Moving On From Moksha

As you may have known from previous posts, I have been an energy exchange trade at Moksha Yoga Brampton for almost a year now. It has been a great year becoming involved in that community, and I have met some amazing people that I will definitely be keeping in touch with.

Throughout my time there, I have struggled with actually practicing at the studio, because I never really felt a connection to the Moksha style of yoga. I wasn't being challenged enough, and I found myself picking and choosing which classes I would go to depending on the teacher or whether it was a more difficult type of class. I was practicing there maybe once or twice a week, shorter than the amount of hours I was volunteering by far. Eventually I realized that even though I loved going to the studio and spending time with my fellow trades, it just wasn't worth the time I was putting in anymore.  So I decided to resign, so that my spot can be used for someone who really truly enjoys the Moksha series, and will benefit from the trade program. 

Leaving the studio will be an adjustment for sure. I'm very excited to have my Monday nights back, I feel like it will put less pressure on me to cram a ton of things into less days. It was also a huge learning experience for me. I learned how much work it is to keep a studio running day to day, and how the trade program is a huge advantage.

My hope is that I will stay in touch with the many amazing people and friends I have met over the past year, and we will continue to enjoy yoga and other things together. 






Namaste!



My Mokshies and I at a Brampton Battalions game

Doing a demo at centre ice with my Mokshies

Goofing around

Moksha love: What I love about yoga- "I love that every yoga practice is as unique and challenging as every day in life. It allows me to let go of all of my expectations"

So what now? Where will I practice? What about the costs involved? 

I have gone back to my yoga roots! I started practicing at Power Yoga Canada again. After going through the Moksha experience, and realizing that I was always craving the intensity and atmosphere I had experienced before, I decided that the 30 minute drive was worth it. I have practiced at both the Mississauga and Oakville locations in the past couple of months, and I'm really glad I decided to go back. This is where my love for yoga began, and I have already made huge personal strides in my practice since returning. I love a more playful and challenging practice, and PYC gives that to me and more. In addition to practicing there again, I have done a few workshops, and have more planned in the future. In April I completed a 4 week advanced series workshop, and this month I have already done a balancing workshop and I have another this weekend for inversions. I think this will be the 4th or 5th workshop I have done at PYC and they have all been really amazing. 

On top of practicing at PYC again, I have turned to home practice a few times a week as well. A lot of people ask me how I am able to do home practice without a teacher guiding me. I still have a teacher, they are just not there physically. I use cds, podcasts, youtube, and dvds to lead me in my practice. I also sometimes just play and practice specific postures (usually balancing ones or inversions) with a little warm up first. I'm really hoping to build a better practice space in the future, because right now I am just practicing in the living room and there are tables and couches and things that limit the space I can use. Maybe once we have updated our basement I can make a special practice spot for myself down there.

 

My fairly new props-a block and a Yogitoes strap

Working on my hollow back pose



Working on my forearm balance to eventually move into Scorpion, using a block and strap (something I learned in the PYC Advanced Series Workshop)



Kathryn Budig's Aim True Yoga DVD

My last shift this past Monday was bitter sweet. I have my valuable time back on one hand, but on the other I am letting go of something that has been a weekly part of my life. But like they say, when one door closes, another opens. Thank you Moksha Brampton!

A bitter sweet end to a chapter of my life. This cupcake made it a whole lot better on my last shift though!