Bikram Yoga Nanaimo Newsletter
Focus on our Teachers
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Quote of the Month
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The fierce wind rages
And I see how trees survive;
They learn how to bend.
-Haiku,
author unknown
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Join our list
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Dear Yogis and Yoginis,
June's newsletter focuses on our teachers at Nanaimo's Bikram Yoga Studio. Our monthly newsletters will now include a healthy recipe and inspiring quote to take with you to and away from your yoga practice. Please feel free to contribute yoga tips, personal anecdotes, recipes, quotes, etc. Just drop a note off at the studio!
Remember: eat good food, drink good water, and practice yoga again soon!
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Summer is here! (We hope...)
As you plan your summer activities be sure to include a regular yoga practice in your schedule! While biking, BBQing, swimming, partying, golfing, etc. are all great summer activities, stretching and detoxifying with Bikram yoga are key to maintaining balance and health. Remember to drink lots of water as the heat increases and your activity levels rise!
With high gas prices there is more good reason to walk or bike: these are good
activities to engage in in-between classes (or on the way to class!) They help to aid in the
healing of the joints as you continue to re-align and open these areas
through your Bikram yoga practice. Additionally, the mental aspects of
moving can be emotionally soothing...
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Healing/Preventative Workshops with Doug
Doug will be offering some workshops on simple somatic movements, the use
of balls, partner yoga, and restorative yoga. This involves using props and/or each other as
means to help realign and open, aiding in removing tension, stress, and
pain. The tools Doug teaches are very helpful for students to learn to reduce tension as it appears between Bikram classes.
See Doug for details, call the studio at 729-2629, or send an email to bikramyogananaimo@yahoo.ca
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Doug Carroll
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 Doug grew up in a small wood/pulp mill-town near Squamish and has been practicing yoga in one form or another for 12 years. He travelled, raised his family in Smithers for 25 years, moved to Kamloops for 5 years, and now calls Nanaimo home. He came here for two main reasons: so his wife, Sue, could be closer to her parents, and so he could fullfil his dream of opening and running a Bikram yoga studio.
Doug began his Bikram yoga practice in Spring 2002, went to teacher
training in L.A. in Spring 2005, and opened the studio in Nanaimo in Winter 2005/2006.
How long he might stay here is a mystery... perhaps he'll explore the world again one day searching for the ideal warm location where all Bikram yoga practitioners may retire...;)
Lessons are everywhere in Bikram yoga: slow down, listen, be patient...He realizes that his actions and thoughts have a huge effect on how he feels from day-to-day and that the more he feeds his ego the more it wants - the lesson here: don't feed
it. "We are social animals ," says Doug, "and we need each other to encourage and
remind ourselves that anything is possible. That means it's okay to
attempt what's deemed impossible." The list is endless, but ultimately maintaining a physical yoga practice keeps him
grounded, in-check, happy, and healthy. One of Doug's goals is to look back when he's 90 or more and
feel good about his state, knowing he has always been ready and willing to
change things if they weren't working. "More and more," says Doug, "I realize that I want nothing more than to just be happy - it may sound flaky, but it's true."
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MeiYing Leung
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 Mei was born and
raised in Hong Kong, holds a Bachelor degree in Humanities and has worked as a
teaching assistant in a primary school.
She started practicing Bikram yoga in March 2006 and immediately
invested in a 2-year unlimited membership.
This surprised her as in the past she has had a hard time sticking with
one thing. After practicing 6 days a
week, often doing 2 classes a day, her instructors encouraged her to take the
Bikram Yoga Teacher Training which she completed in 2006. She has competed twice in the Hong Kong Regional Yoga Asana Championship, placing 4th and 3rd. Since becoming certified as a teacher, Mei has taught Bikram yoga in Hong Kong, South
Korea, and now Nanaimo. While the
classes in Asia are large (30-70 people), Mei enjoys the relatively smaller
class sizes at the Nanaimo studio as she likes to be able to focus on and give
guidance to individual students. She
loves the trees, mountains, lakes, fresh air, and the quiet nature of Nanaimo and
its surroundings. She plans to stay in
Nanaimo for a couple of months and then head to Malaysia for another teaching
experience. She enjoys travelling as she
can meet new people, encounter different cultures, and learn new languages.
Yoga
has changed Mei's life and she sees it as mental therapy that helps her to gain
confidence and develop self-realization.
She is thankful for her yoga practice and hopes to use the strength,
courage, and energy she gets from her own yoga to help change the lives of
others. In Mei's own words: "I know I
can make a difference".
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| Ulrike (Ulli) |
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 Ulrike is European (Germany) and has spent the last ten years travelling, living abroad, and exploring alternatives to promote health and well-being. She has a background in nursing and clinical nutrition. When her back went out in her early 20s, Ulli began her hatha yoga practice, although this was done at home, for at the time yoga was considered in Germany only for "weirdos". In the mid-nineties, she discovered the Five Tibetans and found these asanas very useful to maintain energy and regain strength and flexibility. In 2003, while living in London, she discovered Bikram yoga at Michelle Parnetta's studio in Queens Park; however, she only realized the power of this series when, after a 5 months cycling-trip she was aching, suffered carpal tunnel syndrome, experienced neck problems, and had no sensation in her arms. These problems were relieved thanks to regular Bikram practice. Ulli finished Teacher Training in 2006 and while she didn't intend to teach right away, she gave it a try and I loved it. She enjoys seeing students grow and change and says that being able to share this yoga with as many people as possible is one of the best things that ever happened to her. Everything else follows when the physical aspects of yoga are practiced: "Yoga leads you eventually to your self to find all the answers to all your questions. And after a while everything becomes yoga," says Ulli.
