Hello Friends:
I’m writing today to share a bittersweet announcement.
It is time for a change. For over 20 years I have been teaching regular weekly yoga classes. I began this journey in my first yoga studio on Johnson St. which operated under the name Kingston Yoga Centre. Many of you have been on this journey with me since I took my first step on this path; others have joined this band of seekers at various stages along the route. I have seen people come and go, move away, return, graduate, have children, go through illness, loss and joy. We have shared many of world history’s greatest events together: 911, The Tsunami, The First Black American Presidency, to name a few. We have grown, healed, loved and lived through these experiences in our own live’s stories, with the shared common lens of “yoga”. We have discovered how yoga can support us as we negotiate life’s journeys, the good and the bad.
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Yoga offers this wonderful way of living that connects us to the all. Yoga can ease suffering, bolster our faith in life, humanity and our Self. Yoga is a pathway that allows us to experience life in all of its splendor from an unshakeable steadiness, a ground of being that is always within us. From this stability, we have discovered within ourselves an inseparable connection to a source that is not limited to a specific place, or time. Yoga shows us how to access the unlimited potential to create our experiences, to write the story of our own lives in the way that aligns with our highest calling.
Life is not stagnant; it is forever changing and providing us with opportunities for continual growth and development. In alignment with this fundamental principle of life, it is a time for me to change as well, in order that I will continue to grow, expand and develop. Running a yoga studio, offering weekly classes, providing you all with a steady place to come and practice and learn together has been one of the greatest joys of my life. However, it is time to let that go. My soul is calling me to direct my teaching, offer my knowledge and use my skills in a different way.
As of June 30th Living Yoga Studios will no longer have weekly asana classes. As previously mentioned, this is a bittersweet moment of transition. Although I will sincerely miss the opportunity to provide this kind of teaching, I am now called to and excited to focus my efforts and energy to teaching within the Viniyoga (therapeutic) format.
For over 10 years, I have been working with people one on one as well as running the studio. There is a lot of energy that goes into running any small business. In order to make this shift, I will now concentrate on the individualized teaching of yoga, my yoga therapy practice and workshops. The attention I have given to this area of my teaching is now going to be the primary focus of my work.
When working with students on a one to one basis, I am more able to focus on each student’s personal needs and teach them in the way that is most suitable to their learning and lives.
Yoga offers each person a gateway, a path towards healing, growth and enlightenment. Yoga is not, nor has it ever been, a one size fits all anything.
In our weekly classes, we have learned many principles and practices. We have explored, practiced and studied in a variety of ways. Now, I wish to apply these principles and practices in the way that allows each person to truly benefit and integrate yoga into his or her life in the most personal and meaningful of ways, individually through the Viniyoga approach.
For those who have an established practice and wish to continue on your yogic journey with me as your guide, I will be excited to show you how you can deepen your commitment to yourself and your well being through Viniyoga. By releasing the running of weekly classes in the studio, I will have more time available to share my wisdom and experience on a one-to-one basis. Viniyoga lessons will be ongoing and you can begin your studies at anytime, according to your own schedule.
As a part of my growth, and in hopes expanding beyond my own yoga studio, I hope to reach out to the larger community through the focused workshops that I have developed, specifically the “The Pelvic Floor”, and the “Breathe Well to Live Well” workshops. Both of these have evolved out of my two decades of study, practice and teaching, but they are not yoga specific. Everyone can benefit from learning how to develop awareness of and consciously work to improve the health of their pelvic floor and their breathing functions.
Yoga therapy is a way of integrating the benefits of yoga into any healing journey. In many places around the world, the practice of yoga therapy is being integrated into mental health care, cardiac care, cancer care and chronic pain programs, to name a few. There is now scientific research available that explains how yoga therapy works from a neurological perspective. As a seasoned yoga therapist in our community, I hope to reach into these areas and help to integrate the benefits of yoga therapy into our healthcare system. By freeing myself from my studio, I will have more opportunities to build bridges into our community. I hope to bring the gifts of yoga to those who would benefit, that may never otherwise have access to yoga, by reaching out to the medical community.
I also hope to offer my workshops as a part of workplace wellness programs, educational opportunities and as a compliment to any area of overall health and wellness. I welcome any suggestions and contacts for areas that you feel might benefit from learning how optimal breathing, pelvic floor health and yoga can support those in need.
Any doors you could open to help me on this journey, to bring yoga out of the studio and into our health care and community at large, would be greatly welcomed.
For now, the spring term will run as scheduled, you are welcome to come as a drop-in student if you would like one last class or two. The fall workshop dates and special, focused class offerings (like a pelvic floor practice tune-up) will be released soon.
The web page has details on the individualized (Viniyoga) yoga program as well as the spring schedule: www.livingyogastudios.ca.
“Thank you” does not begin to touch the depth of love and gratitude I have for every one of you who has chosen Living Yoga Studios as your pathway into the world of yoga. You have, and will continue to be, my greatest teachers and inspiration. Please do not consider this an end, rather view it simply as a part of our never-ending, changing life story. So now begins a new chapter for you and for me.
Ohm Shanti, my friends
And Cheers, Perri
And Cheers, Perri
PS — follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook
Perri van Rossem, E-RYT500+
A calm mind and a relaxed body are only a breath away.
www.livingstudios.ca
613.453.8811
A calm mind and a relaxed body are only a breath away.
www.livingstudios.ca
613.453.8811