Hot New Classes & Updates
September 6, 2011
Here are a few hot updates to our fall Yoga schedule, to view the complete schedule which starts the week of September 18, click here
Elation Hot Flow Yoga
Just in time for the cooler temperatures – Hot Yoga is back at Elation Centre!
Elation Hot Flow is practiced in a heat tolerable by most people, around 30 C, hot enough to encourage deeper flexibility and detoxification without overstretching or dehydrating. Elation Hot Flow is perfect for people with limited flexibility, people who love a good sweat from the inside and out, and anyone who wants to cleanse and detox. Open to all levels, bring water and a towel
Class Schedule:
- Tuesdays @ 6:00PM Hot Core
- Tuesdays @ 7:15PM Hot Hips
- Wednesdays @ 9:15AM Hot Flow
- Fridays @ 5:00PM Hot Flow
Click Here for Class Descriptions
Elation Vinyasa Intermediate
This 75-minute class is designed for those wishing to demystify poses and move more deeply into their practice. Here is where you work on the stamina to hold postures longer, discover more ways to bend backward, balance on your arms, explore binds, and deep twists. This class is not for a beginner but you don’t have to be “advanced” either. If you have a regular practice and are comfortable to explore basic inversions like headstand and can balance in crow a bit, this is the class for you! This class builds focus, strength and staming and is sweaty and energetic.
Vinyasa Intermediate Schedule: Wednesdays @ 6:15PM with Donna
Sunrise Vinyasa Yoga
One of our most beloved classes – practicing as the sun rises, shining through our studio windows, is now open to men and women. Come one, come all and Enjoy!
Sunrise Vinyasa Yoga Class Schedule: Mon – Fri @ 5:45AM, with Krista, Donna and Martha
Love Your Backbends
September 1, 2011
Holiday Monday - Special Yoga Class
Date: Monday September 5th
Time: 5:30-7:00PM
Cost: $20.00 cash
Join us for an invigorating unfolding of the body. Class will close with an 11 minuted seated meditation.
This class is suitable for experienced students only. You must have a regular vinyasa practise for more then one year.
No Pre-registration required.
Shavasana Commitment
July 20, 2011
40-Day Shavasana Commitment begins August 1st 2011.
Shava-asana (corpse posture) our final posture at the end of every yoga class “ also known mrita-asana ( dead-posture) and preta-asana ( ghost-posture)” is the most beneficial posture for restoration and therefore health as a whole. In Sanskrit the word for health is Swastha and is defined as: established in the (S)elf. In English the word health has the same root as the words integrity and integration meaning wholeness. We can see that although the absence of dis-ease is something to be greatful for health is much more then that.
We know from experience that when our breath is short shallow and fragmented it impacts our thoughts and concentration is impossible. The distraction on the mental level creates the same type of unsettled energy in our body; fidgeting, tapping of the feet, looking around everywhere, humming, swaying and so forth anything but stillness. All of this takes its toll on our nervous system, creating fatigue, impatience and irritability.
It’s not uncommon to subconsciously confuse productivity (which is highly valued in our culture) with living in a manic or in a panic. Consciously we know that productive energy is not manic, it’s actually quite clear and stable. The daily practise of Shavasana is one of the best tools to experience this type of energy.
But don’t take our word for it. Give it a try. Commit. For the next 40 days spend time is Shavasana. How long? Anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes, the longer the better, but being regular is more valuable then not practicing.
To join our 40-Day Commitment:
Sign up at the Centre. Then pick your time and practise.
Technique:
Lie on your back feet hips with apart; allow the legs to relax which means the feet will point in opposite directions. Adjust the shoulders by moving the scapulas away from each other, arms by your side palms turned up. If you are uncomfortable place a pillow under your knees. Your body will then represent shavasana. As for the mind, we all have a way, a certain language that we use to talk to ourself. There is a voice a thinking-pattern that we use which we buy into. We trust that voice. To prepare for Shavasana use that voice in your favor. Set an intention that will remind you to let go. Remember that you must be willing to let go exactly the way things are. There can be no but(s), if(s) or when(s). Also remind yourself that there is no such thing as a bad shavasana. Some days you will be at peace other days you may feel edgy, wanting to move, to get out of there. Watch, respond, do not react, simply commit to your time.
