Let Yoga Happen Within You

Dear Yogis

Last weekend I took classes with Sharath Jois, the big cheese in the Ashtanga world and ‘the source of Ashtanga yoga’! There were 400 or more of us in the sports hall of the aircraft hanger-like Sobell Leisure Centre, N7. Everyone kept strictly to his count; no one moved until he called the next posture; hundreds of us held Chaturanga Dandasana (Lowered Plank) until he told us to move. Apparently he’s famous for holding suffering yogis in intense positions. It’s all good fun!

Sunday’s class was followed by a talk and questions. Senior teachers, I guess, have to get used to the idea that yogis want to hear their version of the yoga story and the yoga way of living. Sharath started his address by saying that without a philosophical / spiritual underpinning, physical yoga practice (asana) is just aerobics. Asana is the first step towards cultivating a changing perception, cultivating good qualities, so that ‘yoga can happen within you’. He used that phrase a few times.

Asana, he said, will change your body, your mind, your actions, your reactions. Too much asana brings negativity and it will be impossible to know what yoga is!

After that, questions inevitably came about asana! One guy asked about how to have a good yoga practice when the kids have kept him up all night. Sharath’s answer was that ‘the children are your practice’! Another asked about preparing for motherhood and what postures to practice. Sharath’s answer was to adopt a child. It’s important to help a child who doesn’t have parents. Love love love that answer!

Retreat

I can’t wait to be in Kapsali. Observing the full moon this week made me long to watch it make its way across the sky over the gentle waters of Kapsali bay while we listen to music in Banda Landra cafe.  When I do a Love and Gratitude meditation, bringing to mind examples of love and gratitude, I spirit myself over to exactly that spot and breathe it in. Come with us and experience the magic of Kapsali and our yoga retreat, starting September 21st. Write back if you have any questions.

Home Studio

Summer is heating up and two fans are whirring cooling air around the studio. It’s the time of year that I have to give a gentle reminder to shower before class! Sharath Jois has a book called Ageless in which he says: ‘Yoga is prayer. It’s much more than exercise. So, all yogis bathe before their practice’. You’re welcome to shower here if you’re coming straight from work.  Classes are booked out next week. Have a look at the latest availability over on the Studio Classes page of this website..

Training

Don’t forget Charlie Merton at Triyoga Ealing tonight.  In September, on 13th – 15th at Triyoga Soho, Beryl Bender Birch is over from America. Here’s a podcast with her talking about yoga back in the day, the Mad Men culture when women were used to being mistreated, her love of animals, and Yoga for veterans.

Yoga in the News

The New York Times has: Maty Ezraty, Who Spread Her Yoga Methods Globally, Dies at 55. “As she once said: “Keep in mind that when you practice yoga, you’re not practicing to improve yourself. You are perfect. The practice is there to help you know that.””

The Sunday Post says:  It's no joke: Laughter yoga is the best stress-buster, even if you're faking it.’ Just like all exercise, laughter yoga can help to reduce stress because it boosts endorphins and gets your heart rate up’.

Ashtanga's Parampara system

Dear Yogis

This weekend I’m attending Led Primary Series practice with Sharath Jois. He is the member of the Jois family who inherited the Ashtanga Shala of Mysore (Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI)) and therefore its history and its list of authorised teachers. Some call him Sharathji and revere him as the lineage holder of Asthanga Yoga. His official website uses the word Paramaguru. This is because he follows Parampara – he is the follower of a lineage. (It is the Indian yoga institutions that honoured him with the Paramaguru status.)

The Parampara system is where knowledge is passed down from teacher to student... eternally. Sharath can look up through his immediate ancestors and see his mother, his uncle and grandfather as his immediate influencers. He took yoga seriously from 19-years-old when he started assisting his grandfather, Sri K Pattabhi Jois. Sharath’s mother is Saraswathi Rangaswamy, daughter of Pattabhi Jois. She learnt from her father from 10-years-old who, in turn, studied with his teacher, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (‘inventor of modern yoga’), from the age of 12 for almost three decades. Krishnamacharya’s teacher was a yoga master who lived in the Himalayas. Pretty cool, eh. It’s all about keeping a line of knowledge continuous, constant, uninterrupted.  

Here’s an interview with Sharath by Kino Macgregor about his book which came out this year.

