Drunken Elephants And Boulders

Dear Yogis

On the plane from Madrid last week I had some negative feelings I had to get rid of. Perfect, I thought. I’m stuck here on the plane. Mediate! Even after five minutes I began to feel freer. Every time a thought of any type came along I said: ‘That is from the other me’ - the sabotage one – and it made me smile.

The metaphor of a story from Sunday School came to mind. (My mother was the teacher. No slacking!) After attaining buddhahood, the Buddha’s jealous cousin threw a huge boulder down a mountain, gathering speed, on course to kill him. It split and missed. He then sent an enraged and drunken elephant to kill him. It was pacified.

Isn’t’ this the definition of stilling the fluctuations of the mind – the whole point of yoga? The mind is full of wild elephants and boulders - simmering masses of feelings and thoughts gathering more of that endless ‘mind stuff ’as they roll down the mountain to destroy our ‘true selves’. The Buddha was beyond being victim to the mood swings and tides of emotion and he conquered the boulder. I conquered a tiny stone.

Home Studio

I’m sorry to say that classes are all booked up next week. There are more classes in the following weeks when I finish my training and come up for air. It’s absolutely lovely to come home after a wonderful day with David Swenson and pass on some of what I have learnt. I reckon my right foot will be behind my head by the end of the two weeks! Then it’s your turn!

Retreats

My lucky life took another chance turn recently when Psychologist Deborah Smith asked me to teach on her Happiness and Wellbeing weekend retreat next year in Devon in October. Take a look at the flyers attached. Next week I’ll have news of our Kapsali Yoga Retreat 2018; one week for all levels and one week for Ashtanga practice and workshops. Dates and details are being finalised.

Yoga in the News

This is a brilliant story from the Islington Gazette about an Islington yoga therapy centre for people with ‘conditions such as autism, cerebral Palsy and Down’s syndrome, as well as learning difficulties and terminal illness’. And, believe it or not, Yoga On Ice is coming to Clapham. We should give it a go!

Nerve Cleansing. Take Tissues.

Dear Yogis

For the next two weeks I will be studying with my Ashtanga guru David Swenson. The course includes philosophy, ‘community outreach’ and the Second Series.  In my classes we currently do the First Series together: we fold, twist, and ring-out the body while strengthening and gaining confidence. It’s called Yoga ‘Chikitsa’ and its goal is cleansing the body. The Second Series is called Nadi Shodhana which means (rather ominously) nerve cleansing. It comes along inducing self-doubt with its fearful backbends and challenging the emotions by working on the spine, pelvis and hips where all the emotions and chakras spin. I’ll let you know if my emotions release any kind of tidal wave from my eyes... and in which pose. Apparently that happens! And who knows what next week’s Friday Email will be like...

David Swenson is doing plenty of classes so I urge you to take a class and experience his teaching, his humour and kindness.

Home Studio

Classes are all booked up next week. (My training is from 7.30am to 5.30pm for the next two weeks which means the 6.00pm classes in my home studio have been deleted. Sorry ‘bout that!) Come in the following weeks in the run up to Christmas! And please let me know if you are unable to come in plenty of time for me to tell my waiting list.

Ealing Feeling

It’s nearly here - Triyoga opening in Ealing on the 27th. Check out their offer of 30 days for £40 and their free classes on November 25th and 26th.  You can view the schedule here and bookings open 8 days in advance.

Yoga in the News

Ealing makes it into yoga news this week. Ealing Today reports on Triyoga opening in Ealing. They also report that Skinny Kitchen is coming to Ealing, upping the vegan game in the area.

Here’s a lovely article from Oxford University Press called ‘5 facts that help us understand the world of early American yoga’. It’s pretty wacky! You’ll find a history full of scary mystics and superheroes, the influence of European fitness culture on yoga and yoga’s influence on early 20th century dance.  (Stewart Gilchrist, at the yoga show, talked briefly about the original postures and the ‘made up’ postures of the 20th century. The earliest postures are named after animals. The later ones, he said, were developed for the purposes of teaching Nazi guards and the Nazi fascination with yoga! Classes with Stewart are never dull.)

