Semperviva

Yoga for Snowboarders: Preventative Medicine for Shredders with Teresa Campbell

Yoga for Snowboarders: Preventative Medicine for Shredders with Teresa Campbell

Yoga Therapist and rider Teresa Campbell, is providing a workshop at Semperviva to help boarders stretch out their winter season. Saturday, Feb 4, 3:15pm-5:30pm at City Centre Semperviva, $45+hst. For more information about Teresa and this exciting event, visit Semperviva’s event listing here.

Prepare in the most powerful way for a season of amazing riding and do all that you can to ensure that your body will allow for a continued love affair with the slopes and the most EPIC season ever! This workshop is preventative medicine for shredders, so you can spend less time with chiros, physios and hot pack and MORE time on the slopes carving out your bliss!

Teresa weaves together insights from her knowledge and experiences as a yoga therapist and years of riding and healing her own injuries.

We will focus on parts of the body most vital to snowboarders and learn simple pre-riding prep and post riding decompression routines that will improve your riding and decrease chance of injury.

  • increase core strength, range of motion, breathing, balance, alleviate joint stiffness, condition and prep muscles for the stresses of riding
  • develop and maintain the conditioning needed for blissful boarding
  • learn quick recovery so you can get the most out of the upcoming season
  • improve technique and form and overall shredding BLISS

No yoga experience necessary. All ages welcome!

 

source: http://www.semperviva.com/events/yoga-for-snowboarders-preventative-medicine-for-shredders/

Last Day Of Semperviva Friends & Family Sale!

Today (December, 6, 2011) is the last day of Semperviva Friends & Family Sale! Receive 20% off merchandise and prepaid memberships…

To receive the discount online simply enter the code ff11. Or visit us in store and save on memberships as well as our amazing selection of socially and environmentally conscious merchandise.

Buy 1 month, save $19.71
Buy 3 months, save $59.14
Buy 6 months, save $118.28
Buy 12 months, GET ONE MONTH FREE, save $338.43
Buy 24 months, GET TWO MONTHS FREE, save $676.85
Buy a 10 class card, save $27.80

**There will be a slight increase to membership fees effective January 1st, 2012. Discount does not apply to Yoga Teacher Training, Retreats, Gift Cards, or the 10.00 per week INTRO offer.

[semperviva]

Rasa Vinyasa: Embodying the Art of Yoga with Shiva Rea

Source: www.shivarea.com

An Intensive for Those Who Drink and Savor the Juice of Life

Shiva Rea is coming to Semperviva on Dec 10-11 for a Prana Flow workshop! Here’s the info from Semperviva’s website. Buy your tickets now  – this will be a fantastic and memorable weekend!

Rasa is one of the most sublime and rich understandings of the art of transformation to emerge from Tantra, yoga, Ayurveda and the arts with many beautiful interconnected meanings. Rasa is the “essence” of any aspect of creation – the sweetness of a mango, the light of fire, the experience of one’s own intrinsic nature; it is the process of rejuvenation and alchemy within Ayurveda, and the art of divine recognition through emotional and artistic transformation as the great sage Abhinavagupta describes as the “Self tasting the Self”. Without rasa, it is said, our experience of yoga and life becomes dry, rigid, routine. Rasa as the rejuvenative juice restores our essence and enhances our moment-to-moment satisfaction in being fully alive.

Our rasa immersion is dedicated to the art of inner-outer rejuvenation by cultivating the living nectar of the heart (maharasa). Shiva will offer pranarasaflow™ – an offering of practice, teaching and living in harmony with from the nine energetic rasas of tantric arts teachings with a focus on: Vira (potency, empowerment), Sringara (sublime love), Raudra (fierce love), Hasya (Supreme Delight), Karuna (compassion) and Shanti (living peace) to bring authentic flow to your practice, teaching and life. Live music, kirtan and classical music artists energizing live drumming to sublime flute will be integrated into the Prana Flow® yoga practices led by Shiva.

Shiva will teach how to live true to your inner alchemy in the flow of life and offer the flow of yoga with a full-spectrum, rejuvenative balance.

Dates: December 10th-11th, 2011
Times: 1:00pm to 5:30pm (Saturday)
12:30pm to 4:30pm (Sunday)
Location: Semperviva City Studio
Cost: $135.00 + HST (Saturday)
$125.00 + HST (Sunday)
$225.00 + HST (weekend)
Contact: 604.739.2009
info@semperviva.com

Semperviva Yoga Teacher Training

Have you been thinking about becoming a certified yoga instructor? Now might be your time to take action — Semperviva’s next 200 hour course starts January 18th!

