Fort William First Nation helps heal the body, mind, and spirit through yoga
By Rick Garrick
FORT WILLIAM — Fort William First Nation’s Manifesting Movement Yoga sessions with Michelle Derosier were a success on Tuesday evenings from April 1-29 at the Fort William First Nation Gymnasium.
“It’s been great,” says Derosier, a yoga instructor, storyteller, filmmaker, and Eagle Lake citizen in Treaty #3. “We had a nice group out tonight (April 22) and people seemed to really love the practice.”
Derosier says she had eight participants at the April 8 yoga session.
“I was surprised because often times when you first start, you just get one or two people,” Derosier says, noting that some Fort William citizens also attend her yoga class in Thunder Bay. “So it’s kind of growing and I think that’s been really good. Anybody can do it. I’ve done yoga with Elders, I’ve done yoga with kids at DFC (Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School), I’ve done yoga with women in jail in Thunder Bay and Kenora. Anybody can do it if you can move your body.”
Derosier says breathing is the most important part of the practice of yoga.
“That’s what yoga is, is bringing together your body, your breath, your mind, the spirit,” Derosier says. “You’re bringing all those things together and you’re trying to get them in rhythm.”
Cathy Rodger, a Fort William citizen, enjoyed participating in the April 22 session.
“This is the calmest I’ve felt in months,” Rodger says. “I feel when I take yoga with Michelle, that it’s like going into ceremony and she is not just leading the yoga class, she is creating the space and holding the space for us to not only practice, but you’re vulnerable when you’re in these positions and your eyes are closed, and her voice and her energy are guiding us to allow us to settle within ourselves.”
Rodger says the yoga session was not physical, it was emotional, spiritual, and mental.
“When you have an instructor like Michelle, it allows you to close your eyes and go inward,” Rodger says. “I’ve practiced with Michelle before, but I just found out last week that [her session] was running out here and I feel fantastic, I feel calm, and my soul feels good.”
Rodger says she has practiced yoga for several years, noting that she first started practicing yoga when a different yoga instructor held yoga sessions in Fort William.
“It’s beautiful to be able to come out to your own community and feel comfortable with practicing with your people and even people who aren’t from here,” Rodger says. “It carries you outside of the class, the calmness, not just physically how you feel but your energy.”
Esther Pervais, a Fort William citizen, enjoyed participating in the April 15 session.
“It was very relaxing and calming, soothing,” Pervais says. “I came out because I’m sore and I wanted to stretch and learn how to breathe properly with stretching. It was actually really good, I almost fell asleep.”
Pervais says Derosier has a good voice for teaching the different yoga movements during the yoga session.
“The instruction was really good,” Pervais says.
Kalem Goodchild, recreation worker at Fort William, says the yoga sessions were going good with good attendance.
“It’s just to introduce it to the community, to get the community members to try to have a healthier lifestyle,” Goodchild says. “I’ve heard good comments about it — the community members like it. I believe it has lots of health benefits to it and it keeps you active.”