Level One Level Two

LEVEL ONE and LEVEL TWO Commitment Courses

Rain, falling without rhyme or reason. It is spring. I feel it stirring inside of me. When I ride my bike home in the evenings from teaching I can contemplate riding without gloves and my long double wrapped scarf, I can smell the blossoms reach into my senses and stir memories of all the springs I have lived within.
This season conjures up love, my body uncoils and peeks out from the heavy weight of winter. Occasionally the sun splits across the sky, reckless and sexy, daring me to leave my sweater at home. Rain continues to fall, but I can stick my tongue out at it, knowing that no matter how tenacious the wet may be, days will come of sticky humid heat, and I will follow these days to the seaside.
Well my dear ones, students and friends, spring is a time of waking turning towards life all over again. Seeds are sown, literally and figuratively.
Upon talking to a very brilliant new friend and advisor, I made the decision to take the Somatic work to another level. To offer two courses for students who are curious and interested in planting a garden inside of their skin. Expanding their yoga practice, taking it into the realms of emotionality, sensuality, cognitive growth, and spiritual joy.
Yoga is such a mystery, I continue to resist and love my practice with equal vigor.
I wrestle with the yoga demons on a regular basis tussling with my self-absorption and addiction to laziness. I find excuses to avoid myself. It is funny, ridiculous and a little heart wrenching. What is this conundrum that draws me away from my own light covering me with apathy.
As a teacher and a student I rebel over and over.
Perhaps you live with similar shrouded gremlins that tug at your light, wanting to pull you into darkness or distraction.
I am understanding more and more how insidious my narcissistic components can be. The more I open my arms and gather these aspects of myself close, holding them with some tender compassion, the greater my capacity for love. I understand I cannot escape the places that are difficult, but I can tease them, cradle them, and whisper kind words into the ear of my insecurities. Then holding all of the wonderful beauty, and the trembling fear, I can walk out into the world and offer myself, imperfectly perfect.
It is from this place of beauty, strength, empowerment and wonder that I offer these upcoming classes. It is time for deeper work, for myself as your teacher, for you as the student. We are on a journey together. It is so incredibly beautiful, that sometimes I feel I might break with the joy of it. Watching each of you, holding a space for you, loving you, these are gifts that sustain the light inside of me.
May this spring open a path that each of us trundle upon, sometimes together, other times alone. May your practice be the gorgeous storm inside of you that stirs your heart and fills you, even if at times it is difficult?
I look forward with wonder to our time together!

Many Blessings,
Lana

Commitment Level ONE

Somatic Kundalini



Lana Maree, of Rizze Yoga is offering a Level ONE Somatic Kundalini course for individuals who have attended a minimum of 2 yoga classes, or have some basic Kundalini experience (breath of fire and root lock). During this course individuals will learn valuable methods to help resource their bodies, minds and spirits on all levels. These classes will focus on the internal as well as the external practice of Yoga. Breath, movement, Somantic techniques, mantra and meditation. These modalities will be used in an integrative, holistic manner to encourage participants to connect with their authentic nature and to deal with everyday stresses, while fostering joy and courage to live as full a life as possible.
These sessions are a series, it is recommended that you make a commitment to all six!

When: Six consecutive Tuesdays, commencing April 29th until June 3.
Cost: $135 pre-paid for six classes (Or $25 pre-paid for the classes you are attending, if you are unable to attend all six)
Where: Open Door Yoga studio 1461-Venables
Time: 6-8 pm
Please bring: Note Book, pen, water bottle.
For more information and to register, please contact Lana Maree 604-216-1003, rizzeyoga@gmail.com


Commitment Level TWO

Lana Maree, of Rizze Yoga is offering a Level TWO Somatic Kundalini course for students who have attended or at least six of her Yoga classes, or one of her workshops. This course will offer valuable methods to help resource their bodies, minds and spirits on all levels. These classes will focus on the internal as well as the external practice of Yoga. Breath, movement, Somantic techniques, mantra and meditation. These modalities will be used in an integrative, holistic manner to encourage participants to connect with their authentic nature, and to deal with everyday stresses, while fostering joy and courage to live as full a life as possible.
This is a series, it is recommended that you attend all six sessions.

When: Six consecutive Wednesdays, commencing April 30th until June 4.
Cost: $135 pre-paid for six classes (Or $25 pre-paid for the classes you are attending, if you are unable to attend all six)
Where: Open Door Yoga studio 1461-Venables
Time: 6-8 pm
Please bring: Note Book, pen, water bottle.
For more information and to register, please contact Lana Maree' 604-216-1003, rizzeyoga@gmail.com

Good Love

Good Loving


When we were born, we were ready and willing to know love in every cell of our being. We knew nothing of this society; we did not know we were male or female. We felt everything through our cells, our senses. Our bodies responded naturally to our environment. We knew when to sleep, to wake, hunger, thirst; bodily functions moved through us and were expressed effortlessly.

