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candlelit yoga

this christmas, i am offering a candlelit yoga class on wednesday 13th december at 7pm, in aid of the charity Outreach Paramedics.

https://www.outreachparamedics.org

this is a Cornish based charity, run by volunteer paramedics and medics (one of whom is an ex-A level student of my son). the charity offers medical support, training and ambulances in times of humanitarian crisis and is currently raising funds to make a third trip to Ukraine.

if you would like to attend the yoga class, please email to reserve a space.

places will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

£12.00/person.

december

as the year drops towards the shortest day, we can embrace a more grounded, vigorous practice to keep ourselves warm and open, whilst remaining sensitive to the deepening stillness that accompanies the lowest light, the lowest ebb, the nadir of the year.

a more vigorous practice will mean different things to everyone.

for some, a standing meditation for five minutes in front of the window may feel right and any version of sun salutation can work well for a winter morning. you may prefer to devise your own sequence of standing postures that you can loop together and repeat.

from: Winter-Time by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

yoga shorts

settle

comfortable and alert

follow your breath carefully

when you notice your mind has wandered
notice that the part of you that is noticing the wandering
is not the part that is wandering

come back to the breath

repeat

do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Lao-Tzu

november

in this changeable season yoga practice can encourage resilience, attentiveness and adaptability so you might like to take a look at balance postures this month.

“Balancing is a very fine task that awakens our nervous system and stimulates extra sharpening of our senses” Sandra Sabatini

for example – the tree pose

standing

wait – rooting

can you sense your own connections with the earth through both feet?

taking support from a wall or chair nearby if you need it
allow your body to steady itself through one foot and lift the other away

can you sense deep roots connecting you with the earth through one foot?

on an exhalation raise your arms through the canopy of space above you
arms are like branches – capable of movement – not interested in perfection or symmetry

adopting an open, flexible approach to balance postures can help our navigation through the changes of autumn.

‘the song of the body’

“There is a way of doing yoga poses without the slightest effort. Movement is the song of the body. Yes, the body has its own song from which the movement of dancing arises spontaneously. In other words, the liberation of the upper part of the body (the head, neck, arms, shoulders, and trunk) produced by the acceptance of gravity in the lower part of the body (legs, feet, knees, and hips) is the origin of lightness, and dancing is its expression. This song, if you care to listen to it, is beauty.”

Vanda Scaravelli – Awakening the Spine.

‘the breathing respect that you carry’

You Reading This, Be Ready

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

William Stafford

spine

visualise the white waves of your spine

as you breathe out – imagine the breath moving down the back of the spine like electricity, lighting up the curves from neck to tail

see how the body widens

pause

as you breathe in – follow the breath up the front of the spine – close in – animating the opposite curves from tail to nape of neck

see what happens

pause

repeat

‘the spine acts and moves like an organ on its own
free…independent
with a snake-like, wave-like movement’
Sandra Sabatini Breath

october

october – light, colours and temperatures shift and wane

traditionally yogis have focussed on breathing practices at this time of year
alternate nostril breathing in particular

if, like me, you find the process fussy – practise by imagining the breath moving through the nostril to the usual pattern with no manual control

in left – out right – in right – out left

the practice becomes deeply calming, meditative, spacious

for now i am noticing the low slant of early autumn light making new shadows – the delicacy of these shapes inspires a delicacy of practice

This morning the red sun
is opening like a rose
on our white wall, prints there
the fishbone shadow of a fern.

Gillian Clarke

bridges

these ‘ways of being’ offer a way to cross to a more connected attention for yoga practice

stillness – lie, sit or stand still – all becomes so quiet that you will easily feel your breath moving – stay alongside it for a few minutes – watch its flow – is it getting stuck? can you lengthen or release it?

openness – become receptive – what is the body craving? – what is the moment offering?

gentleness – nurture kindness towards yourself – let go of self-judgement – be patient