DREAMSCAPES YOGA CLASSES IN SMITHS FALLS
Yoga classes are held Monday evenings from 6 pm until 7:15 pm at 93 Merrick Street in my home studio which can accommodate seven students. Classes are drop in but registration for each class is required to reserve your space by e-mailing Marina marina.quattro@bellnet.ca
JOIN US OUTSIDE FOR YOGA IN A BEAUTIFUL PERENNIAL GARDEN BEGINNING JUNE 19TH.
I’ve been a student of yoga since 2000 and completed my teacher training through Maureen Rae’s Yoga Studio in Toronto in 2004. After another year of formal training I became certified with the Yoga Alliance in 2006. The method I’ve been trained in is Vinyasa Flow, a meditative style of yoga where one pose flows into the other. There is also an emphasis on the spiritual and emotional aspects of yoga.
WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga is at least 5,000 years old. It began as meditation, with the goal to lead the seeker towards enlightenment, and was practiced chiefly by the Brahmans or holy men of India. Over time, postures or asanas were added. Asanas translated from Sanskrit literally means the seat upon which a yogi sits to meditate. Since it was difficult to sit or meditate for extended periods of time, postures were added to strengthen the body so that meditation could be carried out with greater ease.
The ancients believed the purpose of life was to work towards a greater state of balance, wholeness or harmony and to obtain true freedom from all forms of emotional and physical suffering. This end could only be achieved through daily meditation until one became self-realized or enlightened. Self-realization or enlightenment is the process whereby human beings realize or become aware of the Soul, Self, or Light within them, and connect with this healing vibration.
Yoga also connects us to the many forces in nature. Hatha yoga is a broad term for most types of yoga. The name Hatha comes from the Sanskrit “ha” meaning sun and “tha” meaning moon–so hatha yoga is a joining together or connection of the sun and moon, or masculine-sun and feminine-moon qualities. The word yoga can be translated as “yoking or joining together” of body, mind and spirit.
The earliest yogis were fascinated by the world around them, and were fed by a wonderment, awe, and reverence for nature. This is why we have postures or asanas such as sun and moon salutations, lion pose, tree pose, pigeon, lotus, and rabbit. Ancient cultures also revered the sun, believed to be the physical heart of the world, and Creator of all life. This outer sun is a manifestation of our heart, soul, essence, or spirit. Each time we look at the sun or perform a sun salutation in yoga, it can remind us of the eternal presence of our Creator or higher power, always there to energize, nurture, warm and sustain us.
For information on Dreamscapes yoga classes in Smiths Falls, or if you would like a complimentary yoga class for your workplace, school, or community please e-mail me at marina.quattro@bellnet.ca
Namaste
A longer meaning of Namaste is “The light within me honors and acknowledges the light within you. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.”
DREAMSCAPES 