New Year Resolutions. I love them!
/Dear Yogis
Well, we made it through climb up into the light. It’s a metaphor too, I’m sure! I’m teaching next week. I know Christmas is a busy time, but stress calls for yoga! Come to class! I’m teaching on Monday and Tuesday – unless nobody books! I’ll skip Wednesday and Friday but back for Saturday.
And steal a march on your New Year Resolutions by starting now, don’t leave it till Jan 1st to decide. I’ve given up coffee (again) and duly went through a weekend of coffee headaches and torturous body ache. Ticked. And I’ve finally given up oat milk, tired of additives, tired of trying to make my own, tired of feeding the results to the thirsty drain. Swimming lessons is the final New Year Resolution.
Need ideas for Christmas presents? A couple of guys told me recently that they didn’t know what to wear for a yoga class and so they delayed going to their first class. What a pity! But don’t worry. Not all of us get our yoga fashion from Harper’s Bazaar! Suggestions on this website makes many suggestions including pyjama bottoms. Another guy I teach wondered if there is an alternative to a t-shirt for yoga practice. Yes! Just make the top more fitted and less baggy so that it won’t slide and flop. Sleeveless is better for movement.
What about bare feet? Yoga is practiced with bare feet but some people keep their socks on. It isn’t a deal-breaker. Actually, there isn’t a deal-breaker. There really shouldn’t be a barrier to coming to class. If you have one, let me know and we can figure it out.
Classes
Questions: about the Friday morning class. This time last year classes were full. Now, not so much. This week it’s filling out nicely but I was wondering 1) if you would prefer a Friday lunchtime class? 2) Is 8.30am too early or too late? Let me know. Also, 3) is an hour’s Friday class ok or would you prefer 90 minutes?
Monday and Tuesday = Stretchy class at 7.00pm – this is the popular one
Wednesday = Sun Salutations, Strengthen & Stretch at 7.00pm – this is the new one
Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30-9.30am – this is the one that pushes you
Saturday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30 – 10.00am – this is the longer one
Yoga in The News
The New York Times has: Massage Balls Are Better Than Foam Rollers, Actually. ‘The humble massage ball does what foam rolling does—it helps slide, separate, and lubricate layers of soft tissue, and this helps improve circulation and reduce stiffness and adhesions (what we often call knots). Yet due to its smaller surface area, a massage ball can reach deeper layers of fascia.’
MSN has: With sudden death of Sharath Jois, practitioners of Ashtanga yoga look to his legacy. ‘Stern said that in Hinduism, gurus are likened to trees that provide the shade of knowledge while spreading seeds far and wide to their disciples. “Now it’s up to all of us to continue to let those seeds that we’ve received sprout,” he told his fellow yogis. “We have to attend to them and care for them and give them love and water them. And they will grow and flower, and they will turn into the next thing.”
The Huffington Post has: I Thought Somatic Therapy Was Fake — 'Til I Started Crying In Yoga Class. ‘In moments of sadness, anger or panic, “you tense your shoulders or clench your jaw as if preparing for combat”. “Not only that,” the psychologist wrote, “but your muscles start to retain that tension as if it were their job over time”. “Although this may sound crazy, it’s almost like your muscles form a memory for these things. Muscle tension stores all those... moments as tiny emotional time capsules,” she revealed.’
