Invite your body into a place of softness, release and renewal and learn your body's struggles and areas of resistance through breath awareness and gentle movements. By using a wide variety of yoga props, descriptive alignment cues and poses that benefit the areas of chronic tension in most individuals, this session aims to lead participants through movements that can reward their body in deeply therapeutic ways. This session is ideal for anybody seeking relief from chronic pain and more range of motion, flexibility and release of tension in their body, regardless of age or fitness level. Meaningful Movement Yoga is a Somatic Yoga experience that also caters to people who have mental or emotional stress in their life and need a healthy space for calm reflection. 

To find out more check out yoga testimonials on our Stories page. Online registration not currently available. Please contact leslie@deeprootsyoga.ca directly to book an appointment.

This restorative and relaxing class encourages connection with the breath in preparation for labour and guides participants through stretches and postures that gently open the jaw, abdominal area, hips, pelvis and lower back to cultivate the best labour strategies possible. Participants are trained on ways the body and mind can respond to pain through breathing, visualization and other relaxation techniques. Each week Leslie approaches the class with a different theme to ensure a wide variety of strategies are covered and the progression of labour is understood. Offered for mothers-to-be ranging from 14 weeks to 39 weeks. No yoga experience necessary. 

Check out Prenatal Yoga testimonials on the Stories page. Online registration not currently available. Please contact leslie@deeprootsyoga.ca directly o book an appointment.

What is Integrative Yoga?

Integrative Yoga is a yoga practice that helps you access, process, release and move past tension or pain, whether it be physical, emotional or mental pain. This is the real reason for doing yoga, that being the idea being of continually cleansing and freeing ourselves of things we no longer need. The practice of Intergrativ Yoga helps ensure clients examine and understand their body's needs, as well as releasing emotions and thought patterns they are attached to do, and integrating this awareness into finding a yoga practice that meets their personal goals. Integrative Yoga works to re-shape and re-train your body, mind and emotional impulses so clients do not keep repeating negative cycles. Life is full of choices. Integrative Yoga guides clients to avoid collapsing into small problems, that, if left to manifest and build, become big problems. Integrative Yoga gives clients the tools to be adaptable, positive and aware in life’s circumstances through movements, meditation, marma therapy (hands-on assistance/pressure in areas of tension) and breathwork. By creating a space of presence, ease and movement, experienced yoga practitioners give clients a safe framework to hear their own inner voice and feel their own bodies struggles.

“I began taking integrative yoga sessions with Leslie to alleviate chronic back issues. My goal was to improve strength and flexibility. Leslie has provided much more than a physical practice. Leslie incorporates the emotional and spiritual component to your practice to assist you on your path to healing. Leslie views you as a whole person and she seeks out the root cause of your issue to guide you through a beneficial practice. Leslie exudes professionalism, is a pleasure to spend time with and is very personable. Upon meeting Leslie you can see that she has a genuine passion for yoga and a love of helping people. She is eager to share her unlimited knowledge, providing a personalized practice that is centred on your specific needs. I have experienced relief in my symptoms and continue to use the skills she has taught me at home.”-A. Bell, Educator, Petrolia 

How is Integrative Yoga Performed?

Private Integrative Yoga is performed in a variety of ways, depending on the client. Outlined below are some ways that the practitioner may work with a client:

• Exploration of static, restorative and dynamic poses that deeply relax the body

• Exploration of marma (acupressure) points that trigger a physical release in the body

• Exploration of breath work to stabilize, activate or calm energy levels of body

• Stimulating release of the fascial lines of the body to encourage the body to let go,thereby re-training the clients desire to grip and hold-on

• Re-patterning the body by draw awareness to muscular habits that lead to tension and creating transformation through re-training muscle movements

• Creating a series of movements that helps calm the nervous system for people suffering from anxiety and other mental disorders

• Creating a series of movements that help activate the mind and body for people suffering from depression and other mental disorders

• Building a strong meditation and movement practice

• Helping in assessment of lifestyle habits

In recent years, Yoga has been accepted as an alternative to modern medicine. The book “Yoga As Medicine” by Dr. Timothy McCall defines yoga as “a systematic technology to improve the body, understand the mind and free the spirit”. Although not an exhaustive list, below are some conditions that can be addressed in a thoughtful and well-developed yoga practice. Please note, one does not need to have these issues to benefit from private yoga sessions.

• anxiety

• depression

• manic-depression

• fertility issues

• high-blood pressure/heart disease

• chronic fatigue syndrome

• arthritis

• osteoarthritis

• multiple sclerosis

• scoliosis

• chronic pain

• insomnia

• obesity