Kytherian Eyes On The Yoga Prize

Dear Yogis

Time in Kythera with yogi friends has been a fabulous and fleeting joy. It’s nearly over. I’m writing this to the sound of night crickets, the gentle hum of a generator and the swishing song of the sea and with reflections of these two retreats. Our most popular workshop so far has been Leg-Behind-Head with our mission impossible teacher Lisa Maarit Lischak. She promised in the beginning that “all you need is a head and a leg... perhaps two”. She does that every time! She makes the impossible seem doable!

In our first week here our Kythera guest teacher, Sensei Kiros, told us that we must always practice inside, not outside. He said the location of our classes, the roof-top balcony, was ‘very bad’! The idyllic view of the bays, the beautiful sea, the cloudless sky and Aphrodite’s rock were too distracting! He is, of course, right. Every time you look out over the gorgeous bay, the soul moves and the balance is lost. The whole point of the ‘drishti’ discipline in our yoga practice is to keep our sight as close to us as possible and not let the sight and the mind stray. All the way through the yoga practice your gaze should be on one of the nine drishti, gazing points: the nose, the third eye, the navel, the hand, the foot, the far right, the far left, the thumbs, up to the sky.

By being outside we’re breaking other rules too, as set out by Pattabhi Jois in his book Yoga Mala:  “Yoga should neither be practiced in open air..., in a basement nor on a roof. Instead, the place of its practice should be spotlessly clean and level, have windows, and be suitable for smearing with cow dung”. Also “the body will be sapped and its power exhausted if, in an effort to dry the sweat of practice, it is exposed to the outside air.” (This he takes from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of the 15th century which tells us to rub the body with perspiration to make the body light and strong!) There! You’ve been told!

PS. Dried cow dung has antiseptic qualities.

Retreats

The next retreat I’m teaching is the October Happiness and Wellbeing retreat in Totnes run by Deborah Smith of GrowYour Own Happiness. But I’m writing this in my favourite place on earth and thinking of next year. Teachers are always disappointed with my chosen month of September so, if you fancy coming to Kythera in the summer half term in May, let me know.

Home Studio

I’m back with a tan next week. You can see what’s available on the ‘classes’ page of this website.

Training

If the OM yoga Show isn’t your thing, Triyoga Soho has the perfect antidote: Dr Jacques Anthony Soyer and Tracy Elner: Breath, Stillness, Movement + Modern Medicine.  It’s on the 20th of October at 10:00 - 13:00..They combine Hindu Yoga and Taoist Neijia, teach Pranayama, moving Qi Gong, and explain how we can use different systems of breathing to balance and heal various systems within the body.

Yoga in the news

This is quite funny from the Telegraph: ‘What no one tells you about life as a yoga teacher’. It doesn’t reflect my experience but it’s a good read. Another effort to demystify comes from the Belfast Telegraph; ‘Thinking about starting yoga? Here’s what you should know’. Of the four examples the best one is: ‘“Yoga improves the body’s circulation and this includes blood flow to the brain. It promotes growth in the prefrontal cortex, the region associated with response, memory and attention span. Even after a short 30 minute class, you’ll notice a heightened sharpness.

Please get the sun out for our return.

Pranayama with the breeze of the Kapsali Bay

Dear Yogis

Greetings from magical Kapsali bay on the island of Aphrodite. We’re practicing yoga under Kythera skies, with the warming sun of the morning to encourage our Asthanga and the sea breeze of the afternoon to cheer on our Pranayama. Of all the wonderful questions I got this week, here’s the one I always enjoy. It came after our first Pranayama practice: “Why do we do Ujjayi breathing... or any breathing exercises”. Hundreds of responses polka about in my brain but the question was about the panic of holding the breath. Breath is called ‘Prana’ in yoga. This translates as ‘life force’. Without it, we die, and breath retention is a petite threat to our lives. Good reason to panic!

