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Welcome to Spring

Welcome to Spring

by | Sep 8, 2022 | Editorial

Welcome to Spring

Spring can be beautiful, but also confusing in the transition…

It’s cool indoors, but warm and muggy outside…. It’s sunny but the wind has a chill… is it hot or cold? What do I wear!?! 

Similarly our bodies, coming out of the more contracted state of the cooler months start to have more energy and more opportunities to move… like the snow melting on the mountain top, this can lead to the release of stored toxins and put more load on the organs…

Take a few weeks to let the body acclimatise… be a bit gentle for a little while…

Focus on breath and flow, eat clean food moderately, hydrate well, take rest when you feel you need it, stop and smell the roses, be patient… 

In a few weeks, the time to take on more, progress, challenge and enjoy the process will come.. and you’ll be ready for it 

Overloading now or jumping in too soon can increase the possibility of injury and/or getting a cold!

Ayurveda and Yoga work with the season and look for steadiness in this time of changing season 

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Kidney Energy and Relieving Neck Tension

Kidney Energy and Relieving Neck Tension

by | Aug 19, 2022 | Practise Tip

Kidney Energy and Relieving Neck Tension

Some years ago, when moving house – the professional removalists were amazed that I had energy to keep going up and down my steep driveway carrying things. My secret weapon was breathing into my kidneys!!! The kidneys are considered the energy warehouses of the body, kidney energy gives you your get up and go (of course the energy is produced by the mitochondria, but the kidney seems to store and release it).

Recently, I have enjoyed remembering how powerful this simple technique is. We’re used to placing our hands on our kidneys in child pose – to ensure the vertebrae of the lower spine are getting space and taking pressure off the nerves – but you can place your hands on your kidneys in almost any pose to make sure there is space in the lower back, better pelvic placement, better action of the pose and most importantly – sustained energy levels and less chance of fatigue.

I’m sure there’s a detailed physiological reason behind this technique – e.g. the breath moves fully into the lower lobes of the lungs, causing the diaphragm to lower and push the abdominal organs down and out requiring the pelvis to move to accommodate them – or something like that!? To be honest, I can’t fully explain why this works, only that it does – and is replicable over and over again, in my own body, and bodies of hundreds of students. It is especially great if you tend to over arch your back in the standings and find your mid/lower back is tense.

Simply place the top hand on your kidney and breath into it in standing postures like trikonasana, or parsvakonasana, or on both kidneys for forward standings like parsvottanasana or forward bends like cross legs or any seated forward. Placing the hands creates a focus point for the breath to move into.

Once you feel your “kidney” expand, you can release the hand to its normal position in the pose. I find the action of the pose increases all the way down through the legs and feet into the earth, making the pose stronger and more stable (sthithi); and the spine, neck and arm action seems to extend more fully as well.  It’s also great in twists to place your hands on your kidneys and feel them inflate on the inhale, then use your hands to guide the turn on the exhale. This gets a nice deep twist through the jathara (abdomen/middle) which is where we want it to come from in a twist. These practices also train the body beautifully for other poses.

As with all tips, don’t take my word for it – try it out!!! practice, explore, and make the knowledge yours. We are always looking for more skilfull and intelligent ways to move, sometimes the most subtle actions create profound change. I look forward to hearing how you go.

Neck and shoulder tension in standing poses such as Trikonasana and Parsvakonasana can look like this:

The remedy for this is usually simple:
1) Come up out of the pose a little;
2) Lift the head.

You would be amazed at the difference these two simple actions make. Then you can get a fuller inhale, and direct the action of the breath through the crown and arms more easily on the exhale. Your pose will extend more and feel more alive. It requires satya (truthfulness) to know where your limits are and work with them, not give into ambition and go as far as you can.

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The Greatest Love of All

The Greatest Love of All

by | Aug 19, 2022 | Editorial

The Greatest Love of All

Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,

What is so powerful about self-love?

Let’s consider this analogy… Imagine there was a beautiful plant, it was lush and green and so vibrantly alive that just its sheer presence brought delight to all who saw it, and made them smile. Most plants rely on water to stay alive, either from rain, or from a person kind enough to water them. Imagine this plant was able to water itself and had no need of anything, or anyone outside of itself to grow and shine. That is who we would be if we fully loved ourselves.

Often in our efforts to be the best we can be, we give the love we generate to others, and forget about ourselves, or at least make it a lesser priority – perhaps expecting love from outside to fill us up instead. Even Divine love, like rain, may not be consistent and is still seemingly outside of ourselves.

The most empowering thing we can do is to actively love ourselves. We are able to fill ourselves up whenever needed or wanted. As a result, we are able to be at our best at all times. What we do with that is the next part of the story – we can then be at our best in service, in compassion, in loving others, in loving the earth. We can then generate more love for everyone/everything to absorb and experience.

