He’ll be your handyman
Local yoga studio hosts workshop on handstands
Nomade – Yoga, Movement, and Breath is hosting a two-hour handstand workshop in Lennoxville April 28. This event, open to the public (at $35 plus tax for non-members), invites participants who are curious about mastering the art of handstands.
The workshop is designed to accommodate all skill levels from beginners to intermediates and will focus on the fundamentals of handstands, introducing various positions and shapes, according to the organization’s Facebook page. Attendees will learn to integrate these into different flows while incorporating play into their practice.
The session will include preparatory work and other essential techniques to enhance one’s ability to stand on their hands. This experience not only opens up a new world of acrobatics but also aims to strengthen the upper body, improve balance, increase shoulder mobility, enhance body awareness, and develop a fun and impressive skill.
Jesper Oreloev, personal trainer and functional movement specialist, will run the workshop. He spoke about it and his relatively new-to-lennoxville business with The Record April 23.
“Why would we like to stand on our hands?” Oreloev asked rhetorically. “Because we can,” he said. Learning to be upside down is a “beautiful thing,” he added. It gives you a new perspective on life and allows you to become healthier, stronger and more able.
When we grow old, he continued, we tend to become more rigid and stiff. Using your body with “diversity” will allow you to have more “longevity.” “Handstanding” is like meditation, you have to become completely aware in the present moment. You need to learn to open your shoulders and strengthen your upper body. “It’s sort of like standing on your feet, but opposite,” he said with a chuckle.
Once you get more comfortable with doing a handstand, which is the first level, you can start learning how to move in the position. Smaller movements turn into bigger movements and are put together in a kind of “flow.”
Oreloev arrived in Lennoxville two years ago. His wife is from the area. He is originally from Sweden. He finds the Townships “geographically similar” to Sweden so far. He said the local forests are beautiful and the weather is better. The seasons are distinct, though the winter is a bit longer, he admitted. “Sweden is greyer, there is more colour here, for sure,” he said. He also thinks the people here are “very nice and welcoming.”
Oreloev’s wife, Vanessa Doyon, manages the business. They aim to build a community. Physical movement, he said, is about bringing people together to play. We play less as we become old, which is something he would like to help people change.
Find out more here: https://www. nomadeyoga.ca/