Results tagged “solange statsevich”

Front View / Photo: Solange Statsevich

For many of us Montrealers, the city can be a big source of anxiety. Trying to get through the slow-paced herds of people at metro stations alone can augment our stress levels, and that's without the irritating noise pollution that the city immerses us in on a daily basis. Give me a break, right?

There's just no better feeling than occasionally retreating from the city's hustle and bustle. Thankfully, you needn't travel far to find peace. Located at 5178 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal's Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre is not too far from Downtown Montreal.

Why Yoga? Because practicing it will significantly decrease your level of anxiety and improve your overall health. If you're a beginner, don't worry about it! The studio offers a free trial class, which is held every Sunday (5:00-6:30 p.m.). But is it worth attending? I tried it out early in March 2015 and it's absolutely worth going. Let me tell you all about my experience.

Isn't it Kale-tastic?: A Smoothie Recipe

Let's face it, Montrealers, not many of us like eating our vegetables, especially for breakfast. Besides, who even has the time to prepare anything more complicated than buttered toast and a coffee to-go in the morning? Indeed, eating healthy does take more time than making simple toast, but--I promise--your body will thank you for it later. Don't forget, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and yet, here we are running out the door with practically nothing sustainable in our stomachs. How are we then supposed to function without a proper source of energy? And worse yet, we risk having everyone around us at school or work hear the growling of our stomachs. Awkward!

My obsession: the kale smoothie. Hold on! Now before you close this window, hear me out. I agree--the media went a little overboard with the talk of kale. And yes, the leafy green's benefits were heavily exaggerated. Somehow, kale has become a fad in the West. Even Beyoncé is rocking a sweatshirt with the word kale on it in a recent music video; however, kale does have its benefits and they shouldn't be overlooked. After all, kale has been cultivated for over 2000 years! It was once the most widely eaten green vegetable until cabbages won the popularity contest in the Middle Ages. Imagine that! So, for those of us who don't like vegetables and have little to no time to prepare a nutritious breakfast, sneaking in kale into smoothies is the perfect way to go about this particular displeasure. Don't worry, it won't even feel like you're eating vegetables with the recipe to come!

Get your Facts Straight about Meditation with Montreal's Gen Donsang


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(Photo Property of NKT-IKBU)

"Your age doesn't matter," said the teacher to Gen Donsang once upon a time, "All you need to do is seriously engage in the Buddhist practices and have a good heart." At only 35 years old, Gen Donsang is a Buddhist monk belonging to the Kadampa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also the resident teacher at the Kadampa Meditation Centre in Montreal (KMC Montreal), located not even 5 minutes away from the Laurier subway station on 835 Laurier East.

Gen Donsang was not always Buddhist. In fact, his parents were non-practicing Roman Catholics who allowed their son to explore different types of spirituality. At one time, he was studying social sciences, where he touched upon psychology and philosophy. At first, Gen Donsang wasn't very interested in spirituality. "My interest in Eastern religion philosophies was more of a philosophical questioning," he said. Just like others in their late teens, Gen Donsang found some philosophies quite appealing and started to read about them. One thing leading to another, he eventually met with a Tibetan teacher. "That's the form of Buddhism I'm practicing nowadays," he said, "however, it's not typically Tibetan Buddhism because it's a Tibetan teacher who adapted Tibetan Buddhism to the modern world." He also insisted that they study everything that is presented at Buddhist universities.

Siddhartha, Who?

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(Image source: Flickr)

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, that's who! Today, many in the Western world are becoming more and more interested in Buddhism. In Montreal, there are eleven Buddhist temples. In fact, a new Buddhist center called Diamond Way Buddhism, founded by Lama Ole Nydahl, exists in Montreal. In spite of this, when I recently asked several Concordia students at random about what they know of Buddha and Buddhism, I got answers infused with great misunderstanding. When I first asked my victims who Siddhartha Gautama was, none of them could answer me. Then I asked who Buddha was and what Buddhism is. A few answered that Buddha is a God. Someone said that Buddhism demands people to be vegetarians and to practice meditation all day. Out of all these answers, one made me chuckle nervously: someone said, "Buddha is a big-bellied guy seen in almost every Asian restaurant."

Of Words and Healing

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Two years ago, I was sitting on a bench one bone-chilling January morning, smoking a cigarette. It was my first day at university; already overwhelmed from the great number of people on the campus, I absorbed the overall environment and let my newfound reality sink in. Like a bell, the voice of a young man shouting my name pulled me out of my preoccupation.

Much to my surprise, the advancing figure grew familiar. Indeed, it was not our first encounter. I met the young man, who I have nicknamed Apollo, through my older cousin when I was only fourteen years old, but Apollo and I did not keep contact until this serendipitous moment. We immediately proceeded to catching up until our conversation was cut short; I had to attend my first class. Before I ran off--because I was, of course, already late to my first class--we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet every Monday and Wednesday before my class for coffee and cigarettes.

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