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[Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, filed under Yogis/Yoginis of the Month]
Years ago, Vawn found a flyer in her mailbox for yoga classes in a nearby church basement. The instructor was Joanne Lowe, and Vawn has been taking her classes ever since -- for more than a decade now at The Big Stretch. Early on, yoga was a complement to other activities, such as running and martial arts. Now it's become much more than that -- a way of providing balance and perspective in a busy, stressful urban environment.
As a freelance writer covering everything from tech to travel for newspapers, magazines and online publications, Vawn spends much of her free time traveling overseas, including a three-year stint working and backpacking through Asia. The one constant has been yoga, and she's been privileged to practice with teachers in countries as diverse as India, Thailand and Guatemala. When at home, she continues to practice at The Big Stretch and other Toronto-based yoga studios, and has become a dedicated follower of yin yoga.
The once dreaded saddle posture has now become her favourite for its benefits of opening up the entire front body, affecting the stomach, spleen, bladder and kidney meridians. Other favourites include the breath of joy, an energizing, uplifting breathing practice, and tree posture, a standing balance posture.
Pictured at right is Vawn and her friend in Thailand.
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[Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010, filed under Yogis/Yoginis of the Month]
Yogi, aptly named, is our Yogi of the month!
Yogi Tambiraja began his yoga practice in 2000 following a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or ministroke. Shortly after that, he attended the Sivananda Yoga Centre's Teacher Training Certification in the Bahamas. At the time, he had no intention of becoming an instructor, but after visiting an ashram in Quebec he met some teachers who shared their learnings and knowledge, and as a result his own practice developed.
Yogi credits his yoga practice with keeping him balanced and centred during a difficult decade, which involved a marital separation. His favourite pose is sirsasana or headstand - the king of asanas. Inversion poses have great benefits for your heart and your psyche.
He also founded the Yoga-thon for The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO) five years ago. His son, Eugene, has suffered from schizophrenia for more than 20 years. It took three years to diagnose his illness and another few years to begin proper treatment. Unfortunately, a fair amount of damage had already been done by that point, which is why early intervention is so important.
Yogi started instructing a class at his workplace for colleagues and donated the session fees directly to the SSO. While he enjoyed raising funds in this manner, he felt there was more he could do and after a "Eureka" moment the Yoga-thon idea was born, with its first venue being Nathan Philip's Square in Toronto. The rest, as they say, is history....
Web Link: Sponsor Joanne Lowe in the Yoga-thon here
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[Posted on Monday, January 11, 2010, filed under Yogis/Yoginis of the Month]
She is pictured here with two dogs from the shelter - Misty and Chico.
Nikki has been practicing yoga for 5 years now. Back in 2004, she decided to go and see what this whole Yoga craze was about; after her second class she was hooked.
On the benefits of yoga, Nikki says "I reap so many benefits from yoga I will try narrowing it down to just a few. I know this is very "Western" of me to say but I enjoy the physical challenge of the poses. I had been lifting weights twice a week for 7 years before I came to Yoga. Although I could bench press like nobody's business, I was amazed at the different strength required to hold many of the yoga poses. I enjoy this challenge. I have also benefited from increased flexibility, deeper breathing and the pure joy of quiet time to myself on my mat. I have also made new friends through yoga which is such an unexpected pleasure."
This is what our karma yogini had to say on rescuing dogs - "I have been rescuing dogs since the early 90's. My family owns 200 acres of property in Haliburton and our shelter is called Pheasant Ridge Kennels. I have always loved dogs and grew up around many of them. As a kid, we never had to bug our parents to get us a dog; in fact, sometimes we complained that we had too many dogs! My father, Dan Pavlov (no joke...my maiden name is indeed Pavlov) passed down his love of dogs to me. He taught me everything I know about how to train dogs and how to rebuild their trust after experiencing abuse at the hands of other humans. I have placed over 1000 dogs in loving homes since we began. I love them all and have many funny, touching, sad and triumphant stories to tell."
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[Posted on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, filed under Yogis/Yoginis of the Month]
A Big Stretch, Big Shout Out to Eileen Harris who is celebrating her own milestone this October - 77 years young!! Eileen, an archaeologist, has been doing yoga with Joanne for 12 years now. She began her practice at the age of 65.
Eileen's favourite pose is savasana and she enjoys Joanne's "relaxing voice and gentle, sweet approach to yoga".
There seems to be a competition of late amongst some of the practitioners to be the oldest yoga student - how refreshing!
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