at some point...

At some point something came into our consciousness that told us this yoga we do is hard, we need to suffer in the postures. We believe than in order to achieve anything there is a degree of self mollification. But yoga is not like this, in every moment that we practice we have the choice to be present and in the present there is no pain, no striving, no pushing, no forcing. Instead we can check ourselves constantly to see whether there is a holding,  a forcing, a resistance to being present. Let that be your work.

Are you gritting your teeth in a pose? are you hunching your shoulders? contracting your chest? holding on to your hips for dear life? We hold so much memory in the body also that areas that were stressed long ago can be the cause of unnecessary tension today, through this process of self observation we let go of these old hurts and literally begin to heal ourselves.

I believe the greatest tool when it comes to practicing in a way that creates expansion rather than tension is our breath. If we stop and wait for our breath to arise all gifts arise with it. The body has a natural tendency to expand on the inhalation and to release on the exhalation, we gather up all tension in the body and let it go. So make sure you exhale completely, not a drop of air remains in the lungs, you are empty and open like the present moment itself.

Its called awareness really, this constant presence.

I shall be teaching a workshop on releasing tension from the mooladhara in order to begin to work with moola bandha on the 27th of November at Yard Yoga, Forest Row, 6-8p.m Do join me!

another you

The mind can't help but to perceive the body as a solid object. And this sense of solidity, albeit illusory is a useful way of beginning to tune into the whole-ness of our human being.
 We begin by noticing our solidity, our physical body. In yoga our physical body is referred to as annamaya kosha and is the first of five sheaths that make up the person. It is also the one most anchored in duality as it is our grossest form and it is not until our awareness penetrates the more subtle layers of our being that we begin to experience a greater unity with other beings and ultimately with the universe itself. This is meant to be pretty blissful. We taste it in savasana and deep meditation.

Beginning by noticing our solidity we then notice the subtle rhythm of the breath, the in flow, the out flow, the dance of breath around our body. A conscious breath is a prana rich breath, is a breath that infuses our cells with energy. And our breath dances in our spine most beautifully, our spine reacts by throwing off its shackles, by dancing, by ascending...

The asanas are brought to life by the beautiful spiral dynamic of our spines, this pulsating free radical, the kundalini, the scaravelli, the expanded vertebrae, the stream of life flowing through our synaptic pathways... there is so much that inspires as we travel away from mere solidity into subtler, deeper realms and we begin to experience a different version of ourselves, freed from the restraints of the ol' stiff back.

We become acquainted with our pranamaya kosha, or energy body and a relationship ensues.

I shall be running a workshop that explores the sacrum-skull connection in yoga on the 20th of November at Yard Yoga, Forest Row, click here to read more

keep on keeping on

As we enter the winter months, it can be tempting to stay in bed longer and we lose those early hours, we can begin to skip our practice sessions, perhaps preparing for the busy-ness and distractions of christmas time, the delicate grace of autumn passing us by.

Many of us practice... and then don't practice....and then practice and on and on. To be a yogi one has yoga as a constant in ones' life. We may practice and at times we may not practice but we come back, just as the waves wash back to shore just as the sea swell of our inhalation arises from a profound exhalation.

We are tender with our discipline, we relish our stillness just as we thrive in our activity, and all the ups and downs and highs and lows we greet with this mild curiosity, what the yogis call equanimity.

The days get colder but what obstacle is 'cold' to our practice? we can soon warm up as we greet our core with some short sharp abdominal exhalations, as we spread our solar plexus allowing the lungs to expand all the way into the lower rib cage, nourishing the kidneys.

Move slowly but think sharp, be precise with your alignment but not harsh and all good things will come. It is helpful to loosely wrap a length of cloth around your middle and keep your feet bare. Socks are restrictive and it is hard to get good purchase down through the feet so be brave and stretch the toes, stretch all the way through the leg, stretch your limbs from your centre.

When we practice in this way, cold is no obstacle, This body of ours is ours to experiment in, it is our laboratory, no one elses'! And all those tensions we carry around, like dead autumn leaves we allow them to shed, to drop away as we melt in the knowledge that we are doing the best we can.

hectic stillness

How many of us are waiting for the ideal conditions to practice? If we could only wake up earlier or have a quiet weekend or the opportunity of going on retreat... If only we could get through that mountain of emails, just tidy up the mess, get someone to look after the kids...

But yoga is not like that, it is not just another item to be ticked off our to do list. It is a practice of mindfulness and presence. It is not just a practice of 'doing' it is a practice of 'feeling' and a big part of our practice is the acceptance of our conditions.

My teacher often quoted a sufi saying about looking for the spaces in a crowded place. We must look for the spaces in which to practice. Even in a crowded place our mind can be uncrowded, can be focused. Even within the hectic-ness of our reality, the stillness remains.

I am greatly looking forward to the honour of teaching mothers and their offspring at Yard Yoga, Forest Row, every wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Children from 0-2 welcome ! xx

Skillful practice

Other teachers will know the way; someone asks you what you do and you tell them you're a yoga teacher and they say: "Oh, I could never do yoga, I'm far too stiff, I'm not at all flexible, I have a bad back, my shoulder won't let me..." and an infinity of other reasons.

