Week 5: Yoga to reshape your brain!

Posted on 2019/11/03 by Jocelyne Campbell

I wish I could reshape my brain. Change the way I think. Let go of the past and not worry about the future.

I think the only time I am able to do this is when I am teaching. I am transported into the here and now and I take my students with me. At least I try to.

Some of you come to yoga for a good workout. And for that nice feeling of relaxation at the end of the practice. So when I speak of unblocking or strengthening chakras, I wonder how much of this makes sense to you.

Yoga can be a good physical workout. But it is much more. It is all about energy. Moving energy. It’s about opening blocked energy. Energy that is blocked and that is preventing you from moving forward. And although sometimes it is so difficult to unblock this energy, it is, I believe, the most rewarding and important benefits of a yoga practice. When we unblock energy, we are in fact reshaping our mind. Reshaping the way we think.

(Next week I will take this a step further and present the scientific approach to how energy moves during a yoga practice.)

For now, I will conclude by saying that the more control we have over our mind, the more control we have over our life. And the more at peace we can be.

Peace being the ultimate goal of yoga.

Namaste! my dear students

Jocelyne and dr. Jake

Focus this week: the Vishuddha chakra

Week 4: Yoga for stillness

Posted on 2019/10/07 by Jocelyne Campbell

The first four practices of the fall session have been focused on the root chakra: Muladhara. The foundation chakra. It is located in the pelvic area and at the base of the spine.

When we work with the root chakra, we open and relax the pelvic floor, the groin, the hips, the lower spine. We strengthen the legs and hips.

In yoga, the hips are the storage place for our emotional garbage. Knowingly or unknowingly, when we practice yoga, we sometimes begin to let go of stuff that is no longer needed, stuff that is preventing us from moving forward.

I think everyone has garbage. Stuff we need to let go of. Stuff that hurts. Stuff or patterns of thinking that are not true. And when we let go in yoga we build stronger roots. We walk on more solid ground.

I am connected. I am trusting. I am kindness. I am still. These are the themes of the first four weeks. They are grounding principles that can nourish our ROOT chakra.

The bottom line?

When my root chakra is strong, I am, as the old saying goes, my own best friend.

Being my own best friend doesn’t always come easy. But one thing for sure, on most days, it can change the way you feel when you get up in the morning, how you face every day, how you greet the people you meet and how you see the world.

Namaste!

Jocelyne Dr. Jake

See you this week for AWEsome practice 4!

Week 3: “Yoga for self-compassion”

Posted on 2019/09/30 by Jocelyne Campbell

**In yoga philosophy, the yamas and niyamas are guidelines for happiness and self-fulfillment. At the top of the list of the yamas is self-compassion: kindness towards ourselves.**

When I think of compassion, I think of the sun. I think of that wonderful way we feel when the sun comes out from behind the clouds and warms our skin. I think of the wonderful way we feel when a friend touches our life in a way the sun does.

A friend has come to say, “I understand. It’s ok. Don’t worry. I am here with you. I’m listening.”

There is nothing more precious in life than the compassion we give to or we feel for another person. It is a weak remedy for the human condition but the only remedy we have.

Yoga teaches us that this compassion that draws us together, must also come from within.

To extend compassion to ourselves, ahimsa, “to be our own best friend” as the saying goes, is not always easy. We sometimes tend to be hard on ourselves when we make a mistake, when we fall short.

Those words of compassion that a friend will sometimes offer us, we need to offer them to ourselves. We need, in other words, to nourish ourselves with the warmth of the sunshine.

**This week, AWEsome Week 3, we will go under the sun and play with Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). We will salute the SUN within us.**

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Namaste!

Jocelyne and Dr. Jake PhDOG (specialist in compassion)

Week 2: “Yoga for trust”

Posted on 2019/09/22 by Jocelyne Campbell

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. We are in a muddle so to speak.

When life throws you a curve ball, how do you react? Do you throw your mitt in the dirt angry, upset and walk away? do you simply duck and try to avoid it completely? Or, do you try to catch the ball?

Yoga has a lot to teach us about the curve balls in life. It invites us to catch them and observe. To observe the curve balls and believe that they have something to teach us.

