Yoga with Lenore

Moving mindfully. Yoga and Somatic movement classes. Get out of pain, live life with joy. My yoga classes focus on awareness and moving mindfully.

I help people move better so they can get out of chronic pain and do the activities they love. I encourage people to pay attention to how they feel when moving through the poses, as well as to connect the breath with the movements. We may move slower, but we move better. I also teach Somatic Movement to help improve function and mobility, thus reducing pain and stiffness. I teach the fundamentals

14/08/2024

This weekend I was at a friend's cottage with several girlfriends.

I practiced honouring myself and my needs. I had a desire to be fully present with my surroundings, especially near and in the water. It was cool out with a breeze, so I grabbed a towel to keep me warm. One of my friends also enjoys walking by the shore and exploring, so we explored together. She took this shot of me!

The joy of being outside, enjoying nature, being fully present... there's nothing that fills me up more.

This is what yoga is: setting an intention, and then honouring that. It's a practice of being present to what IS. The sights, sounds, smells, and sensations. There's so much to experience if you take the time to notice and surrender to the moment.

What does yoga mean to you?

25/05/2024

You’ve probably heard of Muscle Memory. It’s when our muscles “learn” to do something repeatedly and it becomes automatic.

(Note: It’s technically the brain learning, as the brain control the muscles!)

Well you can also get Muscle AMNESIA. It’s when the brain “forgets” how to both sense and control the muscles.

Here are some examples of what this can look like:

👉🏻 you’ve had chronic pain for at least 3 months that interferes with your daily life and it’s not going away, despite getting help from professionals such as PTs, RMTs, chiropractors, etc.

👉🏻 you spend a lot of your day dealing with your pain in the form of appointments, doing stretches & exercises, using a heating pad, taking a warm bath, taking painkillers, etc.

👉🏻 you feel stiff and inflexible despite practicing yoga or stretching regularly.

👉🏻 there’s a lack of coordination or smoothness in certain movements.

👉🏻 certain muscles spasm or cramp frequently.

👉🏻 you wake up several times per night due to your pain.

So what to do?

You can RETRAIN your brain to better sense and control the muscles. Creating a NEW muscle memory. Bringing them back “online”. Developing clearer neural pathways from the brain to the muscles.

This is done through slow, small, gentle movements done in a very specific way. No stretching, forcing or pushing is required. No special equipment needed.

You’d be surprised at how small movements can bring about such big results. I know because this is what I did to get out of chronic pain myself.

I teach this in my online program The Pain-Healing Method which opens next week! To learn more and get on the waitlist, click link in bio!

30/03/2024

This is what feeling aligned looks like!

And it helps when your hair matches your outfit!

Purple is my favourite colour and it makes me feel more like “me” when I wear it, so I decided to express more fully with a few wisps of purple in my hair.

The inspiration behind this decision was while participating in this incredible program I’m in, Mind Magic . Along with some other amazing, kick-ass women, I am investing in myself, working on myself and growing to reach my limitless potential. I’m de-programming old habits and beliefs. And choosing new, more expansive and aligned beliefs.

To me, purple is the perfect shade for self-expression and inspiration. It embodies my confident, daring and unapologetically unique self. YESSS!!

If you’re craving to shift out of feeling limited or “not enough” or want to feel more aligned but don’t know how, check out this FREE 3-day virtual event, CONDUIT, April 9-11. Go to to sign up. You don’t have anything to lose and a whole lot to gain!

20/03/2024

When there’s stress and your body doesn’t feel safe, it contracts.

There’s a connection between stress and emotions and the nerves that control our muscles (through our nervous system).

This might be in the neck and shoulders.

Perhaps in the jaw.

Or gripping in the belly. Or anywhere.

Just notice when you feel stressed or anxious: WHERE do you feel it in your body?

Now pause.

Can you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Release fully. Take another breath. Slowly release. One more. Hold it... and slowly let it go.

Now. Notice how you feel. Can you sense the contraction lessen?

Your body now feels safe(r) because you regulated your nervous system. You triggered the “rest/digest” part of your nervous system which calms the body.

