Yoga Workshops for Everyone

Saturday, March 25, with John Campbell, 1:00pm-2:30pm, $30
at the Studio

Yoga Nidra is a meditation practice that dates back to the time of the Upanishads. Today, yoga nidra is widely used both as  meditation and as a therapeutic tool for PTSD, other psychological trauma and distress. Yoga nidra is experiential and produces a state of deep relaxation, similar to sleep, in which we remain aware. From this place, we experience, notice and welcome the comings and goings of different aspects and layers of the self such as physical sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts and beliefs. In yoga nidra, we are given the opportunity to feel past all these fluctuations and rest in the unchanging, peaceful, welcoming ground of our being.

John Campbell has been practising yoga at Esther Myers Yoga Studio for over 35 years and is a graduate of the EMYS Teacher Training Programme.

Sunday, March 26, with Monica Voss, 10:30am-12:30pm, 1:30pm-3:00pm ET, $60/full day, $30/half day, included in your unlimited at the Studio, sliding scale available
on Zoom

Together, let’s ready ourselves for spring. We’ll prepare our mind garden with relaxation and visualization, pranayama and meditation; nourish roots with foot and leg stretches; begin to open shoulder and arm branches to the sunlight; and blossom with hopes and plans while freeing the spine. Our energy, like Nature’s yearly miracle, will return!

Friday, March 31, 8:00am-6:00pm ET, $75 for the whole day
on Zoom

Join us for a full day of refreshing, spring-welcoming yoga sessions, all to support The ONE City Scholarship Fund, a Toronto organization developed by high school teachers that bolsters students with low means to pursue higher education.

Sessions:

• 8:00am-9:15am ET, Regenerative Lymph Circulation, with Mar Jean Olson
• 9:30am-10:45am ET, Kundalini Yoga: Springing into Spring, with Paola di Paolo
• 11:15am-12:30pm ET, Breathe in Springtime, with Monica Voss
• 1:00pm-2:30pm ET, Enhance the spring in your joints, with Tama Soble
• 2:45pm-4:15pm ET, Dance with Yoga, with Julia Juhas
• 4:30pm-5:45pm ET, Self-Care for Spring, with Kaori Furue

All proceeds go to The ONE City Scholarship Fund (www.onecityfund.com) supporting graduating Toronto high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have excelled academically, with their college and university education. Scholarship recipients are hopeful and committed to making a difference. They are talented young people who are changemakers and community builders— not of our future, but of today.

Any additional donations you wish to make directly to ONE City are welcome and will receive a charitable tax receipt. Again, many thanks!

Sunday, April 2, with Monica Voss, 11:00am ET, RSVP
on Zoom

I visited Turkiye in 1973 and felt so welcome, I stayed for 6 months. I have been back since, but not to the south-west, an area full of memories of authentic hospitality, curious open-hearted, generous people, delicious food and unspoilt forests and seashore. Join me on a sentimental return to a kind, ancient place.

The devastating earthquake in Turkiye has taken place far to the east, over 1000 kms from Dalyan. One way of lending support is by visiting the country and contributing to the stricken Turkish economy.

On our trip to Turkiye (new spelling for Turkey), we will be visiting the small town of Dalyan, a busy tourist destination for many years catering to international travellers, primarily those from the UK. Dalyan is situated on a river connecting a large lake to the Mediterranean Sea. Government and private boats are available to take us on a variety of very enjoyable excursions, such as the carefully preserved Iztuzu beach, an important turtle sanctuary; Kaunos, a small Greek archeological site; thermal mud baths, swimming in the sea and a weekly market.

The Arp Hotel, where we’ll stay and practise, is not luxury accommodation nor a yoga retreat centre. It’s a small, clean, modern, 15-room family-run hotel with air-conditioning offering breakfast, a pool and space for our twice daily sessions. (https://en.arpdalyan.com)

Sunday, April 2, with Monica Voss, 12:30pm ET, RSVP
on Zoom

Almeria is Spain’s sunniest region and one of the least visited. Its proximity to North Africa means that the area is semi-desert, dry and dramatic, with imposing mountains and dazzling sea. The Almeria yoga venue is on the edge of a remote and beautiful natural park, the Cabo de Gata, which includes unspoiled stretches of Spanish coastline. It’s an amazing landscape of perfect half-moon bays, hidden coves, bizarre volcanic rock formations, and spectacular flora and fauna – a wonderful wild coastline, which you will have seen more times than you think as the location of many films including Indiana Jones, Lawrence of Arabia, and Sergio Leone’s famous spaghetti westerns!

