Vagabonds, Outcastes and revolutionaries

Dear Yogis

Sarah Ramsden, my Yoga in Sport teacher, finishes her workshops by saying that the people who gave us the yoga we practice today, were revolutionaries. People like Krishnamacharya, Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi and Sivananda took yoga from the vagabonds and outcastes and adapted it politically and physically to spread the benefits of yoga. Sarah suggests that those pioneers would support us in having the same revolutionary attitude of questioning and making postures relevant. It is often said that yoga is widespread, but perhaps we can spread the practice much, much further to every hospital, doctor’s surgery, school, prison and old people’s home.

Sharath Jois, who is the ‘holder of the lineage’ and in charge of the Mysore Programme in India, is coming to London in July and I’ll be at his workshops to see how traditional yoga is currently being taught. He describes his job as teaching ‘the proper way’. I wonder if that Proper Way will attract the ‘I-can’t-touch-my-toes’ brigade. There is a staggeringly rich variety of postures; some are impossible and mind-boggling, some feel too simple for anything to be happening or improving. Sri Dharma Mittra is famous for photographing himself in 1,350 postures. We don’t need to do that many or even be particularly devotional. We just need to look after the body and yoga can do that for us.

Retreat.

Come and do some of those 1350 postures in the idyllic island of Kapsali this September! The dates are set for September 21st – 28th. The prices are the same as last year (with an early bird period this year) and we are staying in the same fabulous hotel, Porto Del Fino. The details of the timetable will be finalised in due course, but we will start every day with an early Ashtanga practice in front of the rising sun, we will have workshops in the afternoon and some moonlit Yin, meditation and pranayama. Write back if you’d like to come. Deposits have already started coming in!

Home Studio

There’s plenty of space next week – for now! You can see class availability on my website (which I update often). The latest availability is attached to this email.

Training

Triyoga Ealing has an Open Day tomorrow which involves two free classes. (This one isn’t sold out yet). Tonight’s Triyoga Ealing workshop is: Raimonda Richards + Dr Alexandra Melo with Homeopathy and Kundalini yoga to empower your female energy.

Yoga in the news

Thank goodness Good Housekeeping has: Here's Exactly How to Clean Your Yoga Mat. All questions about cleaning your mat are covered here. Keep this article!

The Metro gives us: The easiest yoga poses for beginners. Not bad suggestions and some helpful advice that: ‘The only prerequisite for taking a yoga class is knowing how to breathe’.

Happy International Women’s Day