When we first got to Canada in the ice cold winter of January 2017, I wondered how on earth I was going to go for a jog in the snow (think slippery and think -20 degrees Celcius)! We were not keen to join a gym as we were moving around, finding our feet and where we wanted to live. I started streaming yoga on YouTube. I loved it, it helped me let go of massive tension in my back (cleaning is not for sissies people – the expats know exactly what I’m referring to) and I found that it helped for most of my aches and pains. Yoga was not easy and I knew I needed guidance.
By the time we got settled in Oakville, my lovely Canadian friend, Mandy (whom I got my new yoga mat from: yogamatamazon.(www.tranquilyogi.com), told me about the studio she went to called Prayati Yoga (http://Prayati Yoga) in Mississauga. It was donation yoga (had never heard of that before) and all the studios near me were going to cost me a boat load of money to join and fill out long term contracts, urgh.
So, Prayati Yoga was where the start to an incredible and beautiful journey began. Yoga allowed me to get strong in my core (um, I thought I knew where it was….lol, NOT!). I could release all the “stuff” I’d been harbouring for so long (trauma, pain, grief, etc.) and most importantly : I learned how to breathe. If you’ve never done yoga, this sounds odd I know. I remember days where I just cried so much on my mat and there was no judgement, they let me cry!!
Diana and Dan who run the studio are magic workers and do amazing things not only for us as students but also in the community. Check out Diana’s website http://Diana Lockett for her story.
After a year and a half of practising yoga, I was keen and ready to do my teacher training through Prayati Yoga. Which started this last weekend!!!!!!!! What an incredible weekend, no words could give you any idea of how amazing it was. Exhausting physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, but ohhh so good! “Breathe Ands, breathe”, I keep telling myself.
Check out my YouTube channel !!!!!: https://youtu.be/zjQSQSUQkfY (My new yoga mat) https://youtu.be/ugVNgUEJtt0 (Finding ME in Canada)
Watch this space for more yoga updates, videos AND… cool things, tips and tricks as I do life in Canada.
XOXO
