Category Archives: Growing Community

A Heart-Warming Letter about Yoga from QSY Student Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell wrote this letter to us about how yoga has changed his life. He feels that yoga has played a large part in lowering his blood pressure and allowing his body to do a “natural bypass” to assist a blocked coronary artery. It has also helped him relate more effectively with his teenage son, and enjoy running his company. We are so happy that Glen stepped out of his comfort zone to join us at the studio, and we are so happy to see him so regularly in class! 

It was January of 2014 when I got hit with some bad news regarding my health. I had the same health issue five years earlier and it had returned. It was my heart again! I had been doing all the right things (diet, weight loss, don’t smoke, reducing stress and exercising) but my body rejected the stents that were put in my right coronary artery. It was 100% blocked again! My doctor told me nothing can be done surgically as it’s a difficult repair. Drugs were my only option and to just hope for the best. Every day I woke up and wondered if this would be the day I would have a heart attack. I could get through my day but if I did a little more than moderate cardio I could feel the pain in my chest. It was hard to plan for the future when I didn’t know if I was going to make it through the day. Not a great way to live. It was the darkest time of my life.

Continue reading “A Heart-Warming Letter about Yoga from QSY Student Glen Campbell”

Korean Comfort Food in Downtown Kitchener

 

Queen Street Eats

 

When a fall chill seeps into your bones, there’s nothing like warm, spicy soup or rice nestled in a piping-hot bowl. Korean cuisine offers my favourite comfort food to partner with autumn’s arrival. And I’ve found some tasty options at Shinla Garden in downtown Kitchener.

Located on King Street, Shinla Garden doesn’t look like much — you may have walked past this small restaurant without ever trying the cheap but tasty fare inside. But once you step inside, it’s well worth the the slightly cheesy background music and plain decor.

What to order? Decisions, decisions…

BibimbapAre you a Korean newbie or a long-time kimchi lover? Either way, an excellent first choice is Dolsot Bibimbap. It’s the ultimate Korean comfort food: a thick stone bowl heated in an oven, filled with white rice and topped with sauteed veggies, dried kim (seaweed), some meat and a fried egg. Top this with a mild hot sauce to your own taste and stir it all together to hear the satisfying sizzle of your meal getting acquainted with the hot stone bowl.

Continue reading “Korean Comfort Food in Downtown Kitchener”

yoga without Yoga: Reflections on posture, practice and prayer

Barry Silver kurmasana

This post is by Neman, one of our yoga teacher trainees. In this post it he reflects on the relationship between asana (yoga postures), philosophy, religion and teaching yoga in the modern world.

Halfway through this inspiring yoga teacher training program, I’m stuck on something that seems to be nothing to pretty much everyone else. When I started, I thought that yoga meant asana – the postures. Wow, was I wrong. Karma, bhakti, jnana… where was asana? Fresh new words (some I didn’t even realize I knew – cool!) were describing much more about yoga to me than I bargained for. Hey, it’s not like I pretended I knew my way around the (yoga) block, but it was fascinating to see how much more there was, and how relatively insignificant downward facing dog is to yoga itself.

The core yogas as described in the Bhagavad Gita – there are many – include work (karma), devotion (bhakti), and knowledge (jnana). But where was the yoga for my core? Not there. The Bhagavad Gita is a primary text in Hindu philosophies and yoga studies. It’s a discussion between Arjuna, a very important prince and conflicted warrior, and Krishna, his chariot driver, who just happens to be, well, the Krishna. Yeah, that one. God. Krishna discusses duty, devotion, destiny, and dharma – but not down dog. References to asana are very limited and do not at all describe what we do in stretchy pants.

Continue reading “yoga without Yoga: Reflections on posture, practice and prayer”

Staff Spotlight – Get to know Leslie and Jason

picmonkey_image (4)Leslie and Jason are two of the organizers/hosts behind Queen Street Conversations. Leslie has been a work trade at the studio since November (she makes the graphics for the QSY newsletter) and Jason was a work trade for about seven months before he started working at Community Justice Initiatives (he was on the front desk on Friday mornings). They are both super passionate about yoga, community engagement and looking at the big issues head-on, which is why they love planning for and hosting Queen Street Conversations. Read on to learn a bit more about them, and don’t be shy to approach them at the studio to talk about Game of Thrones (they are both big fans) or share your thoughts about the complex issues facing the world. You know, just casual water-cooler talk. Meet both of them at our next Queen Street Conversations event coming up on Saturday Sept 27, from 1pm-3pm at the studio. (This event is free and open to all.)

jason-les-QSC

Continue reading “Staff Spotlight – Get to know Leslie and Jason”

Tips For Going Fragrance-Free

What is Scent Sensitivity?
A number of QSY community members (students and staff) have reported being impacted by scents present at the studio. As we seek to be an inclusive, welcoming place for all, we would like to do our best to reduce the risk of our students and teachers being negatively affected by scents in our studio.