At the end of the 40 days we would love to hear from you. Send us an email. Let us know ( 2 or 3 sentences) how the experience impacted your everyday life. With your permission we will post your comments and inspire others to give it a try.
Lessons from Yoga in Rwanda
June 30, 2011
Guest Post by Martha Judd, senior Yoga Teacher
On Sunday June 23rd, I was fortunate enough to attend the Yoga in Rwanda fundraiser at Elation Centre with Annie Berube, a dedicated and grounded yoga teacher, from Ottawa, currently teaching Yoga with Project Air in Rwanda.
She lead us through an inspirational Ashtanga Yoga class which she taught in many languages and as a Yoga teacher and student myself, I feel I was given a gift from the women of Rwanda through Annie. I was reminded of how a yoga asana practice can be many things. It can be in a quiet studio in Ottawa wearing comfortable clothes, accompanied by soft music, surrounded by incredibly inspirational students and teachers, and it can be on a small porch in Rwanda with the voices of many, laughter, sadness, strength, wearing whatever shirts are available that day and surrounded by incredibly inspirational students and teachers. I learned about Project Air from the inside out. Annie described her students, their difficult life situations, their trauma, their work, their laughter, their inspiration and their extreme dedication to the practice of yoga. Yoga is bringing physical and mental health benefits to the women of Rwanda and the women of Ottawa without a doubt. From my perspective of safety in life I choose to support the practice of Yoga for the women of Rwanda as a tool for life in an environment where safe moments of exploration both mentally and physically are not often available. Annie’s group of women come to Yoga classes 3-4 times a week and have been for 4 years. This type of dedication is rare in a healthy, safe, comfortable Yoga student in our culture. I suggest we acknowledge this dedication and commitment by supporting Project Air as a tool for life.
Thank you so much to our members and friends who attended this amazing class and gave donations to support Project Air and Annie’s efforts with these truly inspirational women
Namaste
Yahoo – Free Yoga Day!
June 7, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Come and experience Elation Centre Yoga
5:45AM-6:45AM: Powerful Woman Sunrise Yoga
12:00PM-1:00PM: Take a lunch break, Vinyasa Yoga with Donna
6:00PM-7:00PM: Total Core Solution with Deb
7:15PM-8:30PM - our every-popular Hips Yoga with Martha
We look forward to seeing you!
Yoga in Rwanda Fundraiser
May 30, 2011
Yoga, as anyone with a regular practice can attest, is very powerful. We always get more out of it then what we put into it. The more we practice on the mat, the better life off the mat tastes and feels – it’s a wonderful ripple effect.
Annie Berube, a Westboro mother and yoga teacher, has spent the better part of the last year living in Rwanda with her family. She has also taken the opportunity to expand on her teachings by volunteering for Project Air, a not-for-profit organization that has implemented a unique program to help allay some of the trauma and mental health issues left in the wake of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Focusing on HIV+ women and their families, Project Air uses yoga to help genocide rape survivors manage the devastating effects of catastrophic sexual violence and HIV/AIDS. Please take a few minutes and listen to this.
Practice with Annie: Annie is visiting Ottawa this summer and Elation Centre is honoured to host a class wtih Annie, she will teach an all-levels class as taught in Rwanda to benefit Project Air.
- Date: Sunday, June 26th.
- Class Time: 2:00PM-3:15PM, sharing circle of experience from 3:15-4:00PM.
- You can join us for the yoga segment and the talk, just the yoga segment, or just the talk.
- Fee: This class is donation-based, suggested donation mimimum $20.00, cash only, no credit card payment. All funds go directly to Project Air (no middle man to pay) and will be used to expand the range of groups Project Air can serve, as well as provide food to the women and children it works with, to replace calories burned during its Yoga classes. Every little bit helps and $20.00 goes a long way.
