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Instructor’s travels taught him to how to learn, and teach

Claire Paradis, Arrow Lakes News

Travelling the world was the beginning of Tyson Bartel’s journey both inside and out. As a young man he decided visiting the Mesoamerican ruins he had learned about while studying anthropology in college could help him figure out what direction his education would take. It did. Instead of determining his major, he was bitten by the travel bug and abandoned college for lessons learned on the road.

“That was it, I was a traveller then,” said Tyson. The departure was one that deeply shaped his life and his education.

In Asia, Tyson encountered not only Thai massage, but also Vipassana meditation during his travels. During a ten-day meditation retreat, he came to the realization there was a lot of “junk” attached to his concept of self.

“I realized it wasn’t a matter of snapping my fingers and fixing everything,” he revealed, “It was going to be a lot of work.”

The next leg of his exploration led him to India, where he found a rich world filled with both heaven and hell. The strong spiritual traditions and the rigours of daily life affected Tyson, who studied yoga as well as meditation while there.

It was those experiences that led him to pass on what he had learned once he was back in Canada. Back in Kamloops, Tyson became involved with the only yoga studio in town, and when line ups for classes became too much for the lone instructor to handle, Tyson was asked teach.

“I wasn’t nervous, I was excited about it,” he said, confident that his devotion to yoga would make him a good teacher. Teaching from experience came naturally to him, and within six months he had a full-time teaching gig.

It was during a yoga teacher training session that Tyson first came across Feldenkrais, a system of movement and awareness developed by Moshé Feldenkrais. Having suffered from back trouble, he first felt a shift during one set of exercises, and continued to repeat the exercises. Tyson’s experience with the movements lit a fire in him to learn more. Finding instructional tapes, he dedicated time to studying Feldenkrais at home. Inspired by the philosophy and process, he began to tell everyone about it.

Feldenkrais is a system of movements designed to increase awareness of the body and to improve both the movement repertoire and general wellbeing. Founder Moshé Feldenkrais explored the connection between the body and mind, particularly anxiety and movement. He stated that object of the exercises was “more flexible minds, not just more flexible bodies.” A devoted judo practitioner, developed techniques designed to increase awareness of the body and the connections between mind and body.

Thanks to a teacher that came to the Kamloops yoga studio, Tyson found out about a four-year Feldenkrais program being offered in Washington state. Even though it was a struggle to get everything in place in order to go, he was excited and determined and completed the training in 2001.

“I’m still integrating Feldenkrais methodology,” said Tyson, who sees how the practise has affected how he approaches his every day life, increasing his consciousness of what is happening with every movement.

Another more recent voyage shifted his life again when he came to the Kootenays a few years ago on holidays and he saw that more of the life of his dreams – breathing clean air, planting a garden, hiking in lush nature – was possible here.

Leaving his successful yoga teaching career he had built over the years in Kamloops, Tyson has made the jump to the Kootenays with no regrets. Although he still has strong ties to family and community in Kamloops, the Kootenays are now home for him. He now teaches Feldenkrais in Nakusp and Winlaw, and periodically travels back to Kamloops to offer classes there too.

During a Feldenkrais class with Tyson, specific ranges of movement are explored, and how they affect and are affected by other parts of the body. Students are asked to note how they feel at the beginning before the exercises are done, and to compare how they feel afterward to see what kind of changes have taken place. The class is an experiment in increasing consciousness around muscles, tendons, and movement where each student is the explorer of their own bodies. Emphasis isn’t on what “should” be done, rather on learning about how your own body moves and feels. That being said, people who come to Tyson’s Feldenkrais classes generally leave feeling relaxed as well as more knowledgeable about themselves.

Living in the south Slocan valley, Tyson’s journey continues. Like any good teacher, he is also a perennial student, and has recently discovered a new realm of experience and exploration in the world of Kundalini yoga.

 

Improve posture with Feldenkrais and Thai massage

Jan McMurray, Valley Voice

Tyson Bartel helps people improve their posture and range of motion through the very gentle practices of Feldenkrais and Thai massage, which he offers in Winlaw and Nakusp.

