of these mudras? Comment and share if you feel inclined that way.

Have fun!

Inward Journey- CD Completed

This week, I picked up 50 copies of the iRest yoga nidra CD I've been working on since November. It includes two yoga nidra meditation practices guided by yours truly.

The first practice is oriented towards setting intention, gaining body and breath awareness, welcoming feelings and emotions, as well as inquiring into simply Being.

The second session takes us a little deeper into the radiant body, exploring a heart-oriented breath, as well as exploring feelings, emotions and their opposites. This practice asks us to inquire, what is this awareness that holds all of these experiences? Who is aware of being aware?

"I am not my thoughts, emotions, sense perceptions, and experiences.
I am not the content of my life.
I am Life.
I am the space in which all things happen.
I am consciousness.
I am the Now.
I am"
~ Eckhart Tolle

Take your yoga practice deeper ... within

Join me in Kenora, ON on February 19th for an iRest yoga nidra workshop.

Go inward and learn to welcome whatever is arising in each moment. iRest yoga nidra is a practice of deep relaxation and meditative inquiry that allows us to learn how to release negative emotions and thought patterns as well as calm the nervous system. We will be gaining tools in establishing equanimity: the capacity to meet all the circumstances we meet in life with peace and heartfelt acceptance. iRest yoga nidra is practiced in a relaxation pose. All levels and abilities welcome!

Time: 10 am - 1 pm
Location: The Challenge Club, Kenora ON
Bring a blanket, pillow, bolster and yoga mat (if you have them).
Workshop fee: $45
For more information, contact me at yoganidra204@gmail.com or
contact Laurie Jo at 807-468-9041 or at lakeofthewoodsyoga@yahoo.ca

Hope to see you there!

Jake

Yoga nidra in the new year.

I hope winter is treating you all kindly.

The new year is a natural time for embracing something new, or committing ourselves to something that is important to us. Sankalpa is a Sanskrit word that means to imagine unifying that which might be fragmented. It is a yogic practice of intention, where we imagine our heartfelt desire as being actualized. It's the first step of the yoga nidra practice. Whether your hope is for health, peace or enlightenment, if it were true for you, how would it feel in your body if it were realized? What would life look like?

The new session will be starting on January 5th until February 23rd. It has been nearly a month since I taught and I am very much looking forward to resuming the classes.

What to expect?
We begin by centering ourselves, checking in and opening our senses. Then we will do some breathwork (pranayama) and mudra (hand gestures to stimulate subtle sensations). Part of the class is spent with the body in slow mindful movements, where we learn to welcome all the sensations and experiences we encounter. Participants will be in a comfortable relaxation position for the bulk of the class. You will be encouraged to move your attention throughout the body and to become attuned with the breath in its natural state. Feelings, emotions and beliefs will come and go, and an attitude of welcoming awareness is encouraged. Many people report experiencing a deep acceptance, relaxation and peace. By welcoming all that is changing, we can sometimes glimpse that in us that is unchanging.

Experience the power of truly subtle yoga with this meditative session. The focus is on intention and subtle sensation through the most gentle of movements and deep relaxation (yoga nidra). Your eyes will be closed for much of the class to draw your attention inward. Guests may find themselves profoundly attuned to the energies within their bodies after this class, combined with a powerful feeling of restfulness and heightened awareness.
You will find this class accessible no matter your range of movement and can even be practiced from a chair.
Contact Be Yoga for registration
474 St. Mary’s Road Winnipeg, MB R2M 3K6 | Tel: 204.415.6880

The value of holding postures (asana)

By encouraging longer holding of asana, I direct the student to welcome in (without clinging or resisting) whatever sensations, emotions, thoughts, judgments, beliefs..., and for them to recognize the coming and going of it all. I will suggest the sensations/experiences that are common while holding a particular asana, and encourage the student to be aware of what's present for them moment to moment. If they can cultivate Presence, an understanding of the impermanence of all experience and find a quality of ease in intense circumstances such as a longer holding of asana, those 'skills' might extend into their lives, so that they learn to meet, greet and welcome whatever arises in their lives, without resistance, without attachment, recognizing the ever changing nature of phenomena. I am guiding my students to be the welcoming awareness in which all phenomena arise, unfold and dissolve.