Yoga gives us the rare opportunity to increase the capacity of the lungs and give the respiratory muscles a good workout. Did you know that in normal life we only use around a 1/3rd of the capacity of our lungs – top-of-the-lungs-breathing? The average human lung capacity is about 6 litres of air but the majority of the breathing we do is shallow breathing. That’s ok, we can’t Ujjayi all day, but it’s like sitting on the sofa for the lungs! They need exercise. Shallow breathing may also be caused by poor posture, stiff muscles or inactivity and those things, in turn, lead to shallow breathing and general sluggishness. Deep breathing exercises also clean out the stagnant air in the parts of the lungs we don’t use.

The explanation I like best, though, is in the Hindu belief that we are born with a set amount of breaths. We can increase our longevity by using those breaths wisely. It makes sense! If we are always in stressful situations with panicky breathing, stress stays in the body, infects the brain and welcomes in illness. Stress kills! I found a lovely article about this where the writer points out: “The restless monkey breathes at the rate of 32 times per minute, in contrast to man’s average, 18 times. The elephant, tortoise, snake and other animals noted for their longevity have a respiratory rate which is less than man’s. The tortoise, for instance, who may attain the age of 300 years, breathes only 4 times per minute... The ever excitable dog breathes 40–50 times per minute and dies at 25.”

The ancient yogis observed these things and came to the conclusion that we need to be more tortoise-like! Can there be a better example of not panicking! If fear comes up for you in Pranayama practice, don’t follow the teacher’s instructions too closely. Give yourself room. Like everything in yoga practice, it will get better.

Retreats

The next retreat I’m teaching is the Happiness and Wellbeing retreat in Devon run by Deborah Smith of Grow Your Own Happiness. Come along! After that, if you fancy coming to Kythera in the summer half term in May, let me know. I’m itching to come back!

Yoga in Ealing

Take a look at last week’s blog for some of teachers and classes in Ealing. Or perhaps you could try something else… a treatment for example. Nancy Crawford is an Ealing-based reflexologist who will come to your home to give a treatment. (I’ve written about reflexology here.) And there is a special discounted rate for Good Times Yoga Friday Email readers if booked this month: £30 instead of £40 which includes a free 20min consultation for the first treatment. Email nancy.reflexology@gmail.com for more info or to book an appointment. 

Training

Have you looked at the Om Yoga Show, 19th- 21st October 2018? I’m addicted to going every year and spending as much time there as possible. David Sye will be there. A class with him is the most positive, life-affirming thing you can do. See this description from last year.

Yoga in the news

It’s always good to see sportspeople make use of yoga to improve their performance. Watford’s football coach is leaving nothing to chance, the Telegraph tells us, and fining players if they don’t turn up for yoga: “If you don’t do yoga you get fined – which some of the lads aren’t happy about – but these are things to help us,” said one player. The Guardian this week writes that yoga in prisons cuts reoffending. The Mail Online will probably have some hapless celebrity heading to yoga or in a yoga position.

Give Up The Fruits Of Your Labour

Dear Yogis

Something has been on my mind since my weekend with Tim Feldmann’s. He talked about ‘giving up the fruits of your labour’. This idea comes from the Bhagavad Gita and it’s useful in posture practice as well as in spiritual endeavour. Sri Dharma Mittra (visiting Indaba next February) often says if you’re struggling with a posture it’s because you’re not practicing ‘bhakti’ - love and devotion. He says ‘offer up’ your practice and then the difficult posture will come. Hmm, nice, but you need a few more pointers than that. Here they are…

Tim Feldmann talked about yogis yearning to get straight to the result instead of concentrating on the toil. I see this all the time when I teach Bakasana, Crow Pose. The eagerness to jump the feet off the floor means that no balance is established to hold the pose. Similarly in headstand: forget strong arms, shoulders, core and legs; kick up, kick about a bit, then collapse in a heap. What went wrong?

Tim says: “you changed your mind from the effort to the effect! Don’t put your mind on the result; always put your mind at the root of the activity. Success happens or doesn’t happen, don’t be concerned. If you put your mind on the result, the posture won’t work”.  When projecting on the result, the mind isn’t still enough, not meditative enough, not selfless enough. Don’t project on the outcome! Just do the work with all your might and make your discoveries there.

Kythera Retreats

The first group is leaving this Sunday (9th). I had an unbelievably last-minute cancellation. If you want to be totally impulsive and come, get in touch! There are no classes in my Home Studio for the next two weeks. The next classes here are on the week beginning Monday 24th September.

