Day 5 Yoga Challenge with Amber

Namaste and Welcome to Day 5!

I’m so grateful you’re here!  

In today’s  practice we’re going to be exploring one of the primary muscles (the iliopsoas)  that crosses through our pelvic girdle.   Opening up the hips and helping to create ease in the low back as we explore our breath and movement to open space across  our pelvis.  This muscle is intimately connected with our breathing patterns, our organs of elimination, our low back, as well this muscle and the surrounding muscles often react by tensing when we experience emotional stress.

I invite you to really take your time with these movements, explore your body and the sensations you experience in the postures.  Notice how you feel emotionally as the muscles soften and release.

To view the practice click here

I’m here, holding space for YOU.

On your next breath in, please send gratitude into every cell in your physical body, gratitude for showing up for YOU today.  You are amazing!

With so much love, Till tomorrow

Amber

gratitude

Karma Class Friday, November 22nd, for the McComb Family, at Heritage Community Fitness Centre in CP

Join us this Friday at Heritage Fitness Community Center in CP for a fundraiser for the McComb family.

Many of you will remember the fundraiser we hosted earlier this year for Lilly, a young girl in our community fighting cancer. We partnered with Heritage and held two classes for the family.  That fundraiser made a world of difference for Lilly and her family, and we are so grateful that Heritage Fitness in Carleton Place is holding another event to help support them through this incredibly challenging time.

Led by Gillian White, this 75-minute Yin and Massage class will pamper you as you are guided through a yin yoga practice and there will be extra supports (teachers and RMT’s) in the class gently providing massage and adjustments that encourage you to sink deeper into the poses and release layers of tension.

Expand into relaxation as you end your week and give back to a family in need in your community.

Instructor: Gillian White
Date: Friday, November 22nd
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Donation Options: $5, $20, $35, or $35

The money raised during the event helps ensure Lilly is continued to be supported by her mother full-time without making the additional sacrifices that become necessary with an illness of this magnitude.  We are also collecting donations on behalf of this event at our studio in Almonte.  100% of all money raised will be going directly to the family.

Register in person at Heritage Fitness at 2 Costello Drive, Carlton Place, 613-253-2112, or online using the heritage fitness app
McComb Family picture

From Amber’s Mat

We want to thank all of you for your incredible gifts of donations, energy and time a few weeks back at our gentle yoga and gong relaxation class earlier this month.  We held a special karma class for Hub Hospice, an amazing local organization that helps to support individuals with life threatening illness’s and the preparation for their death to be supported in their homes.  Hub Hospice also provides support to the families and caregivers who assist in the care of their loved ones.  Every life should be lived with dignity until the very last breath.  So many of you came out to support this important cause and between community donations and our SEVA fund we raised $310 dollars for Hub Hospice.  We want to extend a huge thank you to all of you in our community.  The afternoon was especially powerful thanks to your openness.  The photo’s attached to this post are from a special meditation we did in honor of those we’ve lost.  These little hearts, combined with the hearts created at our Interval House fundraiser, will remain here wrapped in light and our prayers.    If you would like to find out more about Hub Hospice you can find them at http://www.hubhospice.com

This past weekend we welcomed Anna Karuna Egan back to our space for a profound afternoon engaged in the exploration of meditation as self care.  Anna also allowed us the opportunity to dive into Buddhist philosophy and lead us masterfully through some very beautiful practices.  It was a truly sacred afternoon with a focus on opening the heart and nourishing ourselves in the simple awareness of our breath and our bodies.  Anna reminded us of our impermanence in these beautiful human bodies, we are here for a brief time to experience the world in this form.  Allow yourself the invitation to embrace your experience in all of it’s layers.  Reach out to those who truly support you, breathe a little deeper, take time everyday for your practice – whatever practice resonates with your heart, explore and experience different ways of caring for yourself, and first and foremost be kind to yourself – it’s all a journey and an exploration – you deserve as much kindness and compassion as you so freely share with others.   If you missed Anna’s workshop, she is offering this powerful afternoon in our space again in March.  Contact the studio directly if you’d like to sign up for this second offering, space is limited and preregistration is necessary.  She will be joining us Saturday, March 16th, from 2 – 5 pm, and the cost for the workshop is $55 (HST inclusive).

Somebody asked me about my vision, why I get up in the morning and do the work I do.  My vision is a world where we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves and others, where things aren’t so  complicated between our species, and where people are more comfortable and at ease in their bodies and their minds.  If one person breathed a little deeper, found a moment of peace between their thoughts or moved with a little more comfort as a result of the work we do at the studio, then I know I have succeeded in this lifetime.

Yours in health and wellness, and my heart full of love

Amber