Do you believe in Valentine’s Day?

This is a question I’ve heard many times before, have always known my answer but never known why.  Yes, I always say, and last night I realized why…

Whilst twisted up in my least favourite yoga pose, our teacher told us to smile and open our hearts.  Easy for you to say, I wanted to retort.  Then she continued.  What she said was very simple and shut my ego up right away. “If we’re not here to give love and receive love, what are we doing?” Well that’s the best question I’ve been asked in a long time, and that question turned into my reason for believing very wholeheartedly in Valentine’s Day.

“It’s a event that Hallmark made up!” or “men should be nice to women every day of the year!”  These are the two common phrases that I hear in the “down with Valentine’s Day” argument.  Are they valid? Absolutely!  Both of those statements are true.  But I say, so what?  Why not use today as a reminder or excuse to give extra love?  I’ve never seen someone receive a Valentine and be mad … I’ve only ever seen smiles.  Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural painkillers, and serotonin.  Together these three are a natural drug.  Well, who would say no to that?!  Certainly not me.

So I say, soak it all up.  Enjoy giving love and receiving love.

Happy Heart Day!

This December 1st marked a really special day for all of us at Saje. A new Saje store on Robson! The DJ made us dance, the essential oil cupcakes made us smile and the hugs were plentiful. Check out the photos of all the fun times!

Co-Founders :: Excited!

What inspired you to start One Yoga for the People?

“I was living in Los Angeles and that is where I was first exposed to a donation based yoga model. I wanted a studio that was out of the box and had alternative payment options to make yoga accessible to everybody. I wanted to see change and evolution in our communities and I thought that offering yoga would be a great place to begin seeing that change. I felt that even if I were just serving a few people it would ripple out and impact the larger community.”

What has been the biggest benefit of having yoga in your life?

“There’s so many! One primary benefit is that I feel I’m able to see more beauty because of the practice of yoga. It allows me to have a lens that allows me to see clearly. I feel I’m able to see more beauty in everything around me whether it’s people I don’t know, people that are in my life, in art or in food.“

I’ve heard a lot of opinions on how often one needs to go to yoga, walk me through your opinion.

“Each tradition may tell you different things. Many if not most of my teachers have told me that I should practice every day….whether it is asana, pranayama, meditation or mantra. This I still do. But I feel that people can acknowledge that yoga is so much more than just the Asana. That a lot of it has to do with allowing yourself to drop in to a certain moment in time and that, in and of itself, can be a really strong practice. Don’t get me wrong, practicing Asana 2, 3, 4, 5 times a week or practicing everyday will provide enormous openings in the mind, body and heart, but there are so many people that can’t practice everyday and so I find that they get overwhelmed by the idea of practicing everyday and give up all together. That’s not what I want. I want people to acknowledge that if you can only make it to the mat 1-day a week and practice on really connecting to your breath and to each moment…then that is an amazing yoga practice.

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Saje Southgate is built!

The nerves kicks in, will it be everything we want it to be?! A brand new design, a fresh look and the day is finally here: it is ready. We arrive at the mall, run to the hoarding, punch in the key code and swing open the door. Thrilled doesn’t begin to describe the feeling: it is clean, it is done, it is everything we wanted.

The next 4 days were a flurry of painting murals, unpacking boxes, late night tap dancing and playing with our new AromaFriends! Take a look at the journey and let us know what you think of it!

Day 1 || Hoarding

Day 1 || The Calm Before the Storm

Day 1 || Old -> New

Day 2 || The Plans Begin

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