Spring Flowers

There is a different style of yoga to suit everyone, regardless of your age, flexibility (or lack of it) and taking into account past injuries.

The aim of real yoga is to adapt the techniques and tools of yoga to suit each individual. That’s why you will find many styles across our new Spring timetable at Qi, from dynamic and challenging to relaxing and de-stressing classes.  So please drop in and see what tickles your yoga fancy this Spring. (There’s a run-down of each yoga style above.)

New Classes:

Pilates with Sol
Qi Freshwater 9am Fridays
Qi Manly: 7.45am Saturdays
Qi Manly: 4pm Saturdays
New “Energy Pilates” course: Tuesday/Thursday mornings 6.30am at Qi Manly

Student Teacher class: Sundays 4.30pm
Learn from the yoga stars of tomorrow at Qi Freshwater.
Only $10 class and support them to finish their studies with us at Qi

Download/print full timetables (printer-friendly version)

Qi Manly (Sept – December 2010) (pdf)

Qi Freshwater (Sept – December 2010) (pdf)

What’ll it be? A peppermint tea for Katie, and a babychino for Leo.

Katie Brown: pre-natal yoga teacher

It’s a glorious blue-sky winter’s day so we head to the park area overlooking Freshwater beach. Then, all of a sudden, a bird swoops overhead and leaves me a err ‘gift’ on the first page of my new notepad. We both start rummaging in our bags for a tissue and Katie quickly explains,  “Sorry I’m just not the type of mum who carries tissues and stuff like that around with me…” and she hands me a crumpled receipt instead with a smile.

Well, as you can probably tell I don’t have kids yet, so I thought I’d kick off with a bit of the prenatal stuff because (obviously), I’ve never been to one of Katie’s classes. I’d really like to know what happens in there on a Saturday morning, after my Ashtangis have left the yoga room, all hot and steamy…

“It’s gentle but I’ll always give people different options. Some students come to me from Bikram’s or Ashtanga so are looking for more challenging postures. You have to be creative but make sure these ladies are not pushing themselves too hard.” Whilst I’m considering this, she’s suddenly down on all fours on the floor of the play area, arms outstretched in mandukasana (frog pose), to demonstrate to me how this posture, for example, can be really gentle or you can make it quite strong and really dynamic.

Once she’s back upright again, she adds, “Of course I’ll also incorporate some of my other skills, like massage, in the class. You’d learn some partner massage, self-massage and baby bonding techniques; and belly massage feels really nice as well for mums, so we often do some of that. There’s always a really long relaxation at the end. I also find visualisation really helpful. When I first got pregnant I kept thinking, ‘I can’t believe there’s a baby in there,’ so I really think this helps women to connect with their baby.”

So we’re told that yoga is awesome for everyone, why’s it so good for pregnant ladies and why do women often start yoga when they’re pregnant? “Well it really helps you to tune into your body and your baby. Yoga is a very grounding practice. When you’re pregnant you’ve got so many hormones, especially after the baby is born, so it’s good for you emotionally. Plus it helps you stay fit, healthy and vibrant, and the exercises and breathing practices (pranyama) help prepare you for the birth.”

Katie is clearly a bit of a baby boffin, as she is also a qualified Doula, infant massage therapist, as well as baby yoga, post-natal yoga and yoga for mums ‘n’ bubs teacher.  So, what about after the pregnancy, I get the impression women kind of see yoga as a bit of a quick fix whilst pregnant and then stop altogether once they’ve had their bub? I ask.

Katie nods vigorously, “So many women stop after their baby is born but you should carry on, as it’s so important at this time to continue your practice. I’m really passionate about this as I firmly believe yoga supports and prepares you for all that motherhood entails.” She pauses and adds, “It also helps mums with the aches and pains physically, and emotionally as you become a parent.” Yikes, I’m thinking.

So do people practice right up to birth? I ask, suddenly having this (terrifying!) image of me doing crow pose (or some other arm balance) at nine months pregnant…  “I’ve had girls in labour in my class! You can do yoga during your birth.” she laughs. “It really helps. I was doing cat pose during all of my childbirths; yoga’s perfect for that!” So no crow pose then. Phew….

Some yoga teachers tell you that you should wait until you’re in your second trimester before practicing yoga. Katie takes a different view: “To be honest, I think you can go to a specific pre-natal yoga class right from the start of your pregnancy, as long as the doctor clears you to do so. It’s a very safe practice and I always know where students are at and what they can do. Pregnancy can be such an emotional time and it not only gives you energy, it helps you learn to listen to your body so it’s such a good support for women throughout the entire pregnancy.” I mean I’m not a prenatal expert but it makes sense to me; yoga is a pretty flexible tool and you should able to adapt it to suit your condition, whatever that is, rather than having women feel somehow restricted or compromised by pregnancy.

