Yogacara – Oasis of Calm in Heart of the Village

Feeling restless and cooped up during the rainy season? Excited for winter but need to build up your endurance to handle epic days on the mountain? Whistler’s newest yoga studio, Yogacara, is an oasis of calm in the heart of the village that combines relaxation and rejuvenation with workouts that will prep your body for winter.

After a busy work week while getting over a nasty head cold, I was not sure if I would be able to handle even a gentle Hatha class but walking into the warmly glowing Yogacara studio and helping myself at the tea station to a spicy chai soothed my worries and set the mood for a revitalizing session.

While the instructor set up for class, owner Emily Kane and I sat together on meditation pillows while she explained how opening the studio is an exciting new venture as it perfectly combines her extensive kinesiology education with her passion for yoga and love of the Whistler lifestyle. She discovered yoga as a young teen where it began as a general exercise routine with physical gains and grew to incorporate traditional yoga practices that continually benefit her daily life including decreasing stress, increasing concentration skills and improving self-awareness.

But yoga for Whistler’s adrenaline junkies? Emily breaks it down, “Even park rats and powder hounds should be doing yoga to up their game. Balancing poses will help you steady yourself after doing a 360 while yoga postures like Warrior 2 will create the strength and stability to charge deep and steep terrain. Practicing correct alignment in the poses will create muscle memory to help prevent injuries on the hill… something everyone with a season pass craves.”

As the class started, yoga mats, blocks and blankets were already set out and the small class size ensured we all had a great view of the instructor. With soft background music, we were asked to let go of our day and take the class time focus on ourselves. The instructor led us through over an hour of yoga postures where beginners, like myself, to more advanced students were offered adjustments and gentle corrections to stretch and strengthen our bodies to our best ability. After a final relaxation exercise, I left the studio feeling like my work day stress was long gone and my body and mind were refreshed.

Yogacara is open seven days a week with at least three classes a day offering a variety of sessions from gentle yoga for relaxation and injury recovery to Vinyasa and Pilates to build your strength, balance and flexibility. Check out their website for class schedules and full details: www.yogacarastudios.com

Article source: http://www.whistlerisawesome.com/2012/11/20/yogacara-oasis-of-calm-in-heart-of-the-village/