salute SUN Yoga
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Blog and our News
  • Retreats
  • About
  • Contact

salute SUN yoga - blog​



                                                                                                                                                             

Covid 19 and Yoga


Fall 2019 Challenge - Flower-Power summer 2019 - Balasana or Child pose-


​For Couples or Partner Yoga - 2018 Fall Yoga Session -Flower power Summer Yoga classes -Thanks to all my 

​
Students! - 
Hello to Spring - Mindful Reach Advisory Board - Winter Magic Time and Yoga


 - Teaching "Mixed" Yoga Class - Yoga Wear Review for 2017 - Summer "Flower Power" BackYard Yoga 

 
- Workshop In Belgrade, Serbia- Spring is here! -New Yoga Session and New Yoga Space

​
    -​Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu  Invitation - Winter 2016/17- Namaste vs Namaskar


  - Self-Taught Yoga vs having a good Teacher - Time to fall into Yoga - What makes a good Yoga Teacher -

​
- Eye Pillows / Maya T, brand - Vinyasa Flow -​ Vinyasa Yoga- with Maya - yoga wear Review for 2015 


- yoga wear Review for 2014 - Hatha yoga - facts and my perspective - yoga Styles


- yoga & body acceptance - Vanda Scaravelli... and More

Yoga, Body Acceptance and Helping Others to Get Positive Body Image

8/30/2015

0 Comments

 

You become a teacher by becoming a student. – Richard Freeman
PicturePure JOY, Courtesy of La Vida Yoga Studio, All rights Reserved
It is a pure Joy to practice Yoga but first we should learn  to accept our body (and body limitations) as it is , which is not easy. I know.
“You have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first”.
How many times have you heard a flight attendant to say exactly these words?
And why is this a universal policy in air traffic industry?

The reason lies in the fact that if we help ourselves first – we will be able to help others.
Yoga is a way of living but also a powerful tool to help people who are simply in one or another way thrown out of balance.


 As a teacher my vocation is to help everybody to find their own balance, to accept their own body and what they can do with it. Moreover – I want my students to start loving themselves just the way they are. I also want to inspire my students to do more, to feel the Edge, to stop right there when they feel It, to enjoy the moment… and to try to find a new Edge some other time.

Please take a look at these 3 photos - different body types and the same flexibility in doing 'Mermaid Pose'. The point is - there is no excuse. We can do Yoga. All of us!

Picture

Then, when we accept present moment and who we are – we can “put oxygen mask" on somebody else in need.





By Maya Toracki, Yoga Teacher

0 Comments

Vanda Scaravelli Yoga Journey, Part 1

8/17/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Lately I am reading a lot about Vanda Scaravelli and her Yoga Journey. I am ‘following’ her students, and I am so happy to say that I had a chance to be thought by one who belong to Scaravelli lineage – Patricia White. 

Imagine woman, concert standard pianist, who at her late 40s started her yoga practice, lived with it, introducing modifications and her own views on yoga and marked the history of yoga. Her book "Awakening the Spine" (published in 1991) had huge impact on today’s yoga practice... She died at 91 (1999)
.

She was introduced to BKS Iyengar by the violinist Yehudi Menuhin and soon after she was thought by Desikachar, son and student of T Krishnamacharya whom she had known earlier in her life through her father. That is how her Yoga path started.
Picture
One of Vanda Scaravelli’s great gifts to our yoga practice was freedom.  She gave us permission to follow our own inner teacher, liberating yoga practice from the restriction of rules and traditions.  She encouraged students to understand that, ultimately, we are our own best teachers – all we have to do is listen deeply and increase our awareness.


“Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose. Do not look at your body like a stranger, but adopt a friendly approach towards it. Watch it, listen to it, observe its needs, its requests, and even have fun. To be sensitive is to be alive. “ VS
1 Comment

Being Proud...

