 Please enjoy this entry from our guest blogger, Derrick. He is currently taking yoga teacher training with the Maritime Yoga College.
Week 3 - January 25th: I have learned thus far that when we stay in our comfort zone we miss opportunities to grow and expand - we miss out on the magic that is happening all around us. I recognize that there is a magic that exists in our own comfort zone but once you step into the wild, into the unknown, you dive into a great mystery. As the old proverb goes - “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Each week of yoga teacher training we are encouraged to find our centre, our comfort zone in mountain pose (tadasana), so we can find the power within to carry us beyond, into the space of potential, where the magic happens. For me, this program is not only about becoming certified to teach yoga, it is about embracing yoga as a lifestyle and taking an active role in my education, health, and healing. As yoga-teachers-in-training we are deepening our awareness of our own yoga practice and also the impact of the practice. I like to think yoga as a “cleaning-house” exercise - each asana (pose) is stretching particular parts of the body. After a full practice of yoga I feel both stretched and strengthened, I feel as if my ‘temple’ has been refreshed, my body rejuvenated! At first it feels really good, but as your practice deepens you start to move into spaces of the body that are rarely activated. This can often bring up old memories, emotions, and thoughts that were discreetly tucked away, ignored, or forgotten. As our baggage rises to the surface of our consciousness-awareness we are sometimes shaken by an unexpected wave of emotion while in a pose . I believe that is part of our healing process, which is kickstarted by the evolutionary force of yoga. As we come to process our past we are better able to live in the present. I have experienced overwhelming sensations of deep pleasure in a hip opener, but also have shed tears in savasana after I have freed some repressed emotions. The intimacy I have cultivated within myself through a yoga practice has expanded my intuition and taught me to listen to my body, to tend to my emotions, and honour my state of being - in each moment. This mindfulness has been developed over time, and through many different techniques. It was refreshing to be guided through mindfully walking and eating. To be present throughout the entire movement that composes the act of walking, or the intimacy fostered with one's food through engaging all the senses before it is consumed, is challenging but rewarding. To be so intimately present with the moment, with each moment, is surely the art of living.
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 Please enjoy this entry from our guest blogger, Derrick. He is currently taking yoga teacher training with the Maritime Yoga College.
Week 2 - January 18th: A week ago I started my journey with Maritime Yoga College and what a transformation it has been already. This new year is full of new beginnings and a host of challenges. I am learning how to juggle my yoga-teacher-training, the final semester of my undergrad, rehearsals for an ACT performance of Arcadia, transitioning to a vegan diet, and also honouring my other roles and responsibilities. It is through the deepening and expanding of my yoga practice that I am finding balance and synergy. And just as when one learns to juggle, I am also learning how to pick everything up once I’ve dropped it. A Zen proverb states, “If you fall down 7 times, pick yourself up 8 times”. As I had said in my last post, this journey will be challenging and I will have fear and doubts, but I will the strength, courage, and wisdom to come through the trials refined and purified - like gold passing through fire. The guided meditation that opened our 2nd day of teacher-training has brought me to be more aware of the language of my mind and the language of my heart. Our minds, although an amazing thinking-organ and problem solver, works against us, imaging fear and doubts that block us from accessing our fullest potential. The solution is to let go of the ‘monkey mind’. Let the mind serve you when appropriate, but do not let it rule you. The wisdom I carry with me from this meditation, and I hope may also serve you, is to live from your heart. Your heart is a coach, confidant, and wise teacher. The love and light of our hearts lift us up our of darkness and carries us beyond the limitations created by our minds. As my peers listen to their hearts and overcome fears and doubts, and shine radiant like gold in the front of the class, I find great reserves of strength, courage, and wisdom - and thank each of them for being present on this journey. Our karma classes provide such a unique opportunity for us to experience classroom dynamics and learn first hand how to lead a class! And those who support the karma classes directly participate in the blossoming of us, the teachers-in-training! So you should come! We have them every Sunday 4pm at Dynamic Fitness - a 5$ Drop-in donation for charity. May you listen to your heart, lead from your heart, and shine from your heart. We are bountiful, we are beautiful, we are bliss! Please enjoy this entry from our guest blogger, Derrick. He is currently taking yoga teacher training with the Maritime Yoga College.  Day 1 - January 11th:
Today I started my 200-hour yoga teacher training with Maritime Yoga College and it is surreal to be actualizing a dream from last year as my present reality. Although I have had this dream for well over a year, as I awoke this morning I had fear and doubt heavy in my heart. As I started my walk towards the studio I was graced by a stunning sunrise - hues of orange, yellow, and pink lit up the pale blue sky. I was warmly greeted by my teachers upon arrival which had me vibrating with enthusiasm, but I tamed my excitement as I took my seat in the growing circle of students. As our first day of teacher training was opened, with a gentle stretch and some spontaneous dancing, my heart was liberated from fear and doubt and I became overwhelmed with the joy and bliss of doing what you love and being where you belong. As we sat together and introduced ourselves I gazed starry-eyed and smiled gleefully as each of us shared our intentions and a snapshot of our stories. Each of us coming from such different backgrounds and taking the course for varied reasons, and yet there was a sense that we were brought here, together, for a single purpose. To awaken the teacher inside of each of us, to share our light and our truth, and to help each other in our becoming(s). Today, I felt challenged, I felt doubt, I felt fear. Also today, I found courage, I found strength, and I remembered why I started this journey in the first place. Yoga has transformed me, empowered me, and guided me through much of my healing and unfolding. It is through my teacher training I seek to deepen my practice and my relationship with my self, my Spirit, and relationship to all Creation. I seek adventure, knowledge, and connection - along with deep and intimate relationships with my peers and mentors throughout the program. I know that this journey will be full of hard work, a fair share of challenges, and moments of despair — and yet I fully embrace the process in its entirety. For it is from the wholeness of life that we learn, that we grow, and that we transform from. I look forward to sharing my journey, and in closing I share a mantra that has served me very well since I learned it. I hope it will serve you. "With each inhale I am inspired, and with each exhale I inspire others." The light of me, honours the light of you. Namaste. |
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May 2017
Samantha Sambrooke
Director of Teacher Training for the Maritime Yoga College and Registered Holistic Nutritionist. Categories
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