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Greetings!
As Springtime approaches, think about rejuvenating your system with some Iyengar Yoga. Our Spring Session will begin Tuesday, April 2nd. Click on the link below for the Spring Schedule 2013.
(Friendly reminder, there will be no classes Good Friday or Easter Monday)
Challenge yourself to deepen your yoga understanding by attending our weekend workshop with renowned Iyengar Yoga Teacher Marlene Mawhinney (details below), attend a Timed Practice, or try out our new All Levels Pay As You Can Class on Saturdays (see sidebar).
We hope to see you all at the Yoga House very soon.
Namaste!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
MOVIE NIGHT
Ayurveda
"The Art of Being"
March 15th 7:00 pm
Free for Members
$2 Non-members
Popcorn Served!
GUIDED TIMED PRACTICE Sunday, March 17th Noon-1:30 pm
For Members with one session Iyengar Yoga experience
By donation with 100 percent of proceeds going towards the purchase of a Defibrillator for KYH 
YOGA WORKSHOP WITH MARLENE MAWHINNEY March 22 - 24
Friday: 6-8 pm Saturday: 9:30-1:30 pm Sunday: 9:30-12:30 pm 
Marlene has been teaching yoga since 1972 and has been President and Senior Teacher at Yoga Centre Toronto since 1988. Her quest for depth led her to BKS Iyengar's work, and since 1985 she has returned to India regularly to study and work directly with Mr. Iyengar and his daughter, Geeta. Marlene, with her Senior Intermediate III level of certification, is one of Canada's most senior teachers and has taught yoga to thousands of people, ranging in age from children to those in their 90's! As well as teaching classes and workshops throughout Canada and abroad, Marlene has implemented and oversees a comprehensive teacher-training program.
Marlene is internationally recognized for her research and expertise in yoga for people with health challenges and has been a key collaborator in a number of clinical studies in the areas of cardiac issues, lung-related conditions and back care. Under her guidance, Yoga Centre Toronto offers a number of classes in special categories including: back care, a cardiac program, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer recovery, asthma, etc. In all her work, Marlene's focus is on yoga for health and wellbeing, in both body and spirit. "As a teacher, the biggest gift I have is my teacher, BKS Iyengar. The next biggest gift I have is the students."
Fees:
KYH Members: $250.00
Non-members: $260.00
To details on how to register go to our website
CRYSTAL BOWL MEDITATION
APRIL 7, 7:00 PM, $10
Come listen to music to soothe your soul, relax your body & calm your mind with the Three Wise Women, Karen, Sunnaira & Miriam.
IYENGAR YOGA ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MAY 23 - 26th Victoria, BC. To Register, click on link below for IYAC.
KELOWNA YOGA HOUSE will be closed with no classes running May 20-26
as all of our teachers are attending the IYAC AGM and Conference.
YOGA WORKSHOP WITH KRISNA Yoga for An Affirmative Mind  SUNDAY, JUNE 9th 9:30am - 12:30pm Learn to use asana and pranayama for relief from anxiety, depression and other kinds of mental tension. Sign up at Kelowna Yoga House in person or contact Krisna to register. $50 for KYH members
$60 for non-members (includes your membership)
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Two Girls by the Ganges
by Tracy Forsythe
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Tracy and Jennifer enjoying the beauty of the Ganges
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I had the opportunity of a lifetime this past winter to travel to India with my daughter, Jennifer, to attend an International Ecology Conference in which she was presenting her Master's research. I have always wanted to travel to India - well, okay, that is a bit of a fib. I have always enjoyed travelling to India vicariously through my peers, but deep down I did not think I had what it took to really survive that country! However, after my daughter received her travel grant to go, I decided I could not pass up this chance to accompany her on this type of an adventure! I also thought it would be a good "test run" for perhaps a future trip to Pune to study at the Institute with the Iyengars. We began our journey in Delhi, the amazingly historic and incredibly polluted capital of India. After a few days sight seeing and getting over the jet lag that 18 hours flying time brings, we made our way to the train station to travel 4 hours north to Haridwar. Jennifer and I both thought, after the fact, that wearing helmet cams would be the only possible way to take advantage of the innumerable photo-ops that this amazing culture visually offers. From homeless dogs wearing winter coats that the people put on them, to families of eight living literally on a street corner, cooking pot, clothesline and all, to mounds and mounds of garbage with pigs and cows desperately rummaging through to find a scrap of food, we literally did not know where to look first. We prepared ourselves mentally ahead of time to see the sort of sad things you hear about in a developing country, and one has to sort of numb themselves out to bear it, but it seeps into your heart, and it is hard to shake off. For instance, a little toddler grasping at my purse and giving me a big smile for a handout, already a seasoned beggar at the tender age of two. Then there are the times stopped at a stoplight in a tuk tuk (auto rickshaw) when a homeless person with no legs somehow maneuvers themselves in the middle of a busy traffic intersection to approach the stopped vehicles for money. In Haridwar after stepping off the train, we were quite overwhelmed by frenetic sights and sounds of the Marketplace with so many opportunists conglomerating about as we tried to exit the station. In India, there is never a dull or quiet moment. Honestly, the two of us clueless Canadians quite resembled two deer in the headlights, as we made our way to a driver awaiting us outside the station. As we headed to Rishikesh, a little town at the foothills of the Himalayas, also known as "The Yoga Capital of the World" to visit an Ashram, once again, the sights and sounds (horns, cows, holy men, and more horns) were unbelievable and something I had only seen before in a National Geographic Magazine: giant Shiva statues, women working by hand in fields, oxen pulling carts, monkeys at the side of the highway, signs that said, "Beware of Elephants" with a picture