So I ask Katie about what got her interested in yoga, how did she start?

“I was an only child and had lots of time at home alone. When I was 13 I found a yoga book called ‘Everyday Yoga’ which I just devoured! I just loved to do it! Then years later when I was working as a journalist in London for a national magazine it was a very stressful job so the yoga really helped me to manage that stress.” She’s so breezy and easy going I can’t imagine her as the stressed out London media gun.

“Then I got a job about 10 years ago working on ‘That’s Life’ magazine as Deputy Editor, so we decided to emigrate to Australia. You know those magazine are actually really great to work on because you get to hear people’s stories.” She smiles, “Then in 2001 I did my yoga teacher training and absolutely loved it! Sadly, during this time, Katie’s mum was diagnosed with a very serious cancer, “I think through the yoga I was learning I was able to offer her some support. Certainly the experience with my mum gave me a new depth to my experience.”

Katie with Leo

Intriguingly Katie got into prenatal yoga before she was pregnant: “At this time I was teaching the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ Yoga class at Mona Vale Hospital. A couple of my friends were getting pregnant and a few people in the class were pregnant so I felt it was important to understand a bit more about prenatal yoga. It was only really when I was pregnant myself that I fully understood though. I do think it would be hard to teach a prenatal class unless you’ve been through it, I think it would be hard to connect with the students fully.” Naturally Katie practiced yoga throughout her three pregnancies and labours, “I feel it helped me to birth my children more easily and the yoga philosophies, relaxations techniques and pranayama practices all helped me adapt to being a mum.”

Aside from being a yoga teacher and mum what else does she get up to? Katie writes a parenting and health column for Fernwood magazines, is a published author and has produced two DVDs – Yoga for Pregnancy & Birth and Yoga for Mums ‘n’ Bubs and some relaxation CDs. Oh yes, she’s also a yoga teacher and a mother of three little ones; Leo, who is 2; Lucas, the eldest is 8; and her “wild child” India who is 5.

One of the big challenges for a yoga teacher is to find time for their yoga as well. I mean I am childless, have not released any DVDs (yet, though watch this space hahaha!) and find it difficult to find time to do anything, I’m baffled how she manages to keep up her yoga as well. “Well, it is hard to find time to practice. I mean you have to keep your yoga practice short, because the minute I get into a pose, I’ve got someone climbing on my back! Unless you get to a class of course, but I know it can be hard to find the time, that’s why I wrote my book, ‘Mother Me’ in 2008. I’ve experienced what it’s like to be a mum and it’s hard to find a balance. The DVD ‘Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth’ has got two sequences for pregnant ladies. Plus I’m bringing out a new one: Yoga for Mums’ n’ Bubs, which includes some shorter exercises for Mums, a bit of baby yoga and a baby chakra relaxation.”

All right, so she’s not the type of mum who carries tissues, but she’s not doing too badly eh. Thanks Katie, maybe I’ll come to one of your classes, one day!

We’d love to hear your stories here, or if you’ve got any questions about prenatal yoga ask them here and Claire or Katie will be able to respond to them!

You can check out Katie’s website www.yogababes.com.au

If you’ve ever been to an Indian city you’ll probably know what I mean when I say that it’s a beautiful, passionate, crazy, stinking, wonderful place! Quiet? Erm… not exactly. So as someone who went to India on a yoga pilgrimage, of sorts, I thought I’d share the first part of my experience, as I dipped my toes into India in search of some quiet amidst the chaos.

India’s reputation truly precedes it, and I admit that I was a little bit apprehensive about going alone. So with husband back at home (so much easier to focus on yoga) but still a little nervous, I decided to ease myself gently into the bubbling hot tub that is India and booked myself onto a two week Ashtanga course in Goa, at a place called Purple Valley. Two weeks of yoga with world-renowned teachers, vegetarian food (much of it grown on the grounds), amongst the kingfishers (that’s the bird not the beer) and bougainvillea – perfect!