Yoga in Ealing

Try out one or two of these. If you are completely new to Triyoga you get your first month for £54 or an introductory two classes for £20. For your Ashtanga needs go to Zeena Kalisperides at Yoga West – you just can’t go wrong with her and the Yoga West space is just lovely. If you don’t like big studio classes try Cath Barnes-Holt, an Iyengar teacher in West Ealing and Northfields. Or First Class Free with Ladan Soltani  in Ealing Town Hall and West Ealing. Also free are classes in Lululemon in Westfield, Shepherds Bush, every Sunday at 10.00. Finally, a perfect winddown to your weekend is with Ruth Voon for Yin on a Sunday evening at Triyoga Ealing.

Training

I would definitely do this if I wasn’t in Greece: Wanderlust108 is a ‘Mindful Triathlon’ of running, yoga, and meditation. It’s on September 15 at Battersea Park. It’s a 5k run, 75 minutes of Yoga and 25 minutes of guided meditation and then from 1.00-5.00 there are classes and other activities. Goldie will be there! When I get back from Greece I’ve signed up for the Ealing Half Marathon… no training! I could do with your company for that!

Yoga in the news

Elite Daily has a rather sweet article: 5 Life Lessons From Yoga That Will Stick With You Long After You Hop Off The Mat. ‘The physical poses are honestly the least interesting thing about the practice; rather, they are the gateway to acceptance, self-love, and unconditional compassion.’ The first of the 5 things is how your thoughts shape your reality! It’s a sweet article!

Dynamic, Difficult and Disagreeable Postures

Dear Yogis

Next time Tim Feldmann is in the country PLEASE come with me! He’s such an amazing teacher and totally approachable and relatable... and funny and a joy to be with. He is Danish by birth and has spent so much time in India that his intonation and his head movements are very Indian. It’s so nice.

He says that what we are trying to discover in yoga, according to Patanjali, is abhyasa vairagyabhyam tat nirodhah - thought patterns are mastered through practice and non-attachment. Mastering thought patterns is what we are trying to do; our mat is the laboratory. Onto our Bunsen Burner the ingredients are the lengthened the breath and a stilled mind mixed with the combustible factor of dynamic, difficult and disagreeable postures. We test the mind as we try to do as Patanjili says, master its activity.

Here’s the interesting thing; the whole reason for putting the mind into stress tests. On the mat, we can fail. It’s ok if we either achieve the postures or struggle or nose dive. But what kind of person are we going to be when this happens in life? Will success make us egotistical. Will failure make us morose? Do we give up? How will we treat ourselves? How will we treat others?  Life gives us all kinds of combustible ingredients which make it a struggle to stay centred. Tim says: ‘Our body is a vehicle to a deeper understanding of our self’.

Kythera Retreats

Here is the editorial welcome to the Sumer Edition of Kythera’s newspaper: ‘When the ‘merry-go-round of modern living has left you feeling emotionally nauseated, let Kythera take you into her hushed embrace, offering her soothing time warp of old-world charms that follow the beat of the natural world. The rock walls scattered throughout the island carry the stories of long gone generations, while the dramatic cliffs and ravines stand silent witness to the subtle simplicity of life itself unfolding.’ Romantic souls, eh! One person writes in the paper: ‘The only time I truly feel alive is when I’m in Kythera. There’s no easy way to describe the metamorphosis, the almost tangible shedding of stress that occurs once I’m on the island’. YES!!! That’s why I hold the retreats there! If you’d like to come you can find the retreat pages on my website.

Home Studio

Next week is the final week before a two-week break when I am holding the retreats in Kythera. You can see what’s available here for next week (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here. There are teachers in Ealing you could try out while I’m in Greece. Cath Barnes-Holt is an Iyengar teacher at Triyoga Ealing who also teaches in West Ealing and Northfields. First class free with Ladan Soltani  in Ealing Town Hall and West Ealing. Also free are classes in Lululemon in Westfield, Shepherds Bush every Sunday at 10.00. You can see their events on here. For your Ashtanga needs go to Zeena Kalisperides at Yoga West – you just can’t go wrong with her. Wind down your weekend with Ruth Voon for Yin on a Sunday evening at Triyoga Ealing.