“I feel like an artist with a different canvas for each person,” said Tyson. “I like to figure out why a person’s body does that – for example, bend a bit to the left – and then help the person to correct that.”

I recently experienced both of these types of body work with Tyson when I attended his Feldenkrais class in Nakusp one morning, followed by a Thai massage. The two experiences were surprisingly alike – and quite different from other types of body work I’d experienced before.

Feldenkrais is not a strenuous workout at all. For most of the class, we were lying down, practising simple and subtle movements. We worked on our shoulders, arms and upper torso area in ways that would help us with reaching movements, such as fruit-picking. He encouraged us to notice how each movement felt in our bodies during and after each movement.

The Thai massage was like hands-on Feldenkrais. I was fully clothed, lay on a mat on the floor, and Tyson gently moved my body into different positions. “Assisted stretching” is how he described it.

Tyson started practicing Thai massage over 20 years ago. He studied with a master in Thailand, and also studied meditation and yoga with the same teacher.

When he came back to Canada, he went to Kamloops and began teaching yoga and offering Thai massage there.

It was during a yoga retreat in Kamloops that he was introduced to Feldenkrais by a teacher from Ontario. “She led us through a 45-minute exercise and so many people felt better in the hips and back. My back felt so great on the floor!” he recalled.

Tyson said Feldenkrais really inspired him because it felt so natural. “That’s what Feldenkrais is – to go back to natural. Awareness through movement exercises helps us restore natural posture and easier breathing. It’s slow compared to other exercise – athletes love it. It’s great cross training, because how often do we slow down?”

Tyson studied Feldenkrais in Seattle and Idaho and received his diploma in 2001.

“Feldenkrais is a warm-up for anything you want to do, whether physical or mental. It turns the brain on like brain gym. You’ll golf better or garden better if you do it first,” he said.

Tyson offers Feldenkrais classes in Winlaw and Feldenkrais inspired yoga classes in Passmore and Slocan Park. He offers Thai massage at people’s homes. He also continues to practise in Kamloops several times a year.

Thai massage for health and wellness

submitted, Valley Voice

The oriental bodywork style called Thai massage is now recognized internationally as an effective form of therapy for body, mind and spirit, and it is available locally. Tyson Bartel lives in Winlaw, and offers house call Thai massage by donation.

Thai massage originated in ancient India as a massage based on the science of yoga practice. It came to Thailand 2,000 years ago and became part of traditional Thai medicine. People in Thailand still visit ‘massage doctors,’ who use natural methods to assist the person to heal from within.

Tourists, health professionals, athletes and artists were the first to recognize the value of Thai massage. More and more people are realizing that it is good preventative healthcare for anyone willing to make the time to receive regular treatments, especially if yoga is practiced in between. And Thai massage is playfully called ‘yoga for lazy people’ and gives the same benefits of yoga in a focused way.

Thai massage is done fully clothed and usually performed on a padded floor or low, wide table. It is a unique experience to seek out, especially if one loves yoga and would like new inspiration for yoga practice.

Yoga has long recognized the human being as an energy system that is maintained by harmonizing with Prana, the subtle life force that sustains all life (the Chinese call it Chi). Prana circulates in the body/mind through channels called Nadis, similiar to the meridians identified by Chinese medicine. The aim of Thai massage is to harmonize mind and body with the flow of Prana through the Nadis. When ‘in tune’ with Prana we experience our natural vitality.

Thai massage balances energy flow using many techniques, including rhythmic massage and acupressure sequences, pleasant stretching, and gentle movement into yoga postures with conscious breathing. These flowing complementary practices are given with the intention for the massage to improve the health and well-being of the person receiving. This compassionate intention amplifies the physical and mental benefits, inviting deep healing through helping giver and receiver remember that all is one in universal essence: the enlightened aim of yoga practice.

Besides a potential experience of self-realization (the original goal of yoga), common benefits of Thai massage may include: physical, mental and emotional tension release; gentle re-alignment of spine and joints; pain relief; performance improvement; promoting inner self-healing powers; enhanced creativity and sense of peace and well-being.

