Erin Moraghan and the Power of Movement

Erin Moraghan is a senior development officer with the Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre (AARC) Foundation in Toronto. She is also the founder of Power of Movement, a yoga fundraiser for arthritis research that this year, its third, went national.

In this Q&A, Erin shares with us some of her thoughts about arthritis, yoga and tree-hugging.

Tell us about your early days.

We moved a lot when I was a kid, but mostly we lived in Mississauga, Ont. I came to Toronto in my late teens. I was an only child until my brother Brett was born, on my birthday (what a gift that was), when I was eight. I also have two other brothers, Matt and Mike. All three are amazing, creative, artistic characters.

My young childhood was fun. My mom is really artistic and so most of my days were spent expanding my imagination. We were always creating things: painting, building, fixing. I was also a big reader, and spent lots of time holed up with books. My adolescent years were much different - I definitely went through some hard times.

How physically active were you as a young person? Have you always appreciated the value of physical activity?

I was a really gangly, string-bean type of kid who was all arms and legs. I was never the last kid picked for teams in gym class, but maybe the third-last! It was definitely not my destiny to be a star athlete. I was a little ballerina though. I danced for many years and loved it to bits. The ballet studio seemed to be the only place I had any measure of control over my limbs!

It wasn't until I was about 19 and I started hitting the gym that fitness became a permanent and vital fixture in my life. There was actually a book that completely changed my life: "A Woman's Book of Strength," by Karen Andes. I became my own personal trainer and developed a lasting commitment to the weight room. Weight training requires pretty much zero athletic ability, in my opinion, just a good understanding of alignment and form - something I had a passion for through both dancing and art. I loved it!

What of early career aspirations?

I was always playing teacher. I used to set up a classroom with my stuffed animals all the time. I think when I was a kid I had pretty romantic notions of what working life would be all about. I thought I would probably be a ballerina or play the flute or be a really interesting artist. There wasn't a lot of career-talk in our house.

I'm one of those self-educated people, for the most part. I was on my own when I was really young - I pretty much worked my way through high school the way a lot of people work through university. When most of my friends were going off to post-secondary, I was really hungry for a good income and an easier life, and felt that school was a waste of my time and money. I hustled pretty hard to build some financial security for myself. I always had about three jobs on the go, usually pouring cocktails and waiting tables. Michael Dolan, one of Toronto's best event planners, gave me a chance when I was in my early twenties for which I am forever grateful. I started my own event-planning and marketing consulting business when I was 24. I always considered going back to school, but it never felt logical for me.

How did yoga become part of your life?

I attended my first yoga class when I was 26 with my friend Shawn, during a somewhat crazy period in my life. I was running my business and life was hectic - my job required a lot of schmoozing and late nights, and it was really taking its toll. Shawn convinced me to try a hot yoga class and I chuckled through the whole thing. We arrived late to class and were squished in right by the heater. I remember feeling like I was going to pass out, and thinking that having a cigarette and martini seemed like a far better way to de-stress! Nonetheless, something piqued my interest and I began a semi-regular practice.

About four years ago I'd been off yoga for about a year due to injury, and was going through a vile break-up. I met an absolute angel of a person named Dorna Chee, a Moksha yoga teacher. I decided to try a Moksha class and my life has never, ever been the same. All of a sudden, yoga became a miracle tool in my life. I was developing coping skills I could have used a long, long time ago. What a joy!

The Moksha yoga community is young and vibrant, and it wasn't long after my first class that I started dreaming about how special it would be to become a teacher. It took a while to find the right timing, and I completed my month-long intensive Moksha training in India in March 2008. I've done some training to work with at-risk youth through yoga and breath work as well. I've also taken some programs on teaching yoga and meditation as a means to cope with addiction.

Why do you like yoga?

Sometimes I don't like yoga...ha! It's difficult sometimes. Yoga is the truth. Yoga makes it impossible to pretend, which is something I have been spending a lot of my life doing, in many ways. Pretending I'm OK, pretending I'm immune to pain or failure, pretending a relationship is good or that you're not having some kind of chronic pain. So many of us spend a lot of our lives sweeping things under the carpet, which ultimately fester and fill us with anxiety, and we often don't even realize we're doing it.

The physical benefits of yoga are a no-brainer to me. In my work with the Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre Foundation, and as a yoga teacher, I hear stories all the time about the kinds of physical benefits people find through yoga. The real miracle for me personally comes through breath. It comes through a constant practice of trying to just be present...to just breathe and know that in this moment you can find peace in your body and in your mind. Taking this practice off the mat has provided me with tools I never dreamed possible.

I teach Moksha yoga - a practice which has helped facilitate tremendous change in my body and in my mind. My schedule is busy so I practice when and where I can. I'm blessed that at the office I work with some brilliant minds who are also yoga teachers, so it's not uncommon to walk past our office and see a couple girls in some forward bends!

I also love the practice of restorative yoga and intend to spend some more time exploring the magic of Iyengar yoga. I have worked with many arthritis patients who have made astonishing strides through an Iyengar practice.

What do you think would surprise the average person to learn about yoga?

People see so many yoga ads with perfect bodies doing fancy poses that are inaccessible to 99% of the population. I know that most of my new students say that what surprised them most about yoga was that they could do it, and at their own pace. It's also nice to see the old stereotype of yoga being for women dissipating. We're seeing the male yoga population grow by leaps and bounds in studios.

