Life has gotten so fast-paced that many people are looking for a way to slow things down a little and harmonize their minds and their bodies, and an upcoming event in Dorval highlighting the many different ways yoga can help soothe contemporary stresses might just be the elixir for West Islanders, the event's organizer said.
"It's something that I think people can fall in love with," said YogaTalks organizer Kristina Bellows, a yoga instructor and longtime practitioner. The Lachine resident has assembled an all-star cast of local yoga gurus with a wide range of backgrounds and teaching styles to give locals an idea of just how wide-ranging and diverse the field of yoga can be.
"A lot of people have a misconception that yoga's not for them, for whatever reason. These may be people who have not tried it, or maybe only tried one kind of yoga, but the reality is there's a huge variety of styles and this is a chance for them to get an idea of what they will like," she said.
The day-long event is slated for Sept. 22 at the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club in Dorval. With lectures and workshops going throughout the day, attendees are free to "walk the walk," or "talk the talk," depending on what interests them, Bellows said. With 14 different presenters giving lectures, and 18 workshops
"There's a large intimidation factor in yoga, but there are so many different ways to practice," Bellows said, citing no-pressure yoga, chair yoga and ayurvedic yoga as examples of ways people can get into it.
"It's a recipe for healthy living and complements everybody's lifestyle. We all build tension, no matter what we do in life, but the idea is to get balance into peoples' lives and yoga can help them do that," she said.
Presenters at YogaTalks will include Pointe Claire native Yasmin Fudakaska-Gow, who set a Guinness world record for the longest yoga marathon (32 hours) and Bodhi founder Bhaskar Goswami, a 'specialist in employing the principles of yoga for corporate performance enhancement,' and Marianne Thorborg, owner of the Sun& Moon yoga studio in Dorval. Other local yoga-studio owners and teachers will be on hand as well, including Pamela Gooria, co-owner of Pointe Claire's Om West yoga studio and Carole Cousineau, fitness director at Club West Island in Beaconsfield, among others.
Admission to the event, slated for Sept. 22 starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, 1350 Lakeshore Dr. in Dorval, is $75 and includes lunch -- no outside food is permitted, although a 90-minute lunch break is scheduled – and a portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Yoga Mala Foundation in support of their campaign to development of yoga programs in poor communities. For more information, visit the event website at www.yogatalks.ca, or find them on Facebook at YogaTalks.
