Meet Veronica Farje, giving a FREE Restorative Yoga Workshop this Sunday!

Veronica Farje, who'll be giving the FREE Restorative Yoga workshop this Sunday in the lovely group fitness studio at the Waterside Swim and Health Club--just bring two big towels to lie on, a washcloth for covering your eyes, and be ready to relax!--was kind enough this week to answer a few of our questions, about her, about her practice, and about yoga in general. Here's what she had to say:

Q: How long has Yoga been a part of your life, and what got you started?

Without knowing what I was doing, I did yoga as a child, especially shoulderstand and plough. I think we have an intuitive knowledge of what we need, and when we are kids we give that to ourselves.  I lost my yoga for a very long time, in fact I tried lots of classes and was miserable in them.  I came back to it at Waterside when I was a member here in the 1990s. I had gone in and out of classes for a couple of years, but found a wonderful teacher here, who was Jivamukti trained. I began to focus on my practice and carry the stillness that I found through my physical practice into my life. Major changes blossomed and I searched for a yoga home, which was the Laughing Lotus yoga center, where I later trained to teach. I've been teaching yoga since 2005.

An interesting thing happened after yoga school.  I started teaching yoga and my own practice moved from intensely physical to meditative. The physical fell away for awhile and my meditation and breathing practice grew stronger. Seems to be ebbing a bit back to the physical now.

Q: When you're moving through the world NOT doing yoga, do you feel residual benefits from the practice, in your physical and /emotional state?

I am always doing yoga. It's everything I do. I'm doing yoga when I get on the bus, when I am eating, when I am at work. The practice of yoga is the practice of being present, being there, being whole, just being. That is what plays out off the mat. It's a never-ending practice, and I'm grateful for that.

I just got back from teaching yoga in Jamaica. It's funny, but the yoga of my life made it possible to be open to the possibility of teaching yoga in Jamaica. Before yoga was such an integral part I would have stopped myself just with my thoughts-oh why would you go all the way there to teach? What about the expense? It's going to be hot. There will be mosquitoes. Any number of obstacles would come up in my head. In fact, when I mentioned to people that I was doing this teaching, they came back at me with these same thoughts. Funny huh? My yoga allowed me to do my yoga. Flexibility is not just in the body-it's especially important in the mind.

Q: Do you also do "regular" sorts of workouts or exercise, like running, or sports, or weight  training in a gym?

I'm a personal trainer and I teach a variety of types of classes: toning, cardio kickboxing, step, boxing, rebounding, Pilates. I run. I swim (better than before, but still need some lessons I think). I did some trapeze work last year, which required a lot of upper body and abdominal strength. I was doing some acroyoga too. Rock climbing. I just kayaked and played tennis for the first time in years. I like to try new things all the time.  I love to dance. Don't know what I enjoy unless I try it out.

Q: What's the best "starter" yoga for the curious, like us?  We tried Bikram?or, "hot"?Yoga once and results were, to put it mildly, a total mess. And then there's Power Yoga, yoga for weight loss, Vinyase yoga, Hatha Yoga, Iyengar yoga, Restorative yoga (of course)? it's a little overwhelming at times. Can you help?

I say try them all. You'll find your house. It is about meeting yourself where you are; clearing space for that. It helps to let the instructor know that you are a beginner. It isn't a competition. There are also beginner workshops at many studios that break down some of the asanas and sun salutations and provide info on alignment.

The worst thing that can happen is that it is a challenge for an hour or two and then it is over. But also remember that just because something isn't working for you today doesn't mean it will never work for you.

Come by any of the yoga classes at Waterside. They are all different. Do what feels right for you at the time. Give yourself space to be. I will not be insulted if you spend the class in down dog or child's pose. I will feel honored that you are comfortable being where you need to be in my class. You learned how to walk through lots of practice. You fell down a lot. You kept coming back to it. You keep doing it now. It's a practice.

Q: There seems to be a new lululemon opening every week. Do I need to buy those $119 yoga pants they sell to attend your workshop?

I don't own $119 pants. Practice non-attachment. That's yoga.

Thanks Veronica. Again, Veronica is be giving a FREE Restorative Yoga workshop on Sunday, December 20, from 1:30 to 2:30, at the Waterside Swim and Health Club. Restorative is a very gentle, NON-MOVING physical yoga, and spending an hour relaxing could be that perfect holiday gift to yourself you've been looking for.
 

Posted at 04:48PM Dec 15, 2009 by Scott in Events  |