After a few days in the rickshaw frenzy of Mumbai it was like a breath of minty-fresh air arriving in Goa. After being shown to my simple, but comfortable room in the aptly-named Savasana House, all the yogis met up in the communal area; we were handed our water bottle (they are big on sustainability so we were given one bottle and told to re-use it) and had a briefing from the Purple Valley managers and our teacher – an authorised Ashtanga teacher from Tokyo called Tarik Thami. I was quite nervous at first… new people to meet; will I like it? Will I be able to cope physically, mentally? And there seemed to be so many really experienced Ashtangis.  Most intimidating of all was the group from Athens who were like a band of travelling gymnasts; when I first spotted them they were playing catch and doing drop-backs as forfeits! Well, this should be interesting…

Next morning at 5.30am we were up with the birds. A morning mist had settled on the garden and I walked down to the shala, took off my thongs and waited to be called in, along with a couple of other super keen people. It was before sunrise and the shala was so quiet. Candles were lit around the room and there was a stillness I’d never really experienced, amidst the hustle and bustle back in Oz. I know Manly is not exactly a bustling metropolis, but this place made it seem like Mumbai! At around 6am everyone arrived and we started off the practice with the traditional chant. I’d not really experienced that kind of connectedness in my Ashtanga before, but as I ‘ommed’ at the end of the chant, I felt something quite awesome; the warmth of yogis together in a kind of yoga communion. Then we started our practice in the traditional Mysore style, which means working through the sequence at our own pace, with our own breath, and being instructed individually by Tarik.

So I took my tadasana position, raised my arms up and started my first sun salute; and I suddenly realised I was wobbling. Really wobbling, I couldn’t stand up… some kind of adrenalin rush. I persevered, but it was strange, like I had no centre of balance. Then I forgot the sequence… too excited I think! I tried to remember that peace I’d experienced at the start and came back to my breathing until I found my ground again.

And that was the way I started every day. It was perfect. We had two hours of Mysore style yoga in the morning with Tarik adjusting and assisting us in certain postures. The beginners group (I was wrong, there were lots of beginners) did a led practice for the first week then they joined the rest of us to do it Mysore style.

The post-practice brekky was a highlight – porridge, toast and fresh fruits, plus the mandatory daily coconut (potassium and electrolyte packed for tired muscles).  We had most of the day to relax, swim and chat. Everyone just hung out together and was super friendly, chatting about yoga, life, yoga, India, coconuts, yoga… In the afternoon we did workshops focusing on the tradition of yoga, the history of ashtanga, and finer points of the practice. We also practiced yoga nidra every afternoon, where you lie down and get taken through a guided relaxation and visualisation, which was the perfect antidote to the tropical heat.

Anyone getting cabin fever left the retreat to visit local markets, flea markets, beaches, the Portuguese town of Old Goa. But we mostly stayed in the garden; it was all very relaxed and reflective time was encouraged. Despite the no alcohol rule at the centre, we had Saturday morning off practice (after six mornings a week we were ready for a day off) and hit the beach for some drink Kingfishers (the beer this time!).

The two weeks there were just amazing. I felt so light and open, healthy and happy; it was great to be able to really commit to the yoga, and to find a truly peaceful place to live a simpler life. It certainly wasn’t as strict as going to an ashram, this was yoga living for beginners (like me!).

So yes, I found a place of quiet and stillness at Purple Valley, and it allowed me to find that place within as well. I have tried to hold this with me in my practice, and in my classes back here in Manly. The real challenge is to slow things down when we’re faced with the day-to-day stresses outside, in our real lives. After all, we don’t need to be in India to find that place.

We’d love to hear about your yoga experiences too; or maybe you’ve got a special way to find that place of quiet in your busy life – feel free to comment or ask any questions!

In the next post I’ll be talking pregnancy, babies and yoga with Katie, Qi Freshwater’s Saturday morning pre-natal teacher.

We welcome some wonderful new faces to our massage team this month, combining in-depth experience and skill to help you feel at your best!

Tanya Mere is offering Aromatherapy and Massage.

Julie Sheekey is already a local Massage legend and is joining Qi for Remedial Massage on Wednesdays

Elissa Koskinen will be offering Remedial and Hot-Stone Massage… It’s the most deeply relaxed treatment you can imagine!

Come and see the most professional practitioners in Sydney soon and enjoy meeting the new faces below! (Click pic for more details, treatments, days available)
Amrit Dean, MASSAGE

Damien Harrison, MASSAGE

Elissa Koskinen, MASSAGE/HOT STONE MASSGE

Julia Sirotsky, MASSAGE/NATUROPATH

Julie Sheekey, MASSAGE/REFLEXOLOGY

Tanya Mere, MASSAGE/AROMATHERAPY

“Peppermint tea with honey, please” then by way of an explanation he adds, “I’ve already had a coffee today and it sends me a bit…” and he smiles.

So we take our seats on the step in the little surf shop where he works by day, on Manly Beach.

