Tunnel of Love

Dear Yogis

The most inspiring thing that happened at the Yoga Show – of all the inspiring things - was in David Sye’s Shamanistic Trip. There must have been two hundred of us in the cavernous room, maybe more. We finished the class with what I will remember as a Tunnel of Love. He developed this when teaching Palestinians and Israelis in his Yoga Beats Conflict project.

We lined up facing each other making a narrow corridor. Here’s what happened: one after the other, we walked with eyes closed down the centre and people on either side whispered: “You’re amazing”, You rock”, You’re a wonderful person”, “You’re gorgeous”, “You have a beautiful soul”, “You have a beautiful smile”, “You’re an inspiration”, “You are loved”... whispering golden loveliness into the ears of the passer-by. We all went through and we were all cherished and celebrated by complete strangers who, for that moment, really loved each other. One girl cried as she walked and then we were all tearing up! It was completely moving. I have to insist that you come with me next year!

Home Studio   

More loveliness in my little studio this week; more trainees observing and more yogis getting a little further, a little deeper and a little more self-knowledge in classes. At the yoga show I learnt a small amount of Thai Yoga Massage so taught this to the Tuesday class. I love teaching you. There are still places in next Thursday’s 6.00 class. All booked up otherwise. If you’re interested in notifications about cancellations, I’ll create a Whatsapp group to notify you if a space pops up. If you’d like to be on the group let me know.

A few of you are doing teacher training and a few of you are qualified but not teaching. I think we should have Teach-in sessions to build you up. If you are interested in a once-a-month Teach-In where we get together and teach each other, let me know. Perhaps we’ll meet on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Training

Tomorrow (Saturday) the brilliant Jenny Fearnley will be teaching a ‘Jump Through’ workshop at Yoga West. Take socks! A jump-through workshop is always interesting and worth doing. You’ll build up arm strength and core strength and technique.

And for those interested in Pregnancy Yoga, a very dear yogi friend is offering group sessions and 1-2-1s. Classes will be on Saturday mornings in Leighton Hall and will start Saturday Nov 4th. Contact Tzaddi at tzaddilove@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Yoga Mats

I bought four of these mats at the Yoga show, the LOVE MAT by Lāal, because I thought they were a very good deal. They are like liforme (£100) but much cheaper (£55). They are big, made of rubber, have brilliant grip, and are from Peru, like Paddington! I thought it was a bargain so in case anyone is interested I thought I’d stock a few (in black).

Yoga in the News

Healthista uses celebrity news to draw readers in then has quite a good article about yoga, as it turns out. Kate Winslet’s yoga teacher reveals 9 ways it could change your life. (Kate practices four times a week!). This article talks about losing weight, ujjayi breathing, hot yoga and is an uplifting little read.

The Om My Goodness Yoga Show

Dear Yogis

The OM Yoga Show in Alexander Palace starts today. It’s chaotic, crowded, and crazy and I adore it. The spirit stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife... it's the antithesis of yoga philosophy, practice and inner journeying. You can do 'Yoguh'; you can be a 'Yogangster'; you can find 'Buddhamagic', you can go on a ‘Bodhi Adventure’; you can ‘Om & Bass’! It’s nuts! And there’s more vegan chocolate than you can shake a calorie-controlled diet at.

Most classes are free. These are 30 minute taster classes. The paid workshops are in rooms that can take hundreds of people with the celebrity guest teachers. I’ve paid up for my favourites: DJ Goldie, Stewart Gilchrist, and David Sye. I really hope to see you there. (According to TFL Journey Planner it's 1 hour 5 minutes from Ealing Broadway or Acton Central to Alexander Palace.)

Training

Last weekend I was in Leeds practicing Mysore with Joey Miles and studying anatomy with Stewart Girling. If I lived in Leeds, this is where I would practice. Here’s Stewart interviewing Joey who started off at 17 as a juggler. He began yoga because the Cirque du Soleil guys warmed up with yoga and he believed it would make him a better performer. Joey talks about the effect of ‘being seen’ in class and how it increases his effort. Ha! I’m like that! He also says that ‘on a good day, yoga feels like play’. Ha! I think that! He says that yoga is ‘studying what it is to be a human being’. Yes!!! On his website you can download audio Primary Series classes and order his lovely wall-sized chart.

Home Studio
 

I’m teaching tomorrow at Yoga West. Please come. It’s an 8.30-9.45 Ashtanga class. It’s the perfect time and the ideal way to start the weekend.

Welcome to all the newcomers who contributed to the usual loveliness in my little studio. (Joey Miles, Alaric Newcombe and John Scott and others had home studios!) I was enormously honoured that a Yoga Teacher Trainee came to observe a class for her studies. Come and join us! Tuesdays are booked up till mid-November; next week has a few spaces. Book early and come.

Yoga in the News

The Standard gives us: ‘Where to do free and low-cost yoga in London’... The broke girl or guy’s guide on where to achieve inner zen in the capital. If you work anywhere near the LSE there’s a great deal there. For West Londoners, Lumi in Hammersmith makes it on to the list.