Training

I have signed up for Yoga for Athletes with Sarah Ramsden. One workshop is called Mind Mastery for Enhanced Performance and the day-long one is Short, Stiff + Tight! They are at Triyoga Shoreditch, October 05th and 06th. (As a newly qualified yoga teacher I took an expensive Yoga Sport Science course which left me absolutely none the wiser! I have since learnt how to work with an athlete via the tools that we have in every Ashtanga, Iyengar and Yin class.)

Yoga in the news

The Telegraph tells us that: ‘Yoga could be as effective as a pill at cutting blood pressure, study suggests’. The study is a school project carried out by a 16-year-old on 60 volunteers who had raised blood pressure. “His paper, backed by the Cambridge Cardiac Care Centre in Canada, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich.  “Blimey! My school wasn’t like that! He is quoted as saying: ‘A large proportion of the benefit could be attributed to deep breathing.’

Here’s something else that might help! The Metro tells us that  Listening to yoga music right before bed may be good for your heart. Anxiety levels dropped significantly after participants listened to yoga music, as opposed to pop or no music, showed the study that was

From the Scotsman: 'Tough guys' can learn to be real men through yoga’. It’s about the Art of Living Foundation programmes for teaching yoga to prisoners, biker gangs, street gangs and violent offenders.

All human life is here! Have a lovely September weekend.

Yoga and the Stoics

Dear Yogis

I mention Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras quite a bit – that’s the one that tells us to ‘Still the fluctuations of the mind’ and then tells us how to do it. It’s not as simple as that, sadly! The ideas of the time reflected a spiritual and devotional society and it takes a huge leap and/or academic commitment to get inside the mindset of the time. And yet I was astounded to hear a yoga scholar say that it was time to put Patanjali to bed and take up other texts instead, ones more relevant to the West and to modern yogis. Wow! This scholar, Richard Rosen, mentioned Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (a Stoic born in 121 AD and, uh huh, modern and Western!).

So, I had a look! The opening line is already beautiful, easy to comprehend, relevant and like easing into a comfy chair: "I learned to relish the beauty of manners, and to restrain all anger"… Line after line is nourishing, reflecting on how to do right, how to cope with pressure, how to accept misfortune and how to approach death. Stoic philosophy and Marcus Aurelius are concerned with “the great maxims necessary for the conduct of life”.

Here are more examples of Marcus Aurelius’ practice of, guess what, stilling the fluctuations of the mind: “To guard, not only against evil actions, but even against any evil intention’s entering my thoughts...  not to busy myself about vain things... to be reconciled and well pleased again with those who had offended me… not to be offended with the ignorant… (and) in all things to have power over myself, and in nothing to be hurried away by any passion: to be cheerful and courageous in all sudden accidents, as in sicknesses to have an easy command of my own temper; to maintain a kind, sweet, and yet grave deportment”.

 (And look at Page 25 for the Stoic take on Vital Breath, the life force that exists in everything!) It’s all so yogic!

Kythera Retreats

Just as the weather is turning here, getting cooler and less Mediterranean, we can look forward to some Kapsali sun on the skin, the dawning sky to greet our morning practice, the soothing sound of the sea as we sit in the cafes and contemplate the beautiful bay and the gentleness of the evenings as we socialise in the tavernas. Ahhhh, KapsalI!  You can still sign up and join us on this magical island. Details are on the retreat pages on my website.

Home Studio

I’ve been finding it interesting and rewarding to teach just the seated postures of the Ashtanga system in the Wednesday and Thursday classes. We manage to get through to the horrible Janu Sirsasana C where you torture your toes and the dreaded/adored boat pose with it’s impossible cross-legged lift in between. I’m not sure there’s any way to make these easier but blocks are a little port in the storm. You can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

This weekend I’ll be going to the workshops of Tim squeeze-the-anus Feldmann at Triyoga Camden, starting tonight at 6.00. I’d love if you came with me! Here’s and interview with Tim Feldmann on Ashtanga Yoga, Dance, Philosophy

Yoga in the news

I’ll just leave this one here, purely for the headline: Yoga fitness and singing helped Briton survive 10 hours in Adriatic.