With Semperviva’s Internationally Recognized Yoga Certification, you will be qualified to teach both here in Vancouver or anywhere around the world. What makes Semperviva stand our from the crowd? Semperviva Yoga is the longest running multi-disciplinary Yoga Teacher Training College in Vancouver, BC. It is the only training that includes Master teachers as guest lecturers. This truly sets Semperviva apart as a leader in Yoga Education. Guest teachers may include Seane Corn, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Max Strom, Nicki Doane, Michael Stone, Mark Whitwell, Janet Stone, Shiva Rea, Bernie Clark, and Paul Grilley. For more information, visit www.sempervivayogacollege.com.

Worldwide Release Of Alan Clements New Book: A Future To Believe In

Semperviva Yoga is hosting the worldwide release of Alan Clements‘ visionary new book titled A Future To Believe In–Awakening a World Dharma. 108 Reflections on The Art and Activism of Freedom. A Handbook for Empowerment, Everyday Revolution and The Universal Right To Be Free. Join them for this special Friday evening presentation and book signing.

Learn more about Alan Clements:

Alan Clements is a visionary author, spoken word artist, activist and Dharma teacher. One of the first Westerners to become a Buddhist monk in Burma,  he is now a spiritual maverick working for global human rights and his contemporary understanding of liberation. Clements has been prominent in bringing Burma’s non-violent “revolution of the spirit” to the world. He co-authored The Voice of Hope, Conversations With Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace laureate. www.WorldDharma.com.

When: Friday, September 30th, 7:30pm-9:00pm

Where: Semperviva Kits Beach Studio

Cost: By donation (to World Dharma)

For more information and registration, visit Semperviva.com.

Silence is Golden

No matter where you are.

Vancouver is a wonderful city– beautiful and exciting. It feels small enough to be comfortable but big enough to always be interesting on a Friday night. And the yoga! What an amazing group of studios and teachers. There is really something for everyone here.

Unless what you need in your yoga practice is silence.

I have always been loud. I love raucous music in my classes– two of my favourite teachers at Semperviva Carolyn Anne and Reno rock fabulous tunes in their classes. I love to flow to music, linking posture, breathe, and tunes. I am an avid talker and singer and relish being in the midst of it. But recently I have been craving silence. I want to be able to feel the silence, wrap it around myself and sit with it. Give myself the space to get still and be, contact the silence that is inside me. I have never felt like I could actually be quiet within myself until now.

The search for silence in the city is an undertaking. I have always appreciated yoga studios where people are encouraged to socialize with other students, but sometimes I want a quiet room, a peaceful space. But you can’t have it both ways.

I guess this is where retreats come in for the urban yogi. We can leave the city for a little rural silence, maybe even some darkness or the odd star. Because the truth is, I’m really craving it (silence–what else?). It’s starting to make me irritable– which is silly, because the whole point of wanting to be somewhere quiet is to find my own inner stillness.

So the quest for silence continues… another leg of my yoga journey.

Source: maheenzakaria.blogspot.com

Amber Field Concerts & Workshops At Semperviva

Amber Field believes we can all be the change we want to see in the world, and that love and music are the supreme healing energies. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Amber studied all over the world, including in India where she focused on Hindi and Indian history. Along the way she discovered meditation and yoga, two important practices in her healing journey. She also became an accomplished musician, playing didgeridoo, Arabic tambourine, djembe, and tabla. Amber is known internationally as one of the preeminent music sound healers. She’s been featured at the Wanderlust Music Festival, Esalen Yoga Festival, at Machu Picchu retreats, and now Semperviva:

Amber Plays at Christie’s Vinyasa Yoga Class

Get ready to move, sweat and soar. Think of it as a “sonic bliss bath” as you connect more deeply with your body and discover the liberating and healing effects of sound with every yoga pose. While Christie leads you in a dynamic flow to strengthen and energize, Amber’s music will clear your meridians and invigorate the flow of life energy throughout your whole body. The didgeridoo rhythms are haunting and unforget- table. This one night class will be open to all levels.

When: Thursday, June 16th from 7:30pm-9:00pm
Where: Kits Beach Studio
Cost: FREE with Membership or $18.00 + HST Drop-in

Music & Kirtan Concert

Join us for an evening of music and chanting and get lost in the blissful world of Amber’s kirtan concert. Kirtan is the passionate singing of mantras and chants, one of the most powerful musical experiences. It stills the mind, opens the heart and is truly a celebratory event. Amber’s wonderful voice and music will transport all of us to a deeply moving and comforting place. Just listen, or lie down, or sing along if you wish. Bring your friends and a blanket or pillow since we’ll be sitting on the studio floor.

