Yamas and Niyamas for Christmas

Dear Yogis

Winter Solstice come and gone, Christmas is next, and then we start climbing back into the light and on into Spring! Thank you for making 2017 such a joyous year. I think back on classes where you’ve brought your friends and relations, celebrations and joy, problems and pains, and made my Home Studio a friendly and happy place.

Can yoga be relevant at Christmas? Yes it can! You’ll need the moves to help with digestion!  Last year I suggested some postures! This year, more philosophically, the Yamas and Niyamas are yoga’s version of precepts that can give some guidance at Christmas, as in life. I found a lovely article by YogaMagazine.com that suggests how to practice non-harm, restraint, self study and moderation over the festive period. There are lots of tips on how to resist that extra helping!

Resolutions

I always find it sweet to hear yogis, experienced and inexperienced, criticise themselves. You’re all so good and you’re impressively motivated. Please make a New Year Resolution to watch out for your self-criticism and laugh at it. Wag your finger at yourself and let the criticism go. Yogis say things like ‘I could be better’, I’m not very good’, ‘I don’t consider myself to be flexible’, and so on. Just consider yourself a yogi. That’s all you need. A teacher this week was less than impressed with my practice. What can I do? I just love the practice, I love classes with friends, I love teaching and I love being part of the yoga world. Do what you love! That’s all that is required!

Home Studio

Classes at home are classes with friends. I’m back in the first week of January. Some places are booked, some are not. You’re welcome to come. Till then, there’s plenty of yoga to be had in Ealing now that Triyoga is here. Every time I visit I see friends from Nuffield, Eden and my Home Studio. The annual tradition at Triyoga is that all classes on New Year's Day are by donation, with all proceeds going to each centre's chosen local charity. 

Training

Don’t forget that my teacher, Valentina, has a refresher for people who have done Teacher Training . It’s 6  – 7 January 2018. Also, if you’re interested, her Teacher Training which starts on March 3rd/4th and you can find my testimonial here.

Yoga in the News

My goodness! The Telegraph reads like a yoga journal with this article about myofascial release for better health! Have a look and see what a tennis ball is really for!

Happy Christmas, Happy holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Eating with loved ones.

Yogi Christmas Presents

Dear Yogis

Christmas is coming. Time to stop being in denial and think of yoga Christmas presents! I know a few of you liked last year’s suggestions. Here’s a cheeky tank top Christmas present idea: Is It Savasana Yet from Tiger Lilly which is UK-based. The Reebok Could Should Would Did top is cool, too. If the person you’re buying for is an avid reader, Hell-Bent by Benjamin Lorr is a real page-turning, entertaining read about the world of Bikram yoga. He’s a follower, practitioner, critic and ex-obsessive. For kids, this is a yoga poster of lovely illustrated poses. A grown-up A1 size poster of the Ashtanga Primary Series can be bought from Joey Miles in Leeds.

In my Home Studio I have the Feet Up Stool to help with headstands/inversions without putting the head on the floor. It is loved by people who are hesitant about going upside-down. (Come and try! Last night one yogi felt euphoric after her first try.). You may remember that I bought the LOVE MAT by Lāal from the yoga show after the Peruvian stall owner asked if my studio had a shop! Not really, but this is my first stock. They’re a sturdy, cheaper alternative to the Liforme mat at £55. Then you’ll need a bag! There are some really nice yoga mat bags from yogabliss.co.uk.

Home Studio

Vata, Pitta, Kapha types all came to my lucky home studio, putting their best sitting-bone forward. All are welcome! Yoga is a chance to dance our way out of our constrictions. (Funkadelic just came on the radio!) There are spaces left next week, the run-up to Christmas. There aren’t any classes in the following week and classes are back on Tuesday 2nd January.  (Please don’t book and cancel at the last minute, denying the space to others.)

Training

Tomorrow afternoon I’m training with Petri Raisanen at The Life Centre, Islington. His workshop is on the Ashtanga Second Series.  He’s launching his latest book – I was at his first book launch too so it feels nice to go for this. Come with me!

Time to big-up my teacher, Valentina, who is a precious jewel in my life. She has two lots of training that you might be interested in. The first is a refresher for people who have done Teacher Training but haven’t taught yet and need a bit of a boost. It’s a weekend in January - 6 January  – 7 January 2018.

The other is her Teacher Training which starts on March 3rd/4th. (My testimonial is here).If you’re interested in that there’s an open session that we can go to on January 14th and meet the Shakti Power Yoga community that she has created. I love to meet Valentina’s other teachers.