Aretha Franklin: The Imperishable Spirit

Dear Yogis

I’ve been crying on and off all day about the passing of Aretha Franklin. I’m left wondering about how I find myself wallowing in the glory of grief when I talk so often about stilling the fluctuations of the mind, observing thoughts with non-attachment and making the mind a more skilful instrument for our daily use! With all that, why have I watched Aretha’s Nessun Dorma 10 times in a row?

Feelings are transitory and impermanent, says the Bhagavad Gita, as is physical body. Yes… we know that, but here’s what we also know when someone has permanent residence our hearts, even decades after they departed: “No one can destroy the imperishable Spirit”.  “The Spirit is neither born nor does it die at any time. It does not come into being, or cease to exist. It is unborn, eternal, permanent, and primeval. The Spirit is not destroyed when the body is destroyed“. “The Spirit is said to be unexplainable, incomprehensible, and unchanging. Knowing the Spirit as such you should not grieve.”

OK. But just for today I want to feel utterly connected and attached and have mushy feelings and a grieving heart… I’ll be day late for my enlightenment!

Kythera Retreats

Here are some articles about beautiful Kythera. This first one was published in The Guardian days before our first retreat in 2015: ‘Is Kythira the perfect Greek island?’ Yup!

This is an article about one of the boats of booty belonging to Lord Elgin, the Mentor, which was transporting 17 crates Parthenon sculptures to England. It didn’t make it! It sank in Avlemonas, a beautiful port village of Kythera.

This sweet little film for children ‘I am the Lion of Kythera’ by the Archaeological Museum of Kythera is one of the 12 finalists for the Museums in Short 2018, the winner to be announced on the 31st of this month.

You can still sign up and join us on this magical island yoga retreat. Details are on the retreat pages on my website.

Home Studio

More newcomers to my little Home Studio and to yoga joined us this week. It’s such a delight to see how old and new students come with friends and family for a taste of yoga’s magic dust. There are, so far, plenty of spaces next week. You can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

The Om Yoga Show is on 19th, 20th & 21st October 2018 at Alexandra Palace and the programme is out. I was just about running out of air and in need of a David Sye Yogabeats Revolution fix. He's back with his tequila and chocolate and 'funky grooves' and endless positivity.  By unfortunate coincidence on the same weekend  Danny Paradise is back at Triyoga Soho. He’s such enormous fun. 

This looks interesting. Christopher Hareesh Wallis: a world come alive: fundamentals of tantric yoga on Fri, 28 September to Sun, 30 September in Triyoga Camden. Whenever I have trained with a Tantric Yoga teacher I have loved it.

Yoga in the news

'Breathe Easy' says the Dhaka Tribune in an article about how to alleviate Asthma.  The article gives a description of the inflammation that triggers the asthma chain reaction and describes how yoga calms and controls respiratory muscles. The article gives postures for asthma sufferers – backbends… which open up and stretch the front chest.

I’ll say a little prayer for you weekend.

Yoga on the NHS

Dear Yogis

I taught Restorative Yoga recently (more props than postures!) and so investigated the background and aim of the practice. Judith Lasater, a student of Iyengar in Pune, first popularised the Restorative Yoga. She says: ‘Mr Iyengar conducted special therapeutic classes for those with a variety of ailments. Many had been referred by physicians.’ ‘Each person had a personalized series of passive postures supported by various combinations of pillow, folded or rolled blankets, and odd pieces of furniture’. Judith was also cured of her pain from Endometriosis and Iyengar, as a boy, had typhoid, tuberculosis and malaria and was sent learn yoga to improve his health – which it did!

The story of how Ashtanga came to have a home in the Mysore Palace was because the Maharaja fell ill, was failed by doctors and cured by Krishnamacharya, the teacher of Iyengar and Jois, through yoga therapy. Doctors would commonly send patients to Pattabhi Jois in Mysore.

