Yoga on a battlefield

Dear Yogis,

We’re heading into June and hurtling towards the second ever International Yoga Day which falls on June 21st. The event, only in its second year, stirs interest that wouldn’t otherwise be stirred. Because of it, I’m getting booked to teach yoga in workplaces that see the event as a good ‘hook’ to get employees thinking about health and wellness. I’m so pleased this is happening more and more at work. An employer is really out of date if not providing wellness perks for employees.

Meanwhile, in the home of yoga...

India is planning elaborate, worldwide yoga demonstrations to celebrate International Yoga Day. Last year India’s main mass yoga event made it into the Guinness Book of Records. This year, according to the Hindustan Times: ‘The defence ministry will also organise yoga demonstrations and the home ministry has instructed all central armed police forces to hold mass yoga training sessions’. Yoga instruction by armed police! Now that’s... and interesting meditation aide.  

Workshops

This weekend (Saturday 28th) I’m be attending a four-hour class on the Bhagavad Gita at Triyoga Soho. If you’re thinking of doing teacher training, this is a set text so consider coming with me. It’s a wonderful read. Events take place on a battlefield with a warrior who doesn’t want to fight and kill and cause suffering... he wants to be a brother, cousin, nephew, student and friend. God tells him not to be ridiculous, that he’s on a battlefield and not at a dinner party! (Kind of!). I read this in my last ‘proper’ office job when I was going through probation after probation, shifting goalposts and incredible lies. I was like the warrior who doesn’t want to fight. Instead, I wanted to be recognised as a great worker and colleague. I didn’t act in a way appropriate to my situation. If you’re on a battlefield, that’s where you are! The Bhagavad Gita reads as though it’s about war but it’s actually about right action and peace of mind. The battlefield represents our internal battles and the Gita tells us to step up to our true purpose in life.

... and then I became a yoga teacher!!!

Home Studio

Every class makes me reflect that I meet such lovely people though yoga! This Monday, as with the last bank holiday, I'll hold two classes here in my Home Studio. One will be at the normal time, 7.30, and you can book that through my website. I'll hold an extra one at 5.45 - 6.45 and you can email or text me to reserve a place. You may be on holiday - if so, have a lovely time. 

Survey

Thank you for your responses to my very light-hearted survey for International Yoga Day. If you didn’t see last week’s email, I’m putting together a Top Ten list of How to Please your Yoga Teacher. Send suggestions if you have a contribution that is fun and entertaining, intelligible to non yogis, short... and broadcastable! Thank you to the yogi who wrote ‘Get you game on’! Love it!

The Foot Whisperer

Dear Yogis,

Last week I had my first ever reflexology session and I thought I would share my experience with you. You might find it useful. Reflexology is a therapy that applies pressure to ‘reflex areas’ on the feet and hands. In this way, a reflexologist can detect imbalances in the body and nervous system and stimulate the body's own healing processes...  a perfect complement to yoga!

By working around my big toe, my practitioner told me that my neck was 'nice and loose'. Then she told me that my 'spine felt good'. Applying pressure to the zone that included my bladder felt really very nice! Loads of stress evaporated. Who knew! But the first thing I learnt was that a reflexologist can tell with one glance if you're drinking enough water. I was apparently dehydrated... and quite embarrassed. You can also see a foot whisperer for menopause, migraine, sleep problems and it’s great for adolescents in their hormone madness. I wish I’d known that!  Give it a go. Let me know if you need a contact.

Workshops

Tonight at 7.30pm I’ll be doing “Headstand and Shoulder Stand” with Dina Karim at Triyoga Chelsea. I also plan to go to Amanda Denton’s Sunday class at Indaba at 4.30. (She was a gigantic and gorgeous influence on me when I was a new teacher.) You’re welcome to come with me if you like.

Home Studio

Classes get booked up online by people who are finding me through Google search. It’s very exciting to see new faces come through the door. It amazes and delights me constantly that there are so many fans of home studios; the simple setting and the camaraderie of a small class. If you are a regular here, try clicking the box for ‘recurring booking’ Next Tuesday and Wednesday are already full (unless a cancellation comes in) but there are places on Monday and Thursday.

Yoga in the News

The Telegraph (one of my ex-employers!) published an article by the science editor this week called: ‘Yoga better than crosswords for preventing pre-Alzheimer’s memory loss’... a snappy headline! Even though the article is about Alzheimers, it has information relevant to all of us, especially for people in the workplace who need to fend off brain tiredness and keep a sharp mind to stay ahead of their workload. For example: ‘Participants practising yoga and meditation were also less likely to be depressed and anxious, and were better able to cope with stress.’  Have a look here. 