Do What You Love WIth All Your Might

Dear Yogis

I’ve been asked to write about ‘complementary exercises to do in conjunction with yoga’. Well! I’m in favour of all pursuits: running, boxing, climbing, diving... Find something that you love and do it with all your might. Get Addicted. Find devotion. Get injuries. Recover and do it again.

Of all the various yoga types you could try in order to improve postures, Aerial Yoga with my teacher Valentina Candiani will elongate the spine and give pull-up strength for the arms. Thai Yoga Massage has the attractive nickname “Lazy Man’s Yoga”. Steam and sauna! In the 90s I was a Spinning instructor, tightening my hamstrings with every class. I used to hang out in the sauna for ages and ages and ages in my quest to touch my toes.

If, however,  you want the transformation to be of the mind rather than/as well as the postures, you need to find a teacher who can lead you into the traditional texts; Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Some teachers such as Stewart Gilchrist quote from the great texts all the way through class. I feel as though I’ve had a counselling session when I do his classes.

Home Studio

I’m teaching Ashtanga both mornings of this weekend at Yoga West: Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th, both starting at 8.30 and lasting 75 minutes. In my lucky Home Studio classes are pretty much booked but Thursday at 6.00 has a lot of free spaces. Please give me plenty of notice if you need to cancel so that I can contact people on my waiting list.

Training

I’m hugely excited that Triyoga is coming to Ealing on November 27th. They have an offer of 30 days for £40 and they will be holding a weekend of free classes on November 25th and 26th.  You can view the schedule here but bookings only open 8 days in advance. The centre will be in Dickens’s Yard behind the Town Hall. At last there’ll be decent vegan food in Ealing. I’m happy!

On Saturday 25th another student of my teacher/guru is holding a wellness event. AliceLovesYoga  will teach a mindfulness session, ‘Restorative Flow’, a veggie brunch and then a presentation of plant-based products.

Yoga in the News

This is a lovely article and I do agree with the Canadian Globe and Mail: Why pain has no place in a yoga practice. “Stop thinking about improving. You're there”! The article discusses the different between Functional and aesthetic yoga, one is for your health and one is for display and not necessarily for your benefit.

If you’re a foam roller this is a good article from Yoga International about the benefits and drawbacks of punishing the IT band in this way.

Stop A Cold In Its Tracks

Dear Yogis

I caught a short-lasting cold from a yogi last Friday. As we're coming into the sneezing season I thought I would write about whether you should practice yoga or not. My answer would be... da da dah, no! I know people drag themselves to work with a cold and I know our culture is to soldier on. Despite sick pay, people pressure themselves to go to work and get on with it. Yoga is different. No soldiers; no warriors!

Your body needs rest. It's usually impossible to breathe or focus anyway. Breath and focus is the definition of yoga! When exercising in sickness, energy is used by the muscles instead of going to the immune system for fighting off germs. Your cold will last longer. Avoid gym and studio classes. Hot, steamy yoga rooms will happily incubate germs, brewing them nicely in the air for others to breathe!

Here's something I always take and it stops a cold in its tracks; Samahan. It’s a variety herbs and spices and has a peppery taste. My grandmother used to make the home-made version known as Peyava. (Sri Lanka had a traditional medicinal practice before the Indian Aryuveda system was introduced on the island).

Home Studio

At the end of this month I’ll be training all day every day with David Swenson. Some classes are missing, therefore, from the evening timetable. However, there are plenty of spaces next week. Last week I put on an extra Tuesday class because all other classes were so stuffed. I’ll do the same next week if the same happens.

Also, I’ve taken on a couple of weekend classes at Yoga West, all starting at 8.30 and all 75 minutes. They are this Sunday 5th and next Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. It’s a lovely space.

Training

And for those interested in Pregnancy Yoga, tomorrow is the first day of a class offered by a very dear yogi friend. Pregnancy Yoga will be on Saturday mornings in Leighton Hall. Contact Tzaddi at tzaddilove@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Yoga in the News

For the Royalists among you, the ‘Duchess of Cornwall: Older people should do yoga to keep supple’. Not much in the news apart from yoga with puppies, or goats or cats or beer!

Happy bonfire night!