It’s a yoga weekender. Enjoy!

Better With Age; Approaching Magnificent

Dear Yogis

Last Saturday I went to a workshop with Jared McCann. What an inspirational teacher! He’s based in Brooklyn. His classes are full of cues in his Hawaiian drawl such as ‘Breath, relax, and be awesome because what else are you going to do with your time?’ We held postures until muscles drained and he beamed: ‘be as happy as an angel in a bubble bath’. We were all eating out of his hand. Here he is teaching Sun Salutations for beginners. (I say it’s for beginners to encourage beginners, but it’s for everyone! It’s slow and with constant instruction. He includes three-legged dog, a nice-n-high/not-too-low Chaturanga, the Sivananda Sun Salutation, a twist and a pyramid.) It’s a good 26 minutes of his positivity to start your day.

Home Studio 

This week has been a lovely birthday week. Thank you for all the presents, treats and wishes. Your energy in class has been tremendous and inspiring. Newcomers have slotted straight in and everybody came with positivity, energy and warmth. Come and join us. There are still spaces left on Thursday of next week. Thank you for all the responses to my news about the Kythera retreat next September. So many of you expressed interest. It’s already exciting. 

Yoga in the News

The New Scientist writes that Different meditation types train distinct parts of your brain. Neuroscientist looked at three types; mindfulness meditation, loving kindness meditation and compassion or perspective-based meditation. “Just like physical exercise, the kind of improvements you get depends on exactly how you train”

This is a lovely listen! Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 has a slot called ‘What Makes Us Human’. Here is Carlo Rovelli the physicist and his answer to this question reminds me of a discussion we had in Valentina’s Yoga Teacher Training. Atoms and stardust make us human! Finally, I include this next one because I know some of you have trouble falling asleep. Yesterday’s Telegraph had a piece called: How to get to sleep: eight surprising tricks and tips. It’s all about yoga, really!

Teacher Training

Valentina has set the dates for her next teacher training course. You have time to think about it and take some classes with her – it’s in March. 

On turning 50

Still cycling through sun and rain, still yogering like a contortionist in plaster cast, still running like a dodgy-kneed demon, still swimming like Eric the Eel. Life is sweet and I think it can get sweeter. Birthday tip: Once you have taken a class at the yoga studios, sign up for their newsletters. They give a birthday present of a free class ever after! Another tip: start celebrating in the previous month and just keep going!

Raise you 50!

Dear Yogis

The clattering autumn leaves and the absorbing Harvest Moon can only mean one thing... soon we’ll hear old winter's song. It’s a good time to plan and look forward to next summer’s sunshine and its possibilities. Already I’ve had a lot of responses about joining me for next year’s Kythera yoga retreat. Lisa has already advertised it on her Instagram page. Once on the island we will have to visit my friend Sara’s herbal apothecary. Take a look at some of her inspiring remedies. In the not too distant future I will write about some of her products in a Friday Email. She has a cream that she uses before her yoga practice to encourage the muscles. She has creams for knee problems! I bought the Tendonitis Cream for my tricky knee which has an ingredient ‘Devil’s Claw’.

Talking of which, Lucas Rockwood has a podcast this week called The People’s Pharmacy and he discusses remedies such as cannabis, turmeric/curcumin and the thing that interested me the most: yellow mustard, hot pepper, or vinegar to reduce muscle cramping. (At 26.30 they discuss home remedies if you don’t want to listen to the whole programme). Diet advice is at the end including ‘reverse vegetarianism’. He’s my favourite podcaster.

(PS. Take it easy if the full moon affects you).

Home Studio

Classes are back... and packed. I have the joyous problem of welcoming many new yogis with my limited numbers of classes and limited places. Book early! There are still places available next Thursday. I’m afraid I’m not teaching on Tuesday – it’s my 50th which accounts for my recent escape to Kythera to kick off the birthday season... which may last a while!

Cover classes

Tomorrow (Saturday 7th) I’ll be covering Mark Colleano’s class at Nuffield Ealing. 8.40am. Soon I will also be covering two Saturday classes at Yoga West, 8.30am, for Jenny Fearnley: Saturday October 21st (before scooting of to The Yoga Show) and November 11th.

Training

Tomorrow I was planning to be in Winchester but that class is cancelled so I booked a workshop at Indaba for some backbending with Jared McCann, Saturday 1.30-4.30 for £35. Come with me. He says ‘beginners welcome’ too.

Yoga in the News

The Evening Standard wrote this week about a charity helping refugees recover from atrocities through yoga, Ourmala. Very inspiring! If you’re thinking of becoming a yoga teacher and scared that the world of yoga studios and Chelsea yogis won’t accept you, read this. The yoga world is wide and there’s room for you

Dragon’s Den this Sunday (8.00pm) will feature the founder of a yoga mat company who will be asking for funding for one of the first social businesses to enter the Den. Profits from the company are for the education and employment of human trafficking survivors in Kolkata.