How can yoga help a person in chronic pain?

Yoga can be positively transformational for people who live with chronic pain. Chronic pain can present endless challenges...not only the obvious physical challenges and limitations, but also the sadness, frustration and depression that often accompany it. People who have chronic, life-long conditions like arthritis, lupus, vasculitis, scoliosis and countless others, have found the physical benefits of yoga, coupled with the skills we develop to be present, to utilize breath and to let go to be a necessary tool in life, to be as important as all their other therapies such as drugs and physiotherapy.

What do you say to the folks who poo-poo yoga as being too new age for their tastes?

I really understand this thinking, because I felt that way myself. This idea of chanting, connecting with chakras and hugging trees...it really didn't sit well with me. That's why Moksha yoga resonated with me in the beginning. Moksha's philosophy is to teach accessible yoga. Sometimes, that means making yoga physically accessible to all, but it also means keeping it emotionally and intellectually accessible too. We try to address yogic principles in a way that can make sense to pretty much anyone, pointing out the practical ways that a yoga practice can balance out our lives and keep us feeling a little more peaceful. The beautiful thing is that, over time, as students deepen their practice, they inevitably want to understand more. There's nothing better than seeing a yoga skeptic hug some trees and chant some Oms (me included...).

Tell us about the Power of Movement.

I started Power of Movement as a way to raise a little money for arthritis and autoimmune disease research, in honour of that wonderful Moksha teacher, Dorna Chee, who lives with lupus. The yoga community was so incredibly supportive of the whole initiative, it has since grown to incredible proportions.

We started off holding the largest public hot yoga class in Toronto in February of 2007. We had nearly 250 attendees and raised far more than I expected: about $45,000. It was during this time that my own practice was really deepening and I was preparing for my teacher training. Through Power of Movement, I began hearing stories from people everywhere about how yoga had helped them manage chronic pain from arthritis-related conditions, like lupus, juvenile arthritis, scleroderma and so many others. It became really clear to me that Power of Movement had some legs.

When I first started working at the Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre Foundation, it was for the challenge of it. Fundraising for arthritis research is extremely difficult - it's a vastly misunderstood disease group and it carries a lot of stereotypes. Over time, however, the challenge became a serious passion, as I got to know many people along the way whose lives are affected by arthritis-related conditions. Something really struck a chord with me and I knew I had to be a part of changing the way Canada looks at this disease.

For many, arthritis conjures up an image of an elderly person with achy, swollen, knobbly fingers and knees. Yes, that's part of it, but there's more. I was meeting people my own age, teenagers, even little toddlers whose lives were vastly altered by arthritis-related conditions; talented, inspired, exciting people who had their entire lives ahead of them, who wake up in the morning not knowing if they'll be able to button their jeans, put on mascara or open the jar of peanut butter. Kids who went from being star gymnasts to being completely bedridden. The cool guy in high school who all the girls swoon over because he's so handsome and such a great guitarist trading in his guitar for a walker and physiotherapy. Why didn't people know these stories? Simple - because no one wants to talk about it. Why would the cool guy with the guitar want to stand on a platform and announce that he's using a walker? What 30 year-old marketing powerhouse wants to say that she's not really on vacation, she's laying in bed at home because her spine is in so much pain that she can barely make it to the bathroom? It's just not sexy.

Power of Movement has become our role in telling these stories and stopping the progression. We are determined to help find cures. Canada has some of the world's very best researchers in arthritis and autoimmune disease, and all they need is funding to keep them going. While arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases cost Canada billions - more than nearly any other disease group - the government provides only 1% of its medical research funding to this area. This is crazy.

Since yoga is accessible for most people who live with arthritis-related conditions, Power of Movement is a perfect fit. This year, thanks to countless volunteers across the country, we brought Power of Movement to 10 major cities across Canada and raised over a quarter of a million dollars. On February 22, 2009, thousands of people across Canada practiced yoga to help raise funds for research and change the way Canada thinks about these conditions. Power of Movement's national efforts will be even bigger and bolder on February 21, 2010, as we hope to make a little more noise and get attention from the government about why arthritis and autoimmune disease research needs to become a Canadian priority. People can get more info online at www.powerofmovement.ca

What's your best yoga memory?

My best yoga memory is the day after my yoga training in India completed. A few of us were going to get together for one final yoga session before we all headed home, but most people had already made their way to the airport. My good friend Jessica McIntyre and I showed up at the yoga hut and enjoyed a yoga class with my teacher and Moksha co-founder Jessica Robertson, along with Mira Shani, a teacher from Arizona. The four of us set our mats up in an x-shape, with Jess McIntyre and I facing each other. I remember feeling sleepy and incredibly overwhelmed that our training was ending, but that somehow, being there all together, everything was just as it should be. I remember looking Jess directly in the eye much of our practice, and smiling. This is something we very rarely do in our regular lives; connect with people in this way, silently sharing happiness and peace. I will never forget it. I am especially grateful that I was able to hire Jess to work on our Power of Movement team when I returned home. Jess has become a true superstar and helped create the incredible success of Power of Movement this year. Every once in a while we share a smile at the office, remembering how our friendship first began.