Yoga in the News

The Inertia has an article that really is for everybody but the title is: “Why Surfers Need to Let Themselves Fall in Love With Yoga”. Here’s why... the observation that: ‘I’ve never met an active person/athlete without regular aches and pains. And I rarely meet one who can simply reach down and touch their toes without struggling.’ And here’s the article I’ve been waiting for: ‘5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Ashamed of Using Props in Yoga’.

Om your way through your Christmas shopping! Good luck.

Yoga for the Blind

Dear Yogis

I’m still buzzing, and a bit achy, from my two weeks of training. In the end, the foot refused to go behind the head! I don't really blame it!.

The final session of training with David Swenson last week was in collaboration with the RNIB. Unsighted people joined our class and we made groups of three to experience yoga poses; one person unsighted, two people supporting. Poses included headstand and handstand!  Sighted yogis closed their eyes to experience postures and the tricky question of balance without sight. Everybody learnt something about the magic and liberating feeling yoga gives.

At home you can have a go at Sun Salutations with your eyes closed. David Swenson started our session by saying that yoga isn't about how good you look, how aligned your postures are, or checking yourself in the mirror, or about the latest mat or clothing. Yoga is all about what you don’t see. Close your eyes and find your inner guru! 

Home Studio

Once again I welcomed new yogis to my little studio this week. It’s always a joy. Thank you for bringing friends and loved ones. There are spaces left next week and I have added a one-off extra class on Wednesday at 6.00pm. (If you need to cancel, there should be a link at the bottom of your confirmation email. You can also check your bookings there.)

Yoga in the News

The Times (the paper of note!) tells us of ‘The rise of the yoga couple’. The paper helpfully tells us that ‘There was a time when the only couple to confess to doing yoga together were Sting and Trudie Styler’ but now Meghan and Harry prove that they are quintessentially a modern couple by starting their day with yoga! Rock on!

I’m giving in to stories of goat/beer/spliff/ yoga to show you this story called “London gets new non-alcoholic brewery”. The company, in east London, hosts beer yoga sessions after which you can taste their produce ‘Kosmic Stout’!

Leg Behind Head and Self-Discovery

Dear Yogis

My training with David Swenson, two weeks of joy, finishes tomorrow. People have come from all over the world to learn from him: from Texas, China and various European countries. One of our number is Joana Zimmer, a singer from Germany who sang for us with the voice of an angel. There was not a dry eye in the house. (Here’s another song for you. It’s very Radio 2!) The training itself, the ‘Second Series’ of Ashtanga’s postural practice, has some seismic backbends. For me, a cyclist since the 80s, it feels impossible. I didn’t realise how much flexibility my back has lost. I screamed on the first day. After two weeks of daily practice, it’s not so bad.

As part of our training we had to give a 20 minute presentation on some aspect of yoga philosophy. My subject was ‘Svadhyaya’. Sva, means self, or the human soul, and Adhyaya means lesson. It’s one of the five ‘observances’ (a bit like commandments). You can approach it as self-analysis in pursuit of daily improvement. It looks like a simple enough practice but, actually, when I look back over my life, I can see a lot of examples where I have self-analysed till the cows came home but didn’t take the next step of putting that knowledge to use.

My mum has a checklist she reviews at the end of the day. She asks herself if she has done wrong and if she could do better. She asks if she has done her duty and she checks that she has helped anyone if she has been gifted the chance to do so. I was blown away! I had no idea! I need to step right up and make a list.

Home Studio

I came home to teach after training all day this week, as last. It brings the joy that it always promises. There are a couple of spaces left next week and the 6.00 Monday and Thursday classes have been reinstated. (If you would like to pay for a class after choosing the ‘Pay later’ option or if you forget to turn up, you can use my PayPal email address: taniashillam@hotmail.com.)

Retreats

Thank you for the response to the news of the Happiness Retreat with Psychologist Deborah Smith last week. Here are the dates, as promised, for the next Kapsali Yoga Retreat September 2018. There will be two retreats: the first one for all levels to arrive on the Island on Sunday 9th to leave on Sunday 16th. The second one will mirror the timetable/workload of the previous retreats with Lisa and I and go from Sunday 16th to Sunday 23rd. (This one may well be full already given the names I have collected so far!) Details will be on my website by next week – delayed by this all-consuming course.

Yoga in the News

Chris Evans on Radio 2 interviewed Gordon, the 84-year-old yoga master with over fifty years of poses. It’s a very sweet little interview. (Chris Evans is an ex practitioner. We need to get him back!)

Did you see this on BBC London Live about yoga for special needs children? It’s about the Mahadevi Centre in Islington.  

Have a lovely weekend.