KAT IS MOVING BACK TO INDIA JULY 30

It was only a matter of time before our Kitty Kat would get the travel bug again… There is just no holding down this travelling soul. Her heart was calling her back.

Writing this is particularly hard for me… I will admit I’ve cried a lot. It’s been a mixture of tears knowing I am losing her physical presence but also tears of joy for her new beginning as well as my own (I’ve had many of those this year). I am so sad to see her go as she has really been such an important part to our Buddha Belly Team. Kat has been teaching, doing workshops, assisting with managing the studio and holding up the front desk. Most importantly she has been like a sister to me. She is unconditionally loving, strong, loyal, smart, silly, conscious, self-aware, grounded, caring, trustworthy, understanding, reliable, creative and talented. I have so much gratitude for all she has done for me and I have so much love in my heart for her. I don’t know what I would have done without her this past year. It was truly an honor to have her be part of my life and our studio, if only for a while.

Let me tell you that Kat came right at a time that I needed her the most. Yes, owning a studio is fulfilling, beautiful and humbling but it is also one of the hardest roads I have had ever had to walk in my life. There is so much that goes on inside of it all that no one sees. Throughout this time, Kat always had my back. She has held space for me, stepped into places where there was need, and picked me up so many times when I was down. <3 Kat has also befriended many of you around the studio and I know that her presence and yoga classes will be very missed. So please soak her up while you can and please be sure to give her lots of hugs and encouragement as this change is also very hard for her because her of love for the studio and all of us staff and students who are part of it.

I truly honor her for listening to the strong calling that she has had to get back to India…We all have a “soul home” and India is hers. Kat says she plans to come back to us … so lets cross our fingers and hope that she does. If she doesn’t however, we will need to trust that this is what’s best for Kat’s life and bless her journey. I know its not goodbye, just farewell!

Having the studio has taught me to honor and accept departures with total ease and grace. I trust in the choices and journey of those who are leaving, and I trust in Divine that the new space that’s been created in the intricate web of life will always be filled with exactly what we need in the right divine timing.

Shauna taught me a long time ago that people come into your life for:
1) a reason 2) a season 3) a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person. This viewpoint has been incredibly helpful for me over the last few years.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. — Unknown

To the students and staff: It’s times like this that I realized how blessed I am to know so many beautiful souls, no matter for how long. Students and staff always come and go but they stay in my heart forever. There was a time in my life when I felt like an alien lost from my planet. What I didn’t know, was that my soul was needing my tribe. The studio has been the missing piece to my puzzle. There is no longer something missing from my heart because my heart is all of you who are part of our community. Its the little things… the smiles, the caring, the hugs, the laughs, the love, the wisdom, the support, the conscious conversations, the rawness, the realness. From my heart to yours, you mean so much to me and I LOVE YOU ALL. This studio would not be possible without the customers who so graciously keep us running and the staff who make it what it is <3 I would be so lost without you.

XOXO MEL

In a day and age where busyness is rewarded and calm is all but forgotten we have to make a conscious effort to practice self care. The act of yoga, deep breathing and connecting to the self is an amazing way to include self care in your life. Many see massage as an indulgence, but don’t be fooled by its feel good properties. Massage therapy can improve your game in more ways than one.  The practice of combining self care modalities is common and massage and yoga are the perfect combo. Yoga is often known as the exercise that allows your body to massage its own inner organs, which is remarkable on its own. However massage therapy can add to yoga, enhancing your hard work leaving you with amplified gains. Both yoga and massage benefit the mind, body and soul. Whether you get a massage before or after yoga will depend on your goals, but both are equally beneficial. Here are some ways you can use these complementary modalities to enhance your yoga experience while strengthening your inner connection.

Benefits of massage before yoga:

1. Deepen your stretches: Massage therapy can break down connective tissue (fascia) restrictions encouraging easier movement in the body which allows you to reach a deeper stretch and hold in your yoga positions.
2. It can relieve muscle tension causing pain which may be holding you back in your yoga movements. A pain free body works better.
3. Massage decreases knots and trigger points that restrict movements. It also increases your range of motion allowing for more movement in joints, smoother transitions with movements and an overall more effective yoga session.
4. Allows you to gain awareness of muscle weaknesses or imbalances which allows you the understanding of where you need to work more consciously in your yoga practice to strengthen, push, or hold back. This also decreases your chance of overcompensating with those muscles, or injuring yourself during your poses.  
5. Massage helps balance out and align the muscle systems increasing your potential for more effective and consistent asanas.
6. Massage increases circulation and warms up muscles making it the perfect precursor to your yoga session. You’ll be more than ready to begin your yoga practice the moment you reach your mat.
7. Massage encourages deep breathing allowing you to get in tune with your body while bringing you into a mindful mental state. It can also increase clarity allowing you to leave all outside stressors and distractions behind. You’ll be mentally clear and prepared to begin your yoga session.
8. Increases overall physical performance. Just as massage can improve an athlete’s game it too can encourage your body to work more efficiently.

Benefits Massage after yoga:

1. Massage helps to flush out lactic acid in the muscles, helps increase lymphatic drainage in the body and increases circulation all which will help you recover from any soreness you may get from your yoga session. It will also encourage toxins to flush out of your system.
2. A massage therapist can work on areas of tension that are hard to work out with yoga. An RMT can directly affect the muscles to release the tightness.
3. Yoga can work as a “warm up” for the massage allowing your body to receive a deeper level of massage work along with a reduced pain response on tender areas.
4. Prolongs the release of both feel good hormones while continuing to reduce the stress hormones. Often a deeper state of relaxation and release during this massage session is experienced.
5. Improved Sleep quality. Massage is well known to positively impact sleep quality, however with the combination of massage after a yoga session sleep quality increases further.
6. It allows continuum of the sacred calm space created in yoga, and prolongs the healing effects you just experienced in class.
7. Because yoga and massage share so many positive effects to the body and mind the combining of the two will enhance the properties of each other. Essentially leaving you with a double benefit.

The power of touch is well known in both communities of science and spirituality. People have been experiencing the advantages of yoga and massage for thousands of years. The way in which yoga and massage therapy compliment each other is a beautiful dance between passive and manual therapies. The mind, body and spirit benefit from continued self care whether you chose massage before or after yoga. Whether you experience a heightened yoga session or just an overall increased feeling of well being then it has been worth it. Namaste.

We love to hear from you! If you have any questions please talk to one of our experienced Registered Massage Therapists. Email us with your questions at frontdesk@buddahbelly.ca

Our yoga and massage studio is located in the Capilano area of Edmonton, Alberta. Our address is 6139 101 ave NW, Edmonton. We would love to see you for a massage and/or a yoga class.

TEAM MEMBER HIGHLIGHT
•Position at Buddha Belly: Yoga Teacher
•Name: Courtney 
•Nickname: Court 
•Children: Son = Hunter (4 years old) 
Married: Yes (8 years)
• I met my husband at church 
•I went to College For Dance & Theatre + Personal Training (hidden talents) 
• I have been teaching a Buddha Belly for just over a year
• Favourite TV Show = This is Us 
• I am OCD organized ? 
• Breakfast = Bran buds + Prunes + Protein Shake 
• I became an adult at 19 when I bought my first house & moved away from home to Ontario 
• Teaching Yoga = over a decade

We love Courtney, as do her regulars. She is an important part to our AMAZING warm and friendly team at Buddha Belly. What do you love about Courtney?

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