YOGA!! Our 1st CNIB Resource Centre Event: Welcome to Delmanor North Town/Wynford and Ranjith of Priya Yoga Studios 27 November
Mosaic Home Care Services teams up with Delmanor to bring Ranjith Wijewardhana of Priya Yoga Studios, also a regular Yoga Instructor at Delmanor Residences, to the Mosaic Community Resource Centre at the CNIB 1929 Bayview Avenue, on 27 November.
Our Steeles’ community resource event was held on Thursday November 20th. Here is a little summary of the event of 20th November from Kevin Lopes:
Our instructor, Raj, guided attendees in a chair yoga session, and then took a few lucky volunteers and offered them a relaxing Thai Message. The chair yoga session proved to be a perfect way to relax, stretch and loosen up for people who work in offices, as well as seniors. While the Thai Massage proved to be a relaxing, coordinated message that helped to reduce tension and stress in the targeted areas. After the yoga session attendees and I were left in a Zen-like mood, calm and at peace. Raj’s yoga session was a perfect balance between exercise and relaxation for everyone who attended, and people were left wanting to experience more.
Raj led members of the Mosaic community in a guided chair yoga session. Prior to attendees coming, Raj transformed the Mosaic office into a mini-yoga studio. The lights were turned off, and the blinds opened. The room became dimly lit from the light coming from outside. Soft, Zen-like music was turned on. Scented candles were lit around the room. Chairs were lined up, with Raj’s chair at the front so he could lead. Once the room was full and people were in their seats, Raj began the session with a warm-up. In the warm-up Raj focused on controlling our breathing as well as stretch exercises to get our bodies loose and relaxed. With the warm-up complete Raj then led the group into more intense exercises, like the “Cat & Dog”, the “Warrior” and “Apple Picking”. Raj stressed two things during the yoga session; to do the exercises to the best of our ability and to control our breathing. Once the session was over, Raj left attendees loose, relaxed and at peace. He then demonstrated Thai Message with a few lucky people in the session as well as two Mosaic members!
Mala and I from Mosaic, and a few members of the Mosaic community in attendance were able to receive a Thai Message from Raj. Mala would be the first person to receive a guided Thai message from Raj, as she sat down on his massage table. Raj explained to attendees that Thai message is guided by the person receiving the message, by giving feedback. Using his hands and elbows, Raj began by putting pressure and stretching Mala’s body focusing on Mala’s neck, back and hips. Once Mala was done Raj took a couple of members from the community before I was lucky enough to receive a Thai message. As I lay down on the table, Raj focused on my shoulders, neck and back, placed that have always been tense for me. Using his elbows, and guided by me, Raj was able to apply pressure and stretch out my body in those targeted areas. When Raj had finished, those areas were left loose and relaxed, and I was amazed and relieved at the work that Raj had done. Following a few more Thai messages, Raj then completed his workshop he bid us all farewell by putting his hands together and sending us off with Namaste.
Raj’s chair yoga session is perfect for seniors or people who work in front of a computer all day. Taking a few minutes to stretch and exercise will keep you relaxed and help to stretch out those muscles that we often neglect. With this being my first experience with yoga, I was left both energized and relaxed. Raj will be doing an encore yoga workshop at our CNIB location on Thursday, November 27th, if you are interested contact Mosaic Home Care Services to register for this event by giving us a call at 416 – 322 – 7002 or by email at info@mosaichomecare.com. You can find out more about Raj and yoga at his website here. If you would like to find out what other events Mosaic offers check out our events page. Namaste!
