Ottawa Yoga Teacher Profile - Joa Keur

I first stepped into one of Joa's classes many moons ago when he was teaching at the Rama Lotus Yoga Centre. What I experienced was part yoga, dance party, empowerment patterning and quite possibly, one of the most profound spiritual revelations I've ever had. When I left, I wasn't quite sure what had happened, but I knew it was good. It was exactly what I needed at the time, although it didn't quite arrive in the package I expected.

Taking a yoga class with Joa is guaranteed to be a unique experience. You'll probably have to step out of your comfort zone, but isn't that why we do yoga? To move past stagnation, blockage and rigidity to fully inhabit ourselves? Spend some time in Joa's classes, and you'll find where your self-imposed limitations lie. Joa's warm personality and truly authentic way of being are the perfect counter-balance and support for self-exploration that may feel a little uncomfortable or daunting at times.

Joa has been practicing yoga for 27 years and teaching for the past 14 years. For the past 7 years, he's been teaching at the PranaShanti Yoga Centre in Hintonburg. He started out doing yoga in a gym as a warm up to his weight training. Since then, he's completed training in Kundalini and Hatha Yoga, done four years of intensive Ashtanga Yoga practice, and done master classes in Yin and alignment-based practices. He also uses dance as his method of rejuvenation and mindful body transformation.

 

In his classes, you can expect to dive deep into asana, pranayama and drishti (postures, breath and point of focus), allowing you to tap into your own deep resonance, stacking your bones, engaging your muscles for strength, but also for deep release. You'll learn how to use your breath in a variety of ways to be able to relax, and utilize it to flow into and out of various postures. You'll also learn about your core and the importance of its engagement in your practice, and about alignment, what it is and how to find a proper alignment that works for your body, so you're not forcing yourself into contortions that don't work for you and turn you off.

One of the most memorable features of Joa's classes is his Savasana, when you're treated to a complete immersion in a healing "sound bath lullaby", as Joa puts it, so you can take the time to integrate the practice, relax, let go, and dream of good things to come. Or, you may have, as I once did, a spontaneous spiritual revelation about your true nature. Even though my rational mind quickly snapped shut like an angry clam after the experience, I've never forgotten it, or its significance, and it may take me the remainder of this lifetime, and quite possibly many more, to fully integrate the truth of that revelation. Joa continues to explore the healing power of sound and so far, has had a very positive response.

Joa's classes are a safe space for people of different cultures, religions, spiritual beliefs and for the LGBTQ community to feel respected and treated with unconditional love. He teaches a weekly volunteer class (sponsored by the AIDS Committee of Ottawa) at the Centretown Health Community Centre for the LGBTQ community.

Joa is also a gifted painter and photographer. My partner and I have two of his paintings in our home. He's recently finished two new pieces that took 8 years to complete, and continues to explore photography of various flowers.

One of Joa's paintings hangs over the fireplace mantel in our living room.

When I asked Joa how he feels yoga has changed over the past decade, he stated that students seem to be wanting more now than just an asana practice, that the superficiality of asana only is starting to fade as a hunger for something deeper and more meaningful emerges.

Joa wants his students to know that, although he's a teacher, he continues to be a student as well, constantly learning and continuing to expand his knowledge of the practice. He takes it seriously but also likes to be light in his approach to it. Perfectionism is dangerous and futile. You have to be able to laugh at yourself too. I couldn't agree more.

Joa teaches weekly classes at PranaShanti Yoga Centre (52 Armstrong St., Ottawa, ON) on Mondays and Wednesdays: 7:30-9:00 pm and on Saturdays: 3:30-5:00 pm. This fall and winter, Joa's classes will be focusing on the Yamas and Niyamas contained in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, so if you'd like to integrate yogic philosophy and asana practice, now's your chance!

You can also find Joa on Facebook (Joa Keur) and on Instagram @joakeur.

 

Unlocking our POWERful potential

This past July, internationally-renowned yoga teacher Bryan Kest was in Ottawa giving a weekend of master classes. If you're wondering who that is, along with being credited for its creation, he coined the term "Power Yoga". Ironically, he mentioned to us that he was open to suggestions for a new name to replace "Power Yoga" since he felt the term was perceived as intimidating.

