FREE class in Petty Harbour

I am offering a free trial class on Monday January 9 @ 8pm for anybody who would like to check out my class in Petty Harbour. We practice at the Carton Loft in the Petty Harbour Fisherman’s Co-op (above the Mini Aquarium) .

There is no commitment and no strings attached. Simply come and see what it’s all about. If you like it, great! You can continue coming to the weekly class if you wish. It happens every Monday at 8pm. The cost is $70 for five classes (January 16 – February 13). Register by phone, email or in person and pay with cash or email money transfer (no cheques please).

What you need to know and bring:

• Yoga is for everyone! This class is inclusive.
• We practice barefoot.
• Wear comfortable clothes. “Yoga clothes” are not necessary.
• Dress in layers. You may need a warmer layer for the beginning and end of class.
• Bring a yoga mat and a blanket that can be folded to sit on.
• We begin promptly at 8pm. The front door is locked at class start time.

I hope to see you there!

Namaste, Meaghan

300 Hour Teacher Training: a chat with Robin Golt

Yesterday a group of interested yogis sat down in my living room to chat with Robin Golt (via Skype) about the particulars of The Deepening Journey. Over tea and good company we explored what a typical training day will look like, what books we will study and what the intention of the program is. Here are a few notes that stood out to me:

• 7-day intensives are just that – intensive! The goal is to leave each gathering feeling nourished rather than exhausted 
• We will achieve the above by practicing both active and restorative asana along with pranayama and meditation
• There will be time for contemplative walks and time in nature (our training space is just steps from the East Coast Trail and from the Petty Harbour waterfront)
• Our small group format will enable deep connection and in-depth, individualized discussions
• In Part 1 of the program the focus will be on our own practice and study. Part 2 will delve more deeply into teaching topics
• Part 1 will address alignment principles for asana practice and the deep wisdom teachings of the yoga tradition
• Part 2 will invite each teacher to develop their own teaching as is suitable for the groups of students they already teach. For example, if you primarily teach to groups of seniors you will be able to refine your offerings for that group. If you primarily teach to a younger audience using a more dynamic asana practice you will be able to refine that style of teaching. The program is suitable for teachers with many varied backgrounds. 

After our Skype call I discussed my experience with Robin’s teaching. I would be happy to do the same with you! Let’s chat via email or set up a phone call to discuss. Contact me at meaghanburridge@gmail.com. I also told the group about our intention to open up two of each seven day intensive to the public for mixed-level workshops. This will create many learning opportunities for us as we experience Robin’s teaching in the context of a public event. 

Another option for getting to know Robin is to register for her online program The Roots of Yoga Part I. If you decide to register for the 300 hour TT before the early bird deadline the cost of ROY will be deducted from your registration fee. 

Finally, we took a trip over to the Carton Loft where our training will take place.  A panoramic view of Petty Harbour, windows that open to let the fresh air in and a wide open practice space make the Carton Loft the perfect place to spend 7 days in the depths of yogic study and practice. 

Very soon I will be sending out some updated details to all who have expressed their interest in the program. If you would like to learn more please send me an email: meaghanburridge@gmail.com  

 

Keep trying, you’ll get better!

Lucy: Mom, what pose is that?

Me (chuckling): well, it’s supposed to be Sundial Pose but I’m not doing it very well!

Lucy (breaking out into song): it’s ok mom! You can do it! Just keep trying and you will get better and better and better!

Deep philosophical insights from my 3 year old 🙂

 She recreated the song for me just now

Graduate Series: Aerial Yoga

Anahareo Doelle is a 2012 graduate of the Yoga Teacher Training NL 200 hour program. For Anahareo, this program offered the perfect foundation of yoga training. It was also an opportunity to meet like-minded yogis and to enjoy the fabulous group atmosphere that developed.

Anahareo has a background in competitive gymnastics and diving. She is also a graduate of the National Circus School of Montreal where she specialized in Aerials. For the past fifteen years she has performed in various shows in Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Japan and Germany. In 2012 Anahareo also became a certified Pilates instructor.

In 2014 Anahareo combined her love of yoga with her skill in Aerial performance to offer Aerial Yoga. She recently opened her own aerial school “iFly Aerials” at Wonderbolt’s new downtown studio, The S.P.A.C.E. She teaches Aerial Yoga, Aerials for Kids and adult classes and she loves sharing her passion for aerial strength and yoga calm.

