A Somatic Meditation On Friendship
/Dear Yogis!
This is a guest-written blog. Many of you know my dear friend Alain and, if you did his class at Eden Fitness Friday morning, you’ll have heard this at the end of the class: A Somatic Meditation on Friendship (Kindness).
“We enjoy meeting with good friends, being with them makes us feeling good and happy. It’s easy to notice the feeling of happiness, but how about noticing the body sensations associated with the feeling? Our feelings are seeded within our bodies, so how does it feel in the body when we are with a good friend?
“Let’s start by remembering some events of being with a dear old friend for the first time in months or years. Maybe we shared a meal together or had a coffee. We enjoyed a conversation or we walked together in the park.
“Now let’s try to remember some of the body sensations during these moments. Maybe we were smiling; maybe the face was slightly wider and the eyes softened. The shoulders dropped slightly, resting on the thorax; the neck got looser. The chest felt more open and spacious; the abdomen was softer.
“Now let’s focus the mind on one of these sensations and imagine that the sensation is slowly moving to other parts of the body. Maybe it’s spreading towards the chest, the abdomen, towards the pelvis, the arms and legs, hands and feet. Let the sensation slowly radiate through other body parts.
“Let the sensations of Friendship (Kindness) seep through the entire body. Enjoy! Feel the inner quiet that comes with it”.
Zoom Classes
WOW! Class numbers are low! I hope you’re OK. Now is a good time to remind you that if you have a cold, your body needs the energy to fight infection. Don’t spend what little you have on yoga or sport. (Here’s the latest Covid data from ZOE and symptoms.) There will be plenty of classes next week including the new, lovely, Thursday morning Ashtanga class. For all classes, you can book here.
Yoga in the news
Vanity Fair has: The Second Coming of Guru Jagat. Jagat was a guru in the millennial girl-boss mould, pedalling an Instagram-friendly spirituality that encouraged adherents to follow their dreams, get rich quick, and become more desirable. And Jagat knew just how to sell it in the era of the trillion-dollar wellness industry, calling herself “CEO of seven global businesses” in addition to guru. The shtick worked.
Plant Based News has: Earthling Ed, Evanna Lynch And More To Headline World’s Largest Vegan Festival. It’s to be held at the regal stately home of Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, UK, from Friday, July 15, to Monday, July 18 2022. Amid live music, there will be talks and yoga classes, as well as activism workshops. Adult tickets are priced at £70 for the entire weekend, which includes camping. For children, tickets cost £35.