Tunnel of Love

Dear Yogis

The most inspiring thing that happened at the Yoga Show – of all the inspiring things - was in David Sye’s Shamanistic Trip. There must have been two hundred of us in the cavernous room, maybe more. We finished the class with what I will remember as a Tunnel of Love. He developed this when teaching Palestinians and Israelis in his Yoga Beats Conflict project.

We lined up facing each other making a narrow corridor. Here’s what happened: one after the other, we walked with eyes closed down the centre and people on either side whispered: “You’re amazing”, You rock”, You’re a wonderful person”, “You’re gorgeous”, “You have a beautiful soul”, “You have a beautiful smile”, “You’re an inspiration”, “You are loved”... whispering golden loveliness into the ears of the passer-by. We all went through and we were all cherished and celebrated by complete strangers who, for that moment, really loved each other. One girl cried as she walked and then we were all tearing up! It was completely moving. I have to insist that you come with me next year!

Home Studio   

More loveliness in my little studio this week; more trainees observing and more yogis getting a little further, a little deeper and a little more self-knowledge in classes. At the yoga show I learnt a small amount of Thai Yoga Massage so taught this to the Tuesday class. I love teaching you. There are still places in next Thursday’s 6.00 class. All booked up otherwise. If you’re interested in notifications about cancellations, I’ll create a Whatsapp group to notify you if a space pops up. If you’d like to be on the group let me know.

A few of you are doing teacher training and a few of you are qualified but not teaching. I think we should have Teach-in sessions to build you up. If you are interested in a once-a-month Teach-In where we get together and teach each other, let me know. Perhaps we’ll meet on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Training

Tomorrow (Saturday) the brilliant Jenny Fearnley will be teaching a ‘Jump Through’ workshop at Yoga West. Take socks! A jump-through workshop is always interesting and worth doing. You’ll build up arm strength and core strength and technique.

And for those interested in Pregnancy Yoga, a very dear yogi friend is offering group sessions and 1-2-1s. Classes will be on Saturday mornings in Leighton Hall and will start Saturday Nov 4th. Contact Tzaddi at tzaddilove@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Yoga Mats

I bought four of these mats at the Yoga show, the LOVE MAT by Lāal, because I thought they were a very good deal. They are like liforme (£100) but much cheaper (£55). They are big, made of rubber, have brilliant grip, and are from Peru, like Paddington! I thought it was a bargain so in case anyone is interested I thought I’d stock a few (in black).

Yoga in the News

Healthista uses celebrity news to draw readers in then has quite a good article about yoga, as it turns out. Kate Winslet’s yoga teacher reveals 9 ways it could change your life. (Kate practices four times a week!). This article talks about losing weight, ujjayi breathing, hot yoga and is an uplifting little read.

The Om My Goodness Yoga Show

Dear Yogis

The OM Yoga Show in Alexander Palace starts today. It’s chaotic, crowded, and crazy and I adore it. The spirit stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife... it's the antithesis of yoga philosophy, practice and inner journeying. You can do 'Yoguh'; you can be a 'Yogangster'; you can find 'Buddhamagic', you can go on a ‘Bodhi Adventure’; you can ‘Om & Bass’! It’s nuts! And there’s more vegan chocolate than you can shake a calorie-controlled diet at.

Most classes are free. These are 30 minute taster classes. The paid workshops are in rooms that can take hundreds of people with the celebrity guest teachers. I’ve paid up for my favourites: DJ Goldie, Stewart Gilchrist, and David Sye. I really hope to see you there. (According to TFL Journey Planner it's 1 hour 5 minutes from Ealing Broadway or Acton Central to Alexander Palace.)

Training

Last weekend I was in Leeds practicing Mysore with Joey Miles and studying anatomy with Stewart Girling. If I lived in Leeds, this is where I would practice. Here’s Stewart interviewing Joey who started off at 17 as a juggler. He began yoga because the Cirque du Soleil guys warmed up with yoga and he believed it would make him a better performer. Joey talks about the effect of ‘being seen’ in class and how it increases his effort. Ha! I’m like that! He also says that ‘on a good day, yoga feels like play’. Ha! I think that! He says that yoga is ‘studying what it is to be a human being’. Yes!!! On his website you can download audio Primary Series classes and order his lovely wall-sized chart.