Join us at a stunning yoga venue in the far south-east corner of Spain, near Almeria, offering peace and isolation with a spectacular mountain backdrop, www.huzurvadisi.com.

Sunday, April 2, with Mar Jean Olson, 3:30pm-5:00pm, $30
at the Studio

Increase the range of motion in your neck, shoulders, arms and upper back with numerous and enjoyable exercises and sequences. Experience an enhanced sense of lightness and freedom.

Wednesday, April 12, with Peter Blackaby, 1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $45
on Zoom

Life is multi sensorial. A child held in the arms of a parent experiences a homogenous impression of the moment. If we walk in the woods something similar occurs – a gestalt, not a set of separate impressions. Movement is the same. When we move from one situation to another, there are many factors that make up the experience. Was it comfortable? Did we accelerate and decelerate the movements smoothly? Is our breathing free and easy? In the practice of yoga, we are interested in the whole perception of our movements with the intention of creating greater harmony and integration. These are the themes we will explore in this class.

Friday, April 21, with Shari Stein, 1:00pm-2:30pm ET, $30
on Zoom

Loss and grief are inevitable during our lives and many of us have felt this particularly acutely over the past three years. Join me in exploring ways to breathe space into the weightiness of grief. We will engage in breath practice and gentle yoga movement as possible catalysts for softening grief. The foundational elements of breathing, grounding and releasing the spine will be interwoven into the fabric of the workshop. 

This workshop is suitable for beginners and experienced yoga practitioners alike. However, it is not a substitute for mental health services.

Image: Branch of Ivy by Henri Matisse

Friday, April 28, with Tama Soble, 1:00pm-3:00pm, $40
at the Studio

The abdominal muscles support and stabilize the torso and protect the organs. They also interact with breathing and digestion. As with all muscles in the body, the abdominals are healthiest and serve us best when resilient. Let’s explore functional ways to strengthen, release and stretch the abdominal wall and learn more about the brilliance of our bodies. 

Sunday, April 30, with Donna Oliver, 2:30pm-4:30pm, $40
at the Studio

A meditation for anyone who needs to fortify boundaries and expand awareness for healing or dealing with day to day trials.

This meditation is part of Medical Qigong training to prepare the practitioner for energetic diagnostic protection. Massage therapists, acupuncturists and natural health facilitators will benefit from this preparatory exercise.

Can be practised sitting or standing.

Friday, May 5, with Monica Voss, 1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $40
on Zoom

If you are recovering from a respiratory illness or simply interested in the relationship among the lungs, ribs, diaphragm, and thoracic spine, join us and we’ll explore and experiment with relaxation, touch, mudras, and movement all with a focus on learning about and feeling, expanding and clearing the lungs, throat, sinuses, mouth and nostrils creating larger, fuller breathing, more energy and stamina, and an important and helpful focus for meditation.

Image: by H Taylor

Sunday, May 7, with Monica Voss and Ana Bodnar, 11:00am-1:30pm ET, $50
on Zoom

Yoga is a personal practice based on kindness, awareness and reflection. Join Monica on a self discovery through asana practice, breathing and relaxation. Ana will offer the theory of self-compassion, practical methods and discussion, all supporting the development of increased happiness.

Monica Voss has been a student and teacher of yoga for over 40 years and co-owns and teaches at Esther Myers Yoga Studio.

Ana Bodnar is a Clinical Psychologist and Yoga and Meditation teacher who has taught workshops on Self-Compassion in many settings, including the University of Toronto.

Image: Sunset by Diego Rivera

Sunday, May 7, with Mar Jean Olson, 3:30pm-5:00pm, $30
at the Studio

Using small, play balls and swimming pool noodles, we’ll support parts of the body and explore the relationship between breathing and releasing tension.

Sunday, May 28, with Donna Oliver, 2:30pm-4:30pm, $40
at the Studio

Bagua Qigong is an amazing way to loosen your spine, invigorate the internal organs and strengthen your legs. A step by step introduction to Learn 3 basic Bagua Palms: Heaven, Earth and Overturning Palm and the unique circle walking that will improve balance and focus. 

Requires the ability to walk and stand.

Donna Oliver placed third in an international Bagua competition in Virginia, 1995 under the tutelage of Master Andy James. She has studied Bagua from 1990 to the present.

Sunday, June 11, with Donna Oliver, 2:30pm-4:30pm, $40
at the Studio

An ancient popular Qigong set to help rectify health disorders. Gentle stretching of the Energetic Meridians will leave you feeling energized and centred. It may be practised sitting in a chair.