Transformation occurs from within.

Try this:

💡Set an alarm every hour to check in with your body and where it’s at. Then take 3 deep breaths. You are training your nervous system to be calm.

It’s safe to feel safe!

Where in your body do YOU feel tension? Share in comments below!

11/02/2024

If stretching were the solution, then it would be straightforward to deal with tight muscles and you would NOT be here reading this.

I’ll bet you stretching doesn’t provide you with long lasting relief.

So what’s the solution? Well, to change the muscles, you need to change your nervous system.

We know the brain controls all the muscles of the body through the nervous system, so you need to involve the brain to change things.

Manipulation of the body externally won’t provide any LASTING change because it doesn’t involve the brain.

So how do we involve the brain?

By tightening the affected muscles even more. This brings things “online”. Then, we slowly release the muscles with awareness and control. This is an inside job. You are literally changing your nervous system.

For example, if you have chronically tight shoulders that create pain, tension and headaches, you can tighten the muscles even more. Then, by slowly releasing with control and awareness, you’re involving the brain, so essentially rewiring the neural pathways from your brain to your shoulder muscles.

And then repetition is the key to learning and change. So repeating this will reinforce and train the brain to regain control of these muscles. Bringing them back to their original length.

If you need help doing this, I’m here. I’ve had chronic pain & tightness myself and used this method to eliminate it completely. I’ve also helped many other people reduce chronic muscle pain through my online course, classes, workshops and 1:1 sessions.

Check link in comments for an upcoming workshop on relieving sciatica and low back pain. I also have a free video on relieving low back pain - where you can test drive this approach. Link in comments.

26/01/2024

You’re in pain — or have stiff, tight muscles — because your body is on autopilot.

Every day your body is responding to stressors — phone calls, work assignments, making presentations, traffic jams, worries about your kids, fears of your marriage ending... whatever it is.

It responds chemically with cortisol and adrenalin.

It also responds muscularly.

The front of our body contracts when we face fear, worry and danger.

The back of our body contracts when we need to take action or move forward.

When these responses are being repeatedly triggered, the body LEARNS to hold these contractions. These muscles are on auto-pilot. We — our brains — have lost the ability to both control them and sense them.

And we end up getting tightness and tension and it can leads to pain and dysfunction.

The muscles of your hand and arm that brushes your teeth have LEARNED to do so automatically, with repetition. Try brushing your teeth the other hand — it’s hard!

Walking, driving, cooking — it’s all auto-pilot. Which is a good thing. We don’t need to remember how to do these things.

BUT sometimes autopilot doesn’t serve us. And THIS is what leads to pain, tension, tightness and stiffness.

The good news? Your body has the power to change this. To relearn NEW, more functional patterns.

Somatic movement is a beautiful practice that teaches you how.

To learn more, click About Somatics link in comments.

19/01/2024

Ryan spent over 10 years seeing specialists including physiotherapist, chiropractors, osteopaths. He saw pain specialists and sleep specialists. You name it, he tried it. He got temporary relief, but his pain kept recurring and he had to keep seeing specialists. Nothing ever resolved his issues.

So when he heard about Somatics, he thought, “What do I have to lose?”

I saw him for several private sessions. He had some deep, habitual movement patterns he was not aware of (we call this muscle amnesia). He was able to retrain his muscles to learn NEW more functional patterns.

Here is his testimonial:

“Seeing Lenore has been incredibly helpful and revealing. I have dealt with chronic pain issues for over 10 years now, having seen many specialists and clinics. Somatics has identified damaging patterns, helped me build invaluable body awareness, developed a skillset to put my health in my own hands, and has shown invaluable positive improvements. She identified places where I did not realize I was holding stress. Somatic exercises helped with neck, back, shoulder, and leg pain.

“And when I visited one specialist in particular, they noticed that the misalignment of my spine that had continually reasserted itself over months was gone. What Lenore does is subtle but her work is very special and the cumulative results are dramatic. I would recommend her to anyone no matter where they are on the path to greater wellness.”

