The Yoga Pilates Conference and Show was on this past weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Since my experience there last year, I planned to make this experience even bigger and better. I definitely was not disappointed...
Friday evening after work, after shooting the breeze with Manley and a couple of the other railway buffs, I made my way to the Convention Centre. At the registration desk I made up my mind to sign up for one of the courses that was being offered. Once I registered and received my badge, I made my way up to the show floor and walked around. There were a couple things that caught my eye. One of those things was a yoga mat. I made a note to pick it up on Sunday. I've also received some wonderful insight into yoga teacher training and found a school with a good programme that I am strongly considering. In the evening, there was a free Journey Dance session for a couple hours after the show floor closed. I hung around for an hour and a bit and took in the vibe. The energy was definitely live and I even ran into a couple friends from Kula and Moksha Yoga Mississauga there.
On Sunday, I ventured over to the Yoga Show first thing in the morning. I had the honour of registering for an all day course led by Lisa Black of Shakti Yoga in Seattle, WA. The course was entitled "Hands of an Angel: The Art of Assisting" and it was an overview into how to assist and guide a yogi through various asanas. I found the course highly enjoyable. I have been looking into teacher training and for me, this is definitely a step in the right direction. All I need now is the opportunity to practise what I have learned. Lisa Black is a Baptise Power Vinyasa instructor so I was able to get a lot out of this course. The power of touch is an infinite wonder. It can convey reassurrance, guidance, support, healing, and others. There was one exercise we had to do. It was to simply demonstrate what a touch can convey to the other person. What we had to do was sit next to someone and put our hands on each other's back behind the heart and close our eyes. I revelled in the fact that a strong hand was on my back behind the heart and remained grounded in the moment. My partner actually teared up during the exercise. When I saw that, I did not interrupt the moment. In fact, Lisa indicated that when someone cries during a yoga practise, it is because there are emotions that have been forced to the surface. The best teachers do not interrupt this by rushing over and offering words and Kleenex which tends to be the practise. A reassuring hand for a moment suffices. I was thinking about it later and I wondered if my state of being or the overall energy during the class had a strong effect at the time.
Here is Lisa demonstrating how to make corrections on the Child's Pose posture.
Lisa and I together at the end of class.
During the break I wandered around the show floor. I made a couple new connections along the way and ran into friends - including those I have not seen in awhile. My father was also there to briefly look around and I hung with him for a bit. I also had a wonderful vegetarian meal from the Govinda Hare Krishna group before returning to class. And yes... I had picked up my new Jade yoga mat earlier and I am looking forward to trying it out in the next hot class.
My dad posing with my friend Bernadette
Bernadette and I... It was Bernadette's birthday that day.
Here I am trying out the Lotus Pillow - a meditation pillow that folds up into a bag. Very comfy... I may get one...
That's Sonia - the person behing the Lotus Pillow. She was totally blown away when I told her about my running. She, and her friend Veet would like to start running with me on short training efforts soon.
After leaving the show, I revelled in the feeling of lightness. I have made new connections, learned a lot of new things, I have made up my mind to be what I want to be, and I am mentally visualising my path.
Friday evening after work, after shooting the breeze with Manley and a couple of the other railway buffs, I made my way to the Convention Centre. At the registration desk I made up my mind to sign up for one of the courses that was being offered. Once I registered and received my badge, I made my way up to the show floor and walked around. There were a couple things that caught my eye. One of those things was a yoga mat. I made a note to pick it up on Sunday. I've also received some wonderful insight into yoga teacher training and found a school with a good programme that I am strongly considering. In the evening, there was a free Journey Dance session for a couple hours after the show floor closed. I hung around for an hour and a bit and took in the vibe. The energy was definitely live and I even ran into a couple friends from Kula and Moksha Yoga Mississauga there.
On Sunday, I ventured over to the Yoga Show first thing in the morning. I had the honour of registering for an all day course led by Lisa Black of Shakti Yoga in Seattle, WA. The course was entitled "Hands of an Angel: The Art of Assisting" and it was an overview into how to assist and guide a yogi through various asanas. I found the course highly enjoyable. I have been looking into teacher training and for me, this is definitely a step in the right direction. All I need now is the opportunity to practise what I have learned. Lisa Black is a Baptise Power Vinyasa instructor so I was able to get a lot out of this course. The power of touch is an infinite wonder. It can convey reassurrance, guidance, support, healing, and others. There was one exercise we had to do. It was to simply demonstrate what a touch can convey to the other person. What we had to do was sit next to someone and put our hands on each other's back behind the heart and close our eyes. I revelled in the fact that a strong hand was on my back behind the heart and remained grounded in the moment. My partner actually teared up during the exercise. When I saw that, I did not interrupt the moment. In fact, Lisa indicated that when someone cries during a yoga practise, it is because there are emotions that have been forced to the surface. The best teachers do not interrupt this by rushing over and offering words and Kleenex which tends to be the practise. A reassuring hand for a moment suffices. I was thinking about it later and I wondered if my state of being or the overall energy during the class had a strong effect at the time.
Here is Lisa demonstrating how to make corrections on the Child's Pose posture.
Lisa and I together at the end of class.
During the break I wandered around the show floor. I made a couple new connections along the way and ran into friends - including those I have not seen in awhile. My father was also there to briefly look around and I hung with him for a bit. I also had a wonderful vegetarian meal from the Govinda Hare Krishna group before returning to class. And yes... I had picked up my new Jade yoga mat earlier and I am looking forward to trying it out in the next hot class.
My dad posing with my friend Bernadette
Bernadette and I... It was Bernadette's birthday that day.
Here I am trying out the Lotus Pillow - a meditation pillow that folds up into a bag. Very comfy... I may get one...
That's Sonia - the person behing the Lotus Pillow. She was totally blown away when I told her about my running. She, and her friend Veet would like to start running with me on short training efforts soon.
After leaving the show, I revelled in the feeling of lightness. I have made new connections, learned a lot of new things, I have made up my mind to be what I want to be, and I am mentally visualising my path.
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