of an elephant ramming a car, wandering sadhus in their orange robes, wooden sandals and walking sticks making their way, maimed and hungry dogs, children playing in garbage, pilgrims walking to the temple on a festival day, trucks driving the wrong way down a one-way highway, 18 people crammed into a rickshaw that should only seat six...the list goes on. After a short visit to an Ashram, we headed to a spot our travel book recommended called, The Glasshouse on the Ganges. We were feeling the need for a little pampering, a little respite from the barrage our senses and nervous systems were feeling and boy did we find it. After a windy taxi ride 45 minutes up into the beautiful mountains, there we were, right on the breathtaking Ganges. From our room, we could hear the water rushing. This hotel, nestled amongst mango orchards, used to be the summer home for the Maharajah; it boasted a private sandy beach, just steps from the property, which afforded us the great privilege to be able to splash around in the Mother Ganga. The Ganges was ranked among the five most polluted rivers in the world in 2007, but surprisingly, where we were situated, the river was sparkling clean. We spent three glorious days at this spot, with several trips down to the water. I could not believe that I was there, in India, with my feet in the actual Ganges. Maybe it was all in my head as a preconceived idea, but I truly felt healed to my core by being there. It was a magical place that Jen and I never wanted to leave. But onward to more adventures, as we were blessed to participate in an Aarti Ceremony on the banks of the river at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, chanting along with the swamis and their disciples, then the next day a quick flight back to Delhi on our plane Nutmeg with Spice jet Airlines!
Our trip continued to be eventful with many highlights, the best one of which was Jennifer winning first prize for her Research Paper and Presentation at the Ecology Conference, as well as my great honour to witness it. I also was able to attend an Iyengar Yoga class in Delhi (the only Iyengar Studio in the city). It was deep, intense and everything I thought Iyengar Yoga in India would be, as well as I had my first Ayurveda treatments (that is a whole other article)! After our time at the conference in Delhi, we travelled to Agra to see the beautiful Taj Mahal and then onto the Pink City of Jaipur for an Elephant Ride up to the Amber Fort. After 18 days in India, we flew back to sleepy Kelowna. We came home with hours and hours of stories to tell our family and friends, a beautiful bond strengthened between Mother and Daughter, and a sense of pride at "surviving India." However, what shone above all else was that mystical sacred influence we felt that they say only Mother Ganga can bring, a cleansing and purifying impression left on our souls forever.
Namaste! Tracy is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher at KYH and Jennifer is a Work Exchange Yogini Extraordinaire and student at KYH, as well as a very smart scientist! |
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Kelowna Yoga House - Go Deeper
www.kelownayogahouse.org
1272 St. Paul Street
Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 2C9
Kelowna Yoga House
250-862-4906 |
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The Best Kept Secret
in Kelowna
by Melissa Perehudoff
Do you know one of the best kept secrets in Kelowna? The Saturday
Pay as You Can Class at KYH is for members and non--members. Anyone can come and pay what they can for the class! The teachers and board at KYH recognize the innumerable benefits of Iyengar yoga to develop and maintain physical and mental well--being and want to offer it to everyone. Last Saturday, I hesitantly prepared for class. It was a beautiful sunny morning, one that we don't see too often in the winter in Kelowna. I had a busy week with extra commitments and after teaching yoga that morning had to drive to Penticton for a course. No walk in the sunshine for me that day! When I got to the Yoga House four people had arrived for the class. Four people! I was giving up my morning for four people! I noticed my old "grumpiness pattern" setting in. We sat up straight and I read the thought for the day from Judith Lasater's book, A Year of Living Your Yoga. "No matter how hard an asana is, there is someone who finds it easy and vice versa. Begin today to practice a pose you find difficult, and keep at it for the next 21 days. Imagine that the pose is easy and you love it." So we made an agreement to identify a pose at the end of class that we might want to practice for 21 days. As the class progressed and I observed the willingness and courage of the four students to persevere, my heart opened to each of their challenges. One woman was a regular yoga student, 50--something who seemed to take as many yoga classes as she could fit into her busy schedule and was determined to learn to balance in Headstand without the wall. The other three had special challenges that they were working with. One woman was 6 months pregnant and starting to get an achy back. Another had a medical condition that reduced balance and strength on one side of her body. The third was looking for an exercise program that she enjoyed to help her lose weight. And yes, it was quite evident from the sequence of poses that I had chosen to teach that morning, there were some poses that one woman found difficult and another found easy, even with the diversity of their physical conditions. The comraderie and safety between the four women grew as we came to the close of the class and each stated a pose she would like to work on for the next 21 days. As I witnessed the ladies lying in Savasana, the final relaxation pose, I noticed the sun streaming into the studio and heard the birds singing in the garden. I also noticed that my grumpiness had been transformed into gratitude to be able to offer the gift of Iyengar yoga to such humble and willing students.
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Recipe
St. Patrick's Day
Go Green Shake
Serves: 1
1/2 banana, chopped
1 kiwi, chopped
½ cup kale
½ granny smith apple
¼ cup white grape juice
¼ avocado, diced Ice cubes to taste
Place ingredients in a blender
and blend until smooth.
Tip: freeze banana ahead of time for an extra creamy smoothie
by Dana Angelo White in Healthy Recipes, March 15, 2012
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