When: Friday, June 17th from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Where: Kits Beach Studio
Cost: $20.00 + HST

Healing Musical Adventure Through the Chakras Workshop

This event will captivate you. . . and inspire. Embark on a musical journey through the chakras (7 energy centers) that includes the sacred sounds of this talented sound healer.This is Amber’s signature workshop and it’s creative and fun. She’ll show you how to activate and heal each chakra using expressive arts and sound (such as chanting through the chakras), vocal play, gentle movement, writing what you want to let go of and bring in, and didgeri- doo healings. Beautiful, empowering and uplifting!

When: Saturday June 18th from 7:30pm-9:30pm
Where: City Studio
Cost: $35.00 + HST

Semperviva Celebrates Mother’s Day With A Special Family Class

Semperviva is offering a very special family yoga class this Mother’s Day! The class is for moms with kids ages 5 – 11 years — but dads are also welcome. This will be a by donation class in support the exceptional efforts of Shanti Uganda — its goal is to lower maternal and infant mortality rates, reduce HIV/AIDS transmission rates from mother to child, improve access to education and supplies and honour every birthing woman.

When? Sunday, May 8th, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Where? Semperviva’s Kits Beach Studio

[source: yogamanila]

50% Off One Month of Yoga Classes at Semperviva!

If you haven’t tried out Semperviva Yoga yet, and have been waiting to try, this is the time to act now. Why? Because there’s a super hot deal on Groupon offering one month of classes for only $49 (regularly priced at $98.57). The deal is valid at all locations. I think this is a great deal!

You can read our review of their Kits BeachSky, and Sun locations.

The deal expires in just over a day, so check it out before it’s too late. Click here to visit the Groupon deal. Namaste. 🙂

Keep Yourself Open To Something New

If you are a long practicing yogi or new to the practice, you might have noticed that there are a lot of choices out there.

When I first started practicing yoga, there was one evening class at UBC called yoga. They didn’t even distinguish it by saying Hatha. Now, there are so many studios in the lower mainland, teaching different styles, I am sure you could go to a different class every day and not run out of options.

So with all those choices where do you start?

Price might be your starting point:

Yoga can definitely be pricey. This can be quite daunting when you are not exactly sure which type of yoga would be best for you.

There is the option of getting a two week unlimited pass. This is great for when you want to try out a specific studio. But what if you aren’t sure which studio to try out?

I feel the best option out there is the Passport to Prana card. With this card you have the option of trying out quite a few different studios. Depending on when you buy your Passport to Prana card, you might have a year to try out all the different studios registered with this program. The most current Passport to Prana card expires in July, but that gives you at least three months to figure it out.

Try the smaller studios; they can be a lot cheaper than the bigger chains. Even your local community center can offer a pass card at a reasonable rate.

Ask around:

You’d be surprised at what the universal will provide if you only just ask. Why not ask the girl walking down the street with a yoga mat on her back. I know that asking a stranger in your own town might seem a little intrusive, but hey, give it a go! I am sure she won’t mind too terribly, if you ask politely. Failing that, try the internet. You have already found us here; there are reviews throughout our site & hopefully many more to come. Be brave, search around.

Sometimes you just have to plunge in:

Be courageous! Try something new. I feel the best thing to do is keep your mind open, give yourself permission to be a little awkward. Remember to be kind to yourself and not worry so much about perfection. If you don’t like the specific style you chose, try again. Yoga can sometimes be like trying on a new pair of jeans; they don’t always fit like your old comforts, but you might surprise yourself into converting to something new.

Remember to keep it fun:

One of my favorite yoga teachers at Semperviva, Bernie Clark, reminds me all the time: laugh, have fun, you’re paying for this.

Featured Teacher: Elana Epstein

The following excerpt is courtesy of Elana Epstein’s Breathing Spaces blog:

To Inspire And Be Inspired Is A Blessed Gift

Inspiration.

What does it conjure up for you? What meaning do you attach to it? What reaction does it bring? Where do you get it from?

Perhaps we need to define what inspiration means to us before we can know where to find it.
In order to know what it means I think we need to know what it feels like.
I have been watching where I derive inspiration from lately and have been noticing how it feels to be inspired.

For me, inspiration feels uplifting, exhilarating, awake and creative.
When I am inspired I am at my best, most literally.
When I am inspired I am connected.
I am truly alive.
I am so much more than my ego remembers me to be.
When I am inspired it feels like there is nothing I cannot do.
When I am inspired I feel like I am a part of the universe as I was meant to be.
When I am inspired I am grateful.

So, I try to find inspiration where I can.

I feel blessed. There are so many place that I feel inspired these days.

…to continue reading, click here to visit Elana’s website.

