E a s e  b a c k  i n t o  l i f e  a g a i n .

Feeling a bit anxious about returning to life outside of Covid restrictions?

It’s been a long time since we were all together, in person, at the same time, so maybe you would like to take things slow to start.

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Enjoy a Sunshine or a Twilight Yoga and Meditation session (or both) with Joanna Cielen and Nancy Drope, set in a low-key, outdoor setting at the Niagara Falls Lions Park. For those get-up-and-goers, you can choose to greet the day with energy, in a sunny meadow or in the shade of trees. The Twilight Session will be extra special under twinkling lights and a few lightning bugs floating around.

All ages and abilities can participate-seniors to children, flexible or not, the sessions can be done on a yoga mat or in your own lawn chair. There is a small splash pad and playground at the site as well, for those with extra bouncy companions. Don’t forget the sunscreen or the bug spray! In addition to experiencing Joanna and Nancy’s leadership, Guests will be given the opportunity to write a personal message on a Memory Ribbon and we will tie it to our Good Hope Art Sculpture and a white, recyclable illumination bag to be written with the name of someone you wish to honour or a message of hope, peace, remembrance or celebration. You can take them home or leave them with us to have them displayed at 2021 events, with an eventual placement at Bridges Niagara.

To help limit Covid-19 spread, ALL payments must be completed on-line only. No on-site transactions are available.

All attendance is on a first come basis and is subject to Covid-19 Provincial regulations. Should the event need to be modified or postponed, registered attendees will be notified and information will be posted on our Facebook page @niagarafolkarts and this website. There are no refunds unless event is cancelled.

Here are some suggestions of some things for you to bring.

• Personal use Water
• Yoga Mat or ground covering
• Lawn chair
• Sunscreen
• Sun Hat
• Bug Spray Repellant – strongly recommended
• A sweater/cover-up for the Twilight session-it will cool down as the sun sets
• A personal use flashlight

Register for Free with a Pay What You Can format.

This event is free to attend, but with capped space numbers. All Attendees MUST preregister-no walkups allowed.  This will help us monitor the permissible number of people attending the event to be sure to meet Covid-19 restrictions, and provide tracing information, should the need arise.  Regardless of vaccination status, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing are mandatory however, once the sessions start, you will be invited to remove your masks.

Biographies of your Instructors

Joanna Cielen

Though Joanna’s primary ambition is to create a world filled with loving kindness, she keeps herself busy as a full-time professor, teaching nutrition & wellness at Niagara College, leading Buddhist meditation classes, and co-managing Body & Soul, a Nutrition & Personal Training Company.

Her Canadian adventure started in 1982, when she and her family unexpectedly left communist Poland, embroiled in martial law. By virtue of a miracle, the family was granted a visa and informed that they would be boarding a plane in two weeks. Since Poland’s economy had practically collapsed, many people were arrested and imprisoned, and most of the civil liberties were severely curtailed, the Cielen family decided Canada would be the land of new beginnings. Those new beginning were challenging and often filled with tears and continuous questioning whether the choice to come to Canada, during a Canadian recession was the right now. Thankfully, the family persevered and in time the parents found employment, a support system, and as people often say, “Everything worked out in the end.”

Joanna’s journey into meditation started almost 19 years ago after the birth of her second child. Having created the “perfect” life of a thriving business, a happy marriage to the world’s most patient man, two, (mostly) well-behaved children, she was left with a sense of discontentment. After a friend suggested she attend a Buddhist meditation class to learn the true source of happiness, the light went off.

For the past 19 years Joanna has been studying Buddhist philosophy, attending retreats worldwide, mediating daily, and recently she completed a solitary, two-month silent retreat.

Initially, what kept her coming back to her meditation studies were her children’s unadorned truths. They would say, “Mommy you are much nicer to Daddy when you meditate.” What keeps her practicing now are still her children’s indisputable truths and the fact that meditation is cheaper than divorce.

Nancy Drope

Nancy is a retired Physical Education Teacher who has studied and practiced Yoga for 10 years. Her passion is contagious through her ageless attitude, leading people to live better in their own bodies with intention and self-compassion. She teaches small group and private classes at her home in Queenston as well as The Club at White Oaks. More recently she has become fascinated with interpreting Astrology Charts. She welcomes you to your Yoga mat with an open heart.