Congratulations Anahareo on bringing a new and fabulous concept to the St. John’s community!

Graduate Series: Yoga in Carbonear

When Angie Green joined us for the Class of 2013 there was absolutely nobody teaching yoga in her hometown Carbonear. She commuted to St. John’s for our weekend intensives, fully commited to her goal of bringing yoga to her community.

Discussing what she’s been up to since graduation Angie had this to say:

I have been teaching several classes per week ever since, along with a few private classes. Since then a couple of others have started teaching this way as well. We are slowly getting a yoga community here and it’s great. I can honestly without hesitation say that doing the yoga teacher training was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only to be able to teach but for the insights and wisdoms of yoga I had never heard before. These teachings have truly changed my life. I’m so happy to have learned so much and to be able to pass some fraction of this to other people.

Angie can be found teaching at the Ocean View Art Gallery in Carbonear. Connect with them on Facebook!

Angie’s teaching space at Ocean View Art Gallery

Graduate Series: Neurogenic Yoga

Graduates of our 2012 YTT-NL program Carolyn Hapgood and Helena Butler have gone on to make a big impact in the local wellness community. Since graduating with their 200 hour certification Carolyn and Helena have gone on to become Registered Yoga Therapists (a 200 hour certification is a pre-requisite for this training) and Internationally Certified Neurogenic Yoga™ Teachers. In fact, they are the only two Neurogenic Yoga Teachers certified in Canada!

From Carolyn’s website:

Neurogenic Yoga™ combines postures, breathing and a natural shaking/tremoring response of the body to relieve stress, tension and trauma.

Neurogenic Yoga™ is especially suitable for treating chronic pain, daily stress & pent up tension, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Parkinson’s Disease, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, to name a few. It may be suitable for almost anyone with the exception of pregnant women.

Some of the many BENEFITS of Neurogenic Yoga™:

• A safe and natural way to release chronic pain and tension
• Experience positive changes in your sleep patterns
• Change deep seated habits
• A sense of feeling more relaxed and less impacted by stressors
• Bring homeostasis to your body
• *****Designed to eventually be done without the aid of a teacher and can therefore cut down on health-care expenses

Learn more about Yoga Therapy and Neurogenic Yoga by reaching out to these experienced teachers. Carolyn’s website can be found here and you can connect with Helena here.

Carolyn (front row, center left) and Helena (back row, far left) with their Neurogenic Yoga graduating class

Graduate series: how our students are putting their 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate to use

Recent graduate of Yoga Teacher Training Newfoundland & Labrador Megan Morgan explains how she’s using her experience and education to bring yoga to her community:

Megan practicing on beautiful Fogo Island

“A 200 hr YTT offers a wealth of opportunities once you are finished!! Find what is authentic to you, and make your own path.

 

I decided to go the route of an independent yoga teacher and started with building a Gentle Yoga class, a class which felt authentic to me, a slower paced class that allows beginners to feel safe and advanced practitioners a class to slow down in.  It takes time to build up your client list, but you will find the right students.  I am still teaching this class at the Steffen Dance Studio at 673 Topsail Rd, Thursday nights 8:30-9:30 pm.

 

After completing my 200 hr training I also opted to take Meaghan’s Chair Yoga Teacher training which was amazing and wonderful.  I added a morning chair class (Friday 10-11am) to my schedule and later added an evening chair class (Wednesday 7:30-8:30pm) knowing that not all people who want chair yoga are retired!!  I am focusing a lot of my efforts on chair yoga currently as I feel there are so many people that could benefit from it, but they are just not aware that it exists.  This year I have been involved with two events with the Canadian Diabetes Association, most recently in November 2015 where I taught a short class to about 50 people!  I reached out to the MS Society and met with them to discuss chair yoga and gave a free class.  I plan to reach out to the Arthritis Society and Heart and Stroke as well.  My Chair classes are held at the Steffen Dance Studio as well.

 

I also teach corporate classes with Definitions and the Department of National Defence.  I travel to different offices and provide lunch (or afternoon) yoga classes.  This is a fun additional to my schedule and offers a stable income.

