The Classroom

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb

158 N. Fourth Street

DeKalb,IL 60115

815-501-4207 edwmiguel1@comcast.net

Parking

Park on Locust St. and enter through the Locust St. entrance or drive through the alley on the east side to the rear parking lot and enter through the rear door closest to 4th St.

The new tavern across the street is making parking on Locust St. scarce but there are lots of parking spaces in the rear parking lot.

Current Schedule

Wednesday 6:30 - 8:00 PM (please RSVP in advance so I can prepare)

At this time masks are optional. If you are new please contact me so we can go through the proper introductions or come 15 minutes early.

Fees: $15/class , $55/5 classes, $100/10 classes

More

Contemplative Practice Yoga® and How It Can Make You Healthy.

My name is Ed Miguel and I teach Contemplative Practice Yoga®. This article gives an introduction into CPY, why it can make you healthy or healthier, and some personal stories of my own on why I started this form of Yoga and how it has helped me become healthy and maintain my health.

Introduction

Contemplative Practice Yoga® is a physical practice for your body that also has a wonderful soothing effect for your mind.  When your body is chronically contracted you shut down and lose your ability to feel your accumulated tension.

Contemplative Practice Yoga® uses gentle alignments in selected poses, along with placement of props, to open and release the deepest core tensions in your body.  This opening also creates deep states of restorative relaxation.  This is called “Core Release,” the exact opposite of “Core Strengthening” which actually creates muscle tensions throughout your body, in turn affecting your ability to be at ease mentally and emotionally.

Contemplative Practice Yoga® alleviates pain and provides a gentle, restorative practice that creates a healthy body and a tranquil mind.  The poses are anywhere from 45 seconds to 2 minutes.  It is necessary to hold the poses for that length of time to get the benefits.  But you are not really holding the poses as much as being supported in the poses.  The support, in the form of blanket props and blocks, allows the muscles to unwind.

About Us

My Story

This form of restorative Yoga helped me recover from a hip and back problem I had around 2003.  I could not walk around the corner of my house without wanting to turn back. I never did yoga before but I read that it might be able to help. There was an article in the paper titled “Yoga For Your Back” and I called the number.  I shuffled up the walk to my first class. Even though I felt like we were just laying around, surprisingly it was not easy for me. I wanted to quit. “You cannot change 50 years of tension in one session”, I was told by the teacher. I was also told when the body starts to heal it can be more painful at first, to give it more time.  To make a long story short within a month I could tell I was getting better. Within 3 months I was hiking the mountains of California with family. When I felt my pain coming back I would stop and do some poses in the grass while they took a break. Within 6 months I was running up and down a soccer field as a referee.  It was a miracle to me. The pain did not just go away - I was stronger than ever.

Before Yoga I was seeing a chiropractic doctor at least 4 times a year since I was 28 because of my congenital scoliosis.  Since starting this yoga at the age of 50, I no longer needed to see a chiropractor.  I even got questioned once upon a chance meeting with my former doctor, “What happened to you?  Are you seeing another chiropractor?”  “No.” I said.  “Just doing Yoga.”  I could see some bewilderment because when I quit seeing him I was going every day in pain.  I doubted that he believed me.  I could not believe it myself at first either! 

It is not that I never have pain.  Like most of us my life is a little crazy with stress and emotions and I over-exert myself occasionally.  When I do have pain, I go to the poses, visualizations and breathing. Within a day or so, sometimes sooner, I would catch myself suddenly aware that the pain is gone.

Why I teach

I was so impressed with this style of Yoga that I wanted to teach it so more can benefit as I had, especially men, who are wound as tight as a drum like I was.   Around 2006 I started training in the Foundations of Svaroopa Yoga and I repeated that again in 2010.  Then in 2016 I started training with Kim Orr.   She founded Contemplative Practice Yoga® and offered training in Colorado.   Since I have family and friends out there, I could visit them more often and who doesn’t want to go to Colorado?  My final certification was in May 2018, and I accent my training every year, through Yoga Alliance.  It has been a long journey to get here but it was worth it.

A life in control

I continue to benefit from CPY.  Normally when people get older they get weaker and have more pain.  I feel stronger now than I ever have, and I have no pain of any duration.  I am no longer afraid of lifting heavy objects or doing strenuous activity.  What little repercussions I have had from those exertions are resolved with some yoga poses the next day with some home practice. 

I am often asked why I do yoga and my answer is essentially “To have no pain and to have something to fall back on when I am in pain, to help it go away.”  Yoga is my first defense for any illness.  I love not running to a doctor right away.  It gives me a sense of control that I never had before.

The Requirements and Side Effects

There are some side-effects though that you should be aware of.  You become calmer, more loving and sleep better.  So you’ll need to think twice about starting this, if those are an issue!  I am jesting of course. 

Seriously though, you will need to be able to get up and down from the floor.  Some poses may not be right for you but there are always substitutes.  As long as you tell me when you are uncomfortable, I will prop you differently or offer another pose. In this way the negative side-effects of being achy during the poses, or afterwards, are minimal. 

A real challenge, as funny as this may sound, is to become comfortable with softening - allowing your body to relax and your muscles to open. Your body may resist at first to being flat on the floor.  Your mind may race during the body visualizations.  You may be skeptical that this is accomplishing anything at all!  This is all quite normal considering our no-pain, no-gain culture that we are in.

If you give it some time, you’ll recognize changes and you’ll be convinced that your body likes this. 

I can go on but the real test is how you feel.  You need to experience it and decide for yourself.  It is not for everyone and I respect that.

Now is a good time to start if you are so inclined.  I promise that you will be comfortable and cared for.  Nobody is the same and no body is alike and I am trained to recognize the differences and help you adjust the pose or even give you a different pose with the same benefit.  Are you ready?

Whatever you decide I wish you Peace and Happiness.

Ed

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