This summer I was in a muddle. More specifically, my foot was in a muddle. So much pain for 4 weeks.

I began to observe my foot, (my foot, the muddler!) whenever I went to my yoga mat. I trusted that it had something to teach me. And it did indeed.

The feeling, I had after getting out of the muddle was tremendous. And it wasn’t just that I felt better physically. Through observation, something had opened up and it felt amazing.

Observing, letting go and opening up to new energy is the journey of yoga.

Trust in the practice.

WEEK 1: (Fall/winter session begins) “Yoga to connect”

Posted on 2019/09/15 by Jocelyne Campbell

I have a story for you if you will bear with me…

Enjoy!

“It was good fishing weather!”

On Wednesday this week I took Jake fishing at Stanley Park. It was a warm and sunny day! One of those amazingly perfect days of summer!

In case some of you don’t know what I mean by Jake fishing… I mean exactly that. Jake will fish in one spot for 30 minutes easy. He is mesmerized by the possibility of a fish swimming by and is totally in the ZEN mode!

I myself was sitting at the water’s edge catching a few rays of sunshine. When I turned around. I saw an elderly woman that had stopped along the path and she said something to me. I asked her to wait so that I could go up to her and hear what she said.

When I reached the path, the first words and only words she said were, “You…. are….. great!” She spoke slowly and with great emphasis.

I can’t remember anyone saying that to me. I mean. people will say you are great and be referring to something you did but out of the blue… “You…. are…. great!”? Never.

I looked at her kindly and said, “YOU… are… great!” With the emphasis on the YOU! I added, “You must have been a fashion model!” She started to laugh. I meant it most sincerely. She was dressed impeccably and with great taste. “Look at you! The lines in your socks match your beautiful jacket!” I pointed to my hiking boots and nondescript wool socks and added, “I, on the other hand, am not a fashion model!” We had a good laugh and then went on our separate ways.

It was a perfect moment between two strangers. A beautiful connection.

(Thank you for allowing me to ramble on.)

But this moment inspired me for the theme of WEEK 1 at DOWNdog: Yoga to connect.

Yoga has changed my life in many ways, and it has definitely made me feel a stronger connection to myself and to everyone I meet.

Whenever I need a little lift in my day, I will remember her words. They will echo in my mind for a long time to come

….

Dr. Jake’s words of wisdom for week 1?

“Greet everyone with enthusiasm!” I know Jake has a little too much enthusiasm sometimes, especially around children, but one thing that is certain, he will put a smile on your face.

Yoga to Hold your Ground!

Posted on 2019/05/06 by Jocelyne Campbell

“Yoga to Hold your Ground”

An awesome practice awaits you at DOWNdog this week! We will have a detoxing Warrior Practice.

We will bring some ferocity from week 1 into our practice as we move through the warrior poses and hold our ground!

Whenever you might need to boost your confidence, your focus, the warrior poses will do the trick!

They are the perfect balance between dynamic grounding and buoyant ease. The lower body roots down strongly into the ground, while the upper body rises up to the sky. How wonderful is that?! This dynamic combination generates lots of energy to nourish your spine and will help detoxify and clear all obstacles in your way! Which leads me to my theme song for this week: “I can see clearly now” .

(No dancing partner for this one

but a song I enjoy singing on sunny days after the rain while walking Dr. Jake!)

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)

Sun-Shiny day.

What a great song! a perfect theme song for our practice. After the rainy days of spring we are now enjoying some sunny skies!

Let’s bring those sunny skies into our practice this week as we move through an awesome Warrior Practice!

Namaste,

Jocelyne and Dr. Jake

Drop-in spaces available this week:

Monday 1 space; Tuesday full; Thursday 2 spaces

Twist and shout! it’s Spring!

Posted on 2019/04/29 by Jocelyne Campbell

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 valuable, most 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!

Posted on 2019/04/13 by Jocelyne Campbell

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!

Posted on 2019/04/07 by Jocelyne Campbell

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!

