Opening the heart
Yesterday I gave an introductory chair yoga class to members of the South Burnaby Neighborhood House.
As the members finished their lunches, I set up my PowerPoint presentation and started some background “yoga music” on my iPod. I must admit, I was a little nervous, thinking the members would not be receptive to yoga. But I was pleasantly mistaken!
After a few slides introducing yoga, I led the class through a 45-minute chair yoga session. We began with pranayama (breathing exercises), then continued with modified hatha, yin, and kundalini poses. After these balancing poses, we cooled down with some forward folds and twists and then savasana (relaxation pose).
I was pleased that everyone participated so enthusiastically and to the best of their abilities. The feedback I received after Namaste was absolutely heartfelt: “This was the best presentation I have heard in a long time;” “Wow, I am going to start doing yoga because I love this stuff;” “I feel so much more energy now;” “Please come back soon and do more yoga with us!”
