Welcome to the Kelowna Yoga House!

We are sure missing seeing all of your friendly faces in our studio. As the days get longer and that sun shines a little warmer, we hope you're smiling and finding excitement in the little things - and of course, bringing your practice outside! Fresh air and a little Vitamin D is enough to invigorate you while you move through even the most familiar of sequences.

Our online classes have been a huge success, and we feel grateful to be able to connect with our students through Zoom. It's amazing how energy transfers, even through a screen! It's our online portals that allow us to strengthen our already amazing community connections, even during the pandemic! We're grateful to every one of you that checks in through email or social media - keep sending that love!

If you haven't found us on Facebook or Instagram yet, come connect with us!

If you've been feeling a little upside down lately, you may as well be

in Eka Pada Sirsasana! Check out our Spring Schedule and join us on the mat!

Not sure what to expect for your first online class? We've put together a list of everything you need to know!

You may or may not be aware that teachers of Iyengar Yoga follow a set of guidelines that is applicable worldwide. These guidelines originally came from BKS Iyengar himself, and were initially called the “Pune Constitution”; Pune, being the place in India where the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Memorial Institute was established by Guruji back in 1975.

This document was circulated internationally so that Iyengar Yoga Associations across the globe would be practicing, teaching, and assessing would-be-teachers in a way that was somewhat uniform. It was always intended to be a base upon which national Iyengar associations would run, and it was not a rigid set of regulations, as each country could adopt some exceptions to make it workable in their country. This document has had the effect of providing students with a reliably similar experience whether they take a class in Stockholm, Sweden or Kelowna, Canada.

Teachers are held to a high level of standards, such that the teaching is not mixed with other styles or diluted in any way; therefore, the transmission of Iyengar Yoga comes through, even though teachers have different personalities and differing levels of experience.

1. Simultaneously root down into the earth and reach high for the sky.

2. Prune old branches like thoughts that no longer serve thee encouraging new growth and positivity.

3. Beyond our limitations we must extend, rather than a foe make your body a friend.

4. Allow the pulsing life force energy to flow through your veins vibrant and free.

5. Mindful actions will blossom with time into beautiful flowers through the changing seasons and internal powers.

6. Nourish yourself with water from head to toe, bending gently when the wind starts to blow.

7. Reach your limbs and heart towards the light even after the darkest night.

8. Take the wide view or bigger perspective, keeping body, mind and heart fully connected.

Students and visitors walking through the gate of Kelowna Yoga House look inquisitively at the rusty shovel bearing the name of Margaret Lunam at the entrance of its garden. Inside the main studio they read the triangular wooden plaque dedicated to Margaret Lunam: A WOMAN OF VISION, and wonder: Who was this woman?

 Margaret’s love for yoga began when she took her first classes while living on Vancouver Island. She drove to Victoria tirelessly for classes and workshops and with a passion practised at home what she had learned. The Iyengar method of yoga had won her heart. Slowly the idea for spreading yoga to the Interior of BC came to her and the idea stuck. Kelowna would become Margaret’s destination. She started teaching yoga at the Parkinson Recreation Centre also offering free community classes; does that sound familiar? At the same time, she transformed her basement into a yoga studio. Word had spread and the number of students grew.

As she started training teachers to offer more classes, her basement studio became too small. About the same time, in 1990, B.K.S. Iyengar came to Edmonton, Alberta for the Canadian Iyengar Yoga Conference. Margaret took the workshop and was mesmerized by Mr. Iyengar ‘s style of teaching which she promptly adopted. Whether inspired by Mr. Iyengar’s words or through her own vision, a new initiative was born to create a yoga community in Kelowna.

In 1999 Margaret bought the property at 1272 St. Paul Street and in 2001 the Kelowna Yoga House opened its doors. This would be a permanent studio, a permanent home for Iyengar Yoga in the Okanagan, a gift to the yoga community. Through Margaret’s generosity and vision, our yoga community continues to grow 20 years on. 2021 is the twentieth year that the Kelowna Yoga House has been in operation and this is indeed an auspicious year. Kelowna Yoga House was the vision of Margaret Lunam, a woman who was determined to fulfill her dream and who was never deterred.

With gratitude to Yoga, to B.K.S. Iyengar who inspired Margaret, and to Margaret whose vision endures.

If you haven’t been by our downtown studio in awhile, you may not be aware of the transformation now taking place there. Due to the pandemic, in-studio classes at Kelowna Yoga House were either very limited or suspended altogether and most of them moved online; hence our studio was largely deserted. By the end of winter, the grounds were looking rather sad and in serious need of some tender loving care.

To the rescue, Ariaal Ashlie, who has been hard at work for many hours and days performing her magic in the garden. Flowerbeds have been weeded and new plantings added. Many rocks have been unearthed and used to create borders between the beds and surrounding grass. The result is a very welcoming and enhanced space around both studios. As Ariaal told me, she takes great joy in creating beautiful spaces, wherever she is.

So next time you’re downtown, swing by the Kelowna Yoga House and take a look inside the gates. All that is needed now are people to enjoy it, when once again we are able to hold in-studio classes.

Much gratitude, Ariaal!

By Laurie Longden

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