Author Bio: Elana Epstein is a certified Hatha Yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner who came to yoga from a Social Work background. Her greatest passion is to help individuals find their own inner strength and harmony so that they can contribute to making this a more peaceful life for all.  Elana sees yoga as a way to live each day with awareness and to nurture a peaceful and healing journey into the self. As a teacher, she creates an environment that is safe, intuitive, and calming. Her classes are suitable for the beginner and seasoned practitioner alike. Elana enjoys a personal daily practice at home and shares this journey with her husband and three children. Along with her daily dose of yoga she loves to read, write and listen to music. When she can,  she adds a little dark chocolate and a Chai to help make each day as decadent as it is blessed.

Elana teaches 9:30am Hatha yoga classes on Wednesdays at Semperviva‘s Sun studio. For more teaching times and locations, visit her blog and connect with her on Twitter.

We’re All In This Together

Michael Stone came to Semperviva last weekend and brought with him a whirlwind of very inspiring thoughts. For all of us who attended the workshop, he wanted to plant seeds of change.

On Friday evening, he presented his latest title Yoga For A World Out Of Balance, which I haven’t read yet, but will review as soon as I do. Also, once I’ve read it I might be in a better position to make sense of all the wisdom he has so generously imparted this weekend, those who were there know what I’m talking about!

I’ve been to my share of book signings in my professional life, but this was the first one that started with a seated meditation, instead of a traditional glass of sparkling wine.

[source: Semperviva.com]

Afterwards, we were all relaxed and ready to be utterly captivated, and so Michael Stone discussed a vast array of ideas for a better world that really resonated with his audience.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes sit in front of the computer, a documentary, a book, or a newspaper and anger and sadness rise. All these tales of greed, injustice, corruption, cruelty and pollution come into our daily lives and we sometimes can’t help feeling powerless.

We could turn off the media and ignore this constant flow of bad news, but as Michael Stone pointed out this would be a rather nihilistic approach. Instead as yogis, we should draw our attention to them and convert our intentions, our yamas, into actions.

He explained how everything is connected and that karma is causality, so all of our acts matter. So we could put our living-room anger to a good use and help out around us by being more mindful and compassionate and maybe take it a bit further all the time. We could try and broaden our neighbourhood, i.e. our field of action. Michael Stone quoted one of his mentors: ‘choose battles small enough to win but big enough to matter.’

He added that as yogis we are part of a community, even if sometimes, practising in a studio can feel rather anonymous. Belonging to a community can help us grow, maintain good ethics, and maybe help restore a bit of balance in the world.

We can all be a bit shy, but why not befriend with your yoga mates a bit more? We are all in this together, so let’s get to know each other!

Also, I know that after the workshop, some people discussed plans to create communities with the help of Michael Stone, so feel free to post details in the comment section!

The Physical Body

Last weekend I spent Saturday & Sunday afternoon on the floor of Semperviva’s Sea Studio, and sat in on The Physical Body workshop with the lovely Bernie Clark. While the majority of the attendees were taking part in his Yin Teacher Training, they opened up the anatomy & physical body part of the days to anybody who was interested in attending, so being as I’m more of a hands on learner I thought it was the perfect time for a refresher.

The Physical Body ~ http://www.kinesiologist.eu/physical.htm

Yoga Teacher Training programs generally have some information about anatomy & the effects of yoga on our body, but this is something that I have struggled with. I’m not a biologist by any means, and trying to correlate a map of the skeleton and all its pieces to a class and what we are doing & using is not always an easy task. If you have never taken one of Bernie’s classes, I highly recommend it, and knowing this I knew this workshop would really not be the boring mundane put me to sleep talk about bones and muscles, and I was right.

We spent 8 hours looking at the dynamics and bones of the human body & how unfortunately for some of you hardcore yogi’s some poses may be very challenging for you to accomplish just because of the way your bones & body have developed. We learnt the difference between compression, two bones compressing into each other – there is no where for them to go, and tension, tight muscles that are restricting the movement you are trying to accomplish and how to tell the difference between both of them.  Compression is what you feel in the direction of movement and tension is what you feel on the opposite side, ie. raising your arms above your head you would feel compression in your shoulder/humerus & tension in your triceps.

Of course this was just the bare bones of the workshop, no pun intended, and what is happening in your body when you practice yoga and is all dependent on what you are trying to accomplish from the pose, either a stretch or building muscle. It was another well spent weekend at Semperviva and am looking forward to Bernie’s Energy Body workshop taking place this Saturday at the Sea Studio. From the Semperviva website check out this four hour workshops, here’s what you can expect;

“In this workshop we will investigate the various models the Yogis of India, the Yogis of China and the Medical Scientists in the West have developed to explain the workings of the body’s energy and its associated systems. We will explore the world of prana and the energy channels and vortexes of Indian Yoga (called nadis and chakras) and contrast it to the world of Chi (Qi) and its associated network of channels (called meridians) utilized in China. Then we will discover how modern scientific investigations in the West (Energy Medicine) are finding remarkable parallels to these ancient models.”

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...