The Classroom
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of DeKalb
158 N. Fourth Street
DeKalb,IL 60115
815-501-4207 (please text first)
edwardmiguel@contemplativeyogadekalb.com
Parking
Drive through the alley on the east side to the rear parking lot and enter through the rear door closest to 4th St.
Current Schedule
Tuesdays 4-5:30 PM and 6-7:30 PM (please RSVP in advance so I can prepare a space for you)
Theme for January: New Beginnings: Reviewing the basics
Tuesday January 7: 4-5:30 PM and 6-7:30 PM
Tuesday January14: 4-5:30 PM and 6-7:30 PM
Tuesday January 21: 4-5:30 PM and 6-7:30 PM
Tuesday January 28: 4-5:30 PM and 6-7:30 PM
If you are interested please contact me at the phone or email listed so I can get you on my email list for any changes, cancellations, etc. I confirm each week on Monday via email that class is happening or if there are changes.
Fees: $15/class , $55/5 classes, $100/10 classes
There is nothing that you need to bring. I supply all the mats, blankets and blocks. The only requirement is that you are able to get up and down off the floor.
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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Contact Us
“I love restorative yoga and Ed’s teaching. The yoga keeps me flexible and free from aches and pains. Ed, confidently and gently leads you thru each pose and offers guidance and suggestions to enhance each class. I always leave class feeling relaxed, restored and rejuvenated. Highly recommend!”
“This yoga class is better for me than a trip to the chiropractor. Not only do I get relief from pain, but I learn how to care for myself instead of being dependent on others.”
“Yoga with Ed is not only a release of stress and tension, but an escape into the magic of the universe. A deeper understanding of self is
learned as you become aware of your body and breath. Contemplative Practice helps you live a more fulfilling life by helping one find peace
in the body and mind.”
Yoga Topics
Breath and Awareness
If you are reading this, stop for a minute, sit quietly, lightly close your vocal cords and breathe. Can you hear your breath on the inhale and the exhale? We hear it all the time even if we are not snoring! It’s called Ajapajappa, the sound that repeats itself, even when you are not listening, also referred to as ‘prayer without ceasing’. Listening to our breath is one of the best things we can do to relax and going a little further, to meditate. It brings us inside and allows us to escape the outside world even if only for a little while. There is a saying that life happens between an inhale and an exhale. Try it next time you are stressed out and then evolve to do it as a regular practice as part of your meditation.
At the beginning and end of our Yoga class, we go through a guided visualization of our body from top to bottom, inside and outside. Between poses we pause to notice how we feel. Awareness is one of the most important parts of our practice. Putting our awareness on something causes it to expand and the energy channels to open to it. Pain is a good example of awareness making itself known forcing us to take some action, albeit a little late. Practicing conscious awareness helps us become aware of things subtly before they get to the point of pain. This is where we want to be, nipping things in the bud before they reach a critical level. With practice, awareness will tell you if something is good for you or not just by sensing how you feel on a subtle level. Awareness opens the communication channels of our body to inform us, as well as for the body to do its healing magic. I know this sounds a little hokey, but there are more complex explanations on how this works. The goal is to make you feel good because if you do not feel good, if you are in pain, it is pretty hard to think about the bliss of our being which is the ultimate goal of yoga, for us to remember who we really are.
What Are the Benefits of Slow Yoga. Dr. John Douillard
Click on the text above to read the article.