Balance your energies

Posted on 2019/03/31 by Jocelyne Campbell

Last week Dr. Jake’s yoga wisdom revolved around innovation (changing behaviours, thought patterns or situations that are making us stuck (that are making us hibernate) and turning them around by creating or innovating. In other words, changing negativity into positivity.

The focus was on unblocking, opening up some positive energy with the inhale and letting go ofstuff that is stuck, with the exhale. This week we will take this a step further.

When we practice yoga, we are not only moving energy but balancing energy: we are balancing our nervous system.

We unblock channels of energy and move towards changing gears: we move from the SNS the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight) to the PSN the parasympathetic nervous system. (rest and digest).

How does this happen? It happens by moving through our practice with mindfulness: being mindful of and controlling the breath.

End result? We give our mind a break. We move into the rest and digest mode!

For the last couple weeks we have been not only consciously controlling our breathing while doing the asanas but also using Alternate nostril breathing, a form of pranayama. In a nutshell, ANB balances the two hemispheres of the brain. The right side of the brain is the feminine side; it is the moon energy, calming and nurturing (the rest and digest side). The left side is the masculine side: it is the sun energy, energizing and analytical, (the fight and flight side). When we inhale through the right nostril we are tapping into the left side of the brain; when we inhale through the left nostril we are tapping into the right side of the brain. Sounds complicated but it really isn’t.

The first four practices of the fall session have been focused on the root chakra: Muladhara. The foundation chakra. It is located in the pelvic area and at the base of the spine.

When we work with the root chakra, we open and relax the pelvic floor, the groin, the hips, the lower spine. We strengthen the legs and hips.

In yoga, the hips are the storage place for our emotional garbage. Knowingly or unknowingly, when we practice yoga, we sometimes begin to let go of stuff that is no longer needed, stuff that is preventing us from moving forward.

I think everyone has garbage. Stuff we need to let go of. Stuff that hurts. Stuff or patterns of thinking that are not true. And when we let go in yoga we build stronger roots. We walk on more solid ground.

I am connected. I am trusting. I am kindness. I am still. These are the themes of the first four weeks. They are grounding principles that can nourish our ROOT chakra.

The bottom line?

When my root chakra is strong, I am, as the old saying goes, my own best friend.

Being my own best friend doesn’t always come easy. But one thing for sure, on most days, it can change the way you feel when you get up in the morning, how you face every day, how you greet the people you meet and how you see the world.

Namaste!

Jocelyne Dr. Jake

See you this week for AWEsome practice 4!

In yoga philosophy, the yamas and niyamas are guidelines for happiness and self-fulfillment. At the top of the list of the yamas is self-compassion: kindness towards ourselves.

When I think of compassion, I think of the sun. I think of that wonderful way we feel when the sun comes out from behind the clouds and warms our skin. I think of the wonderful way we feel when a friend touches our life in a way the sun does.

A friend has come to say, “I understand. It’s ok. Don’t worry. I am here with you. I’m listening.”

There is nothing more precious in life than the compassion we give to or we feel for another person. It is a weak remedy for the human condition but the only remedy we have.

Yoga teaches us that this compassion that draws us together, must also come from within.

To extend compassion to ourselves, ahimsa, “to be our own best friend” as the saying goes, is not always easy. We sometimes tend to be hard on ourselves when we make a mistake, when we fall short.

Those words of compassion that a friend will sometimes offer us, we need to offer them to ourselves. We need, in other words, to nourish ourselves with the warmth of the sunshine.

This week, AWEsome Week 3, we will go under the sun and play with Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). We will salute the SUN within us.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Namaste!

Jocelyne and Dr. Jake PhDOG (specialist in compassion)

I have a story for you if you will bear with me…

Enjoy!

Whenever I need a little lift in my day, I will remember her words. They will echo in my mind for a long time to come

….

YIN YOGA

Friday mornings 10h30 -11h30

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

**In yoga philosophy, the yamas and niyamas are guidelines for happiness and self-fulfillment. At the top of the list of the yamas is self-compassion: kindness towards ourselves.**

**This week, AWEsome Week 3, we will go under the sun and play with Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). We will salute the SUN within us.**

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