Home Studio
 

I’m teaching tomorrow at Yoga West. Please come. It’s an 8.30-9.45 Ashtanga class. It’s the perfect time and the ideal way to start the weekend.

Welcome to all the newcomers who contributed to the usual loveliness in my little studio. (Joey Miles, Alaric Newcombe and John Scott and others had home studios!) I was enormously honoured that a Yoga Teacher Trainee came to observe a class for her studies. Come and join us! Tuesdays are booked up till mid-November; next week has a few spaces. Book early and come.

Yoga in the News

The Standard gives us: ‘Where to do free and low-cost yoga in London’... The broke girl or guy’s guide on where to achieve inner zen in the capital. If you work anywhere near the LSE there’s a great deal there. For West Londoners, Lumi in Hammersmith makes it on to the list.

It’s a yoga weekender. Enjoy!

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!

Raise you 50!

Dear Yogis

The clattering autumn leaves and the absorbing Harvest Moon can only mean one thing... soon we’ll hear old winter's song. It’s a good time to plan and look forward to next summer’s sunshine and its possibilities. Already I’ve had a lot of responses about joining me for next year’s Kythera yoga retreat. Lisa has already advertised it on her Instagram page. Once on the island we will have to visit my friend Sara’s herbal apothecary. Take a look at some of her inspiring remedies. In the not too distant future I will write about some of her products in a Friday Email. She has a cream that she uses before her yoga practice to encourage the muscles. She has creams for knee problems! I bought the Tendonitis Cream for my tricky knee which has an ingredient ‘Devil’s Claw’.

Talking of which, Lucas Rockwood has a podcast this week called The People’s Pharmacy and he discusses remedies such as cannabis, turmeric/curcumin and the thing that interested me the most: yellow mustard, hot pepper, or vinegar to reduce muscle cramping. (At 26.30 they discuss home remedies if you don’t want to listen to the whole programme). Diet advice is at the end including ‘reverse vegetarianism’. He’s my favourite podcaster.

(PS. Take it easy if the full moon affects you).

Home Studio

Classes are back... and packed. I have the joyous problem of welcoming many new yogis with my limited numbers of classes and limited places. Book early! There are still places available next Thursday. I’m afraid I’m not teaching on Tuesday – it’s my 50th which accounts for my recent escape to Kythera to kick off the birthday season... which may last a while!

Cover classes

Tomorrow (Saturday 7th) I’ll be covering Mark Colleano’s class at Nuffield Ealing. 8.40am. Soon I will also be covering two Saturday classes at Yoga West, 8.30am, for Jenny Fearnley: Saturday October 21st (before scooting of to The Yoga Show) and November 11th.

Training

Tomorrow I was planning to be in Winchester but that class is cancelled so I booked a workshop at Indaba for some backbending with Jared McCann, Saturday 1.30-4.30 for £35. Come with me. He says ‘beginners welcome’ too.

Yoga in the News

The Evening Standard wrote this week about a charity helping refugees recover from atrocities through yoga, Ourmala. Very inspiring! If you’re thinking of becoming a yoga teacher and scared that the world of yoga studios and Chelsea yogis won’t accept you, read this. The yoga world is wide and there’s room for you

Dragon’s Den this Sunday (8.00pm) will feature the founder of a yoga mat company who will be asking for funding for one of the first social businesses to enter the Den. Profits from the company are for the education and employment of human trafficking survivors in Kolkata.

Come With Me to Kapsali

Dear Yogis

The Botticelli clouds are gone and the rain is here but my eagerness to plan next year’s yoga retreat has been fed and watered by Kapsali’s magic. Here's my plan: to do two retreats next September, one advanced and one less advanced!  This would be in the last two weeks of September 2018. Let me know if you think you might be interested.