And then on the other hand I've read many descriptions of yoga as being far more than just a physical practice, anyone can practice yoga, yoga is non-competitive...This too is my conviction

So where and why is this message not getting across? could it have something to do with the way yoga is portrayed on social media? Sure, some images are inspiring and beautiful but I can see why people with a stiff knee, or a difficult back or general tension in the muscles may be put off by this gymnastic asana display.

There are so many teachers nowadays, yoga has become one of the common lifestyle choices of our times, yet is hardly to be equated with drinking enough water or keeping your eyebrows tidy. Skilled teachers are few and far between, teachers who actually realize the intimate connection between the state of the mind and the state of the body.

With yoga getting so much press, good and bad, it is vital that these skilled teachers are recognized. Yoga is not merely a therapy, it is a mode of empowerment as we awaken to the truth that our best teacher, doctor and therapist is within. Only a skilled person can reveal this to you.

A skilled teacher will help you experience your body as not merely a solid object. You may at times perceive it as such but when you connect to the subtle sensations in your practice you can break through this seeming solidity and quite literally begin to heal.

Yoga is a wondrous journey, it is my strong wish that many more shall embark on it and not injure themselves along the way

I am teaching a workshop on setting a good foundation for your practice on the 13th of November, click here for more details

Why all this yoga?

The Koshas

The yogic model of the human being is beautifully simple yet wise in its complexity. It elucidates one step at a time so that we progress only when we are ready to do so.

At every turn we run the risk of being tripped up by our own cleverness, like the Buddhist saying goes: if you are too clever, you may miss the point entirely!

So we begin where we can all begin, with the physical body: the annamaya kosha. Through our intelligent alignment in our yoga asanas (postures) we are able to build stability in the physical body, a balance between strength and flexibility that allows us to undertake our chores with minimum distraction. The body therefore is not an obstacle to our progress on the path to enlightenment in fact it is a tool.

Once stable in the physical body we are able to feel a vitality in the energy body, the pranamaya kosha. We can begin to engage with the breathing practices of yoga (pranayama) and the more subtle sensations. A lack of energy is no longer an obstacle on the path to enlightenment and the vitality we feel propels us and lends us inspiration.

As a result of this work we achieve clarity on the mental level, the manomaya kosha; and what greater gift than clarity at this stage?

We are now on the road towards being able to cultivate true intelligence in jnanamaya kosha the wisdom body, in order to connect with the truth in anandamaya kosha, and when we get to know the truth, we shall be one again, this is the bliss body, no more no less.

-chai-, or how not to detox

I once embarked on a grape fast when I ate nothing but grapes for ten days, don't ask me why as I can't for the life of me remember. I was living in Kathmandu at the time and the only grapes available were imported from Iran and were sold on street carts at over inflated prices ( at least to me ). They were also coated in a sticky tar like substance which I guess was the residue from their travels and which I wiped off devotedly, the grapes providing more than ample sustenance for this frankly surreal time.

In fact I lie if I say I lived off grapes alone. It was hard to resist ( ok, I didnt even try ) the sweet milky 'chiya' that was offered whenever one went a-visiting anywhere. 'Chiya' is the nepalese word for chai and is just as garam (hot) and just as mitho (delicious) as the indian version. A far cry from the bastardized starbucks fare and well worth the hassle of making yourself. Think of it not as a hassle, but a ritual and you may find you enjoy the preparation as much as I do.

If you happen to be avoiding dairy, you could use a substitute milk, if you happen to be avoiding caffeine, you could use red tea and if you happen to be avoiding sweeteners, I wouldn't bother, this is really to be drunk sweet, any sweetener will do.

Warning: don't drink it on a grape fast, this is no way to detox!

Ingredients

-for 2 people

2 cups of milk

10 cardamom pods

half a thumb of peeled, chopped ginger

10 black peppercorns

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 tsp loose leaf black tea

4 cloves

Method

  Place tea in a saucepan and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Crush cardamom pods and black pepper in a mortar and add along with all the ingredients, then turn on the heat low and allow to simmer for as long as you can wait. The longer the stronger. Strain & sweeten to taste

  Some people add the sugar while its cooking so it is more syrupy but I use honey so I'd rather not heat it.

why retreat? to learn to live well

What do you set off with when you set off on retreat?

Everything you've learnt I guess...

When I first embarked on my teacher training I had much to learn (and I still do!) On the physical level it was about letting go of the idea that only by pushing yourself to your limit are you able to transcend. Ruth taught me to hold back and in a sense I've been re-learning this ever since. Now I realize it is not only on the physical level that we feel the need to fill until bursting but also when it comes to our direction and to what we choose to do with our lives. I can't help but feel that with all this overstretching something is getting lost, the art of living well.

Step in the retreat. A retreat where we remember the art of living well, this most human of arts. The hustler in us, the part of us that is devoted to pushing, to covering more surface yet never truly getting beneath the skin is channeled into stillness. We challenge it. After all would it not be wonderful if we could place all our energy into the precise locations from where it could resurrect twice, thrice, four times as powerful. And when the energy increases, the energy heals, in a way that is so effortless.

This is how we set off on retreat