Yoga has sure made a comeback. I say this because it was an integral part of life in many cultures, and not just in India. The humble beginnings were documented in 2000 BCE. Today, yoga has taken on many shapes, forms and styles, but is, and should remain rooted in it’s foundational traditions. Yoga isn’t a religion, but a belief, practice and lifestyle. Modern yoga practitioner’s are creating new forms of the traditional practice and the medical community has been prescribing yoga more and more .The Yoga Research & Education Centre in California is currently creating a data base of medical & scientific studies on yoga that will be available to clarify and identify research and proof that yoga has significant potential to benefit our health and wellbeing.
Here in Peachland, we have a talented, compassionate and varied collective of yoga teachers at the Peachland Community Centre. Each teacher has a professional educational history and experience as well as a generous supply of yoga for everyone and everyBODY.
Tessa leads morning flow classes that have strong sequences that challenge and expanding your practice; Janet offers daytime back care classes and a vinyasa flow that’s taught in the evening. Deb shares Yoga and Beyond evening classes that have elements of yin & kundalini; and I have therapeutic yoga flow and myofascia release classes, yoga for women’s health and Youth yoga. I also teach a chair yoga from the lens of yoga therapy at the Peachland Wellness centre.
To learn more and register for any of our amazing classes contact Peachland Community Centre or register on the online recreation guide
In addition to teaching yoga for over 30 years, I also work as a licensed yoga therapist with the IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) and Ayurveda Wellness Yoga Counsellor. Ayurveda being India’s native naturopathic system. Most recently I’ve graduated from Applied Psychology and Counselling and as student counsellor, I am incorporating all of my trainings into my practice and will be working with West K Counselling Services. I will still have my private practice integrating yoga and counselling as a therapeutic modality that integrates talk therapy, mind/ body, nature and lifestyle wellness applications. I’ll be specializing in the LGBQ community, grief, young adults and women’s counselling services.
I’m often asked what the difference is between yoga and yoga therapy. All yoga, after all, is therapeutic. Yoga therapy schooling is in-depth training more specific to topics such as trauma & grief, orthopaedic (Knees, hips, shoulder, wrists) , balance and fall prevention, fascia, pelvic floor, neurological diseases, mental health etc., but it also incorporates modern medicine and research to identify what yoga approach we apply for the benefit of the client. As a therapist, we also work more one to one in order to address personal health concerns so as not to exacerbate the condition and better support the needs of the individual.
I felt that this article written by Georg Feuerstein PH.D on the IAYT website would help support my explanation; “ Yoga therapy is of modern coinage and represents a first effort to integrate traditional yogic concepts and techniques with western medical and psychological knowledge. Whereas, traditional yoga is primarily concerned with personal transcendence, on the part of a ‘normal’ or healthy individual. Therapy aims at the holistic treatment of various kinds of psychological or somatic dysfunctions ranging from back problems to emotional stress. Both approaches, however, share an understanding of the human being as a integrated body-mind system, which can function optimally only when there is a state of dynamic balance.”
If you haven’t tried a yoga class, I warmly invite you to reach out to the Peachland Community Centre and try a class with one of these skilled women who offer classes to the community. There’s something for everyone!