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.

Drunken Elephants And Boulders

Dear Yogis

On the plane from Madrid last week I had some negative feelings I had to get rid of. Perfect, I thought. I’m stuck here on the plane. Mediate! Even after five minutes I began to feel freer. Every time a thought of any type came along I said: ‘That is from the other me’ - the sabotage one – and it made me smile.

The metaphor of a story from Sunday School came to mind. (My mother was the teacher. No slacking!) After attaining buddhahood, the Buddha’s jealous cousin threw a huge boulder down a mountain, gathering speed, on course to kill him. It split and missed. He then sent an enraged and drunken elephant to kill him. It was pacified.

Isn’t’ this the definition of stilling the fluctuations of the mind – the whole point of yoga? The mind is full of wild elephants and boulders - simmering masses of feelings and thoughts gathering more of that endless ‘mind stuff ’as they roll down the mountain to destroy our ‘true selves’. The Buddha was beyond being victim to the mood swings and tides of emotion and he conquered the boulder. I conquered a tiny stone.

Home Studio

I’m sorry to say that classes are all booked up next week. There are more classes in the following weeks when I finish my training and come up for air. It’s absolutely lovely to come home after a wonderful day with David Swenson and pass on some of what I have learnt. I reckon my right foot will be behind my head by the end of the two weeks! Then it’s your turn!

Retreats

My lucky life took another chance turn recently when Psychologist Deborah Smith asked me to teach on her Happiness and Wellbeing weekend retreat next year in Devon in October. Take a look at the flyers attached. Next week I’ll have news of our Kapsali Yoga Retreat 2018; one week for all levels and one week for Ashtanga practice and workshops. Dates and details are being finalised.

Yoga in the News

This is a brilliant story from the Islington Gazette about an Islington yoga therapy centre for people with ‘conditions such as autism, cerebral Palsy and Down’s syndrome, as well as learning difficulties and terminal illness’. And, believe it or not, Yoga On Ice is coming to Clapham. We should give it a go!

Nerve Cleansing. Take Tissues.

Dear Yogis

For the next two weeks I will be studying with my Ashtanga guru David Swenson. The course includes philosophy, ‘community outreach’ and the Second Series.  In my classes we currently do the First Series together: we fold, twist, and ring-out the body while strengthening and gaining confidence. It’s called Yoga ‘Chikitsa’ and its goal is cleansing the body. The Second Series is called Nadi Shodhana which means (rather ominously) nerve cleansing. It comes along inducing self-doubt with its fearful backbends and challenging the emotions by working on the spine, pelvis and hips where all the emotions and chakras spin. I’ll let you know if my emotions release any kind of tidal wave from my eyes... and in which pose. Apparently that happens! And who knows what next week’s Friday Email will be like...

David Swenson is doing plenty of classes so I urge you to take a class and experience his teaching, his humour and kindness.

Home Studio

Classes are all booked up next week. (My training is from 7.30am to 5.30pm for the next two weeks which means the 6.00pm classes in my home studio have been deleted. Sorry ‘bout that!) Come in the following weeks in the run up to Christmas! And please let me know if you are unable to come in plenty of time for me to tell my waiting list.

Ealing Feeling

It’s nearly here - Triyoga opening in Ealing on the 27th. Check out their offer of 30 days for £40 and their free classes on November 25th and 26th.  You can view the schedule here and bookings open 8 days in advance.

Yoga in the News

Ealing makes it into yoga news this week. Ealing Today reports on Triyoga opening in Ealing. They also report that Skinny Kitchen is coming to Ealing, upping the vegan game in the area.

Here’s a lovely article from Oxford University Press called ‘5 facts that help us understand the world of early American yoga’. It’s pretty wacky! You’ll find a history full of scary mystics and superheroes, the influence of European fitness culture on yoga and yoga’s influence on early 20th century dance.  (Stewart Gilchrist, at the yoga show, talked briefly about the original postures and the ‘made up’ postures of the 20th century. The earliest postures are named after animals. The later ones, he said, were developed for the purposes of teaching Nazi guards and the Nazi fascination with yoga! Classes with Stewart are never dull.)

