At the Garth Homer Society (GHS) the ancient practice of yoga is being combined with mindfulness themes in a Winnie the Pooh story by AA Milne to create greater connection between instructor Isabelle Desmarais and her students. “I use [the text] as a deep nugget to work with the different characters throughout practice,” explains Isabelle who guides up to eight GHS clients with developmental disabilities, once a week, to be in the moment while moving their bodies. “It’s about finding different ways to connect, so I use Pooh and his love of honey as a metaphor for finding the sweetness in one’s practice.” Desmarais’ love of yoga and its transformative powers started at age 15 and only keeps growing through working with a niche of clients who don’t have the same kind of access to yoga that others do. She’s been guiding GHS clients through their downward dog, child’s pose and forward folds since March, in a hybrid chair and mat format, and teaches at other non-profits like the Victoria Brain Injury Society and Our Place as well. Her own neurodivergence is what motivates her to offer a softness in practice not usually offered at more traditional yoga studios. Inviting students to communicate their needs enables the class to become a curated experience rather than one that moves through a set routine. “I like to stop or pause to ask how a pose felt and to encourage the class to let their bodies, and what feels right, lead the way,” explains Desmarais. As an example, a recent class focused on rocking, a movement Desmarais describes as soothing for all bodies but an especially natural motion for students with down syndrome or autism. She also offers techniques that ground the parasympathetic – or rest and digest- parts of the body. It’s a strategy that’s particularly effective for her Garth Homer yoga enthusiasts who she describes as the most diverse groups she has ever taught in terms of personalities and needs. “It's so beautifully challenging and very humbling as a teacher. I learn so much more, I think, from the support workers as well, about how to connect with these beautiful people,” Desmarais explains. Communication is also key as some students are non-verbal. Questions aimed at getting a yes or no answer, pointing to body parts and meeting each individual where they’re at help guide every practice. The power of choice also grounds her approach. “Not everyone has the luxury of choice in their day-to-day life and so in this space, they have the opportunity to choose what feels good”. It’s an approach that has led to a dance party at the end of class rather than the traditional shavasana that typically concludes practice. “Maintaining stillness can be challenging for the group but I’m already getting great feedback from caregivers who say yoga has helped with the ability to self-calm and sit still,” adding the studio is a place where students can practice and incrementally build up their ability to be in stillness. Desmarais is quick to point out however that working with GHS clients isn’t just about giving the power, benefits and healing properties of yoga to her students. She emphasizes that she receives much more in return commending everyone’s unapologetic way of showing up to each class. “It’s all pure honesty in that room, there are no masks or competition. Everyone is showing up as authentically themselves and I think that’s the true power of yoga.”

If you’re looking to soak up the sounds of summer, tickle the ivories, enjoy some art or all three at the same time then Oak Bay is the place to be from July through early September this year. It’s where you’ll find Garth Homer’s painted piano, and ArtWorks’ artists first ever entry in the municipality’s Arts Alive program.  The popular Arts Alive pianos are painted by local artists and located in select outdoor locations around Oak Bay for the public to play from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. Special pop-up performances by pianists are also in the planning stages. Times and locations will be posted at: Oakbay.ca/events “This year we have three new pianos being featured,” explains Andrea Pass, Oak Bay’s arts and culture programmer, who jumped at the opportunity to include Garth Homer artists in the program which began in 2014. “They truly embody a collective of community artists which is true to former Oak Bay Arts Laureate Barbara Adam’s (who started Arts Alive) vision of making Oak Bay a destination for arts and culture.” For the 17 Garth Homer artists, work on the piano began in April, when it was professionally moved into the back of the ArtWorks Government Street studio. Examining the piano’s form, playing the keys, exploring the inner workings, and just engaging with its physical presence in the studio was the first step in the creative process according to ArtWork’s studio and gallery coordinator Alison Duerden. Finding the date of 1896 stamped inside the piano then launched the research, brainstorming and collaboration among artists that determined the style in which the piano is being painted. “Art nouveau was the big movement of that time and matched a lot of what our clients voiced in terms of their ideas for the piano. A lot of their visions embraced natural elements, so botanicals and animals. It's a very flowy movement with natural lines and hardly any straight ones,” explains Duerden. The piano’s front panel is dominated by a large flower inspired by William Morris, a British textile designer who used flowers as his source of inspiration for wallpaper and tapestries. Surrounding that centrepiece is an owl, birds in flight, a cat, peacock, imaginary animals and sunflowers. “This is the first truly collaborative work our artists have done,” enthuses Duerden. “When you look at the piece, you’ll see 17 distinct approaches and brushstrokes united by a common art nouveau style and palette of dark green and different hues of turquoise.” Duerden adds there’s another special feature of the Garth Homer piano that’s as unique as the artists who have spent upwards of 500 hours on the project. “Each artist has hidden a little ‘easter egg’ surprise somewhere in their design that speaks to who they are as a person,” teases Duerden. “If you find a tiny cupcake hiding somewhere discreet then you’ll know for sure it’s our piano.” Taking great pride and contributing something, that is lasting or enduring to the neighbourhood is what she says has driven the artists from day one. “It represents more than just a painted piano. I think it serves as a reflection of the community and the individuals, like our artists, who make it unique,” says Duerden.