Fast forward to today. I was lucky enough to talk to a yogi in Eden Fitness, Ealing, who was referred to an NHS yoga therapist for arthritis and it ‘changed her world’. She said her therapy involves loads of chanting and it works! Her therapist is Vidhi Sohdi who has researched yoga for diabetes, rheumatic conditions, back pain, and did the first in UK pilot study of Yoga Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis at Central Middlesex Hospital. It turns out that there are many medical and Ayurvedic practitioners researching individualised yoga intervention and its role and potential in public health. How positive is that!

Retreats

A month to go, now! Time for participants to think about insurance, exchange rates, sunscreen and sandals, and the coolest shades for sitting in the cafes and tavernas and looking out to sea. If you’re interested in coming but unsure about the level of yoga or any other detail of the retreats, get in touch. Retreats details are on BookYogaRetreats.com and on the retreat pages on my website.

Home Studio

I seem to be operating a summer timetable. There aren’t enough people to fill all the classes. There is space next week, very few bookings, so take advantage. For next week’s classes you can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

I’ll be going to the workshops of Tim Feldmann at Triyoga Camden, 24-26th August, bank holiday weekend. Fellow Kapsali teacher and Yoga Sister Lisa Maarit Lischak is coming too. Come with us.

If you’re looking for a festival, the Flo Vibe festival in Hampshire which has Yoga Meets Reggae on Sunday!  Another possibility is the Soul Circus on the weekend of the 19/20th in the Cotswolds. Ambra Vallo will be there… which is a draw.

Yoga in the news

Not much around this week. Working.It.Out in The Guardian has a plea for help from a 20-something who asks for career advice; ‘Should I give up my public sector career and teach yoga instead?’. It’s a no-brainer, surely! The replies from the Agony-Aunt readers show otherwise.

Have a cool weekend

The Buddha was a Yogi

Dear Yogis

Last weekend, all over the Buddhist world, was the celebration of the Buddha’s First Sermon. Many people link yoga and Buddhism; it is common to find a seated Buddha statue in yoga studios giving an example of a perfect yogi in flawless meditation pose with textbook lotus feet and mudra hands. Sometimes he is depicted as being protected by a many-headed cobra – the common image ascribed to Patanjali who gave us the Yoga Sutras. Like the Buddha, Patanjali was interested in the cessation of suffering and stilling the fluctuations of the mind.

An article by Ramesh Bjonnes says that before the Buddha became the Buddha he was a yogi, a wanderer and a spiritual seeker and therefore familiar ‘with the various practices of Tantra: mantra meditation, kundalini awakening, asana practice, fasting, the smearing of the body with ashes.’ Yogic ideas and Buddhist philosophy came about in reaction to the Vedic order of the day. Both systems include precepts to follow as part of a spiritual life. Yoga has the Yamas and Niyamas (Things to avoid: violence, lying, stealing, wasting energy, and greed. Things to undertake: cleanliness, contentment, purification, self-study, and surrender to or contemplation of a higher power). Buddhism has the Noble Eightfold Path, introduced in his First Sermon (Right Understanding, Right Intent, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration).

Both systems argue that it is a mistake to identify ‘the self’ with the body, beliefs and other mental formations. Instead, we are trying to conquer our obsession with ‘I, me and mine’. If we locate the ‘self’ in what we do for a living, what we own or how we look, suffering caused by impermanence will inevitably come.

Attachment to yoga postures is the same; my difficult Lotus pose, my struggling handstand, my brilliant crow pose! Watch that attachment! We love some postures (ego) and dread others (also ego!). All of them, however, lead us to observe how the mind works; from a state of bliss to reluctance to a myriad of other responses. And so, it turns out, the main lesson is not the asana but the nature of the mind! Thank you Buddha and Patanjili!

Retreats

It’s just over a month to go! It’s come so quickly! Enquiries are still coming in and I just can’t wait to take you there. The retreats are now also advertised on BookYogaRetreats.com and there are spaces available. Details are still on the retreat pages on my website and plenty of photos on both sites.