Do What You Love WIth All Your Might

Dear Yogis

I’ve been asked to write about ‘complementary exercises to do in conjunction with yoga’. Well! I’m in favour of all pursuits: running, boxing, climbing, diving... Find something that you love and do it with all your might. Get Addicted. Find devotion. Get injuries. Recover and do it again.

Of all the various yoga types you could try in order to improve postures, Aerial Yoga with my teacher Valentina Candiani will elongate the spine and give pull-up strength for the arms. Thai Yoga Massage has the attractive nickname “Lazy Man’s Yoga”. Steam and sauna! In the 90s I was a Spinning instructor, tightening my hamstrings with every class. I used to hang out in the sauna for ages and ages and ages in my quest to touch my toes.

If, however,  you want the transformation to be of the mind rather than/as well as the postures, you need to find a teacher who can lead you into the traditional texts; Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Some teachers such as Stewart Gilchrist quote from the great texts all the way through class. I feel as though I’ve had a counselling session when I do his classes.

Home Studio

I’m teaching Ashtanga both mornings of this weekend at Yoga West: Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th, both starting at 8.30 and lasting 75 minutes. In my lucky Home Studio classes are pretty much booked but Thursday at 6.00 has a lot of free spaces. Please give me plenty of notice if you need to cancel so that I can contact people on my waiting list.

Training

I’m hugely excited that Triyoga is coming to Ealing on November 27th. They have an offer of 30 days for £40 and they will be holding a weekend of free classes on November 25th and 26th.  You can view the schedule here but bookings only open 8 days in advance. The centre will be in Dickens’s Yard behind the Town Hall. At last there’ll be decent vegan food in Ealing. I’m happy!

On Saturday 25th another student of my teacher/guru is holding a wellness event. AliceLovesYoga  will teach a mindfulness session, ‘Restorative Flow’, a veggie brunch and then a presentation of plant-based products.

Yoga in the News

This is a lovely article and I do agree with the Canadian Globe and Mail: Why pain has no place in a yoga practice. “Stop thinking about improving. You're there”! The article discusses the different between Functional and aesthetic yoga, one is for your health and one is for display and not necessarily for your benefit.

If you’re a foam roller this is a good article from Yoga International about the benefits and drawbacks of punishing the IT band in this way.

Stop A Cold In Its Tracks

Dear Yogis

I caught a short-lasting cold from a yogi last Friday. As we're coming into the sneezing season I thought I would write about whether you should practice yoga or not. My answer would be... da da dah, no! I know people drag themselves to work with a cold and I know our culture is to soldier on. Despite sick pay, people pressure themselves to go to work and get on with it. Yoga is different. No soldiers; no warriors!

Your body needs rest. It's usually impossible to breathe or focus anyway. Breath and focus is the definition of yoga! When exercising in sickness, energy is used by the muscles instead of going to the immune system for fighting off germs. Your cold will last longer. Avoid gym and studio classes. Hot, steamy yoga rooms will happily incubate germs, brewing them nicely in the air for others to breathe!

Here's something I always take and it stops a cold in its tracks; Samahan. It’s a variety herbs and spices and has a peppery taste. My grandmother used to make the home-made version known as Peyava. (Sri Lanka had a traditional medicinal practice before the Indian Aryuveda system was introduced on the island).

Home Studio

At the end of this month I’ll be training all day every day with David Swenson. Some classes are missing, therefore, from the evening timetable. However, there are plenty of spaces next week. Last week I put on an extra Tuesday class because all other classes were so stuffed. I’ll do the same next week if the same happens.

Also, I’ve taken on a couple of weekend classes at Yoga West, all starting at 8.30 and all 75 minutes. They are this Sunday 5th and next Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. It’s a lovely space.

Training

And for those interested in Pregnancy Yoga, tomorrow is the first day of a class offered by a very dear yogi friend. Pregnancy Yoga will be on Saturday mornings in Leighton Hall. Contact Tzaddi at tzaddilove@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Yoga in the News

For the Royalists among you, the ‘Duchess of Cornwall: Older people should do yoga to keep supple’. Not much in the news apart from yoga with puppies, or goats or cats or beer!

Happy bonfire night!

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!