I tend to agree. I practice and teach this type of yoga, which can also be classified as a vigorous type of "Flow Yoga" but as soon as you throw in the word "Power", people wince and retreat in terror. I'm beginning to think that, intrinsically, we don't like to be challenged. We avoid stepping out of our comfort zone. We stick with what we know, and what we think we're capable of. Problem is, we're always capable of so much more than we think we are. But we'll never find out if we don't step beyond our perceived limitations.

I'm the first to admit I'm lazy. My default setting is sloth - exerting the least amount of effort most of the time. I have to consciously fight against this tendency. Sometimes, sloth is totally appropriate and called for; yin and yang. But my yin gets greedy and wants all the attention. However, when I do work actively against my laziness and commit to an active, empowering yang practice, afterwards I can feel every inch of my body teeming with something I can only describe as "aliveness".

It's not always a pleasant experience. I usually feel bitter when I'm being challenged. Of course, the other side of that coin is that afterwards, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment for not having walked away from something that reminded me of my own strength and resilience, and left me feeling like a million bucks.

Kest also reminds us that we should approach this type of yoga practice with moderation. Sure, it can be challenging but we don't have to go crazy. It's possible to find a balance between effort and ease when we tell our ego to take a hike and release any notions of physical or athletic "performance". What it truly comes down to is a steady breath and being present. Can we allow ourselves to feel challenged yet remain calm? Imagine how effectively we could deal with our daily lives off the mat if we simply mastered that.

Exploding head ass kicking

I realize it's been a while since I last posted here. I'd like to say that's going to change and I'll write more frequently but I've been busy posting pictures of my cat on Instagram.

Since my last post, my entire life basically blew up. Ok wait, I should be more specific: my entire professional life. I best word this carefully for legal reasons. The Universe decided I needed a good kick in the ass in the right direction, and surprised me with a new life. How's that for equanimity?

So now, probably for the first time in my life, I'm pursuing what I really want to do: teach yoga and write plays, like, full-time. It's scary as shit, crazy fun and I've never been happier. Every day is different and I'm fully in charge of my destiny which is daunting at times but it's really forcing me to focus my energy where it needs to go, and trust that everything will work out, hence my renewed obsession with social media.

Whereas sloth used to be my biggest challenge, now I have to learn how to turn off my brain and take some time for myself because I'm so stimulated all the time with shit that I love and am totally passionate about. It's like being on life crack. It's an adjustment and I have to be careful not to OD. I was living in black and white, and now everything is in full f*cking technicolour. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Yesterday, I got hooked up with Bryan Kest's Online Power Yoga classes. What does this mean? Yoga, every f*cking day. Yeah, I'm still learning not to take a puff of that life crack pipe too often. My head's about to explode.

Yoga rage, Birkenstock rejection and ibuprofen

You know when you attend a yoga master class with a world-renowned teacher and you're really looking forward to it and then you're jam packed in a classroom with too many people and you've got someone's smelly feet in your face for most of the class which is highly irritating and taps into an endless supply of rage that then seeps out of every pore until you're just a big, badass ball of seething anger? Namaste.

Then, on our lunch break, I realize I can't go and gorge myself on gourmet donuts from my favorite shop next door to the yoga studio because I don't want to be puking all over my mat during the afternoon session. So I had to make a healthier choice. I balanced that out with alcohol by evening's end. Detox / retox, yin / yang... it's all about balance.

I'm a Birkenstock reject. I've tried to wear them and like them but they reject me. They tear at my flesh, sand and rocks somehow edge their way in constantly, and my feet just can't get comfortable in them. This surprises me since they're a product of German engineering which typically, one would assume is of superior quality. I see them everywhere. People seem to love them. Maybe it's me... I'm of too inferior quality for my sandals. Time for a trip to Dollarama for some flip flops.

Ibuprofen has become my new best friend. I've been getting frequent headaches, probably from an inoperable brain tumour, or inordinate amounts of rain we've been getting (those low pressure systems really f*ck with my head) or hangovers. I haven't forgotten who I am, used swear words at completely inappropriate times or spontaneously lost bladder control, so I can probably rule out a brain tumour. Although, my love of corn dogs and Cheetos remains unexplained.

