Twist and shout! it’s Spring!

That's the life for me!.png
Welcome SPRING  at DOWNdog!

This morning for some reason I felt like playing the song “Twist and Shout“. Do you know that song? 🤔 It was sung by The Beatles.

I remember I danced to that song at my first high school dance.! I won’t tell you the year but if you want I can tell you the name of the handsome fellow! (I hope you appreciate my attempt at a bit of humour on this sunny morning!)
Well, we certainly don’t have all that energy of youth.   But some of our energy has perhaps gone down the drain with the long icy winter and the wet cloudy spring we have had.  The Spring Session at Downdog is here to refresh and renew you!  Guaranteed!
The refresh and renew of a detox yoga practice is not quite as exciting let’s say as your first high school dance… but it definitely does make you feel better inside and out.
Building heat and twists detoxify the body… and the mind.  The two are inseparable.  So think of something you want to send down the drain… it can be anything…. anything that is preventing you from moving forward and you can twist it out this spring session.
On a final note, after the twists and the heat, it is the stillness that is most valuablemost important. The practice has 3 moments of stillness and of course, savasana at the end.
The stillness of Savasana nourishes the warrior heart and stills the mind leaving you refreshed and renewed!
Namaste!
Happy Spring! Welcome Sunshine!
Jocelyne and Dr. Jake
Business notes;
 
Spaces available this week;
Monday; 1 space
Tuesday; 3 spaces
Thursday: 2 spaces
Friday: 2 spaces YIN

YIN Yoga comes to DOWNdog!

YIN YOGA

Friday mornings 10h30 -11h30

Spring session
May 3rd – May 31st (5 classes)

I am honoured to welcome Nathalie Gagnon, a Manor Park resident, to DOWNdog Home Yoga Studio!

Nathalie has a Master’s Degree in Science from Dalhousie University and is a certified yoga teacher.  She comes to DOWNdog with twenty years of experience in the areas of wellness, mindfulness and work life balance.  She has extensive experience teaching gentle YIN yoga and has enjoyed creating and leading yoga workshops.  Welcome, Nathalie!

A note about YIN

YIN Yoga is a gentle, meditative and calming yoga practice.   This practice is suitable for all levels from the beginner and to the more advanced student. Poses are held from three to five minutes to target the deep connective tissues that restrict movement.  If you have limited mobility and/or flexibility, this practice will be most beneficial.  It will help you move with greater ease in your everyday life.

 

Ride the wave with the powerful breath and beautiful breath!

At the beginning of the winter session, we started off with the earth, the toes and feet, moved up into the core, the pelvic floor, the heart, the fingers, arms and shoulders, the spine.   And we brought it all together as we welcomed the challenge of crow pose.  During all this time we practiced two things:  staying centred and strong in our body, mind and heart with the breath. 
 
The powerful and beautiful breath.
Yoga is indeed a practice.  A practice for life. Energy is moving: opening, closing.  The energy or prana moves by following the wave of the breath: the wave of expansion and contraction. We expand, open, invite, unstick, welcome, we sometimes soar; and we contract, close, let go, shut the door and we sometimes crash. In a nutshell, we welcome each practice as a challenge as we learn together how to ride the wave of life with greater loving awareness, greater calm and trust.
 
This week, our last practice of the winter session,  we will bring everything back to that inner support system as we move through our practice with positivity and discover once again, as we do in every practice, the strength and centredness of the warrior within us. 
  
On a final note, I would like to add that yoga has been a powerful tool in my life. It is my hope that every practice helps you discover, a little more, just how powerful a tool yoga can be.
 
It is always a pleasure and an honour to guide you in your practice.  
 
Namaste!
Jocelyne and Dr. Jake signing off and wishing you a great day!