Yoga Journey, Iyengar Yoga

Thinking about starting yoga? Or coming back to your practice?

Our Introduction to Asana class meets Wednesdays at 1:30 pm and is a wonderful place to begin—or begin again.

This all-levels class explores the essential elements of yoga: strength, flexibility, stability and balance, with progressive ways to work so that everyone can practise at an appropriate level.

You might be learning the foundations of an asana, refining something familiar, or working toward a more challenging variation. There is always somewhere to begin—and somewhere to go.

🌿 New to Yoga Journey?
Try our 2-Week Unlimited Pass and explore our classes, teachers and approach to practice.

🌿 Returning to the studio?
Our new 30-Day Unlimited Pass gives you a full month to get back into your practice, try different classes and discover what fits you best.

Wednesdays | 1:30 pm
Introduction to Asana
Yoga Journey Collingwood

Link in bio to get started.

Not sure where you fit? Send us a DM—we’re always happy to help you find the right place to begin.

www.yogajourney.ca

🍂 Welcome Back to Practice

Our regular schedule returns Tuesday, September 8, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome both familiar faces and new students into the studio.

Whether you're just beginning your yoga journey, returning after some time away, or looking to deepen an established practice, we've created more ways than ever to support you.

✨ This fall, you can choose from:

• Annual & Monthly Memberships
• Practice Membership
• NEW Student Two-Week Unlimited Pass
• 30-Day Unlimited Pass
• Five & Ten-Class Passes
• Drop-In Classes
• Yoga Assessment & Practice Plan
• Private Yoga Sessions

At Yoga Journey, we believe there isn't one "right" way to practice. There is simply the way that best supports your life, your goals, and your journey.

If you're not sure which package or program is the best fit for you, send me a DM. I'd be happy to connect personally, answer your questions, and help you find the option that's right for you.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the studio this fall.

See you on the mat,
Lori 🍁
www.yogajourney.ca

☀️ Hello, August.

August has become a sacred pause in my year.

While I step away from my regular teaching schedule, I won't be stepping away from yoga. This month is devoted to a different kind of practice—personal study, reflection, planning, family time, and the quiet work that often happens behind the scenes.

As B.K.S. Iyengar said,

"My body is my temple, and asanas are my prayers."

Those words remind me that yoga isn't something we simply teach—it is something we continue to live.

I'm also excited to share that Amanda and Jane will continue offering classes throughout August, so our community can keep practicing together while I'm away. I hope you'll join them...who knows, you may even see me there. 😊

As a thank you to our members, I'm curating a special Summer Practice Playlist featuring some of our favourite Yoga Challenges, pose explorations, shorter practices, full-length classes, and a brand-new Inversions: Deconstruction & Reconstruction series to support your practice all month long.

Not a member? You can still access the Practice Playlist for just $37/month, and you can explore everything with a 2-day free trial before deciding if it's right for you. The link to join is in my bio.

This August, my own study is centred around three words:

Learning. Knowledge. Wisdom.

What's the difference? How do we move from simply knowing something to truly living it?

And, of course, I'll continue practicing one of yoga's greatest teachings: becoming just a little less reactive and a little more present—one day at a time.

✨ Every day, 1% better. It feels so doable, doesn't it?

Thank you for being part of this incredible community. I wish you a joyful August filled with movement, rest, curiosity, and practice.

The full August at Yoga Journey newsletter is waiting in your inbox (or sign up through the link in my bio if you'd like to receive my monthly updates and weekly reflections).

And one last thing...

Don't forget to practice. September always feels a little sweeter when we've stayed connected to the mat. 🤍

www.yogajourney.ca

Practice doesn't make you perfect. It helps you remember that you already are.

One of my favourite teachings from Fr. Joe Pereira has been echoing in my mind lately:

"Do your sādhana, practice, and all that is unnecessary will fall away."

What if practice isn't about adding more to ourselves?

What if it's about uncovering what has always been there?

Fr. Joe also reminds us that through our yogic journey we discover "an infinite reservoir of stillness within us." That image always brings me back to T.S. Eliot's beautiful words:

"At the still point of the turning world..."

Life never stops moving. There will always be responsibilities, distractions, deadlines, and change. Yoga doesn't ask us to escape that movement—it teaches us to find the stillness within it.

And perhaps that's why Maty Ezraty's words continue to resonate so deeply:

"You are perfect. Practice is to help you know that."

This week, instead of doing more, try doing one thing differently.

✨ Hold a pose a little longer.
✨ Stay with your breath a little more closely.
✨ Explore a pose you've been avoiding.
✨ Sit quietly for a few moments before or after your practice.

As B.K.S. Iyengar often taught, it's not about the quantity of practice—it's about the quality of your attention.

Attention is love.

Sādhana is love.

Don't be discouraged by what you can't do today. You are not your limitations. They are simply today's conditions.

Keep showing up.

The stillness you're looking for may already be waiting within you.

www.yogajourney.ca

Still basking in the glow of an unforgettable few days at Bloom Retreat Centre. ✨

As I look back through these photos, I'm reminded that the most meaningful moments of a retreat aren't always the ones we plan.