I've always had a love of TV show intro songs but HBO's new season of True Detective takes the cake. As soon as I heard Leonard Cohen's haunting Nevermind, I was hooked. I had to watch the show because the intro was so creepy, it drew me in. Lera Lynn's My Least Favorite Life, performed in the very first episode, was also utterly mesmerizing. Thank you Shazam for basically revolutionizing how I find really cool music. Of course, marketers have figured this out too. They know people are gonna Shazam that shit. It's music video as television program. Brilliant.

The delinquent yogini

This weekend, I'll be attending a yoga workshop with a world-renowned teacher focused on detoxification. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing but I suspect my delinquent yogini ways will be challenged. 

I'm guessing there'll be discussions on healthy eating (i.e. no meat, caffeine or sugar). If I attempted to remove these things from my diet, I would be suicidal. I was once treated by a naturopath and had to completely cut out dairy, caffeine and sugar for a month. I felt great physically but I was cranky, obsessed with food and any capacity for joy had all but evaporated. That must be how supermodels feel. Now I know why Naomi Campbell throws phones at people.

Life without that sweet, warm elixir known as coffee would be, quite frankly, unbearable. The promise of that first, piping hot cup of coffee is pretty much the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. Call it a soothing ritual, one that enables me to face the day ahead, and gives me a cool caffeine buzz. Hells ya.

Then there's the whole meat thing. I've tried to be a vegetarian but it never felt right. Or, more precisely, I didn't feel right when not regularly consuming meat. It's like something was off kilter. I was gassy and lethargic - a lethal mix since I couldn't even run away from my own heinous farts. 

Obviously, I don't condone the needless suffering of animals. Those raised for consumption should be treated in the most humane way possible. That being said, a Saturday morning without bacon is like Cher without Sonny (oh wait, they broke up, and he's dead - ok, bad analogy, but you get the drift).

I also drink, as in alcohol. I remember in my yoga teacher training, we were told drinking alcohol or consuming any substance that could alter our mood or perception of reality was like a "shortcut" to enlightenment, and by shortcut I mean "cheating". Instead of earning enlightenment through meditation, yoga and consuming only foods that purify the body, intoxicants "trick" the mind into unearned altered states. Well, I'm lazy and I like the taste of wine. 

I'm sure we'll also learn some yoga sequences over the weekend that help detox the body which is good since I'll probably have bacon breath and be a bit hungover.

It's a miracle! A Christian miracle!

Oh Universe, you never cease to amaze me. Just a few days after this post, I attended a Power Yoga master class with Bryan Kest. If I had to pick a guru, he would be it. A swearing, burping, no holds barred Californian yogi, he cuts through bullshit like nobody's business. It was the most refreshing and authentic yoga class I've ever taken. Dude, you ROCK.

He also mentioned that ANYTHING in moderation is fine. My bacon eating, wine drinking, reckless spending ways thank you Bryan. I know, I know, moderation is key. I'll try to keep that in mind... 

In other news, we finished watching the final Season of Lost this past weekend. When it was all over, the only word that came to my mind was: Huh? I was not satisfied in the least with the ending. 

Sure, there were many moments that caused me to tear up ever so slightly (masterful emotional manipulation on the part of the writers and director) but so many questions were left unanswered. You can only distract me so long with Hallmark channel-like melodrama. Once that drivel is over with, I will still want answers.

I have to give the creators and writers props for having the courage to delve into some deep, philosophical shit. However, there are gaping holes still shrouded in mystery. I feel like there could have been an additional season, explaining all the things that were just left there, unanswered. 

Ending it in a church, with all those religious overtones; and the whole good vs. evil, Cain and Abel biblical story, etc. that permeated the final season was a bit too... conventional. I expected more from this show, especially after the complexity of the previous seasons.

I'm not sure why they decided to end it after six seasons (too expensive? too intelligent?) but that was a bad call. This show had something, until it went all born again Christian on our ass. If I'm not mistaken, the Republican Party doesn't own ABC. They have Fox. Why so greedy? Can't you give us free-thinking liberals some breathing space? Bastards. When in doubt, I blame the Republicans.