4064421092_5eb7d671aa_z
Perfume Bottle (ii) by Stuart Heath

The vast majority of fragrances are synthetically created, and many contain ingredients that can be harmful to your health. These fragrances are added to everything from shampoo, to laundry detergents, to candles and household products. Many chemicals used in synthetic fragrances are derived from petroleum and include benzene derivatives, aldehydes and many other known toxins and synthesizers capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions.

Scents enter our bodies through our skin and our lungs. The chemicals in scents can cause many different reactions. While some people are only mildly affected by scents, others have severe reactions. Some common symptoms include: headaches, migraines, dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, nausea, asthma.

QSY aims to be a scent-free environment.

We ask that all students and staff refrain from wearing any scents to the studio. This includes: scented deodorants, hand creams/lotions, perfume or cologne, scented lip balm and other scented products. If at all possible, we ask students who come regularly to our studio if they would consider switching their laundry detergent to an unscented product. Laundry detergents cause some of the most severe allergic reactions for some of our students.

Fragrance-free options at local Kitchener stores:
Full Circle Foods
-Desert Essence Organics Shampoo & Conditioner, fragrance free
Shoppers Drug Mart
-Life brand Body Wash, fragrance free
-Live Clean brand Shampoo & Conditioner fragrance free
-Balea brand Bar Soap, fragrance free
-Dove brand Bar Soap, fragrance free

Continue reading “Tips For Going Fragrance-Free”

How the Hillside Festival brought Acrobatic Yoga back to QSY

This post is brought to you by Emma Dines!

The Magic of Hillside

If you’ve never been to the Hillside Festival in Guelph, you are missing out. This weekend festival that takes place on in late July on Guelph Lake Island has become a beacon of environmental sustainability, creative expression and wonderful music. Where else can you find crocheted covered bicycles, workshops happening every hour of the day on everything from home fermentation to hula hooping, with incredible musicians and poets performing on four different stages?

Hatching the Perfect Plan

In March of this year, I began hatching my plan to offer a unique workshop at Hillside. Workshop spots are coveted by many people, as being selected to offer a workshop means a complimentary weekend pass and a chance to contribute to the magic of the festival. I had submitted workshop proposals a few years in a row (without success) but this year I felt like I had a royal flush. I submitted a proposal for Acrobatic Partner Yoga, and then sat back and waited. Plain old yoga workshops were a dime a dozen, but I hoped that I would be the only one submitting this particular workshop topic. In April, I got the good news. I had been selected! I worked on my workshop description and waited until July.
Continue reading “How the Hillside Festival brought Acrobatic Yoga back to QSY”

Building Fires: A reflection on a cozy yoga retreat

When I thought about what a retreat was, I thought of it as an individual endeavour, where one went off on ones own, sat in silence away from the world and came back with some answers or a better understanding of things as a result of that time away. While the building fires retreat was indeed away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the demands of our day to day lives, it was not as solitary as I imagined a retreat to be. Together, there were 21 of us: a handful from Queen Street Yoga, and an equal number from a studio in Toronto known as Kula.Continue reading “Building Fires: A reflection on a cozy yoga retreat”

Yoga and Action – Beginning to Bridge the Gap

This blog was written by Emma as a reflection on the Sacred Justice Workshop from last weekend, and thoughts on where to go next as a community.

Leena and I have long contemplated the intersection of yoga and world issues. We have asked ourselves, how can spiritual practice be an integral part of working towards a more beautiful and inclusive world? How can it support and sustain us in growing our awareness and understanding, and how can it energize us towards action? And how might we view outward action as necessary and integral to spiritual practice? Continue reading “Yoga and Action – Beginning to Bridge the Gap”

SACRED JUSTICE – Exploring Yoga, Awareness and Social Action as a Community

One aspect of our vision statement at Queen Street Yoga is “Growing Community”. By this we mean that we are committed to seeing our practices as a bridge to awareness and action in our local community and our wider world. We also endeavour to support intelligent change-making and social responsiveness, and to co-create inclusive, diverse, and playful spaces.Continue reading “SACRED JUSTICE – Exploring Yoga, Awareness and Social Action as a Community”