- Pre-registration is required, by emailing registration@elationcentre.com
- Maximum 30 people, you can pay at the studio prior to the class to hold your spot
- Please pass the word along!
May this event be a huge success!
“Yoga has had such an impact on my life that when I heard about Project Air, and the work it’s doing with women and children in Rwanda, whose lives have been shattered by AIDS and by genocide, I had to support it. Using yoga to help treat trauma and rebuild damaged bodies and lives is a wonderful idea whose time has finally come. And Project Air really does heroic work. In fact, everyone should support it, especially now that it is taking its inspiring work into other troubled regions, like Eastern Congo.”- Madonna, singer and songwriter
Summer Solstice Yoga
May 27, 2011
Dear Friends,
I am inviting you to join me on Tuesday, June 21st, at 7:00PM for a 2 -hour class to celebrate summer sol (sun) stice (stand-still).
What to expect:
A bit of chanting – pranaayama – dynamic vinyasa to awaken inner fire – 20 minute shavasana and we close with an 11 minute meditation and a moment to set our Sankalpa (intention) using the mudra and mantras associated with the practice.
The cost is $25 and you need to pre-register (at the Centre or using our Online Registration System).
Pass the word along! Everyone with a vinyasa Yoga practice is welcome.
If you want more info, email me at sylvie@elationcentre.com.
Guest Post by Sarah Murray – Human Library
May 16, 2011
This blog is a simple opportunity to share with you what people in our community are doing to be of service and create positive shifts. It is written by Sarah Murray ( sitting in the middle of the front row with the beautiful red hair). A Teacher-Librarian, mother of three, yogini and yoga teacher in training, Sarah is educating, empowering, and enriching the lives of so many!
The first Human Library took place at Roskilde Festival 2000 in Denmark. Essentially, people volunteer to be ‘living books’ to be ‘read’ by other participants. The main goal of the exchange is to allow ‘readers’ to ‘take out’ their prejudice from the human library.
As the teacher-librarian at St. Joseph High School, in Barrhaven, I first learned about the human library at the OLA Super Conference earlier this year in Toronto. I wanted to celebrate Education Week by hosting a similar event. The event grew out of contacts that I have through family in the Ottawa Police force and at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. Jay and Joe offered to come with my cousin Sargent John Gibbons.
Jay and Joe were formerly homeless men, with serious drug and alcohol addictions that contributed to their ensuing life of crime. Brigitte came from the Royal Ottawa Client Empowerment Council where she advocates on behalf of people living with addictions. She shared her very moving story of abuse and cocaine addiction and her present conflicted relationship with her teenage daughter. Dan is a recent graduate of St. Joe’s. He shared his life as a gay teen and his recent contraction of HIV/AIDS virus. Liz works as an outreach teacher at Operation Come Home in the market that supports teen runaways. My aunt Maggie, a mental health nurse at the ROH, volunteered at the last minute to replace the book “Average Guy Living with Schizophrenia” who had a bad cold!
I was very reluctant to have media at the event because I wasn’t sure how it would unfold and was leery of having the intrusion interrupt the flow of conversation between the students and the books. However, my friend who is a
producer at CBC encouraged me to allow him to share the information with his friend Hallie Cotnam. I couldn’t believe that she would come all the way out to Barrhaven early Tuesday morning after the election and Osama news to cover
our little human library event.
Hallie followed a group of Grade 12 students as they moved from book to book recording their questions and the answers. Her news story and the interview with Kathleen Petty of Ottawa Morning really captured the essence of the day! Take the time to listen to her interview on CBC Radio.
One parent emailed the school as she was moved to tears by the coverage and was full of praise for a concept that allows students to have an authentic learning experience outside the strict guidelines of the curriculum!
As a result of a challenge proposed by Joe and Jay, the Grade 12′s are volunteering to spend the day at the Shepherd’s of Good Hope making sandwiches and serving lunch to patrons.
