30 Day On the Mat Challenge

Join the Moksha Yoga Orleans Crew and combine the above GYY off the mat challenge with a 30 Day on the mat challenge. Practice every day for 30 days and by the end of the month, experience a new you. Its a great time of year to re-charge the battery with positive daily rituals and allow yourself to let go of stress and anything that is not serving you and make some space in your body and your mind for new inspiring possibilities.

Sign up for 30 day challenge in studio...its that easy!! - Free for Auto Renew members and $150 for non members. 

Check out Edward Norton's Grow Your Yoga Video 

Grow your Yoga (GYY)  is an off-the-mat challenge taking place May 1st - 30th, 2013 that brings together the entire global Moksha Yoga community as we deepen our yoga practice. Moksha is founded on 7 Pillars, a set of ideas and philosophies that we try to live by, and these form the basis of 4 weekly off-the-mat challenges: 


BE HEALTHY  - BE PEACE  
BE ACCESSIBLE - REACH OUT


The challenges encourage participants to eat well, seek peace, communicate kindly with others, and reach out to support their communities. Each year GROW YOUR YOGA supports a different organization; for 2013 our goal is to raise $100,000 for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. The MWCT is an organization that creates sustainable economic benefits for the Maasai people by preserving regional ecosystems and cultural heritage. So reach out, GROW YOUR YOGA, and change the world!

Sign up for Grow Your Yoga - Cost is only $10 and there are great prizes to be won!!!

The Big Spring Clean-Up!

Mark it on your calendar and keep our community clean!

Posture Tip Workshop - April 20th

This workshop gives us the opportunity to break down the poses in a less formal environment, allowing us to go over the specifics of many Moksha poses. Learn how to build the poses from the ground up, how to align yourself and how to create more body and breath awareness. The atmosphere is open and relaxed, allowing lots of time for Q&A's. This is a great opportunity for those of you that are both new to the practice of yoga or those of you that wish to deepen your practice and understand the reason for the poses. Cost is $30.

Register Now!

Unleash Your Full Potential

Yoga is a practice of uniting the mind and body - a journey of discovery of ourselves and our full potential. It is also a state of mind where equilibrium is found through effort and ease and where we honour our bodies – our abilities and our limits.

It sounds cliché, but think about it – we live very predictable and patterned lives. Our ego is where we spend most of our time, where we set our goals, and where habitual patterns and self-inflicted limitations reside and create boundaries. Ego is where humility is lost. Setting aside ego, if only for a moment while practicing yoga, opens us up to immense possibilities and sets our inner creativity free.

Have you ever been in a situation where right away you think to yourself “There is no way that this can be done.”? Next time, set aside natural impulsive habitual obstacles or responses and allow for possibilities to blossom and creativity to flourish. This is a place where the yoga begins and where the impossible is converted to “the possible”. Start small with one balancing pose – allow yourself to fall and smile from the heart at the fact that you took the initiative and went beyond you’re your ego’s boundaries limited you to. These are small steps towards getting to know yourself, and nurturing the potential within you.

March Charity Classes

Turn Friday nights at 6:15pm into hot yoga date nights with your friends, co-workers, sister, or even your brother! You know where we are going with this.  
Come to a charity class and support creativity, and AOE.

No registration necessary; just show up.

Blocks & Straps

Experience confidence and insight when you take your asana practice to a deeper level with the use of props. For the beginner, props function as aids for the postures, developing body awareness.   

For the advanced practitioners, props allow challenging poses to be approached safely.  

Sign up Now

Teacher:  Edith Parinas
Investment:  $25

Meet Cliff!

I began my yoga practice by taking advantage of the Unlimited Hot Yoga Auto Renew Membership in September, 2012 - and I haven't been able to stay away since. My daughter, who I am proud to say, just this week, achieved her certification as a yoga instructor, brought me downtown in the summer to introduce me to a couple of hot yoga classes and when she went back to school, I timidly started at Moksha Orleans. Although this sounds cliché, I am realizing that this was one of the best decisions I have made.

As the fall came and the cold weather set in, I began to notice a slow but significant physical improvement. Over these initial months, with regular practice and a sounder focus on healthier eating, I was able to lose about 25 pounds and slowly increase my flexibility and general fitness. Since my teenage years, I have suffered, with Osteoarthritis and from the end of my first month of hot yoga, I have been practically pain free - and miraculously, my forehead gets closer to the ground each "child's pose"!

I have also noticed certain positive emotional effects over these past 5 months. I believe that one of the most significant benefits I am experiencing is an increased general feeling of well-being and calm. I have actually had work colleagues comment on how I seem to project a greater sense of personal happiness and contentment; I attribute this directly to my yoga practice. A complimentary effect of both these physical and emotional changes has been a reduction in my blood pressure.

Finally, and I recognize I sound like I am delivering a testimonial :), I confess that I now look forward to going to yoga as often as I can. Everyone at Moksha Orleans is friendly, warm and welcoming, and I enjoying seeing new acquaintances each week and comparing our experiences, both the serene and the frustrating! My next personal goal, although I am learning not to rush my expectations, is to remove the literal element from my "toppling tree pose" - and stay upright without toppling, for the entire pose.

Yogassage is back!

You asked for it and we're bringing it back! Yogassage - the next session will be March 3rd at 2 PM. This sold out quickly last time, so sign up soon!

Charity Classes in February: The Rotary Club of Orleans

Every Friday night during the month of February from 6:15 -7:15pm, enjoy one hour of hot yoga and your donation of $6 or more will go to the Orleans Rotary Club “Dictionaires4Life Project”.  Join us in helping grade 3 students in need receive their own dictionary.  Come and benefit from a hot yoga class, sweat out your week and help out those less fortunate in your community!
The Rotary Club of Orleans is a service organization with a special focus on children and youth, health and education programs in our community and abroad.  Visit them on Facebook.

