A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Yoga isn’t a work out class, it’s a spiritual practice.
Yoga is a spiritual practice comprised of 8 limbs. Āsana (physical postures) is only one of the 8 limbs. What the western culture calls yoga class, is actually often āsana class. Yoga was first mentioned in the Vedas, a sacred text of eternal knowledge written in Sanskrit. Yoga is a manifestation of the Vedas in embodiment. It appears in the Rig Veda, the earliest of the Vedas, connected to सनातन धर्म Sanātana Dharma (wrongly named by colonizers as Hinduism or referred to as a religion).
This practice strives for spiritual oneness with the universe. It’s a symphony of the mind, body, and spirit. Patanjali, an ancient Indian sage, wrote of Ashtanga yoga through his Yoga Sutras.
Ashtanga
An overview of the 8 limbs of yoga
Yāma यम
Social Behaviour
Yama is representative of our ethical considerations in how we interact with others. There are 5 yamas: Ahisma (nonviolence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (restraint), and Aparigraha (non-possession)
Niyāma नियम
Inner Discipline
Niyama is representative of our relationship to self. There are 5 niyamas: Saucha (purification), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (self discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study/reflection), Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender/contemplation).
Āsana आसन
Physical Postures
Āsana is sanskrit for “the seat” or “the posture”. It is to the physical action that create synchronicity between the mind and the body. Postures appear in 5 categories: standing, sitting, supine, prone, inverted.
Prāṇāyāma प्राणायाम
Breath Control
Prāṇāyāma is sanskrit for “control of breath”. Prāṇā meaning life force, yāma meaning restraint/control and āyāma meaning extension. There are three key aspects to Prāṇāyāma: Puraka (Filling/Completing Inhale), Rechaka (Expelling/releasing exhale), Kumbhaka (closing/shutting or holding breath).
Pratyāhāra प्रत्याहार
Discipline of the Senses
Pratyāhāra is the basis of meditation. It is comprised of two sanskrit words “Prati” meaning away and “Āhāra” meaning things taken from the outside. It is to allow the world to happen around us without allowing it to affect our state of mind.
Dhāraṇā धारणा
Concentration
Dhāraṇā is a component often used within meditation within which you focus on a particular person/place/thing. It is often done by fixating the mind onto one thing whether external or internal.
Dhyāna ध्यान
Meditation
Dhyāna is thought to come from either two sanskrit words, “Dhi” which is the mind and “yāna” which means moving or the word “dhyai” which means to think of. Dhyāna is mentioned as one of four yogas in the Bhagavad Gita and described by the deity Krishna as the yoga of meditation.
Samadhi समाधि
Self Realization
Samadhi is the highest state of consciousness that one can achieve through meditation. Its source in sanskrit is around unification of the mind/bring together. It is not something to be practiced but something achieved through meditation.
To learn more about the 8 limbs of yoga please seek out and learn from trusted Hindu sources. Learn from the root and embodied teachers. I highly recommend the podcast Let’s Talk Yoga by Arundhati Baitmangalkar.
Yoga Class
Beyond asana
I do not teach if I do not feel I am living in alignment with the 8 limbs of yoga. I make sure to always be continuing my education and understanding of the Vedas and Sanātana Dharma.
A yoga teacher was meant to be someone who lives by and embodies this spiritual practice. Classes weren’t meant as a fitness class but were a way to continually learn and grow within your own spiritual practice of yoga and all of its eight limbs. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means to be one or united. To me, this demonstrates the alignment mind, body, and spirit through the spiritual practice of yoga. I strive to bring that to the way I teach.
My teaching is for all bodies in a non-judgemental space. I offer many variations for people with disabilities, injuries, or other needs. While teachings can appear indoors, I try to cultivate outdoor spaces as much as possible to enhance our spiritual practice and connectedness to nature, as nature is an extension of ourselves. You’ll also hear about the historical roots of yoga through my teaching and hear the Sanskrit names for āsanas spoken along with the English translation.
I was taught in Iyenger yoga. Inyenger yoga is based in the belief that we are all different and that our practice is unique to ones own abilities, strengths, and limitations. Yoga is for all people and all bodies. I created my own flow, with my signature class Rest and Relaxation being based primarily in seated, prone, and supine āsanas to be more accessible to all.
In practice with being trauma informed, I never touch people without their informed consent. I also never push people to go further into āsanas and I always encourage everyone to honour their own practice. My teaching always emphasizes body autonomy and agency. Whatever you’re being called to do is exactly what you need in that moment. Trust your body and intuition. This includes any emotions that come forward from body movement, which is a totally healthy and natural thing.
I strive for my classes to be a place of self love, nurturing, community, and connectedness. I am honoured to have you join me and to be one of the teachers within your spiritual practice.
Current Yoga Classes
Coming Soon are online classes – my signature Rest & Relaxation as well as chair yoga, for even lower impact movement.
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Class Description
Rest & Relaxation
This signature class is a low impact and trauma informed practice. It consists mainly of seated, prone (laying on the stomach), and supine (laying on the back) āsanas with the only inversion being Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Śvānāsana अधोमुखश्वानासन). It’s slow moving with a focus on honouring what the body needs in the moment, self love, and nurturing. In this practice you will be invited to experience all 8 limbs of yoga, including prāṇāyāma (breath control) and dhyāna (meditation).
This class is for all people and all bodies. Variations are given throughout and being a disabled teacher, you may not see me go as deeply into āsanas.
Light meditative music will be playing during the practice. I have a soft voice so if you experience hearing difficulties, it’s best to be as close to me as possible.
My Yoga Background
Yoga practice has a very deep connection for me. The third yoga class I took, was taught by someone who brought in the depth and understanding of the spiritual practice instead of just running through postures. They talked about dharma and honoured that in movement and breath there can be emotional release. It was a space that welcomed people to be within their own practice and what they needed in the moment.
The teacher spoke about mantras and invited us, after collective om, to find what we needed to affirm for ourselves. I laid on my mat, in śāvāsana and thought “you are strong, you are intelligent, you are beautiful, and you are worthy” and with every breath, I repeated one of those statements. It was the first time I ever told myself I was worthy and I cried. Since then, I felt deeply connected to this practice.
However, being in a western culture, a lot of what I was taught about yoga when I first started practicing was appropriative and superficial. It was either about fitness or it was about ego and competition. This did not resonate with me, even though I didn’t understand at the time what was being called “yoga” (and often still is) was just one of the eight limbs. I wanted to help to give back something that had made such a big impact on my life and I decided to seek out yoga training.
I have been teaching for 4 years and been practicing for around 10. This is still very little in terms of a lifetime experience. I encourage people to seek out multiple teachers and especially those with decades of knowledge and Indian roots so that they are learning authentic yoga as a spiritual practice instead of westernized white washed yoga which is so far removed from the spiritual practice that it is simply exercise class being called yoga.
I constantly continue to seek ways to be more educated on yoga, the vedas, and seek to be trained in new ways to expand the way that I teach. Being a white person teaching this Indian based spiritual practice, there are always ways I can learn more and do better. I continue my learning from trusted sources and am always working on my own decolonization.
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