Faith. Tribute.

Dear Yogis,

I’ve been thinking a lot about faith recently. My friend died. Often he referenced his Catholic beliefs as part of his reasoning. But that’s not what brought me to my little lightning strike of realisation. Faith, I think, is in yourself; in your inner trust and confidence that you will do the right thing. My precious friend did this with mountainous kindness and natural generosity. There are incredible stories about him helping people financially and supporting people with advice.

We are/were both carers. He looked after his parents and he loved to hear my stories of Mum. He told me almost every time we met that I would be on a carers fast-track to heaven, even as his own track and finishing line were being laid. The definition of his life was to be there for others. He was a great example of living with the simplicity that faith gives, that big-heartedness gives and that compassion gives… and he wore it so lightly. ‘Be cool about it’ was his mantra.

Classes

I have a new class coming up in my yoga studio... It's Not Yoga! It will be a singing class for people with dementia and family/carers. I have a teacher. I have the insurance. I have the DBS Check. I just need people interested in singing for fun. The proposed time and day is Wednesday afternoon, 2.00pm, starting as soon as we have singers! Let me know if you’re interested.

Also, on Thursday March 7th I’ll be teaching Jo’s 45 minute Strength & Conditioning class at Eden Fitness. If you’re not a member of Eden, I teach an hour’s Strength and Conditioning in my Lucky Home Studio on Monday lunchtimes.

Another announcement. The Wednesday Ashtanga class will change in March to another stretchy class. Class numbers are around 10 on Mondays and Tuesdays for Stretch and around 2 on Wednesdays for Ashtanga. I get it!

Here’s a round-up of all classes: NEW Monday = Strength & Conditioning Lunchtime Class 1.00-2.00 (only five places), Monday and Tuesday = stretchy class at 7.00pm, Wednesday = Ashtanga at 7.00pm, Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30am and Saturday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30 – 10.00am. You can book here.

Yoga in The News

The Catholic Herald has: Yoga: What’s the problem with a bit of Downward Dog? ‘Dr Shaw has debunked the link between ancient Hindu spirituality and “modern, postural yoga” (largely a 20th-century Western invention). That link, he says, was made by Hindu nationalists in the 1930s – which then re-entered the West during the 1960s craze for Eastern wisdom. And while the Vatican warned Catholics against mixing Christian meditation with Eastern spirituality in a directory of 2003, it didn’t mention yoga.’

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has: ‘I was doing yoga poses as I was being wheeled back to the ward’. ‘Liz Richardson, 69... had spent a year working on her strength ahead of the operation. As well as yoga, she maintained her routine of swimming a kilometre three times a week, and worked with a personal trainer on specific exercises so she would be in the best possible shape for the procedure.’

HuffPost UK has: I Left My 6-Figure Career To Find Happiness. Here's How I Did It. ‘I was 15-20 pounds heavier than I wanted to be, chronically stressed to the point that my hair was falling out… Then a yoga instructor showed up in my office and I got hooked. Fifteen years later, yoga has not only helped heal my physical ailments and kept me sane during dire periods like the COVID pandemic, but it completely changed my life.’