WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Can curvaceous women do yoga?
The answer is yes, with another sentence added…just not as graceful as women who are in better shape.
How do I know this? Because I attended two classes during the Ottawa Valley’s Yoga and Wellness Festival held over the weekend at Cobden Municipal Park and Cobden Beach.
The first one was very difficult for someone who has never done yoga. There were moves I know this body hasn’t done in a very long time… like cross my legs while sitting… yea, I don’t think so. But, I improvised by either having my legs straight out in front of me or putting the bottoms of my feet together.
The second class was with Megan Chase, yes, the editor of Whitewater News, but also the organizer of the yoga weekend through her non-profit organization Ottawa Valley Yoga.
An outdoor event with vendors, workshops and classes, Mother Nature couldn’t have co-operated more with plenty of warm weather, beautiful winds and blue skies.
The vendors and workshops were held in the park area while the yoga classes were on the beach, with the sounds of people having fun while in the water and the waves lapping at the shore. OWL Rafting provided stand-up paddle boards and life jackets for those at the beach to enjoy throughout the weekend.
The final class of the weekend saw five of us participating, along with yogi Megan. I was the only one who hadn’t done yoga before. Mountain. Downward dog. Pyramid. Backward bend. These are various poses held throughout the 45-minute session. While it is an hour long, the final 15 minutes is resting on your mat…hopefully without falling asleep.
How peaceful that was as my heart slowed down, the sweat beaded on my brow dripped onto my mat and the sun warming my body. I didn’t care that this curvaceous body was on display on the grassy area of the beach – I was relaxed and it felt good.
Ms. Chase began planning this event in January, which was inviting vendors as she designed the type of weekend she wanted. She also approached council about holding the event in the park.
When it was over, she said, “It went so well. It was all so fantastic.”
The event was a fundraiser for Ottawa Valley Yoga (OVY), which is a non-profit group providing yoga at little or no cost.
Ms. Chase noted the weekend was an opportunity for people to try different forms of yoga, noting it’s no longer just the traditional pose, chant and meditation.
“There’s a huge variety of yoga,” she said. “People have taken the philosophy of yoga and created their own types of yoga.”
She said there were about eight people per class, noting many people stayed throughout the day to try the different classes, as well as attend workshops, visit with the vendors and relax as they listened to the live music on the set-up stage.
The vendors agreed it was a great weekend, even going as far as setting up a barbecue on Sunday, with the proceeds going to the fundraiser.
Ms. Chase said there were a few vendors who did not return Sunday because they felt “the event didn’t fall into the traditional realm of a vendors market,” as the event was geared towards yoga.
The cost for a booth was inexpensive, so the vendors didn’t feel compelled to sell, but rather to relax, enjoy the event and make connections with others, she explained.
“The vendors who stayed had a great time with ample opportunity to create a rapport with the customers and network
with other vendors who were there,” Ms. Chase said.
Ms. Chase became a certified Yogi after moving to Cobden and realizing there was no opportunity for low-cost classes in the area.
“My aim is to provide yoga and guided meditation at low or no cost,” Ms. Chase said.
The community group classes she provides are non-religious with a hands-off approach and no chanting. However, she said the private workshops offered are geared to whatever the person/group is interested in.
She is a certified Yogi in Hatha, which is the most traditional form of yoga, noting that guided meditation and hatha yoga go hand-in-hand.
While she is the sole Yogi for OVY, she said a few of the yogis who provided classes and/or participated in the weekend events have now offered to, “donate their time and expertise to classes.”
Ottawa Valley Yoga was formed in September 2018 and has a five-member board. She expects the board to grow as vendors and participants from the weekend have showed interest in joining it.
Ms. Chase is looking forward to getting yoga programs into schools as part of the health curriculum and has already approached the Renfrew County District School Board.
Ottawa Valley Yoga will now be holding regular classes each Thursday afternoon and evening at the Cobden Civitan Club on Gould Street in Cobden.
There is no cost to participate, but donations are always accepted. There are five hour-long classes starting at 4 p.m.
For information on these check out Ottawa Valley Yoga’s facebook page, call Ms. Chase at 613-663-6909 or by email, [email protected].