Kids Yoga: Drop Ins Welcome!

Our Kids yoga program (kids ages 5 – 12) started on January 27, from 10-11am 2013 and there is still space for more kids! Consider that the benefits of yoga for kids are endless and include calming the mind, relieving tension and stress, increases concentration and focus and builds confidence and self esteem and encourages a fit and healthy lifestyle.

We all want the best for our kids, so why not expose them to an activity that is not only becoming a core component in all professional or amateur athletic training regimen, but one that has proven to encourage participants to live a balanced, happy and healthy life style both physically and mentally!

Register your children in our current Kids Yoga Program or just drop-in for $14 and have them try it! The program is taught in the “non-heated” room. As for the parents, you can practice or try hot yoga in the hot room while your kids are doing their thing! Don’t hesitate share the benefits of yoga with your kids!

Being Present

You’ve all surely seen the intention tree in the studio. Have you written down your intention? When I was last in the studio, I took a moment to look over the intentions written on the tree. Thinking myself quite clever, I chose, “Be Present” as my intention. Looking at the tree, I realized that my intention was not quite as unique as I had thought. ;) The intention to Be Present is the root of our practice, and one that will benefit us greatly.

Being present opens our minds to understand the world as it truly is - without superimposing our stories on the moment. When we are present in the world, we perceive without bias or prejudice. We may not always enjoy what we perceive, but this is a good thing. We will not hide from negative feelings, but rather we can accept them and take action if necessary. Being present also allows us to live in the positive moments that we sometimes miss.

When we are present, we see the beauty of the falling snow on a winter day; we hear pleasant notes in a friend’s laughter that we’ve never noticed before; we are reminded of why we fell in love with our significant other and do so all over again.

Feeling brave? Share your intentions with us! Let us know how it’s going. We love to hear from you!

David Suzuki thanks Moksha Yoga for its "Speak Your Peace" campaign!

Yogassage!

Have you heard about our Yogassage workshop on January 27th? This one is full, but we'll be hosting another one in the near future! Keep your eye out on our blog and Facebook page for the next session!

Charity Yoga January 2013

This month's Charity Yoga recipient is the Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre. Only $6! (You're welcome to donate more if you like :) )

Kid's Yoga starts soon!

Register your children for 10 weeks of Yoga classes. Beginning January 27th, on Sundays from 10- 1am - your kids (ages 5 to 12) can practice yoga in the non heated room while you practice hot yoga in the other room. Cost is $120 for 10 weeks. Share the benefits of yoga with your kids. Only 16 spots available therefore, Register now!

Moksha Posture Tip Workshop

January 19th, 2 PM - 4 PM. 
There's still time to join us!  

During this workshop we will be going over the specifics of many Moksha poses. This is a great opportunity for those of you that would like to grow your practice and understand the foundations of the poses and the reasoning behind the poses. Cost is $30 and limited spots available.

Click here to register!

Oh, those hips!

Recently, I did a Moksha yin class (my favourite class!) with Edith. Life had gotten quite busy since beginning a new program at school, so I’d been a bit out of practice. With all of the life changes, the previous few months had also been quite stressful - not in a bad way - but a lot of adjustment to new routines and and different activities (it had been a long time since I’d had to hand in essays!).

Then December came along, and while it offered a nice break, there were numerous events which made it a very emotional month for many. So, when I walked into Edith’s class I was carrying a lot of emotional baggage along with my towel and mat.

Enter the lunge, in yin “mode” - in other words a pose held for a lot longer than in a typical Moksha sequence. I’ve done this pose and other hip openers in yin classes before. We are often told that we store emotions in our hips, in particular negative emotions such as sadness, and that we shouldn’t be surprised if these emotions arise during our practice. While I’ve experienced anger during hip openers, this time was very different. About a minute in, I could feel myself welling up and soon enough, I was weeping. I hadn’t realized how much emotion I’d been holding.

At the end of class, I told Edit what had happened and she was so excited - I’ve never seen someone so excited that I cried! It was a very good release and made me eager to return to help flush out the holiday stress.

First Anniversary Slide Show

In December we celebrated our first anniversary! Renee put together this slideshow showing some memorable events from our first year. :)

Kizoa slideshow: Renee slideshow - Slideshow

Orleans Wellness Expo!

This Saturday, we're super excited to be exhibitors at the Orleans wellness expo! Hosted at the Shenkman Arts Centre, the Expo is a great way to discover many local health and wellness businesses and services.

Come check it out, and make sure you stop by to say hi when you do! :)

Orleans Wellness Expo

Taking Time for Ourselves

December was a busy month for most which meant lives were busy with planning, preparing, and shopping. With all that activity, some may have felt that they were not able to take time for themselves.

All this activity, however, makes taking that time all the more important. Taking time for yourself around the holidays gives you more space to be present for when life gets more stressful and frenetic. Being present allows you to enjoy the time more and handle more stress more easily. You understand that it’s not a permanent state, and experience the emotion without needing to react immediately.

Practicing moksha yoga gives you the opportunity to take that time for yourself. You’ll also benefit from the physical health advantages - particularly those of detoxification, which is something many will appreciate around this time of the year! 

Intention Tree

Your intentions act as a strong guide for your day. They motivate you through daily challenges and help you maintain a positive attitude and outlook. We encourage you to note your intentions on our Intention Tree at the studio. Think of something that you would like to be such as be peace, be accessible, be happy, be grateful etc.. Your intentions go a long way therefore, take the time to write it down amongst all the other Mokshi's intentions. Together, with our intentions, we create a force that is both grounding, and growing and that aid us in our daily lives and make our community an even better place to live. 

“Our intentions create our reality”.                                                                               
 Wayne Dyer