Yoga, loosening body and soul

BONNERS FERRY — During the cold weather months, people’s bodies tend to tense up. Having an indoor place to practice yoga gives local residents the opportunity to stretch, loosen up, and get rid of the winter stresses.

Jeremiah Holes is a 500 RYT, which means he is a registered yoga teacher with 500 hours of completed additional certification after the initial schooling. The small town where Holes grew up had a book swap where he obtained a book about yoga when he was about 15, and the idea sprouted from there.

He guided some friends in yoga practice before choosing to go to school to become an instructor. In the between time, Holes made several backpacking trips across the United States, including visiting Bonners Ferry.

“My best friend from high school married a girl from Bonners Ferry, so every time I was backpacking through I would stop and visit them,” said Holes, talking about what brought him to the area.

Some people attend yoga classes to alleviate pain, some to alleviate depression, and a lot of people do it to get in shape.

“Doing yoga is like learning the science about being human,” said Holes. “It is all about learning how to live to be your own genuine self.”

After practicing yoga for about 19 years, Holes has been certified for about three. He opened a studio and began teaching in Bonners Ferry shortly after moving to the area, about a year and a half ago.

“Yoga for me means freedom,” said Holes. “Freedom from emotional pain, from physical pain, freedom to release the things that are holding us back and keeping us from living how we want to live.”

Speaking about how Yoga has changed his life, Holes opened up about not only how he was introduced to it, but how it has affected him.

“One of the things that is really important to me is how Yoga has affected my mental state,” said Holes.

He first came to yoga as a 15 year old struggling with manic depression and the effects of being diagnosed as bipolar. After being given a book during a book exchange, Hole’s life was forever changed.

“I didn’t feel like I had any thought control. I am so thankful that yoga came into my life at the time it did,” said Holes. “I just started experimenting to see what happened. I remember when my mind started to become still, all the noise and the chaos of those thoughts running through my mind, especially the thoughts that are self deprecating, like self doubt and judging yourself, all of that had become quiet.”

The idea of yoga and chi is like there is a clogged pipe that needs to be cleaned out. Part of what can be done is bang on the outside, and another thing is to wash out what is on the inside.

“So the physical postures is kind of like banging on the pipe to loosen things up, and the breath work and life practices are more about clearing out the toxins,” said Holes. “So that is like clearing the energy and allowing that chi to flow.”

Holes doesn’t bring the teachings of chi into his sessions, as they are more philosophical than his aim, but he does offer special classes that can touch on the subject.

“A lot of aspects within us change, such as our cells are replenished every seven years, other aspects of us don’t change,” said Holes. “Yoga is all about getting at what that is, and live our lives from that experience.”

After suffering from Sciatica off and on for a couple of years, Jon Plauche met his neighbor at the time, who happened to be Holes.

“I was a newbie in yoga, so shyness was a struggle of mine at first,” stated Plauche. “Jeremiah showed tremendous patience and made it easy to feel comfortable and improve my form through time. He worked with me individually for several months, and I noticed a major improvement in my Sciatica.”

After attending the classes over time, Plauche also noticed improvements in his mood in addition to his overall health.

Another student of Holes, Kris Nelson also had uplifting things to say about the class.

“Jeremiah is a very kind and talented yoga instructor,” said student Nelson. “He works with all levels and abilities. He is very knowledgeable and I enjoy his classes.”

“It feels good physically, it is great to stretch and have freedom of movement, and I would never underestimate that, but at the same time how it really is to me is how it can change your life,” said Holes. “It gives you the power to guide your mind, if not totally control it, so you can guide yourself away from those negative thoughts towards something more constructive and positive.”

On the last Sunday of every month, Holes and a collective of yoga instructors from around the area host a themed class — this month is about depression. It is free for everyone and followed by a potluck, which encourages people to check out what yoga is about, talk to people that practice it, and build encouraging friendships.

For more information, contact Holes at 208-290-0784, jeremiahholes@gmail.com, or through his Facebook page at Jeremiah Holes 500 RYT. He operates out of Iron Mikes and Picturesque.