Retreat

It feels like ages since we had a night-time moon in London and I long for my Kapsali moon over the bay, kept company my the star of Venus. It feels like heaven shines on Kapsali. I think it does!  Why don’t you come on our magical Kapsali Yoga retreat, September 21st? It’s now being advertised on Book Yoga Retreats to a worldwide audience. I’m excited to see who will join us. One of our excursions on the island will be to Sara’s herbal apothecary. Take a look at some of her inspiring remedies. She has creams for knee problems! I bought the Tendonitis Cream for my tricky knee which has an ingredient ‘Devil’s Claw’. She has anti-aging cream... I probably need more of that. It’s a beautiful shop and she gives us a talk on herbal remedies and answers our many and various questions.

Home Studio

I was badly delayed yesterday and had to cancel the evening Ashtanga-based class. I’ll replace it with a class tonight at 7.00. Let me know if you’d like to come. There are plenty of spaces in the classes next week. The latest availability is attached to this email.

Training

Charlie Merton will be at Triyoga Ealing on July 19th with her gongs of joy! I’ve booked the workshops taught by Beryl Bender Birch, September 13th – 15th at Triyoga Soho.

Yoga in the News

The Evening Standard has Where to find the best outdoor yoga classes in London this summer – always good to see at this time of year. The article features Peckham, The O2, St Pauls, Belgravia, and Canary Wharf.

BBC News has: St Edmundsbury Cathedral yoga experience 'boosts wellbeing'. "A man who was inspired to start fitness classes while homeless has set up a yoga session at a cathedral.” What an inspiration!

Hong Kong Tatler has: These Are The World's Most Expensive Yoga Mats. They start at US$15,000! Third on the list is Liforme and Burberry at £300. How uninspiring!

Wild Gyrating Not Necessary

Dear Yogis

Last night in my home studio, while yogis were in Savasana, it struck me how really rather advanced many of the postures we had just practiced were. I didn’t even know some of these postures existed before Teacher Training like Rotated Triangle Pose or Half Bound Lotus Standing Forward Bend or binding hands in Marichyasana C.

The nice thing about my teacher was that ego didn’t flourish in her classes. I was never made to feel inadequate or self-conscious about my countless limitations. I know that I wobbled and I must have looked ungainly but I just remember enjoying yoga classes. Her adjustments didn’t crazily push anyone into extreme shapes or cause injury. (My teacher was Valentina Candiani who is teaching the yoga retreat with me this September).

Difficult or complex postures just come along in their own good time. Lotus pose, for example, came via a simple technique and easy encouragement from Chicago yoga teacher Jim Bennitt in 2015. (I’ll show you in class if you like.) I was 48 and had no idea that Lotus would ever grace my practice. I’d never given it much of a thought.

One teacher decided to tell my legs/hips what’s what! My non-existent Lotus Pose needed his interesting technique: he squatted in front of me while I was minding my own business in cross-legged posture and hooked my hapless foot into the crease of his hip. He then proceeded to gyrate... I think! I don’t really know because I closed my eyes, terrified for my flailing leg. After circling wildly with my captured foot he tried to deftly slip it up into half lotus. Well... after that inevitable defeat I don’t think he attempted the other leg! Not easy if your gyrating isn’t appreciated, eh!

Postures will come along in their own good time. Wild gyrating not necessary!

Retreat

If you’re worried about the level of yoga on the retreat, really, you don’t need to be. All levels are welcome. If you are very experienced you’ll feel perfectly matched by the amount of yoga and the level. If you are relatively new to yoga, you can join the morning practice and do as much as you can. Your strength and endurance will increase day by day. The workshops will be both physical and philosophical. Everybody can do the Yin classes! Come with us on our magical Kapsali Yoga retreat, September 21st.

Home Studio

It’s good fun! Come and join us! You can see class availability on my website (which I update often). The latest availability is attached to this email.

Training

I notice that Charlie Merton is back at Triyoga Ealing on July 19th for an evening’s Silent Yin & Gong Workshop for £25. It’s such a nice practice! I’ve booked the workshops taught by Beryl Bender Birch, September 13th – 15th at Triyoga Soho. She’s the originator of ‘Power Yoga’!

Yoga in the News

The Independent has: The undocumented history of female yoga teachers in Britain. Articles like this don’t come along very often. It’s about two teachers: “Sunita and Kailash were more than simply yoga teachers – their lives exemplify how yoga provided new opportunities for personal empowerment and social influence, offering a new route to liberation for women.”