The modern world is abundant with wonderful outwardly directed, often materialistic experiences of life. With its origins in the ancient tradition of yoga, Thai massage is a unique form of going inwards to experience oneself in a deeply relaxing and healing way.

While visiting Asia 20 years ago, Tyson Bartel began to learn and share meditation, yoga and massage. He is a certified Feldenkrais and yoga teacher and offers classes in Winlaw, Passmore & Slocan Park. Tyson is available for house call Thai massage by donation.

Breathing into the Joy of Thai Massage

submitted, Valley Voice

Breath is life. And breathing is a living metaphor of how life unfolds: inhaling expressing new beginnings and renewal, exhaling representing completion and letting go. And breath changes according to the activity being undertaken; to run requires a faster exchange of air to feed muscles working energetically, while reading these words needs a mental focus better fed by a slow, quiet cycle of breath.

Become aware of breathing for a moment. Notice the flow of air through the nostrils down into the lungs, and how the lungs expand gently with in breath and empty gently with out breath. Experience the centering effect conscious breathing has on mind and body. Any time attention is focused on breathing there is an embodied experience of the present moment. Experiment with following the breath for several cycles, perhaps intending to gently deepen the breath without much effort. And notice the calming effect.

The Buddha is one of countless teachers recommending the breath as an ideal process for meditation practice, because it is always available and it reflects the state of mind so clearly. Simply observing the breath becomes a meditation if one intends to put everything else aside for a time and simply be with breathing. The power of mindful breathing can also be applied to activities like yoga, tai chi and bodywork.

Thai massage is a form of energy medicine that originates from the same historical period in India as the Buddha and traditionally is an expression of his teachings on loving kindness and compassion. To practice Thai massage is to centre oneself in the heart and feel gratitude for the opportunity to assist another to be well through healing touch. Awareness of breath for the giver and the receiver brings the massage consciously into the body and into the present moment. Breathing into the massage supports the intention to open and balance the flow of energy through the meridians. When blockages of the energy are felt, the breath can help release them and restore the natural flow of life force through the body. And by sustaining awareness of breathing during the massage there is harmony of mind and body into deep relaxation and integration of the bodywork – an amazing experience!

Breath is a gift of life. And it can be forgotten in the fast pace of modern living. While anyone can tap into the power of the breath at any time and in any number of ways and experience many benefits, it is an especially beautiful experience to breathe consciously into the joy of Thai massage.

Authentic self-expression with the Feldenkrais method

submitted, Valley Voice 

Most young children move and express themselves with spontaneity and authenticity, while most adults seldom do. There are lots of reasons humans lose freedom of self-expression with aging. The questions are – can it be regained once it is lost? If so, as adults can we be spontaneous in a responsible, enlightened way? Is our society evolved enough yet to tolerate and support individuals ‘moving outside the box?’

Of course, in most parts of the world it is dangerous to express oneself freely. We are so fortunate to live in a place where we can act freely with responsibility for our actions. Yet, due to conditioning, most of us are stuck repeating old patterns that we may like to break free from and don’t know how. There are ways to do it!

The work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais is an excellent example of a science-based approach to changing old, limiting patterns of thought and action to new ways of self-expression more in line with a person’s ‘true self.’ In fact, the Feldenkrais method is a modern form of yoga practice, in terms of what the ancient yogis intended by the word yoga – which means to bring together, unite, body and mind with higher consciousness. As a modern scientist, Feldenkrais liked to use the word ‘awareness’ to describe the key ingredient for catalysing positive changes in people’s behaviour.

Dr. Feldenkrais studied early childhood developmental stages to discover the role movement plays in brain patterning, and he correctly reasoned that ‘Awareness Through Movement,’ the system of exercises he developed, would re-pattern neuro-muscular activity in ways that would not only benefit the body, but also the mind and spirit. These exercises are now taught in many parts of the world and people from all walks of life make use of these gentle and easy lessons to help with a full spectrum of physical and mental challenges. We can learn to move and think freely again, perhaps even to the point of remembering our true purpose on this beautiful earth we now call home.

Tyson Bartel is offering Awareness Through Movement lessons in Winlaw. The first class is free to see if you like it.