Teaching Yoga in Public Spaces: The Power of an Outdoor Practice

A Post by Leena Miller Cressman

Taking Yoga Outdoors

Practicing and teaching yoga outside is a big highlight of my summer. I love to take my own practice to the park as soon as it gets warm, either by myself or with friends. I love how soft and forgiving the grass is when playing around with new things like arm balances or handstands. I love feeling the breeze on my skin and looking up at the tree tops while I’m in a pose. To me yoga is about relationship and connection, and in practicing yoga outside the feeling of connection to the environment and the world is more palpable and sweetly profound. I’ve been teaching yoga outside for the past few years (partnering with the City of Kitchener for Wednesday classes, and sharing Queen Street Yoga love on Sundays) and I love sharing the practice of awareness, breath and movement with new people.
Continue reading “Teaching Yoga in Public Spaces: The Power of an Outdoor Practice”

Handstands Don’t Lie

A Post by Emma Dines

“Is handstand the ultimate yoga pose?” 

A yoga student recently asked me after class, “Is handstand the ultimate yoga pose?” This really surprised me because I try to say plainly in all of my classes that practicing yoga isn’t about achieving shapes with your body — it’s about being in a learning relationship with yourself and your body-mind’s capacities and limitations. In a recent class I described yoga as “truth-telling” and as “a practice of paying attention to the way that our physical and personal truth can shift and change from moment to moment”. The poses help us tell the truth to ourselves. Early on in the practice, or at the beginning of working with a pose, the truth is more black and white; either you are doing a handstand or you are not. Continue reading “Handstands Don’t Lie”

Is it Any Surprise that Massage Therapy Really Works?

In case you had any doubts, a new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that massage can relieve muscle soreness and improve general blood flow. The researchers noted that until now, no studies had actually validated what this investigation focused on – whether massage therapy is beneficial for aching muscles after exercise, and if the intervention improves circulation. For the study, healthy but inactive adults were asked to exercise on a standard leg-press machine until their legs were sore. Then half of the participants received massage on their lower extremities while the other half did not. After completing 90 minutes of therapy, the participants in the massage group reported no continuing soreness, while those in the the group that did not get massages were still sore 24 hours later. Continue reading “Is it Any Surprise that Massage Therapy Really Works?”

Establishing a home practice, not always as easy as it sounds

No matter who you are, keeping up a home yoga practice can be difficult at times. Heck, even our Yoga Teacher Trainees struggle with it sometimes! We showed our YTT’s this article on 10 Tips and Tricks to Establishing a Regular Home Yoga practice and asked them what they thought. Continue reading “Establishing a home practice, not always as easy as it sounds”

Prenatal Yoga – What’s it to you?

Are you or a friend interested in practicing yoga during pregnancy? Here’s what our prenatal instructor Julie Zettel has to say about why she thinks yoga is helpful for women during their pregnancies.

Prenatal Yoga has become a huge draw for many women looking to stay healthy and vibrant throughout their pregnancies. Pregnancy is an ideal time to begin a yoga practice under the guidance of a certified yoga teacher. These classes are a great environment for the first timer to learn basic postures in a safe manner and experience the incredible healing effects that the practice has on body and the mind.Continue reading “Prenatal Yoga – What’s it to you?”

Madison’s Canine Connection

We’re super excited to bring to you this fab article that was written up in last month’s edition of GRAND magazine about the amazing work our CranioSacral Therapist Madison is doing! Madison has been busy in the community helping people with therapy dogs. Check it out below to learn more about her inspiring story!Continue reading “Madison’s Canine Connection”

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”

Adjustment Cards: Keeping you Comfortable in your Practice

At QSY we are continuing to work to make our studio a fun, safe, and comfortable place for all people to come and practice in. As part of this effort we are introducing Adjustment Cards to help make our classes more welcoming. What are Adjustment Cards you ask?

THESE are consent cards
These are Adjustment Cards

Continue reading “Adjustment Cards: Keeping you Comfortable in your Practice”