Freedom is alive

›› Kevin Yee-Chan, Fernwood Yoga Den

And it’s right here, in your heartbeat and your community.

With words like restriction, quarantine, mandatory, and closure becoming part of our everyday vocabulary, it’s no wonder that many are feeling a tightening of fear or anxiety: a contraction.

Initially, it’s easy to perceive this contraction as a force that binds us… an impingement to our ­freedom.

But when we look at the physiology of the body, we might see through a different lens. As the lungs contract, they push out waste in the form of carbon dioxide. As the heart contracts, a rush of fresh, ­oxygenated blood courses through our arteries. As ­contractions of labour intensify… new life is born. These natural contractions of the body are quite literally the movements of life—enabling us to let go of waste, receive nutrients, and be alive in this world.

And as our world continues to move through great change, I wonder: Am I ­willing to welcome contraction as a force of freedom for new life?

When we start to consciously direct the energy of contraction toward the pulse of letting go and receiving, we fall into our power of inner alchemy. It is the power that makes us both resilient and empathetic: better able to nourish ourselves and help others with the simple act of noticing the contraction of every breath and the beat of every heart. Able to feel freedom in how we choose to breathe and be—just as we are.

Amidst the waves of contraction and expansion, we at Fernwood Yoga Den and Maya Health Clinic are committed to being present for you just as you are. We recognize that life is changing—we are changing—very swiftly these days, and hope to offer ways for folks of all ­colors, sizes, backgrounds, and stories to feel ­welcome in this community we call home.

This commitment is present in a range of community offerings. We are fortunate to share these on a sliding scale. All profits from these offerings are directed toward local charities that rotate throughout the year. They are offered in continual respect and regard for public and community health, either on-site or online via our Den @ Home virtual platform.

We hope that wherever and however you are, you can rest and know that someone’s got your back. We’ll be here, providing the tools we can to offer you a space to drop back into the rhythm of your breath, your body… the freedom of being uniquely you.