8/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Yesterday I thought yoga class at Yogaspace.
For the first time I had many students, all new faces except my fellow Yoga Teacher Helen O.  Some were just visiting Toronto and like all yoga enthusiasts, they wanted to continue with their daily yoga routine. It was obvious that they practiced Yoga for a long, long time. 

At the end, all students, one by one, approached me and told me, that my teaching was perfect and that I was great, amazing… Wow.
One student came to me and he told me that my choice of music was – unique and so in tune with yoga practice. Wow.

Another one came to me and said that she was motivated by my teaching and that all she wanted now is to get her Yoga certification. 
Wow. To Inspire some young woman – that is – ultimate!
So, I encouraged her to do that and obviously I recommended Yogaspace as a perfect place to study Yoga in depth.

There had been many closed doors in my life and a lot of people have told me NO.
 Yoga Door was opened and I feel I am at Home.
After yesterday’s class I feel happy and proud. 

Picture
Me being happy and proud... At my studio, Aug.7, 2015
0 Comments

Sun Salutation / Surya Namaskar

8/6/2015

0 Comments

 
“The world begins with the coming of light” 
Erich Neumann, Jungian analyst 
Picture
Sun Salutation - YOU can do it!!!
What a great way to start a day! 

You just press your palms together and place to the heart and beautiful series of asana can start. It is a wonderful way to awaken your body, to stretch, to say good morning to yourself and to the world.

The sequence in Surya Namaskar is perfect.
Each pose has a different meaning designed to center you in your heart, to focus your mind, to energize and to give you strength.
It’s a great workout for the whole body – you stretch, you flex and you tone your muscles but you also express your gratitude to the Sun, our basic source of life!

It started 2000 years ago when Hindus started honoring the Sun through the dynamic asana sequence knowing today as - Surya Namaskar (Surya = sun, namas = ‘to bow to’) so naturally the best time to do Sun Salutation is in the morning, in the direction of the sun, on empty stomach, however – in my opinion – it can be done anytime during the day. The fact is that it will always have positive effect on you! 

Picture
Surya Namaskar, image by Maya Toracki, 2015, All rights Reserved
I do minimum 6 sequences. I start slow, sometimes staying for 2 breaths in one pose with a deep concentration. Then I move little bit faster, with inhale or exhale assigned to each pose, except downward dog where I like to stay for 3-5 full breaths. If I decide to do more than 6 repeats, I go with 10 or 12 and then I make my sequence faster; they become like a beautiful flow. Breath is definitely effective tool to follow while mind is settled but strong. You are – present and peaceful.

It can be combined with other asana but in each case it should be done under supervision and under the guidance of a trained and experienced yoga teacher.
By practicing every day you can reap benefits very quickly. Just be gentle to yourself and being gentle you are practicing ahimsa (Non – violence)

Although many variations have evolved over the years there are 7 basic poses (some are repeated) and each has different meaning.
1. Mountain Pose  / Tadasana  - centres you
2. Forward bend / Uttanasana – relaxes you
3. Flat back / Ardha Uttanasana – energize you
4. Plank and Chaturanga – makes you strong, powerful
5. Cobra or Upward Facing dog – energize your spine 
6. Downward Facing Dog – relaxing, grounding pose 
7. Flat back - brings confidence 
8. Forward bend – relaxing pose
9. Tadasana – seals the sequence.

My Advice:
- Be gentle to yourself
- If you have back pain or back problem it is always good to consult a Doctor!!
- Respect and LOVE your body – do not imitate your Yoga Teacher or anybody near you. LISTEN your body and do what you can do. There is always another time!!!

Namaste.
Maya T.
0 Comments

    Maya Toracki 

    My Yoga Journey is not very long but the length of time is irrelevant when something is Right.

    Archives

    December 2020
    October 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    Time To Fall Into Yoga

    RSS Feed

We Would Love to Have You Visit Us Soon!

Hours

M-F:
​9am - 9pm

Telephone

416.400.8131

Email

salutesunyoga@gmail.com
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Blog and our News
  • Retreats
  • About
  • Contact