In the future, Ulli would like to explore more forms of yoga and body work as well as concepts of the mind. She loves the outdoors and the open spaces of North America. When asked why she chose Nanaimo Ulli answers: "Sometimes you go where the universe sends you or maybe the nanaimo bar??? have to try one one day, maybe..."
Her dream? No borders, freedom to go where you want, peace, love, and light.
"I believe the world would be a better place if people did their yoga," concludes Ulli.
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| Julie
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 Julie lives in Errington with her husband and two teenaged boys. She started practising Bikram Yoga 2 1/2 years ago. During the decade
prior to that she had done some Hatha and Yvengar yoga while pursuing the sport of
Triathlon. She started practicing Bikram yoga twice a week as an
adjunct to 1/2 Ironman training. The yoga kept her healthy, strong, and
injury free during her training and she ran a very successful race,
finishing with energy to spare! After the 1/2 Ironman, she increased her yoga
practice and began to experience her body open up in a new way. The physical
practice was transforming for her, not only physically, but mentally
and spiritually as well. She felt more connected and grounded, on and off the mat.
When she decided to go to teacher's training in Spring of 2007, it was more
in pursuit of the yoga and the enhancement of her practice rather than to teach.
Teacher training was one of the most challenging things she had done, up
until that point. Bikram teachers have a saying "Transformation through
Perspiration". And indeed, it was a deeply transformative experience, on
many levels. Of course, teacher training prepares one to teach
and so, she began teaching in Nanaimo as well as in
Courtenay. Currently, she teaches part-time between the two studios while
still active in her career as a part-time nursing professor at the Vancouver
Island University. Julie views Bikram yoga as an integrative health practice and has
been able to share her passion for yoga with her nursing students. She finds that
the teaching of yoga and nursing overlap in that each one informs the
other. For this she is very grateful and is thankful to be able to continue to teach in both
areas. She hopes to continue to teach Bikram yoga and nursing in the
future and aspires to one day have her own studio. Bikram yoga has
provided her with some essential tools for living life to the fullest. One of the
most important things that it has facilitated for her is a deeper connection to herself, her power, and the universal energy that connects us all to one another. It doesn't get any better than that!
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| Jelena |
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 While taking her first BY class, Yelena knew she would become a teacher. She moved her daily yoga practice into a BY studio and began to practice as regularly as when she practiced on her own. To Yelena, yoga practice has always meant a devotion to her own self, her goals, and her dreams. The occasional change in her body seemed a bonus in the beginning. When she started noticing the change in her attitude, mind, and body all at once, she had no choice but to commit to BY teacher training in the spring of 2005. "That was a blast," recounts Yelena. She has taught in a few studios around BC, internationally (Holland), and in the United States. All the while, Yelena has maintained a dedicated daily practice. It is like a necessary and important filtration system and daily software update. Teaching has been the most fulfilling way to share what she learns from he own practice and while watching others. Last summer, Yelena surprised herself with a decision to join in the 5th Annual Bishnu Gosh Yoga Championship. It was a way for her to push past known barriers and become even less attached to her issues and pain. "It freed me of judgement and it brought me more truth and acceptance than I had hoped," says Yelena. "Competing challenged me to be more honest and clear as a person, a teacher, and an example of continuing transformation. It showed me so much humbleness and magic that yoga offers." Yelena quotes Bikram: "Yoga has magic powers to perform and think right things." She explains that while she could comprehend this intellectually, one day the meaning really hit her and she teared up with the clarity of her understanding.
Through her dedicated practice and an accompanying clear mind, Yelena explains that somehow, things in life just fall into place and the magic of yoga takes care of herself. It has the power to help manifest her dreams into realities.
She concludes: "I have proof of my whole being becoming a better more useful, playful, and happier self. Yoga really really does have magic powers to think and perform right things. I like it manifesting in me and my life, and I love seeing it in others around me. So, just do it!"
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Nina Carroll
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Nina completed Bikram yoga teacher traing in Fall 2006 after doing reception work at
studio. She is now taking time away from the nanaimo studio but we hope to
see her back soon as all the students enjoy her classes!
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Sept. 2008 - Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Acapulco, Mexico
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 Challenge yourself, grow, change, develop your practice...Become a Bikram yoga teacher! Studios are opening all over the island and teachers are needed.
Talk to Doug if you are interested, or visit the Bikram Yoga website
http://www.bikramyoga.com/
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If you have ANY questions, concerns, queries, ideas, or even earth-shattering epiphanies as a result of, or about your yoga practice, BE SURE to talk with any of your teachers - that's what they are here for! ***Jot your thoughts down as they come - we all know what happens when yoga brain hits after class!***
Namaste.
Your yoga teachers at the Bikram studio in Nanaimo: Doug, Nina, Ulli, Mei, Julie, and Yelena.
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Lemon Sesame Crisps
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2/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup agave nectar*
1/4 cup lemon zest
2 tbsp dulse flakes
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Mix everything together in a food processor
Spread on oiled baking sheet
Bake 20 minutes at 300 degrees F
*Agave nectar is a natural sweetener with
a low glycemic index and can be found at most
health food stores
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Replenishes electrolytes and encourages smooth muscle contractions
Recipe from The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier
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