 

I currently teach 10 classes a week which certainly keeps me busy, but each day I wake up happy and excited to teach.  The most important thing has been keeping up with my own practice (which I struggle with from time to time) and additional training to specialize in the type of teaching I want to do.  In addition to Chair Yoga training, I completed a 40 hr Restorative teacher training with Andrea Peloso and a 10 hr Alignment Based Therapeutic training with Barrie Risman.

You can find me on Facebook at “Megan Morgan Yoga,” online at meganmorganyoga.wordpress.com or email meganmorgan83@gmail.com“

 

Thank you Megan for sharing your experience with us!

If you’d like to become a yoga teacher read more about our Yoga Alliance registered program here. Or, like us on Facebook for regular updates.

Trust and Family and Yoga

While my two babies sleep soundly I sit at the computer making plans. Plans for teaching and growing in my profession. Plans for re-committing to my asana practice. I am excited to re-immerse myself in the world of yoga after a pregnancy-induced hiatus and yet, I have to remind myself that my baby is young and that I have my whole life ahead of me to sit on my mat.

During this time I stumbled upon this blog I wrote more than a year ago for Shri Yoga’s Collective Voices series. It’s a post about trust and family and yoga. I quite enjoyed re-reading it tonight. It seemed very timely for me. Perhaps it will be for you too.

An excerpt: I trusted that my heart knew what it needed. It was calling loudly. It was telling me it needed to be near my baby, it needed to be at home and it needed to take on this new title: Mother, in absolute full force. Not that I couldn’t do it all but that I didn’t want to. What I wanted was to immerse myself fully in the experience of mothering. I wanted to put my yoga into action and see it flower as patience, lovingkindness, nurturance and support – all directed at this tiny being that I had had some hand in creating. I needed to narrow the scope of my work so that it could grow in depth. Continue reading

Therapeutic Yoga with Barrie Risman

One of my teachers is coming back to St. John’s in October! Check out Barrie’s Therapeutic Yoga offerings at Yoga Kula Co-op.

 

 

 

Becoming a Yoga Teacher

The path of yoga is a lifelong road full of bumps, twists & turns. Every practitioner follows a unique path; learning and practicing the tools of yoga and then incorporating them, bit by bit, into their everyday lives. In this way the practice of yoga becomes a personalized spiritual undertaking that is deeply meaningful and endlessly rich.

For many, the path of yoga raises more questions than it does answers. As we learn more about this beautiful and ancient practice we’re called to go deeper in our exploration of the Self. As light is shed on one query, a new one emerges from the depths of the inner realm. Thus, the process of contemplation, meditation and practice continues.

For many of us the time comes when we wonder “what is next on my path of discovery?”. The call to deeper study emerges and we wonder “how can I more fully immerse myself in these great teachings?”. Or perhaps it’s an immense gratitude for the joy that yoga has brought to our lives that causes us to wonder “how can I share this joy so that others may also experience profound shifts in their lives?”. At this moment of open-hearted wonder the transition from student to teacher begins.

But how does one become a yoga teacher in 2015? Surely the process is different than it was many thousands of years ago when the teachings of yoga were passed from guru to disciple in a variety of mystical ways. Today we are blessed to have Yoga Teacher Training programs available all over the world where students of yoga learn the technical skills required to effectively teach yoga. Teachers-in-training learn the history of yoga, the philosophy behind the practice, physical and subtle-body anatomy, as well as teaching skills such as sequencing, demonstrating and using an effective voice. These programs take place in your local community, across Canada and the US as well as in various sunny retreat destinations. The choices are endless!

Yet, the real key to becoming a yoga teacher is the continued journey along a unique and personal path of practice. The cycle of contemplation, meditation and practice continues, inspiring and informing the teacher’s offerings. Where once the questions were of an individual nature (“how can I integrate this deep knowledge and wisdom into the living of life?”) they now become broader in nature. The questions remain, for there is always more to learn and discover, but the answers now come both from within as well as from the interaction with many unique students. In taking the seat of the teacher we open ourselves up to the opportunity to shift in new ways because of what we learn from the people we teach. And this opportunity is truly a gift.

So, if you’ve been wondering “what is next on my path of discovery?” perhaps it is time to begin the shift from student to teacher. Perhaps it is time to share the gift of yoga with others. Perhaps it is time to add your own unique voice and perspective to the incredible community of consciousness that is expanding all across our beautiful city and province. Perhaps this is your time to step into the seat of the teacher.

If you do indeed think this is that time, learn about becoming a yoga teacher in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador here.