Multiculturiosity

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Yocomo Yoga Festival Montreal June 6-8, 2014: Instructor Sylvie Anne Williams on Ayurveda

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yocomo-2014I admit it. I’m completely biased writing this article. I love the Montreal Yoga Fest.

Cram a bunch of people who love to twist, bend, eat healthy, probably meditate and talk about chakras and the connections between emotions and food, and I’m a happy (and calm) camper. Last year at the fest, which takes place at Le Conservatoire (4750 Henri Julien Avenue), I remember feeling the group zen of all these curious people. I participated in classes that taught me to not strain my neck in headstand, and I learned the basics of a particular kind of meditation. This year I’ll be checking out some acro-yoga; yoga mixed with Alexander Technique; and my favourite—partner yoga (you don’t even know what you’re missing…).

I also remember last year’s Ayurvedic lunch from a caterer from the West Island: dahl and lentil patties with a couple salads of organic vegetables. This year’s menu continues the healthy Indian theme with a catered lunch from CurryGo, a one-person, bi-weekly food delivery service in Montreal’s Mile End. Already always serving healthy food even when not catering yoga festivals, CurryGo’s mantra fit perfectly with the fest. And the meal’s Ayurvedic principles coincide with two of the workshops given this weekend. One of those workshops will be by yoga instructor Sylvie Anne Williams. She’s studied Ayurveda with her own yoga teachers as well as with Dr.Claudia Welch, a doctor of oriental medicine. She says she’s not a certified Ayurvedic practitioner but she’s well read on the subject and integrates principles of Ayurveda into her own life and teaching.

Wait, wait, wait…What the heck is Ayurveda? you ask. I guess you missed my audio and written interview with yoga teacher, Allison Ulan (also at this year’s Yocomo festival) when we talked fall blueberries and creamy coconut milk…it’s never too late.

To complement Allison’s answer, however, Sylvie kindly answered a few of my other questions:

What is Ayurveda and how does it relate to food?
Ayurveda translates as ‘life-science’ and is known as a sister science of Hatha Yoga. These two traditions grew up together over thousands of years and were practised in tandem. Where Hatha Yoga aims to expand our consciousness, Ayurveda keeps us healthy and vital so that we can live long lives and deepen our practice and connexion to that higher consciousness. The principles of Ayurveda are hugely important in informing how we practice yoga. Three pillars of health form an Ayurvedic perspective are Diet, Lifestyle and Stress Management and there are principles and tools within this tradition to help us better understand and work with all three.
Ayurveda relates to your body, personality, lifestyle, and seasonal eating depending on the climate of the place you live, which i what I learned . That’s horribly over=simplified, I know, but how do specific foods work differently for different types of people in different seasons?
This question is huge and many books have been written on the topic. I can’t do the tradition justice in this context so I’ll just recommend that if someone wants to know more about this, they should pick up one of the following books:
  • Balance your Hormones Balance your Life by Dr.Claudia Welch
  • Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing by Usha Lad and Dr. Vasant Lad
Is there anything we should all in this part of North America be eating right now?
It depends!  From an Ayurvedic perspective one single thing is rarely appropriate for everyone at any given time! We look at time of day, season, individual constitution, what is available, activities proceeding and preceding a meal as well as quantity of food to determine what is appropriate. It really isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of model!
What dosha are you mainly and what did you have for breakfast, lunch and dinner today?
My doshic constitution is slightly in favor of Pitta and I had oatmeal for breakfast, salmon-kale salad for lunch, toast with ghee, nuts and dried fruit for dinner, yesterday.
What about guilty food pleasures and cravings? Are these healthy? Do you have a food you don’t think you should eat but you do anyway?
I don’t really know if cravings are healthy or unhealthy but they certainly exist. For me personally, bringing ayurvedic principles into my diet has helped me shift my perspective around guilt, pleasure, and food. Eating is an inherently pleasurable experience. Eating to feel nourished, satisfied and balanced, even more so. Ayurveda has helped me sit with the questions of how well I digest different foods, how they make me feel, when and where I eat and when I eat bigger meals throughout the day.  When I come from a place of love and gratitude for the gift of food that is in front of me instead of a system or rules, regulations, “good” vs ‘bad” foods, often the emotional and mental charge is removed and I make overall better choices and enjoy eating a lot more.
How much of this will you cover in your class? Will participants come out with a basic understanding of Ayurveda or take away more specific information, skills, and recipes for themselves?
The focus of the workshop I’m teaching is Dinacharya (daily routine) and not Ayurvedic diet. The workshop will explore a very, very basic overview of Ayurveda and then we will look more specifically at Dinacharya or daily routine which is a very important part of health form an Ayurvedic perspective. We will look at when to eat throughout the day and what times of day are best suited to bigger and smaller meals.
You can check out Sylvie’s workshop at Yocomo 2014 on Sunday, June 7 at 10:30am. Then stick around for that lunch I mentioned from CurryGo.
To register, go to the Yocomo website.
Where: Le Conservatoire (4750 Henri Julien Avenue)
When: Friday June 6th to Sunday June 8th, with workshops from 8:30am to 5:30pm Saturday and Sunday
How much:
In advance: Full Festival Pass $179, Saturday Pass $79, Sunday Pass $79, Kids registration fee $5/child (one day), À la carte class $25
On-site: Full Festival Pass $225, Saturday Pass $100, Sunday Pass $100, À la carte $25

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