Category Archives: The Yoga Sanctuary

By Galileo (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

Our Moon Yoga practice is all about learning to move with ease through changing cycles – of the moon, of our breath, of our bodies, of our lives. These ever changing cycles are the essence of life itself. No movement, no life.

Tonight is a perfect time to enjoy that big huge autumnal full moon, while we pass through the changing landscape of our yoga community at TYS College. Tonight – Mon Oct 26 at 8:45pm – I’ll be teaching my last Full Moon Yoga class at The Yoga Sanctuary College in the 2 College St location. Please join me as we say thank you and bless up this lovely special space one last time.

As you probably know, TYS College is moving to beautiful new digs at the end of this month. The 2 College St building, the historic Oddfellows Hall, is ungoing extensive renovations. But true yogis move with ease through all kinds of change – so we are taking our yoga to 1 Wood St, effective Nov 1. Our new studio is just the other side of Yonge St, one block north of College, opposite the Second Cup in the Marriott Hotel.

Because we are so excited about our new home and as a housewarming gift to our TYS family, we’re inviting everyone to enjoy a week of FREE classes on the house at the new College & Yonge location from Nov 9-15. Your next Moon Yoga class on Thur Nov 12 at 8:45pm is on the house! This offer applies to both new and existing TYS students. Call 416-928-3236 for more details.

TYS Founder Cynthia Funk will be teaching a FREE candlelit Hatha class this Fri Oct 30 from 7:15-8:45 in the big room at College St. It will be a lovely opportunity to grace this space one more time with presence and love.

“Any place that is holy is made so by the beings who visit or live there. A place becomes consecrated or hallowed ground by the practices, interactions and intentions of those who occupy the space. This feeling, also called Bhav in Sanskrit, can be felt in an external location but also can be brought with you wherever you go.” ~ Jivamukti Yoga teacher Jules Febre

This room – Studio 1, “the Big Room” at The Yoga Sanctuary College – is rich in Bhav. The polished floors and arching ceiling are infusued with the blood, sweat, tears, practice and prayers of thousands of yogis since sisters Cynthia Funk and Kimberley Sopinka opened its doors over 16 years ago.  Cynthia told me stories of preparing the room, how the men who laid the original floors (including Cathy Keenan’s father) continuously chanted Buddhist mantras during their work, filling the space with blessings.This week, the girls announced that TYS College will be moving this fall, due to major renovations at 2 College St. TYS College will move across the street to 1 Wood St, and regularly scheduled classes will continue.

The only constant is change.

I will never forget the very first sun salutation I taught in this room. Hosting events with my own teachers Lama Marut and Sharon Gannon. Chanting and rose petals during my teacher training. Partner yoga with my husband, when he did his first ever headstand. Sweet kirtan with Dave Stringer.

The room is full of the presence of so many of my teachers. All the wonderful TYS faculty. All my fellow YTTers in my teacher training, who shared their questions and insights and bodies and let me clumsily manhandle them in adjustments. But none more than those who have posed as “students” in the classes I’ve taught there.

“When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”  ~ Pema Chodron

We’ve got one more Moon Yoga class at 2 College St on Mon Oct 26 at 8:45pm – I hope you’ll come and enjoy the space while we’re still there. Starting in November, we have a beautiful opportunity to take our Bhav with us and infuse a new home with all our sincere practice and good intentions. Please see below for a message from TYS co-owners Cynthia and Kimberley on the move, and stay tuned here for more updates. Join me and the rest of the TYS family at the beginning of a great adventure….

Dear Yoga Sanctuary Students,

We are happy to announce that our College St. studio is moving to a new space. It has been our pleasure to have built our beautiful yoga community in our current 2 College St. location. It has become a second home for many of you, as well as some of our teachers and staff, and we will cherish the memories that we have created together in this unique architectural gem over the past 16 years.

You may ask why?… This past summer we were informed of imminent renovations to 2 College St. These will be rather extensive and we will therefore need to vacate for the work to be done.  Our new location is going to be 1 Wood Street. The entrance to the new location is on the south side of Wood St. (Wood and Yonge) across from the Second Cup at the Marriott.

Our new studio space has high ceilings in both practice studios, and better yet, dedicated heating and air conditioning! We have exciting plans for this location and look forward to welcoming you all there.  We have a tentative move-in date at Wood St for the first week of November.

You will be able to enjoy the same great classes you have come to know and love in our new space. Our current schedule will remain the same.

Stay tuned for more details!

Lots of love!
Kimberley and Cynthia
The Yoga Sanctuary Owners

photo credit: Keith Evans via Wikimedia

We are tweaking things a bit with my regular Tuesday night 8:50pm class at The Yoga Sanctuary Danforth. This class was previously billed as Hatha Flow. Going forward it will be known as…. Slow Flow.

This is an all levels class suitable for beginners with little or no yoga experience. However, the most experienced yoga practitioner will also be challenged as sometimes less is more. You will be guided through each pose slowly and mindfully as you build a stronger body while releasing tension. Explore deepening your breath and how it anchors you in your body, helping you to live more in the present moment.

When we take time, our nervous systems relax, our minds slow down, our muscles become supple, our breath deepens – our inner chemistry shifts towards a biological balance, which one experiences as peace and tranquility, the union of your mind and body.

J. Brown’s recent article on the Slow Yoga Revolution says it all:

“The concept of “Slow Yoga” is not just about the pace with which we move our bodies. It’s a question of purpose. Are you doing yoga practice because you want to sweat? Are you doing yoga practice because you want to be stronger and more flexible? Are you doing yoga practice because you have pain and want relief? Or are you doing yoga practice because you just want to learn how to be well? Perhaps, all of the above. Whatever question you’re asking yourself and whatever the answer you may arrive at, space enough for the inquiry is going to be required. Slow Yoga takes emphasis off accomplishing something and puts it more on experiencing something.”

For more on both the physical and mental benefits of sloooooowing down your yoga practice, regardless of your level of experience, enjoy the full article over at Yogadork.

Slow Flow Yoga

Every Tuesday from 8:50-10:05pm

The Yoga Sanctuary Danforth – 95 Danforth Ave (at Broadview)