Offerings
Shone Harcourt
Guided Meditation
Sunday mornings 8:00am to 9:00am; Thursday evenings 8:45pm-9:45pm
Shone has been practicing meditation for over 13 years. He brings an incredible presence to the practice. In this class, Shone offers a few words on awareness of breath and a short reading for the day from his guru Paramahansa Prajnanananda (www.kriya.org) followed by an hour silent meditation, with reminders from the gong to come back to the breath.
Liz Rogers
Liz practices an intuitive hatha yoga combining techniques from a variety of cherished teachers - Yasodhara Ashram, Minke de Vos, Corrie Vorlaufer, Sarah Manwaring-Jones, Paulie Zink, Forrest Yoga and Vipassana meditation. She believes in a class that promotes physical, emotional and spiritual vitality and alignment, by way of release through sound (nada yoga).
Hatha Yoga & Qigong
Thursday evenings 7:30pm to 8:30pm
This is an gentle evening class where we flow through classical asana combined with Chinese-based qigong practices. Qigong follows the theory of five elements and corresponding five yin and yang (vital) organs. We purge, tonify and circulate energy, in that order. Spontaneous and deep, no class is the same.
Sun Sal Plus
Sunday mornings 9:15am to 10:30am
This class will always contain Surya Namaskar, a gentle sun salutation utilizing breath and mantra to pull the prayer out of the flow. Surrounding the salutation will be a blend of traditional asana (with preparatory and modified versions) and qigong practices. We sometimes use belts, blocks and dowels to increase depth of practice.
Classes with Liz end with extended guided relaxation (savasana) then sound bath with the Yoga Love gong and bowls.
All bodies, all ages welcome. Yoga must be accessible to all!
Melanie Lynch-Major
Melanie is on a wellness path to include Yoga Therapy and Therapeutic Movement as a widely used and cherished form of self care and healing modality. In her classes, you can expect to move with invitations to flow for your individual needs, play with different perspectives, and perhaps find playfulness in challenges on and off the mat. Melanie is a lifelong yoga student that cares for her autoimmune disorder with the gifts that Yoga Therapy has to offer. Mel's ultimate goal in teaching small group classes is to allow the individual student to notice sensation as well as regulate to a like minded community.
Therapeutic Hatha Flow
Monday evenings 5:15pm to 6:15pm
Blending Forrest Yoga and Therapeutics in a 60mins flow adaptable to all bodies. Using the body in ways to give it the ability to move freely our entire lives. Students will experience pranayama techniques, strength based forms, as well as tools that transcend into everyday life and invitational language. These practices can help in managing stress, chronic pain, anxiety and many more things life enjoys to throw in our direction.
Please bring a Yoga mat, beach towel, water vessel and a block. (Yoga mats and blocks also available in studio).
Vin - Yin
alternating Monday evenings 6:30pm to 7:30pm (Vin-Yin starts the month)
Movement followed by stillness Flowing to free up the joints and tissues, then placing the body in ways where we create healthy stress on the joints in shapes that are less "deep" then in flow classes.
Myofascial Release + Yoga
alternating Monday evenings 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Incorporating Yoga movement and release tools. SMR techniques are a complementary form of stretching that can be added for various reasons.
Techniques will include various options and injured locations are avoided.
*Students are invited to bring their own tools to know how to work with them. (eg. RAD roller, squash ball, 2 tennis balls in a tight sock) padding (blanket) yoga mat. Yoga Love also has dowels and bamboo hitters, cork ball and roller sets.
Satsang - Spiritual Gathering in Community
Second Sunday of every month 7pm
as described by residents of Yasodhara Ashram, Kootenays, BC
A central flame sits on the altar in the Temple as a reminder of the Light in each of us and in all forms of the Divine.
Aarti is an ancient ritual honouring the Divine. A single light, or collection of lights is blessed at the altar, then brought to each person, and is symbolic of the purification of the mind and senses.
Mantra is chanted or recited for about ten minutes at each satsang for the Prayer List. Common mantras include Hari Om, Om Namah Sivaya, Om Tara, Om Krishna Guru and Om.
Bhajans are devotional songs that are interspersed throughout satsang. Some bhajans are in English, others are in Hindi or Sanskrit. A songbook provides the lyrics to all the songs.
Prasad is a sweet brought to each person at the end of satsang symbolizing the sweetness of the yogic teachings. Hold the prasad in your hand until everyone has received it. We say a prayer together before eating it.
PRAYER LIST
The Ashram Prayer List is an important spiritual support and is open to anyone. Each evening at Satsang, Ashram residents chant healing mantras for those on the list. Please contact us (info@yasodhara.org) to place your friends, family or yourself on the Prayer List. Names remain on the Prayer List for 3 months and can be renewed at that time. We ask that you request permission from those you wish to put on the Prayer List. You can also include names of people who have passed.