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Helping Myself and Others Find a Home Within

Thirty million people struggle with an eating disorder. Thirty million people believe that the body they live in isn’t enough. I am one of those people. Since I was about eight years old, I have battled a disorder that made me believe that to love myself; I had to change my body. I am forever grateful that I found a committed yoga practice about two years ago; helping me reconstruct my relationship to myself from shame and guilt to compassion and love. With the help of Modo Yoga Nanaimo and my new role as a yoga teacher, I continue to cultivate a home within myself and hope to support others to do the same.

A Sneak Peek into my Story: 

At the beginning of last year, I walked into my first yoga class at Modo Yoga Nanaimo. While I had done some yoga before I never understood the true beauty behind mindful movement and meditation. However, within the Modo community, I felt ready to immerse myself. In a community of like-minded individuals, I felt myself surrounded by others who were moving, breathing, sweating, and probably also working through some blocks. I took my first class and then found myself there five times a week. After about a year of practicing at the studio and becoming an Ambassador, I had a deep desire to be the one guiding individuals in the hot room. In February of this year, I took my Modo Yoga Level 1 Teacher Training.

Through an intense 30 days of learning and healing, I started to look at yoga beyond just the asana (movement). Yoga helps you to be in your body, your mind, and (as cheesy as it might sound) your soul. When you practice, it’s just you and your mat. There’s nothing to hide behind and no cozy corners where you can to curl up. It’s you and your thoughts. You learn a lot in that space, and it’s uncomfortable and terrifying as ever. However, healing doesn’t always come easily. I think that when I was able to look my darkness in the eye and be fully with it, that’s when I began to grow. So, practice by practice; I looked at my eating disorder in the eye, and I started to cultivate a home where I never thought there could be. I began to find a home within myself.

Where I’m at Today: 

I am now a yoga teacher at Modo Yoga Nanaimo. It still feels weird coming off my tongue. I am filled with gratitude to have the chance to dive into a teaching position at the studio this summer. Decide who I will be as a teacher, and what kind of classes I’ll lead has been an ongoing process. But there are a few things which I know that I want to share with students: You are enough, exactly the way you are. The body that you walked into the hot room is enough. I want to encourage individuals to feel safe, grounded, and loved in their skin. I want to hold space for my students to start feeling at home within their bodies. Coming home to my body is a journey that I’ve been on for the majority of my life, and it’s something that I hope for even one student to feel in my classes. I believe it’s a privilege to teach such a sacred practice, and I want to use this privilege that I have been gifted to share the benefits of this practice with others.
If you haven’t yet heard it in one of my classes: YOU ARE ENOUGH.

 

We asked experienced Hypnotherapist and Yoga teacher Tash Vincze about Hypnotherapy, its benefits, and how to prepare!

 

To begin, what is hypnotherapy? 

Hypnotherapy is a state of heightened awareness. It is a tool used to create suggestibility of the mind. Suggestions could be to eat less sugar, get more sleep or have peaceful thoughts.

Do I need to have experience before I attend a hypnotherapy session?

None at all!

How does hypnotherapy work?

Through deep relaxation of the body, the hypnotherapist is able to access the subconscious mind.  The healthy suggestions are then ‘inserted’ into the subconscious mind so that it becomes a habit.

What is hypnotherapy good for treating? Will it work if I have anxiety and stress?

Hypnosis is mainly used for anxiety, stress and PTSD. However it can be used for any improvements, including your golf swing.

How do I prepare for my first group hypnotherapy session?

Avoid caffeine for 4 hours prior, and bring a blanket and pillow for extra comfort during the session. Come prepared with a health goal in mind.  What results would you like to see?

What should I bring to a group hypnotherapy session?

Bring a blanket and pillow for extra comfort during the session.

Tash has been teaching yoga for 10 years and a practicing hypnotherapist for 11 years. She trained at Island Hypnosis in Nanaimo, BC.

If you’re interested in experiencing a group hypnotherapy session, join Tash every second Sunday from 4-5:15pm at the Rutherford studio. Click here to sign up.

 

Long-time Modo Yoga teacher Andrea Palichuk shares the top reasons why she loves the Modo Series after 11 years of practicing Modo Yoga.

One of the things that I have heard a lot from students over the years is how they get bored of the Modo Series and that they wish teachers would change it up. I don’t always have time to share my full response before or after I teach a class. So let me tell you why I personally LOVE the consistency of the Modo series.