Have a memorable weekend.

You're so great!

Dear Yogis,

It’s been another lovely week of teaching you and filled with so much pride for those of you who ran the marathon, qualified for Kona Ironman, took to yoga or running or another sport for the first time or struggle through physical challenge to stay on the yoga mat. I teach wonderful people from boxers to golfers to martial artists to everyone else and I can’t believe how lucky I am to see all these victories, share them with you and support you in some small way. 

Home Studio

Next week starts with bank holiday Monday and I’ll be holding the evening class in my Home Studio as usual. If there is more demand I’ll hold an earlier class as well – a 6.00pm class. Let me know if you would like to come at that time. Otherwise, classes as usual. Book online! I’m trying to make Wednesday and Thursday more Ashtanga-based but it really depends on who comes and what the mood of the class is. Please bring your requests along with you if there is a posture you’re trying to figure out.

Podcast

This is a nice listen  (if your start at 9.15 and skip the niceties!) of an interview with Eric Shaw, a true polymath. He gives an overview of the history and lineage of yoga. He talks about the origins of Bikram yoga and Kundalini. He says: “More people come into the door of Hatha Yoga through Bikram, worldwide, than any other practice.” Other gems: whether Nixon did yoga; if Pope John and Pope Paul VI practiced with Iyengar in the 1950s and 1960s; whether yoga is a religion; and evolution of yoga into Corporate Yoga (a fact that I love and find most interesting!). 

Some of it might wash over you. There are a lot of names and dates but, all in all, it’s a nice listen. He sites two books which are wonderful – Yoga Body by Mark Singleton and Hell Bent by Benjamin Lorr. If you need holiday reading these are page-turner .

Corporate Yoga

Yoga in the workplace is not just about touching toes and impossible postures. In fact, it’s not at all about that. The physical practice is a wonderful thing for a body not designed to sit at a computer all day. More than that, Yoga in the workplace introduces us, surreptitiously, to meditation and mindfulness.  I’m told again and again that the mindfulness helps people send a more nuanced email, deal with a difficult colleague or situation in a calmer way, and feel more contented at work. Give me a call and let’s give it a go!

Yoga ‘n’ Chill Retreat

Join up! Come! You know you want to!

The Marathon

Dear Yogis,

If you ran the Marathon last weekend, you’re amazing! I hope you got your time. I have a few thoughts about yoga for runners (below). When you get back on the mat, you will probably need 'restorative' yoga session, not a full-on Ashtanga practice! Take it easy (and write to me if you want more explanation than this)

1) feet-up-the-wall is an easy hamstring stretch with the back completely supported. You can flex and point and rotate from the ankles here too. You can part the feet, wide legs, and do an inner-thigh stretch as well. All nice.

2) You can stay there and do pigeon pose by putting one ankle on the opposite thigh and drawing that (opposite) knee towards you. Then the other side!

3) You can ‘iron’ up and down the spine by placing the soles of the feet onto the wall, push away, knees and hips over the shoulders and roll up and down with the breath. Nice and easy shoulder stand without holding it. You don't even have to come too far up. Just a bit of massaging the length of the spine.

4) You can pull the knees into the chest and drop them over to the side, arms out in a 'T' shape, and get a supported spinal twist. Then the other side!

5) Now you need to roll over onto your front and do quad stretches.  Start in Sphinx pose. Reach right arm back to hold right foot. Ease in and out of the stretch with the breath. Then the other side!

6) Finally, this is fun for the hamstrings and other strings:  You need a yoga belt.

Freebies

Triyoga says; ‘Free class for marathon runners - Bring your medal into triyoga between the 24th April and 1st May and enjoy a yoga class on us for that week’. They do this every year! Here’s the schedule. 

Home Studio

We’ve been trying out The Moon Sequence in classes this week. It seems to go down well. It’s a sequence devised by a teacher called Matthew Sweeney who is based in Australia and it’s a gentle practice. Take a look at the Moon Salutation here. It is repeated seven times: Have a go and let me know what you think.

If you haven't been to my home studio you can book for a class here! It's small, you'll find great company with lovely yogis. Monday and Tuesday classes are at 7.30pm. Wednesday and Thursday classes are at 8.00pm.

Have an excellent weekend, whether you’re running or stewarding!