They're found in the quiet concentration of practice…
The conversations that continue long after class…
The laughter over shared meals…
The stillness of early mornings…
The beauty of nature…
And the friendships that deepen when we slow down together.

This year's exploration of Viveka—seeing clearly—and Saṃskāra—the patterns that shape us—was woven through every practice, every discussion, and every shared experience. 🪬

A heartfelt thank you to Stephanie Tencer of Studio Po for another wonderful collaboration, and to everyone who joined us with such openness, curiosity, and enthusiasm. You made this retreat truly special.

Here are just a few of the moments that made this year's retreat so memorable. 💙

Another Bloom Retreat has come to a close, and my heart is full.

Over the past several days, together with my dear friend Stephanie Tencer of Studio Po, we had the privilege of guiding an incredible group of students through our annual retreat at Bloom Holistic Retreat Centre.

This year's theme was Viveka—the practice of seeing clearly.

Drawing from the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras, we explored how discernment grows through practice. Not by trying to become someone different, but by learning to recognize the difference between our true nature and the habits, stories, and saṃskāras that can quietly shape our lives.

Each practice, philosophy discussion, meditation, shared meal, and walk through nature became another opportunity to pause, observe, and ask:

Am I reacting from habit, or responding with awareness?

That question may be one of the greatest gifts yoga offers us.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us—especially our wonderful Yoga Journey Collingwood and Studio Po communities—for your openness, curiosity, laughter, and willingness to explore so deeply. Sharing this experience with you was an honour.

The retreat may be over, but the practice of seeing clearly continues every time we step onto the mat... and every time we step into our lives.

www.yogajourney.ca

Start before you’re ready.

One of the biggest obstacles to a home practice is the belief that we need to be ready.

More time.
More energy.
A better space.
The right sequence.
A clearer plan.

And so we wait.

But practice rarely begins when conditions are perfect. It begins when we are willing to begin.

The beloved yoga teacher Maty Ezraty once said:

“You are perfect. Practice is to help you know that.”

We are not practising to fix ourselves. We are practising to discover ourselves—not for aesthetics, not to perform, but to see more clearly what we are capable of.

B.K.S. Iyengar spoke of walking the line between caution and courage. Perhaps starting before we feel ready is part of that practice.

Keep it simple.

Start with three poses.
Practise for twenty minutes.
Take twenty minutes from scrolling, television, or some other less intentional part of the day—and give it back to yourself.

You do not need the perfect sequence.
You do not need the perfect conditions.
You do not need to feel ready.

Start before you’re ready.

✨ In this Sunday’s newsletter, I’m also sharing a practical home practice video exploring ways to create traction and length through the spine using something you likely already have at home: your kitchen sink.

Not on the list yet? Sign up for my weekly newsletter through the link in bio to receive reflections on yoga, practice inspiration, and practical resources to support your own practice at home.

www.yogajourney.ca

Happening TOMORROW!

Ready to take your yoga practice into your own hands?

A home practice is one of the most meaningful steps we can take as yoga students—but knowing where to begin isn’t always easy.

What should I practice?
How long should I practice?
How do I sequence poses intelligently?
What if I’m short on time, space, energy, or motivation?

Join me for Establishing a Personal Practice: A Home Practice Workshop, a practical and educational two-hour session designed to give you the tools and confidence to practice independently.

Together, we’ll explore how to:

✨ Build a consistent and sustainable home practice
✨ Create simple, intelligent sequences
✨ Adapt your practice to your needs, energy, and available time
✨ Navigate common obstacles and stay inspired

As I prepare to step away for the month of August for vacation, personal practice, and study, this feels like the perfect time to help you build the confidence to continue exploring yoga beyond the studio walls.

Wednesday, July 8
9:30–11:30 AM

✨ Free for Yoga Journey members — registration required
💫 Non-members welcome — $40 + HST

A personal practice doesn’t need to be long or perfect.

It simply needs to begin.

www.yogajourney.ca

The Practice of Staying

In Iyengar Yoga, we often hold poses for longer periods of time.

This requires physical endurance—but perhaps more interestingly, it requires mental endurance.

B.K.S. Iyengar stated:

“The pose begins when you want to leave it.”

What happens when you stay?

When the initial work of entering the pose is complete, notice where the mind goes.

Boredom?
Frustration?
Impatience?
The desire for the next instruction, the next pose, the next experience?

The body may be relatively still, yet the inner experience can be remarkably dynamic.

In yoga philosophy, the fluctuations of the mind are called vrittis. Sometimes, it is only when we become still that we begin to notice just how much the mind moves.

This feels particularly relevant in 2026.

We live in a culture of constant stimulation—scrolling, notifications, busyness, movement, and endless opportunities for the next dopamine hit.

A longer hold asks something different of us:

Stay.
Observe.
Pay attention.

Of course, endurance is not the same as force. We should never hold a pose beyond our capacity or ignore pain, instability, or our individual conditions. Intelligent practice requires discernment.

But when appropriate, time in a pose becomes part of the method.

The next time you want to leave a pose, ask yourself:

What is asking me to leave—the body, the breath, or the mind?

www.yogajourney.ca