While this was one-on-one work, the principles are the same. In The Pain-Healing Method: Retrain Your Brain you’ll learn the fundamental movements that reveal where YOU have muscle amnesia. You’ll learn what YOUR habitual movement patterns are that don’t serve you.

To get a sneak peek into this program, I’m sharing a FREE video on relieving low back pain. Here you’re learn the approach, and get to “test drive” Somatics. Link is in comments.

17/01/2024

Well-being is the basic nature of the body. Trust in your body to heal itself.

Scenario: Jill is in pain.

She uses everything and anything to relive her of this pain: heating pads, pain-killers, self-massage, lumbar support, stretching, etc. It helps her feel a bit better.

And she may eliminate some of the cosmetic or acute problems through "aspirin" and "band-aids".

But the underlying chronic condition remains and eventually NEW acute symptoms appear.

The more Jill looks for a quick fix and focuses on the acute problems and pain, the more that very approach contributes to her underlying chronic condition.

The way Jill sees the problem IS the problem.

She wants to skip the (hard) steps involved to go from where she is to where she wants to be.

But If Jill was a beginner piano player, she would not dream of performing on stage in front of thousands of people. She needs to practice - and that takes time and effort.

The hard truth? There's no outside answer. The answer is actually within.

THE KEY is in understanding and believing this basic premise:

Well-being is the basic nature of the body. You need to trust in your body to heal itself.

In my Retrain Your Brain program I teach you exactly that. You'll learn the Somatic Fundamentals that allow you to change your muscular system by changing your nervous system. This is neuroplasticity at its finest.

The movements you'll learn are small, gentle and don't involve stretching. But boy, are they powerful in healing.

To get a sneak peek into this program, I am sharing for FREE one video on relieving low back pain. Click link in comments!

17/01/2024

Scenario: Jill is in pain.

She uses everything and anything to relive her of this pain: heating pads, pain-killers, self-massage, lumbar support, stretching, etc. It helps her feel a bit better.

And she may eliminate some of the cosmetic or acute problems through “aspirin” and “band-aids”.

But the underlying chronic condition remains and eventually NEW acute symptoms appear.

The more Jill looks for a quick fix and focuses on the acute problems and pain, the more that very approach contributes to her underlying chronic condition.

The way Jill sees the problem IS the problem.

She wants to skip the (hard) steps involved to go from where she is to where she wants to be.

But If Jill was a beginner piano player, she would not dream of performing on stage in front of thousands of people. She needs to practice - and that takes time and effort.

The hard truth? There’s no outside answer. The answer is actually within.

THE KEY is in understanding and believing this basic premise:

Well-being is the basic nature of the body. You need to trust in your body to heal itself.

In my Retrain Your Brain program I teach you exactly that. You’ll learn the Somatic Fundamentals that allow you to change your muscular system by changing your nervous system. This is neuroplasticity at its finest.

The movements you’ll learn are small, gentle and don’t involve stretching. But boy, are they powerful in healing.

To get a sneak peek into this program, I am sharing for FREE one video on relieving low back pain. Click link in bio!

13/12/2023

Here are the top 3 causes of chronic pain that PTs and other professionals can't fix.

I used to rely on professionals -- and would feel better -- but the pain always returned a few weeks later.

After lots of searching, I learned a unique method to eliminate my chronic pain for good.

I have shared this approach with many people and have helped them get out of chronic pain too through my online course, workshops, 1:1 sessions and classes. DM me to see if you are someone I can help too!

22/07/2023

Come out for a mindful yoga class tomorrow, Sunday July 23!

17/07/2023

CIBC Run for the Cure, the Canadian Cancer Society and Corelife Wellness are partnering together on Sunday July 23 at JC Saddington Park to present a Mini Wellness Retreat!

I am proud to be teaching an hour long mindful yoga class for this event!

All funds raised will go towards the CIBC Run for the Cure. Tickets can be purchased at the park for $15.

Hope to see you there!

13/06/2023

I just returned from a four day intensive Somatics training with an amazing group of somas!

