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Real Life article in Calgary Herald
Kim Wiebe believes there's more to yoga than mastering challenging postures like downward dog. The 36-year-old Calgary yoga teacher says while the physical gains achieved with yoga are significant, the mental gains are just as important. "To me, it's about trying to incorporate more yogic principles into your life, so trying to use what you're learning on the mat when you go out into your life and are facing stressful situations," she says.
Kim Wiebe has just released her second yoga DVD, which is sold at Lululemon and Community Natural Foods. "Can you find a calm place of mind in a challenging position, and then use those principles in your life?" Having taught yoga in the city for the last eight years, Wiebe has encouraged many Calgarians to become stronger both mentally and physically. And she's set to encourage many more people in Alberta. That's because Wiebe has just come out with her second yoga DVD, called Strength and Soul Vinyasa Yoga: More Strength . . . More Soul. Her first DVD, Strength and Soul Vinyasa Yoga for Your Life, hit local Lululemon stores two years ago. Wiebe says a few factors pushed her to record her own DVDs. First, she noticed that when she looked for one to take with her travelling, there weren't many available. And hardly any of them were from Canadian teachers. Second, the Calgary franchise manager for Lululemon -- the well-known and loved purveyor of trendy yoga and fitness wear -- told her he'd be happy to carry her DVD. And last, her students kept asking her to record some of her classes so they could practise while they were away. "It just sort of snowballed," she says. Both Wiebe's DVDs were shot as live, 90-minute classes with students at all ability levels. For the first DVD, Wiebe edited the class to feature two separate workouts: a 30-minute and a 60-minute practice. In the second, she provides the full 90-minute class, as well as the option to design your own practice by choosing body parts, similar to how you would choose scenes from a movie on DVD. "You can pick and choose," she says. "If you just want to do hips and balancing, or core work or back work, you just choose your own (workout)." Expect a challenge. Wiebe teaches Vinyasa-style yoga, which she says is faster-moving than other styles. Vinyasa means the transitions between movements, and those transitions keep the blood flowing, she says. "You're linking your postures with your breathing," she says. "If you learn to control the breathing, it can be just as cardiovascular, if not more so, than going for a run." People with fitness backgrounds or athletes tend to gravitate towards Vinyasa yoga, she says, but the workouts are suitable for people of all backgrounds and levels. Wiebe used to be a regular gym-goer herself, but once she tried yoga, her gym days were over. She loves the way yoga makes her feel, and practises on her own five days a week. "It's so calming and quiet," she says. "When I first started, it was an incredibly physically demanding practice. As time went on, I realized the more calm you are at it, the easier it is." Wiebe emanates calm, even over the phone during an interview. Besides yoga helping her centre herself in her daily activities, she says she's never been more fit. "I feel strong and healthy. I certainly feel more flexible than I was 10 years ago," she says. "As other people are aging, they're complaining about aches and pains. And I'm really not. I feel amazing." Wiebe's Strength and Soul DVDs sell for $29 plus GST and are available in Calgary, Banff and Edmonton at Lululemon stores, in Calgary's Community Natural Foods locations, at select yoga studios, and online at strengthandsoulyoga.com.
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