 

 

You Notice Subtle Changes

When you do the same set of poses consistently, it allows you to experience subtle changes in your body from day to day and practice to practice.

 

 

Within the Consistency, There is INFINITE Variety!

Even though you may do the same series often, you don’t have to practice the poses in the exact same way.

To train mobility in a variety of ranges, try some of the following:

• Improve your balance and close your eyes when doing a pose – even if it’s only for a few seconds!
• Work your muscles by changing your leg or arm position, ie. Chair Pose with feet hip distance apart or wider.
• Challenge your endurance when you go to 50% of your maximum range of motion in a pose, but hold the pose for 30 seconds longer than you normally would.

 

 

Familiarity Allows for a Deeper Meditation

Once you have a sense of the poses in a Modo class, you get a break from listening to the teacher and figuring out how to place your limbs. This allows you to focus more on your breath and what you’re feeling in your body. 

 

You Can Modify to Suit your Needs

Whether you’re injured, tired, or if you want a challenge, you can adjust the postures and transitions to suit where you’re at during that class.  All of our teachers are amazing resources to offer different options and modifications. 

Also know that when you move mindfully and focus on your breath and the sensations in your body, you can be creative and trust your intuition.

 

 

Engaging with Boredom = Investigating Deeper Emotions

If boredom arises when we practice the Modo series, we learn to stay with this feeling rather than avoiding it. By feeling our feelings on the yoga mat, it helps us to do so off our mat as well. Instead buying stuff that we don’t need to distract us from how we feel, we can learn to accept our emotions and find our peace within.

 

 

Andrea began practicing Modo Yoga when a studio opened down the street from her house in Ottawa, where she did her undergrad in Political Science at Carleton.

In 2011 Andrea completed her Level 1 Modo Yoga training in Victoria, BC.

She is currently finishing her last 2 prerequisites to apply to physiotherapy school at the end of the year.

You can find Andrea’s classes on our schedule at both the Dufferin and Rutherford locations. 

 

We asked Modo Yoga Nanaimo teacher Sarah-Jane Smith the most frequently asked questions from our students. 

1) What are your top 3 reasons for practicing Yin Yoga?

1. Yin provides me with a structured way to slow down, observe and see what is happening within.

2. The longer held postures give my body a chance to lengthen out, unwind and relax.

3. This style is a welcome balance to the more strenuous physical practices and requirements of everyday life.

2) What if I have a hard time staying still?

Then move……with intention. The intention is to find a position to be in that creates a mild – moderate sensation. If your position is creating a moderate – high level of sensation then adjust it.

If you have a hard time staying still due to mental or emotional stirrings, your breath can be a helpful tool to help ride the waves. At anytime in your practice you are welcome to deepen your inhale and lengthen your exhale to send a signal to your body/heart/mind that it is okay to soften the grip that these mental or emotional stirrings might have on you at this moment.

3) Is Yin Yoga only for flexible people?

Absolutely not! I teach in a style that guides participants towards creating a mild – moderate level of sensation in a particular area of the body instead of cueing how to arrange your limbs in a very specific way. I have found that this method creates the most accessible environment for individual experience within a group class setting.

4) Can Yin Yoga help me start meditating?

Yes! While the movements within in a Yin practice would be considered slow there is still movement which is helpful as a point of focus to a busy mind. Within the practice, participants are invited to ask themselves, “What do I feel and where do I feel it?” This self inquiry along with breath awareness helps us to move towards a meditative state.

5) How is journaling an important part of a Yin practice?

Yin Yoga lays the foundation of openness in our bodies, hearts and minds to let held emotion and experience rise. I find that journaling with prompts takes these held emotions and provides a way to release, understand and even transform them.

If you’re looking to experience a Yin Yoga and Journalling practice, join SJ and Claire Sicherman for their Write from Within Workshop on September 29th from 1-4pm at Modo Yoga Nanaimo’s Rutherford location.

For more details and to sign up click here.

 

 

About Sarah-Jane:

SJ teaches with an aim to provide yoga instruction that fosters deep inner knowing and trust in one’s capabilities, intuition and innate wisdom. She has been teaching for 9 years and studies Yin Yoga with Joe Barnett. She lives on Salt Spring Island with her family. When not studying or teaching yoga, she is kayaking, reading, or hiking with her beloved dog, Leo. 

 

About Claire:

Claire Sicherman is the author of Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation. She facilitates writing workshops and retreats on Salt Spring Island and in other communities in the Pacific Northwest.