Letting Go... Of What?

Hello Yogis!

Recently I attended a workshop by Judith Hanson Lasater called ‘Letting Go: The Heart of Yoga Practice’. She said: ‘The entire history and teaching of yoga is letting go. It's not acquiring poses.  It's about recognising what is it that we are letting go? Specifically…? The ego's view of reality.

Egoism means believing and seeing the world from a narrow viewpoint. As if that isn’t bad enough, egoism is enhanced by conflict: for example, clinging to being right or separation. Yoga points to whatever isn’t that; The Big Awareness.

When we let go, we are no longer a prisoner of our beliefs. Most of the time our thoughts ruminate about the past or have anxiety about the future. This practice of yoga is about going above thought. The way we think things should be, there’s a special word for that. Luck!

That doesn’t mean Lent-type letting go. We need to let go in every moment of how we think it should be. At some point holding on is more painful than letting go. You then become a yogini.

Cool, eh!

Classes

Don’t forget the new class on Thursdays, Valentina’s Strong Vinyasa Flow class. The first one brought back so many good memories for me, especially how I ran away from work every Thursday for the relief of her classes, and how I ended up doing her teacher training. Thursday’s classes are at the earlier time of 6.30pm.

Also, I had to cancel the Wednesday evening Ashtanga class due to abominable hayfever! Nose-like-a-hose! So I’ve added at 8.00am Saturday morning class. It’s on the website calendar to book. Roll out of bed nice and early. You can always roll back in after the class. It’s 90 minutes!

Here’s a round-up: Monday and Tuesday = stretchy class at 7.00pm, Wednesday = Ashtanga at 7.00pm, Thursdays = Strong Vinyasa Flow at 6:30-7:30pm with Valentina and Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30am. Saturday’s class is (so far) a one-off, 10th June at 8.00am. You can book here.

New class coming… Yoga With Weights. Watch this space.

Yoga In The News

The Guardian has: Walking and yoga ‘can cut risk of cancer spreading or returning’. “Our data suggest that yoga significantly reduces inflammation among cancer survivors,” the study’s authors wrote in a report published at the ASCO meeting. “Clinicians should consider prescribing yoga for survivors experiencing inflammation, which may lead to a high chronic toxicity burden and increased risk of progression, recurrence, and second cancers.”

NPR (radio, 28 seconds) has: Yoga can have big health benefits — just ask the elephants. Here’s WFXR NEWS YouTube footage.

The Manc has: There’s a full day of FREE outdoor yoga classes happening in Manchester city centre this month. Early birds can kick-start the day with Sun Salutations from 7:30am, which is perfectly-timed as the sun rises over the city on the longest day of the year, while a lively functional flow class will follow as the ideal way to spend your lunch hour from 12:30-1:15pm.

Canadian Running Magazine has: Runners: Use yoga to prevent injuries before they happen. An “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”! A regular yoga practice can also function as a diagnostic tool to identify vulnerable areas in your body before they develop into full-blown injuries. “Yoga is a great way to bring more awareness to your body,” Moore says. “Running is very linear, and yoga forces you to move in different ways, which can reveal areas of tightness or restriction.”

(Below, quote by Tina Turner.)