A soma is body that can sense itself. Our ability to internally sense ourselves is what gives us the freedom to choose. To choose how we want to be in the this world.

We have the ability to self-sense, self-control and self-regulate. This is built into our nervous system.

Somatics is a way of learning to move freely and improve muscle function in order to live life with joy and to continue doing the activities we love.

23/11/2022

The other day we were exploring the arm position of gomukhasana.

One of my student noticed: “My right shoulder has always been more restricted. I should get my massage therapist to loosen it up.”

Hmmm... as a Somatic Educator, this brought up some thoughts for me:

I think massage has many benefits, but passive manipulation of the body will only provide short-term relief. After a short while the shoulder will go back to its "programmed state."

How is it programmed? From years of habit, or in response to stress or perhaps in response to an injury.

Your brain is an organ of learning and habituation, and it has learned from these experiences and taught your muscles to remain contracted (remember the brain controls the muscles through your nervous system). It seeks to create "normal" or "familiar" even if this means we're out of balance.

The only way to change this is to RETRAIN the muscles to release and relax, using your nervous system.

How? Using a technique called pandiculation, you can reprogram the connection between the brain and muscles.

Learn NEW patterns to override the old patterns.

Someone can’t "fix" another person. Any lasting changes occur through movement that is integrated at the level of your own nervous system.

To learn more, click here: https://yogawithlenore.com/heal-with-somatics-2/

14/11/2022

Do you have a tense, stiff neck and limited range of motion in this area?

Stretching or massage might feel good, but are short-lived and don't change the length of tight neck muscles. That's because they don't involve the nervous system or brain, which we need to involve if we are seeking lasting change. We do this by moving slowly, with awareness, and in a pain-free range.

In a previous video (Nov. 2), I demonstrated an easy neck release. Here is another one, but involves lateral movement (side bending).

You can improve neck mobility by coordinating it with the shoulder and torso. That's because our body is a system, and all parts work and coordinate together. Focusing just on the neck will not be as effective.

The movements should be easy, comfortable and not cause pain, stretch sensation or the feeling of tugging or pulling. If you want something different from your current experience, then you need to move in a range that's different.

When muscles are stretched passively, there is a stretch reflex response in our nervous system which contracts the muscle that you are looking to lengthen. That is the opposite of what you want!

Give this a try and let me know if you found more range in your neck side bending. Don't forget to try the other side!

09/11/2022

Improve your shoulder mobility and range as well as reduce tension by trying this exercise.

While the arm bone and shoulder blade coordinate together all the time, it’s important to be able to distinguish these two movements.

*Differentiation* of arm movement from shoulder blade movement helps improve the neural pathways from your brain to the muscles thus improving mobility, range and reducing pain and tension in the shoulder girdle.

Having said that, most people find it challenging to JUST internally and externally rotate the upper arm bone. But it can be done!

The next challenge is coordinating that with the shoulder blade movement (and being able to tell the difference).

Move slowly to help your brain figure it out!

Give it a try and let me know what you notice.

05/11/2022

Class outside in November?!

We must be breaking some records with temperatures like this!

We were able to hold class outside today!

Had fun exploring shoulder mobility in this Somatics/Yoga blend class.

Today we focused on releasing the muscles which rotate the arm bone internally and externally and how that coordinates with the shoulder blade.

Students felt looser and freer with their shoulder and arm movements.

To learn more about Somatics and how it can help you reduce stiffness and pain, click here: https://yogawithlenore.com/heal-with-somatics-2/

03/11/2022

Do you have a tense, stiff neck and limited range of motion in this area?

You can improve that by moving the neck in ways that coordinate with the torso and also use differentiated movement to help.

To differentiate means to move the head independent of the torso, or in a different direction than the torso.

Differentiation makes the brain pay attention.

When we want to make lasting change, we need to be an active part of the process (vs. passive with stretching or manipulation).

That means using the cortex part of our brains to change the nervous system.

Differentiated movement can bring greater coordination, control and range of movement to the muscles. Not through force, or stretching, but with intelligent sensory awareness of what we're doing and greater motor control.