You may have been to one of Maurice’s classes already and if you haven’t then I would recommend going along just to see him float cat-like into a perfect chataranga dandasana (all be it a cat in white singlet and tight lycra pants!) I know when I first went to one of Maurice’s classes I thought ‘here’s a true yogi.’ He’s naturally warm and compassionate; his soft voice seems to sing out the instructions “lift your kneecaps, engage your bandhas.” And his chanting, well, that’s another good reason to check his classes out.

So, like many yoga teachers, Maurice came to yoga from a sales and marketing background (working in the surf industry to be specific). Then around six years ago he decided he needed a change of career and he enrolled on the Qi teacher training program.

“I needed to do it, to level some things out. And I took it very seriously indeed,” he laughs.  He loved the course and built a strong relationship with his Ashtanga teacher at Qi, Deb Grant.

“During the teacher training course and afterwards I would assist every one of her classes, even though I didn’t have to!” he explains, before eventually taking on her Ashtanga class on a Monday night after she left.

Maurice’s journey with yoga started in 1994: “I’d just finished a relationship and was really devastated so a friend of mine, Jessica, persuaded me to go to a Bikram’s class in Manly. So I did Bikram Yoga on and off for a couple of years, then did a bit of Ryoho yoga and then I got into Ashtanga.”

So what about the Ashtanga then? I’m an Ashtanga girl, as you know. Do you have any advice for me?

“Well…. do you have any injuries?” he shoots right back at me.

“Err…. errr… always.” I reply sheepishly, “I mean, well yes, I’ve got a bit of a sit bone and hamstring issue right now, which is why I’m sitting rather awkwardly here on this step.”

He smiles and looks me straight in the eye: “You need to allow time to rest and recover; it is important. The ego is a big thing in Ashtanga and it’s important to be kind to yourself.”

Ahh yes, the ego…

“Also, I usually spend at least an hour in the spa and sauna at my gym after a full Ashtanga practice to relax.” He pauses. “And be sure to keep your muscles really warm in the winter, use Dencorub, wrap up fully before coming to class. In the Yoga Mala Pattabhi Jois recommends a weekly mineral bath. Have a bath, soak yourself, light some candles. And let go, that is my big advice!”

Not sure my husband will like the Dencorub idea, I’ll smell like a boy’s change room. But I’ll give it a go…

So what else does this Chilean get up to when he’s not applying Dencorub and relaxing in the sauna?

“I LOVE surfing. It’s fulfilling in every way… surfing the big waves and sharing time with friends. I LOVE it. But I also love being close to my family. Although my parents, they are in Chile of course. They live in a village about 100km west of Santiago near the coast.  My Aunty and her family are up in Byron Bay though.”

So is that how you came to Oz then?

He nods and grins, “Yes, 22 years ago, I was called up for military service. It was during the time of dictatorship in Chile. The day before I was due to present myself for service I got on an aeroplane to Australia,” he laughs. “I couldn’t return for five years or they’d have put me in prison. But I came back to Chile after five years with an Australian passport!”

And finally Maurice, I want to ask you, why do you do yoga?

“Because it’s my passion!!!” he says brightly. “It brings me clarity of mind and keeps me healthy. I’ve not been properly lay-on-my-back sick for about 4 years now. In terms of the teaching, I am passionate about teaching with integrity. People sometimes say I’m a bit strict about things, like dropping the ego or not hyper extending so I emphasise this: drop your ego, find softness, it’s not about being flexible. So what if you’re not flexible? My goal is to teach every class and not have any students injured.”

And do you see it affecting your life now?

“Definitely. Yoga has given me the discipline I need,” he replies. “You need discipline to have a regular practice and to teach, so it pulls you into line and makes you want to be healthy and fit in body, and to take care of your mind. Also teaching has helped me to understand people better both physically and mentally. In a physical sense with injuries for instance, Deb told me once ‘You’re only gonna be a good teacher when you get an injury’ so now, having been injured a bit myself, I feel I understand people’s practice better.”

Well thank you for your time Maurice, I think I’ll go and run the bath now… “I’ve got some Dencorub if you need…?” he offers.

Feel free to ask any questions or post comments here. We’d love to hear what you think about some of Maurice’s philosophy, musings and experience!

PS… Maurice teaches Ashtanga yoga at Qi Freshwater on Mondays at 6.15pm and Yoga for Surfers in Qi Manly on Thursdays 7.30pm.