Home Studio

Welcome to more and more new yogis who are coming to my Home Studio and discovering or re-discovering yoga practice. In the Wednesday and Thursday classes we’re concentrating on the seated postures of the Primary Series and adding some stretches to help. It’s so nice not to be worn out by the sun salutations and standing postures and then having to squeeze the seated postures in. For next week’s classes you can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

I have a few free weekends so I’m open to ideas. There are some yoga festivals around. Next weekend is the Flo Vibe festival in Hampshire which I might go to just for the Yoga Meets Reggae!  Another possibility is the Soul Circus on the weekend of the 19/20th in the Cotswolds. Ambra Vallo will be there… which is a draw.

‘I have signed up for Tim Feldmann at Triyoga Camden, 24-26th August. (Anus engagement again!) He is over from the Miami Life Centre on the Bank Holiday Weekend. Last time I trained with him I felt so lucky to have access to such brilliant teachers in London.

Yoga in the news

Did you see this heartbreaking story? ‘Yoga for three-year-olds to combat London city stress’. It’s because three-year-olds need ‘coping strategies’.

KTSM.com says: Cowboys' offensive line takes up yoga. The Dallas big boys are trying to get their legs behind the head in preparation for the next American football season!

Stay cool this weekend.

Yoga of Love and Devotion

Dear Yogis

This Friday Email is a bit lovely dovey because I am giving a reading at the wedding tomorrow of two wonderful yogis. The reading is about the love that remains after the madness of falling in love subsides. Of course, what is left is devotion and oneness. Now, how to relate this to yoga? It’s so easy! Love is one of the pillars of yoga!

There are different types of yoga named in the Bhagavad Gita, that cornerstone of yoga literature. They suit different types of personality; intellectual, emotional and physical. One is Karma Yoga – living through action and good deeds, like Mother Theresa. Another is Jnana Yoga, the path of knowledge to suit the intellectual type. Raja Yoga captures the physical type – this is the one we are most familiar with through the Ashtanga system. And for the emotional type, there is Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion to a higher being. Your ‘higher being’ might be ‘the universe’ or a deity or the sound Om which represents the fathomless, the root of all life.

In India and Sri Lanka devotion is an everyday occurrence – from offerings at the temple to bowing down to touch the feet of elders. Here in the west, it isn’t our custom. Some yogis follow the Hindu tradition where you can choose your personal deity. Consider Hanuman, the monkey god, who totally devoted himself to his friend King Ram. Because of his faith and devotion, he was capable of fearlessness and of accomplishing the greatest tasks. Hanuman told King Ram that he ‘even the fibres of my heart have your name written upon them and with each “thump thump” the chant “Ram Ram” quietly sounds’. If only I could use my heart like that.

In a difficult situation I sometimes ask myself: ‘What would yoga do? and I try to recall some philosophy or mythical character or even maybe a word like ‘devotion’. I don’t always get an answer but the question itself helps. More to the point, there’s a line in a book, The Yogi’s Roadmap, which sometimes pops into mind. The line was at the end of a poem: ‘What would love do now?’. Ahhhhh! This brings me back to the whole point of trying to live in a yogic way.

Retreats

The Greek retreats are now advertised on BookYogaRetreats.com. There have been cancellations due to family situations and broken limbs so a couple of new spaces are available. Details are still on the retreat pages on my website.  If you don’t want to fly, I’m teaching the yoga segment on the Happiness Retreat in South Devon, October 12th-15th! Details also on my website.

Home Studio

People are doing so well in this heat. The studio is small, the fans are blasting and the effort is inspiring. New yogis have become regulars. Ashtanga in this heat will focus on the seated postures. Who needs more Sun Salutations!. For next week’s classes you can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

Tomorrow, the brilliant Iyengar teacher Khaled Kendsi will be taking a workshop from  2.00-4.30, at Triyoga Ealing. I can’t recommend his classes highly enough.

Brilliant, brilliant Ashtanga teacher Alain Zaks will be teaching at Yoga West on Monday, 16:00-17:15, Ashtanga - Level 1-2. He is also assisting in a ‘Jumping through and other ashtanga transitions’ workshop with Alex Blanchflower Tomorrow, Saturday 28th at 13:15 - 15:15

I’ll be going to a Handstand Workshop with Saina (Janchivdorj Sainbayar) at the London School of Acrobats & Hand Balance this Sunday from 1.30-4.30pm. It’s for beginners and intermediate handstanders for £50! Come with me. It’s at St Stephen’s Church, Pond Street NW3 2PP.