Advanced people, you will have to do a Mysore session under the pre-dawn stars! If you’ve been to previous retreats you know our spectacular workshop teacher Lisa Maarit Lischak  who makes impossible postures possible during the week - our Mission Impossible teacher!. Beginners, you can start later and take in a run or swim before the morning practice. Along the bay and up the hairpin mountain to ‘the capital’ is a nice hour’s run. Hikers can have a field day with Kythera’s marked and mapped hiking trails. Up another mountain is the chapel of Agios Ioannis on-the-rock where we can experience a pranayama/meditation practice. Kapsali, and Kythera’s special produce,  has all we need. You won’t believe the magic in the air here!

Home Studio

I’m not there. No classes till October 3rd. Thank you for your emails telling me of the yoga you have done and the teachers you have tried and for the feedback of cover teachers. I love how you enjoy yoga! There are brilliant teachers all around for you to experience. Classes next week are almost full but there are still places on Thursday. More and more new yogis are discovering my home studio through an online search which is thrilling but, as you know, spaces are limited.

Training

Don’t forget the Om Yoga Show is coming up at Alexandra Palace on October 20th, 21st & 22nd. Phenomenal teachers will be there such as David Sye, Stewart Gilchrist, Eugene Vegan Butcher, DJ Goldie with Benjamin Sears. This workshop caught my eye: Sarah Ramsden who is the yoga teacher at Manchester City and Manchester United football cubs will hold a sports yoga workshop. Download a programme to see all the free classes.

Before that on October 7th I’ll be in Winchester’s New Energy Yoga for an arm balancing workshop with my very dear friend the Mission Impossible teacher! Come with me!

Yoga in the News

This is an interesting article in The Voice, Yoga’s African Connection, which claims that yoga originated from the motherland (Africa) and not India. Published a couple of months ago, it rang a bell with me because of something Stewart Gilchrist said in a recent class. His comment was about the origins of Hindu’s animal deities. He said something like: ‘Are you telling me that a religion that worships the elephant, the monkey and the cobra didn’t originate in Africa?!’ This is an interesting aspect to look at. If you’re interested in Afrikan Yoga here is the website.

Sun Salutations to Kytheran Stars

Dear Yogis

I'm listening to the roll and tumble of Kapsali’s windswept waves as I write this. I got up at 6.00 to do my yoga practice on the balcony under a black starry sky. If only it were this easy to get up at home and practice in less, romantic, perfect, idyllic, superlative, stupefying conditions! That’s the challenge! By the time I finished Orion’s belt could still be seen as the sky turned blue as the sun signalled its arrival. Even yesterday, with a stiff, jet-lagged body, nothing could beat Sun Salutations to the stars. (PS. It is said that Sun Salutations are said to be the most comprehensive workout with wide-ranging health benefits and the only exercise you need!)

Mat Update

I have written about yoga mats before (here and also here.) and often get asked for recommendations. TK Max tempted me just before this trip with a £12.99 Casall mat. It’s unbelievably lightweight, incredibly thin but gives more cushion than you’d expect from a mat topper. On the flag tiles of the balcony it’s more than enough cushioning. The grip is ok but I think it will improve with a bit of use.

Home Studio

I’m not there. No classes till October 3rd. Time for you to find out what else is on offer in West London from Lumi in Hammersmith to Yoga West in Acton. I urge you to try out classes with my teacher, Valentina Candiani. I did her class last Sunday in Virgin Fulham Pools and I had forgotten that feeling of victory and sheer relief of making it through a class of hers. No other teacher assembles the postures in such a way that makes the muscles isolate and work hard or makes Savasana so sweet and deserved.

Training

On October 7th I’ll be in Winchester’s New Energy Yoga for an arm balancing  workshop with my very dear friend and fellow Greece retreat yoga teacher  Lisa Maarit Lischak. Those who have been on my Greek Yoga retreats know how much unbelievable progress you make with Lisa’s magic. Come with me.

Yoga in the News

After writing about Hilary Clinton’s promotion of Alternative Nostril Breathing last week i was told about an actual demonstration of the pranayama on Radio 4’s PM programme with Eddie Mair. It’s hilarious. Blow your nose before listening.

The Mail is again touting another footballer, Gareth Barry, who has taken up yoga, overcoming his prejudice and scoring more goals! Sometimes I think the Mail is on a Yoga Mission!

Good luck if you’re running the Ealing Half Marathon.