For me the backbend sequence is the yogic equivalent of hanging out the washing, or offloading the dishwasher: It’s a chore and I try my best to avoid it. Like a rebellious teenager, as soon as we’re asked to go up into three ‘beautiful’ (pah!) backbends my thoughts take a sudden, mischievous turn: maybe I can sneak out for a quick trip to the ladies… If I keep hugging my knees into my chest can I get away with just two this time?

Backbends just feel wrong, yet you see people in class floating up into this effortless arc; meanwhile I’m struggling, red faced, knees and elbows akimbo. Give me a yummy forward bend like pascimattonasana any day; but backbends, no thanks.

Now hold on a minute… One of the things we’re told about yoga is that it’s a bit of a laboratory for real life. So I figured that if backbends are the equivalent of household chores, (and let’s face it, however much you kick and scream and hurl creative excuses about the house, you do have to do them) then I need to embrace aspects of my yoga practice which I don’t really enjoy as well…

…Which is why I decided to tackle my fears head on, like a scared rabbit in the headlights, and take part in a full two-hour backbend workshop. On a Friday night no less.

The teacher was a lovely lady named Kimberley who has been teaching for over 10 years, so she knows a thing or two about back-bending. There were around six of us at the Qi Freshy centre so we had a lot of space and personal attention. As Kim’s an Iyengar teacher, there were a lot more props than I’m used to (being an Ashtanga girl)… but, fear not the strap or the block, I told myself. Well, after placing the back of my rib cage on every side of a block for about 15 minutes, I learnt to love my little blocky as it started to open the upper back in a way I’d never experienced.

Next we did some handstands and a peacock pose (pincha mayurasana) to energise us and practice extending from the hips, lifting up and out of the arms and externally rotating the shoulders. All good preparation for backbends. Then a few sun salutes and I felt like I was ready to fly; which is kind of what we did, because once we were all nice and open, we were supported by partners as they lifted and strapped us in all the right places into a glorious archy urdhva danurasana (or wheel pose). I can honestly say I ‘enjoyed’ that backbend. I also enjoyed some of the other back bendy techniques she had up her sleeve, like grabbing a strap shoulder width apart, lying on our fronts (with a partner standing gently on the soles of our feet) as we lifted our chest right off the floor. And we all went far higher than you’d imagine; which was intended to demonstrate how important the legs are in creating that much-needed lift in backbends. Legs! I mean I know I should be using my legs, but somehow I’ve always felt it into my lower back.

So, some valuable lessons learnt. I’ve not completely overcome my fear of backbends yet but I survived it, I’d go as far as to say I liked it, and I felt amazing afterwards. Maybe back-bending is the new Friday night event eh!

Next Qi blog update Claire will be interviewing Yoga-for-Surfers and Ashtanga dude, Maurice.

So, let’s get the intros out the way first. My name’s Claire and I am a writer, yoga teacher, blogger and yoga lover. I am a graduate from the Qi teacher training programme and, some of you may know me, as I teach the odd class here and there at Qi too.

The idea behind this blog is to share some of my experiences, along with ideas and inspirations from some of the students and teachers at Qi. I don’t know about you but I’ve always been intrigued by yoga teachers, so I’ve decided to corner some of them, to find out their story: What got them into yoga and what do they enjoy about their yoga practice? I might even delve a little deeper to find out what they do outside the classroom. There’s only so much you can learn in the classroom, so I’ll pick their brains on yoga stuff too. Being an English lass, and loving a good natter, I’d like to have a cuppa and a chat with some of Qi’s students as well, to find out why you do yoga and what your story is – any takers? I’ll be sneaking into on some of the workshops too, and hopefully I’ll have some time left over to chat about yoga, because that’s what I love!

So, what about yoga then?… Well, without beating about the bush, yoga has had a surprising and incredible effect on my life. I was a bit of a cynic to start and really just thought it was an elaborate form of stretching but after a bit (a lot!) of persuasion from a good friend I started going to a regular class on Saturday mornings. I was hooked. Until three months ago I was working in a busy marketing job in the city but then, with the ink barely dry on my teaching certificate, I decided to pack up my backpack and go off to India for two months. It was a kind of yoga pilgrimage meets life-change milestone. And now, well now I’m starting a new life, as a yoga teacher. Perhaps it’s sheer craziness; perhaps it’s the best thing to have happened to me… who knows. What I do know is that a new chapter has just begun.

Share a cuppa with Claire

So it’s going to be fun and I’m delighted to have the chance to share my story, and your stories, right here in this humble little blog. I’ll be keeping you posted through the blog links on the website and regular newsletters, but feel free to comment and reply to posts, or drop me an email with any ideas, special requests or offers of cups of tea (my shout)!

Next Blog: Claire faces her fear of back-bends with surprising results