Yoga in the news

In a Yoga-Gone-Wrong story, CNN reports: ‘Thieves take hundreds of leggings from Lululemon stores in San Francisco Bay area’. And I think the security policy is straight out of the Yoga Sutras… ‘Employees are not allowed to confront or chase thieves due to a company policy, CNN affiliates reported.

Summertime... And The Living Is Easy

Dear Yogis

During hot weather, getting to yoga class can be really hard. Muggy, sticky weather might rob you of your yoga intentions. It turns out that the body has seasonal needs as well as different requirements at different times of the day. In cool mornings and in the cooler months Vinyasa, Rocket, Power and Ashtanga are perfect to build heat in the body. Ayurvedic science tells us that our ‘Doshas’ (Pitta is fire, Vata is wind and Kapha is water) need to be balanced and in the Pitta season we should try balance the fire energy through our practice and our diet.

Practice in the morning if you can, before the heat of the day rises. In a fast-paced or demanding yoga classes shift your focus to a gentle and patient attitude to the practice. If you remember that over-heating brings about moods such as irritability, aggression, competitiveness and self-criticism, then consciously let any such tempers go. Intentionally focus to an internal, meditative, in-the-moment practice. Perhaps in some of the practice such as Sun Salutations you could close your eyes. Remember: Summertime, and the living is easy!

Ayurvedic advice for diet to balance the Pitta Dosha is to eat cooling foods: water melon, fruits and veggies, leafy salads. Avoid hot, spicy, greasy, fried foods and avoid dehydrating drinks… coffee! Very hot days are when a cooling raw food vegan option becomes welcome. Pranayama can come into play as well. There is a breathing exercise called ‘Sitali’. It’s a cooling breath you can employ after a hard practice or simply to reduce fatigue and cool down. You stick your tongue out and curl it (we used to do that in the school playground) and breathe as if sucking up through a straw. Hold it; it’s cool! Then breathe out through the nose. Here’s Ekhart Yoga giving a demonstration.

Retreats

I have had a few cancellations and there are places on both Greek retreats. I have added pictures of our accommodation to the website. Take a look… but please get in touch before booking flights if you would like to come. I really would like to introduce as many people as possible to this corner of the world where the soul can breathe! Take a look at the retreat pages on my website for information about the Greek retreats in September and the October 12th-15th Happiness Retreat in South Devon!

Home Studio

It’s such a joy to welcome new yogis to my little Home Studio and watch how, by the end of the class, people all seem to have known each other for ages. Yoga is magic! I have added the Thursday 6.00 Ashtanga class next week to see if the demand is back. You can see what’s available here. (I update this before posting this email.)  You can book here.

Training

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Iyengar classes at Triyoga Ealing. One of the brilliant teachers there, Khaled Kendsi, will be taking a workshop on July 28th, 2.00-4.30, next weekend, with all the details and precision that helps deepen your understanding and practice in any style of yoga.

Yoga in the news

This is a lovely article after the initial word games: Yoga is not Indian, says Jaggi Vasudev at a UN meeting. This was said at an event "Conversation with Masters: Yoga for the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals” We get a little insight into yoga at the UN! Liechtenstein's Permanent Representative Christian Wenaweser conducts yoga lessons for diplomats and others at the UN. Masud Bin Momen, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh said it cured his sciatica. 

The Evening Standard advertises that: Tate Modern will host a series of yoga brunches this summer. Classes are one hour on Saturday mornings and you get great views of the Thames and St Paul's. What the article doesn’t tell you is that it’s £25 Yoga and Brunch and £41 if you include The Picasso 1932Exhibition. Nice for a present!

Wow, look at this! Leisure Opportunities reports that: More Yoga entrepreneurs plan 100 studios for London. “Entrepreneurs Shamir Sidhu and Daniel Marin are aiming to build the UK’s dominant yoga chain with their “no fuss” budget brand, More Yoga”. No reception desks or showers but as much of a variety of yoga as possible. And for venues they say; ‘Former betting shops and retail outlets work really well. Our studios enhance the high street and bring more footfall."’ Full article in Health Club Management.