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!