Give it a try and let me know what you notice!

31/10/2022

Happy Hallowe’en!

The dark side of your spirit is invited to come out tonight!

We all have a dark side - in the form of anger, frustration, sadness, worry, anxiety, resentment or feelings of worthlessness.

These aren’t necessarily bad, but rather are an expression of the human spirit.

As long as we recognize these are just feelings and thoughts. And it’s not who we really are.

We also have a light side: joy, happiness, presence, silliness.

Can you stand back and simply observe whatever it is you’re feeling? You are the witness of your thoughts. The calm, steady, silent observer.

Have fun tonight!

28/10/2022

One of my students came in 1st place in in her age group in the half marathon of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon recently!

A year ago, she took some private Somatics sessions with me because her whole body was stiff, achy and in pain. It was difficult to run... and running is her true love.

Her goal was to be able to train free and hard, and race free and hard. And to feel good afterwards.

She's been working SO hard to regain function. She shared this photo with me because she attributes her success to her Somatics practice.

You can see in the before and after pics (over several sessions) she was able to regain control of her muscles and nervous system to ease the tension and pain in the back and shoulders, as well as in her hips. It’s not so much visually how she has changed but how she felt INTERNALLY. And how this changed her FUNCTION.

In her words:

"Lenore is a wonderful, vastly knowledgeable guide, teacher and practitioner in healing movement. She embodies her work (although it is clearly a passion over work), and seeing her move is believing in what’s possible. I was hooked from the beginning, knowing that Somatics is the keystone to my own healing journey and exploration of moving freely, lightly and integrated... as we are meant to."

How did she feel during the race? "It was a magical run for me – it was actually easy for all but the last km!"

Congratulations Tammy!!

05/09/2022

Muscle imbalance can sometimes cause pain or discomfort. Have you ever considered WHY the muscles are unbalanced in the first place? A lot of times our repetitive patterns can lead to this imbalance.

What repetitive patterns do you have? Are they serving you or not?

30/08/2022

How you stand can really impact your joints and your muscles.

If you tend to put more weight on one side than the other then you have more weight on one leg than the other.

Thus hip joint becomes more contracted to support that weight. Namely buttocks or back of pelvis.

Knee is also affected from the pressure of the leaning, and feet can be impacted.

Awareness is key and shifting positions as you’re standing is important.

You can also strengthen the outer hip muscles which tend to be weak and tight in most people which I demonstrate here.

12/08/2022

Do you have knee pain?

The interesting thing about the knee joint is that it’s the bridge between the foot and hips.

And because it’s a hinge joint between these two areas it can end up doing a lot of the work FOR those two areas (even though that’s not its job).

So for example if there’s a lack of mobility in the foot or ankle, the knee will end up doing that work.

On the other end if the hips are tight then the knee will end up compensating for the lack of movement in the hips.

The knees are not designed to do the jobs of these two areas and so after a while the knees respond with pain letting you know that something is up.

So instead of focusing on the pain in the knee, it’s worth exploring your hip and ankle/foot function first.

10/08/2022

There’s no right or wrong with movement but rather it depends on what is your intention.

So let’s look at a forward fold. Are you doing this through your spine or through your hips?

It depends on what you want.

Become aware of what you’re doing and ask yourself: does this serve you?

P.S. a lot of people will feel tight in the hips and therefore unintentionally move in the spine - when they actually need to move more through the hips!

29/07/2022

Being in the present moment… no matter what is there, I am with it!

Whether it’s sunshine or clouds. Rain or snow.

Happiness or sadness. Anger or frustration. Jealousy or envy.

There’s beauty everywhere and in everything IF you choose to see it.

What’s your perspective?

21/07/2022

What happens when we try to lengthen a tight muscle with force?

I see lots of people trying to lengthen their hamstrings by pulling on them, and they have a grimace on their face, which indicates it's not comfortable.

Or, rolling out their IT band and it's super painful.

Know what that does? The nervous system senses that muscle is being pulled beyond its means, and sends a signal to that muscle to tighten so as to protect the joint (stretch reflex). This is the opposite of what you desire!