We looked out into the world from our insides. Our instincts lead us, into the world.

As we grew experiences happened that created discrepancies. What we felt inside began to become questionable due to exterior influences. Our ability to fully trust our own Somatic experience and ourselves began to change.

This in-congruency set up what could be labeled low self-esteem, or an inability to trust our own truth. Our life force began to grow smaller; our capacity to respond to life in a natural way began to shift. Major influential forces such as the education system supported this dumbing down of our life force.

Our freedom to move, which was intact in infancy became more and more controlled. Televisions are turned on to tune us out of ourselves; children begin to sit for long periods in classrooms, at computers, in front of various entertainment entrapments. A body in its natural state will without effort discharge sensation, emotion and experience. Watch any young child, watch the expression of their body, how they without shame or intellect wiggle, shake, stomp, jump, twirl, dance, laugh, cry and interact from the inside of themselves with their entire body. Their spines are flowing, moving, they are not depressed, bored or self absorbed. They are within and without; they do not need stimulants to bring them to this state. They are present.

Our systems successfully shut us down so we can become, good, quiet, insatiable consumers, who basically are looking outside of ourselves for something to fill the deep void inside of us. We do not cause much trouble, be are fairly polite, we keep shopping and drinking endless lattes and wondering what the hell happened to us.
Well what happened is your life force had to get small to fit in, and basically you just really miss that life force. You long for it like a lover looking for their beloved. You miss being alive.

You walk around wanting something to bring it back, or feeling this empty place inside of you and not knowing quite sure what it is, why is it there, or if it is even real? Questions like: is there something wrong with me, what do I have to change, what do I need…flutter around like escaped birds, going nowhere. Your life becomes something outside of you; this is basically the law of our society, the law of control which seed is LOW SELF ESTEEM. If we spend our lives hating ourselves on some level we will not have the time or energy to support change, growth and a healthy vibrant planet. Our bodies, which when we were little delighted us, often become our enemy, men and women alike will never match up to the unobtainable ideals of this society. We become fixated with the lives of movie stars because their lives, the way they look, their bodies are what we are meant to strive for. Once more utterly externally focused in a fantasy of delusion and deception.

Seriously! How many of us go there, regardless as to how political, environmental, sensitive or creative we may be. How many of us still come up short somehow in our brutal self inquisition. More is always better.

Our fixation with self-absorption has reached new epic heights. I can be so narcissistic I make myself ill. Where does depression come from? Perhaps if I was wiggling around dancing, singing and sticking out my tongue on the bus I might feel more alive. Perhaps if I was skipping down the street saying hi to everyone regardless as to how nerdy that might seem, perhaps just perhaps I might have more fun, love myself more and realize that life is ridiculous and gorgeous.

I am spoiled; it is that simple, there are a million different lattes to choose from. If I am depressed it is highly likely that I have allowed my life to be so deeply self absorbed that I am caught in my own rabbit hole. If I peek out, and if I take a chance, peek out and smile, this simple act could perhaps create a small tremor in the world.

I am inviting you to take your bodies back from the evil clutches of MASTER SELF HATE, who is roommate with MISTRESS YOU ARE NEVER GOING BE GOODENOUGH SO BUY SOMETHING OR INGEST SOMETHING TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF (IT’S OKAY EVERYONE DOES IT), can’t you hear their sultry enticing voices? Isn’t it sexy? Doesn’t it just make you want some?

TRUE LOVE starts under your skin, in your belly, your breath, your heartbeat. No one, will ever, ever, ever, love you enough to take away the emptiness. Love begins within, firstly by actually feeling what ever it is that is going on for you, not the distortion or distraction, but actually sensitizing yourself to yourself. Going home back to the place you started from. Your little body, from here becoming reacquainted with your sensations, becoming a committed lover to life, your life.

This is the “work” of real love, and honestly it is work, it does not come easily. With this I ask you, why does work have such a bad name? Work is creative; it is the foundation for dreams. No lottery will bring you love. It is about rolling up your sleeves and saying, “YES”, I am in! I going work up some love, build me some of that good stuff. It is getting dirty for love, sweaty, unkempt, and messy, love can be snotty, tearful, and stinky, frightening but ultimately it is there, in each of us. We were born loving, it was easy, now there is just the work of going back home, even if the road is dark and you are scared, there are always little candles along the way if you only smile at them, they will light up.