My yoga practice definitely helped me keep the event in perspective and to cope with the anxiety and worry I had about how it would unfold. See what can happen when you ‘breathe, smile and believe’! I am deeply grateful to the
‘living books’ who volunteered several hours of their time and made themselves completely vulnerable and open to the curiosity of young teens.
Total Core Solution #2
May 11, 2011
Due to the popularity of our Thursday night 7:00pm class, we have added class #2, Monday’s @ 12:00PM. If you are looking for a great workout over your lunch hour – this is it. Deb combines hard work with laughter and encouragement, the 60 minutes just flies by! Sylvie and I have been attending the new class and we love it. We hope to see you there.
Here is a great article by Deb to give us all a bit more insight into this amazing class that is the prefect compliment to your weekly Vinyasa Yoga practice.
Total Core Solution
Just what is a total core solution? Well, these days we seem to read a lot about core strength training, but it seems that many people don’t actually know what that means. There is still a misconception out there that this means strengthening the abdominal muscles. While this is true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Core training goes well beyond that. Core strength could be called “torso” strength, because it has to do with all of the muscles – both large and small – from your armpits to your groin. These core muscles stabilize the spine, support the shoulders and hips, drive the arms and legs, and transfer force between the arms and legs.
Whether you’re running, practicing yoga or picking up your toddler, these ‘core’ muscles help keep your body stable and well balanced.
The Total Core Solution class taught at the Elation Centre is a strength based workout which utilizes body weight only and utilizes functional strength movements. Functional strength is one of the pillars of performance for everyone – from athletes to weekend warriors. Functional strength is specific strength training in which the movements relate to motions utilized in a given sport – and in everyday life. Each exercise engages the central core muscle complex along with muscles of primary focus, and many exercises include elements of instability to force continual neuromuscular balancing.
In this class we focus on the entire torso with a special focus on shoulder stability, chest opening and hip and glute strength. Of course, back and abs are included as well! Due to the demands of our 21st century technology driven lifestyle, we tend to spend a lot of time sitting – even if we do live an active lifestyle. Because of this, we all tend to have tight hip flexors and weak glutes – particularly glute medius. Our gluteal muscles are powerful muscles which, when working optimally, help us tremendously in everyday life. Everything from knee pain to low back issues can be dramatically reduced simply by strengthening the gluteal muscles properly.
In a nutshell, functional core strength training has many benefits including:
- Workouts that are more functional and that translate into daily life activities
- Improved performance in sports
- Reduction in the risk of injury
- Better ability to function each day
- Workouts that are interesting and challenge you in new and different ways
Adding more functional core strength training to your workouts is easy – and all you need is your own body weight. The Total Core Solution strength class is a solid hard workout in a light hearted atmosphere. We work hard – and we laugh. And you know what they say about laughter – not only is it the best medicine, but it’s a great core workout as well!
By Deb Ozarko, certified triathlon coach, personal trainer, functional training specialist, dedicated vegan athlete training for her first Ironman!
Celebrate – Mother’s Day
May 2, 2011
Mother’s Day Class: Sunday May 8th, come and celebrate at our 6:30pm $5.00 class. All the proceeds raised will be donated to iSisters, a local charity near and dear to our hearts, connecting women in need with technology through mentoring. As the women in the iSisters program, learn and grow, they in turn inspire other women including their daughters, what a beautiful cycle.
We hope to see you at class, treat your Mom or treat your daughter! Or simply come and celebrate all moms! All welcome!
Words of Wisdom: There are so many titles that we identify with in life; examples include gender, age, nationality, education, and profession. Whatever title we may feel we need to live by and honour, none seems more important then the almighty title of MOM.
Many of us feel that before anything, we are mothers and with passion we nurture our aspiration to raise intelligent, athletic, musical, well-traveled, caring, and issue-less people.
What I find so interesting is that, as a mother, I know how much mothers care. Yet, as a daughter, I sometimes forget how much my own mother cares.
This mother’s day, let her know you know.
Happy Mother’s Day!