You have a relationship with your body. Creating, allowing or putting up with pain is not a great start to that relationship.

Also moving in pain is a great way to teach your body that pain is appropriate. Your nervous system will start responding by going into fight/flight mode, which causes the muscles to guard even more. Or to get louder, because it thinks you didn't hear the message the first time!

Pain is a sign to back off. It means NO. Listen to it and your body will thank you.

When you move in a comfortable pain-free range, your nervous system will start to relax and allow the muscle to lengthen naturally.

19/07/2022

Walking requires movement- in the legs and arms, but also in the pelvis. If the muscles surrounding the pelvis - the back muscles, abdominals and obliques - are tight, the they won’t allow the pelvis to move much.

When that happens, other parts of the body WILL move to accommodate. But if this isn’t their job, they will get tired and start complaining.

This could be knees, hips, ankles or feet.

Become aware of your pelvis while walking. Can you sense it moving? It hikes up and down AND moves forward and back.

Much like a kayak paddle. In a 3-D figure eight pattern.

If it’s not moving, then something at the center of the body - abdominals back muscles or obliques - are tight and need to be released.

Somatics looks at the full body movement pattern and helps to release these tight muscles.

I will be offering a LIVE 6-week online course in the near future to help you free up stiffness and get out of pain, by teaching you to move better. To get on the wait list, send me a DM!

15/07/2022

When we have pain in a certain area, that’s not always where the problem is!

With tennis or golf elbow, if there’s a lack of mobility in the shoulder blade or torso then the arm muscles will end up doing more of the work and this can cause some protesting - in the form of pain!

Somatics is unique in that it addresses the movement pattern that CONTRIBUTES to the pain.

It uses the nervous system to improve mobility and retrain the tight muscles!

14/07/2022

When you’re in pain there’s usually a guarding or protective pattern of the muscles.

So if you want to get out of pain and change the state of your musculature you also need to change the state of your mind.

The state of mind associated with guarding in the muscles is the fight fight response.

The state of mind associated with letting the muscles relax and experience a state of stillness is the rest and digest response.

The muscles are part of the nervous system so they are AFFECTED by your state of being.

When we are in fight flight mode the muscles are tense and ready to take action.

But when you are relaxed and in more of the rest and digest state then your muscles will also be affected and are more open to change.

Part of the work of Somatics is changing the state of the nervous system from that a guarding/protective state (fight/flight) to one that is more relaxed (rest/digest).

13/07/2022

Are you in pain?

When we have pain it’s all we can think about. We so desperately want to find the solution to what’s causing it.

A great way to start figuring things out is by cultivating body awareness.

By lying on your back with legs extended - how your body RESTS against the floor will give you a good idea as to the state of the musculature. We call this a body scan, or more specifically a SOMA SCAN.

"Soma" is the body from the internal viewpoint - how YOU sense and feel your own body.

THINGS TO NOTICE:

➡️ How the feet fall out - a little? a lot? one foot different than the other?
➡️ How the legs rest on the floor - what parts do and don't make contact?
➡️ Pelvis resting evenly, or more weight on one side vs the other?
➡️ Low back - does it feel tight and arched? or relaxed and long
➡️ Shoulders - are they rounded up off the floor a little or a lot? Left side different from right?

When we start to notice things, like the left foot falls out more than the right, we know this:

There's a tightness in the left buttock that is pulling the leg more outward, relative to the right side. Good information!

Click here for an audio version of this SOMA SCAN. Get to know where you’re at: https://yogawithlenore.com/gallery-2/ -scan

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Moving Mindfully

To live is to move. When we move mindfully we are better able to self-monitor and self-correct so we can experience life fully and with ease. I offer Hatha Yoga classes in my home studio as well as Somatic Movement classes. Somatics is a safe and gentle approach to eliminate chronic muscle pain for the long term. It works beautifully with Yoga as when you free your body of pain and tightness the movements in yoga comes naturally and easily. Classes are small so you get the care and attention you need.