class schedule

SPRING SESSION: April 14-June 9

Dream Group:  This group is open to those already familiar with Swami Radha’s dream method. Held the last Tuesday of every month, 7-9pm, $15/session.

Pre-Register for all Spring session classes by: Friday, April 11th, 2008.
To register, contact us by phone at 613-236-3545 or by email at radha@ca.inter.net.
Please arrive 15 minutes early on the first night of classes to complete registration.

* financial assistance available based on need.

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class descriptions

Gentle Hatha Yoga for beginners:
Our Hatha Yoga classes strengthen the body and still the mind by interweaving postures, spiritual practices and breath. You are encouraged to bring respect and attention to your body's own intelligence by making choices that respect your limits. Every class ends with a guided relaxation.

Sacred Dance:
Cultivate devotion through dance.  Come join in the movement, joy and reflection.

The Power of Choice: 
The Great Yogis say that we create our own worlds.  How is this possible? In Hidden Language Hatha Yoga, we explore the interplay between body and mind while approaching and practicing asanas, allowing for compelling insights. As we take yoga off the mat and into our lives, substantial choices begin to open up.  Dress for ease of movement and bring a journal.

Yoga for Chronic Pain: 
Learn gentle practices to decrease stress & anxiety and increase relaxation & healing.  Dress for ease of movement.

SATSANG
Join us for this uplifting time where we focus on joyful devotional songs, mantra chanting for our prayer list, inspiring talks and videos. A wonderful way to begin your week.

workshops & retreats schedule

The Inner Life of Asanas: Opening to the Mystical with Swami Lalitananda –
Saturday, May 10th, 2-4pm, Santosha Yoga Studio in Westboro, 346 Richmond Road, Suite 205. $25 in advance, $35 at the door

Learn to access psychological and spiritual dimensions using the Hidden Language Hatha Yoga approach. This workshop will focus on the symbolic meaning of yoga asanas and our own healing power as we learn to unlock the mysteries within. Please bring a journal to write down your insights as you slow down, listen attentively and open to the stories your body tells about your obstacles and your potential.

Self-Image and Self-Identity
A two-part workshop:  Hatha Yoga, Creativity, and Reflective Writing
Part One: Thursday, May 22nd, 7-9pm, Part Two: Saturday, May 24th, 10am-12pm
Pre-register by May 16th, $50

Part One: “How do I see myself? Is my self-image valid?” Clarify your image of yourself. Glean insight into why you have the image of yourself that you do, and understand the image you present to others. Create or refresh an intentional self-image that reflects how you want to represent yourself now, and discover what Swami Radha terms: “that much longed-for sense of inner security.” In this workshop, we will reflect on self-image using practices from Swami Sivananda Radha’s book, Kundalini Yoga for the West.

Part Two: “Who am I?” “Who do I want to be?” This workshop is intended to open, challenge and evolve self-concepts. It will focus on reflective as well as interactive exercises intended to explore differences between helpful and unhelpful self-talk and behaviours. Activate the freedom of choice in your life by choosing the “you” you wish to identify with.  Using Swami Sivananda Radha’s spiritual practices as tools, we will explore the liberation of a conscious self.

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events schedule

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update on our yoga outreach programs

Yoga -reaching out to the community

Since opening in 1983, we at the Radha Yoga Centre have been committed to offering yoga in the community. Over the years, we have established partnerships with a variety of agencies and groups. Currently we are working with:

- St. Mary's Home
- Youville Centre
- Elizabeth Wyn Wood Alternate
- McNabb Community Centre
- Multiple Sclerosis Society
- Brookfield McHugh High School
- Big Sisters of Canada
- Christie Lake Kids STAR Program
- Richard Pfaff Alternate School
- Youth Net Mental Health Services
-Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre

Yoga for Youth At Risk

YOGA FOR YOUTH OUTREACH
Jessica Earle-Meadows

Yoga for Youth Outreach is now entering its fourth season of service, to the delight of those involved in the program. Those that run the program believe that everyone regardless of age, race, health, income, gender and religion has the right to have access to the benefits of yoga. In support of this ideal, subsidized classes are offered to ‘vulnerable youth’ through the Radha Yoga Centre’s Youth Outreach program. The vision is to provide marginalized young people with a safe space to learn about self-care and self-esteem, and to encourage healthy life style choices. The aim is to promote improved coping strategies and positive participation in the community by maintaining physical and mental health.

Yoga for Youth Outreach teachers, Jessica Earle-Meadows and Amanda Lynne Jahnke, find that, with relaxation, silence, and reflection come the opportunity for positive life decisions and self-regard. From this place of introspection and relaxation, the teachers encourage their students to find new meaning and possibilities in their lives. While yoga classes may not provide the core survival needs of vulnerable populations, like food, water, shelter, and immediate medical care, they allow for the releasing of physical tension and mental and emotional stress, which are symptoms of core concerns.

Working with extremely diverse populations, ranging from homeless youth to university students with eating disorders, Yoga for Youth Outreach speaks to the wider whole of Ottawa’s youth communities, and their common need for self-esteem and relaxation.
One young woman from Hopewell Eating disorder clinic writes: “Practicing yoga for me initiated an exploration of the connection between body, mind and spirit. As somebody who is challenged with body image issues, yoga has helped me to develop the relationship between my body and mind. The trust between my body and mind has grown and this has been a great tool for me in overcoming my struggles with bulimia.”

Some of the classes are beginning to include agency staff. A community worker from Operation go Home says of the class: “For someone like me working in social services, this kind of relaxing yoga, where I’m connecting with myself and my breath, is vital. I can go out and involve myself in crisis prevention from a centred and confident place.”

This year’s Yoga for Youth Outreach currently provides classes for seven organizations, including: Bethany Hope and St. Mary’s (centres for young or expecting mothers), McHugh’s (a High school for those under the care, custody, or correctional facilities of the Ministry of Education and Health), Hopewell Eating Disorder Clinic, Youth Services Bureau (an outreach centre for homeless or special needs youth), Elizabeth Wynwood (an alternative high school for young adults), and Christie Lake Kids (a program for low-income children).

Background Description for Yoga for Youth At Risk Program

More articles on the Ottawa Youth At-Risk Program

Download the May 2006 Yoga for Youth at Risk Newsletter

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