Self-love is NOT selfish. It only becomes selfish when we are attached to some benefit for us coming out of our actions. Like if the plant’s only concern was how it felt about how IT looked, felt, lived… but plants have zero regard for that – they simply express the life within them in the most beautiful way possible for the greatest good of all. Of course we are not plants, and there are more layers to the story of being human – love from others does benefit, so does being filled with Divine love, and keeping our mind directed towards love via affirmation – but the similarities are there.

Fill ourselves with love first, and we impact others positively just by our sheer presence. Fill ourselves first and we have energy, love and creativity in abundance to help others and the planet. Fill ourselves up and we truly want the best for ourselves and others. Fill ourselves up and we can stay steady, calm, equanimeous, and compassionate to all and in all circumstances – good or bad, difficult or easy.

There are many ways to fill ourselves up with self-love – these include caring for our physical well-being, quiet time in Nature (which is full of Love), spending time with those who nourish and love us in return, connecting to whatever version of highest Self we relate to, reminding ourselves daily we are worth it and we love ourselves and many more methods. We are all unique, and have a unique list of what makes us feel FULL. Take time to contemplate… What might that mean for you?

Then, out in the world where that can be challenged, I find a simple, yet powerful tool is to ask the question “If I truly and completely loved myself… what would I do?”. In this way, self-love can guide us through the complexities of life and the myriad of choices and distractions we face.

Amazingly, here is where the magic kicks in – the answer always leads us not only to what is in our own highest good, but the highest good of the whole (even if we don’t always understand it straightaway – and ultimately we are the Whole – but that is for another day). This is when we know it is truly Self-love, which is not selfish at all.

(Are you singing Whitney Houston right now…?)

With love,
Suzanne

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Heading Towards Headstand

Heading Towards Headstand

by | Aug 19, 2022 | Practise Tip

Heading Towards Headstand

Headstand is one of the most advanced postures. Although many can do it, it is important to do it properly to avoid serious injury and get the maximum benefit. We run workshops in the practice of Headstand, but here are a few postures that almost anyone can do to prepare your body to be able to move towards Headstand safely.

Begin with a 5 Vayu meditation. In a relaxed lying down position, get to know the 5 actions of the breath. On the inhale receiving (Adya) and assessing (Samana), on the exhale directing energy downwards (Apana) upwards (Uddana) and circulating (Vyana – which can also create a centrifugal action that stabilises the core).

Link to the 5 Vayu Meditation:
https://soundcloud.com/gcyc88/5-vayu-meditation

Next is wide legs child. This pose gets you in touch with your belly chest breath easily, and on the exhale you can experience the action of the vayus drawing your hips back towards your heels while keeping your arms aligned and hands active – just like you’ll eventually need to do in Headstand.

Dog pose adds gravity into the equation as you further explore the essential action of pushing down and forward with the hands, and back and away with the hips – using breath (vayus) and energetic action, not muscle (leave the shoulders broad and at ease). This two-way direction of energy is an essential component to Headstand – you need to be able to move energy against gravity/away from the floor to take the load off the head and neck.

Standing poses can also help us explore moving energy through the channels. This is one of their main benefits and essential for headstand.

Walk forward into Uttanasana. Having long hamstrings can mean the difference of being able to go up into a Headstand smoothly without destabilising the base, or having to jump up awkwardly. There are many practices to lengthen the hamstrings – just remember to use the breath and allow the hamstrings to lengthen in the pose. Forcing them can make them tighter!

Strengthening the core. A strong core is ESSENTIAL to hold and maintain a steady Headstand, as well as to be able to go up and come down in a steady controlled manner that does not destabilise the foundation and put pressure on the neck. One of my favourite poses for this is to simply lie on your back with legs at 90 degrees. Roll your head neck and shoulders up and off the ground and reach forward past your legs with your hands, keeping your arms parallel to the floor. On an exhale, curl the pubic bone in towards the navel flattening the back, while you roll your shoulders up a little more. This activates the core. Breath here for 10 breaths, repeat 3 sets. As you get stronger, you will be able to start lowering the legs (cm by cm – don’t hurry) while maintaining a flat lower back and engaged core. When you can keep the back flat and core on while having legs extended to almost 180 degrees – you will have created a strong core (TIP: A modified version for true beginners is to have the legs bent, feet on the floor – everything else the same).

Forearm dog (for Beginners) or Forearm balance. These poses help to open the armpits. It is ESSENTIAL the armpits are able to open to as close to 180 degrees as possible. Closed armpits reduces the space the neck has to lengthen in, and puts enormous pressure on the cervical vertebrae.

You also need to be able to activate into the forearm and keep those armpits open as long as you are in the pose. A good test is if you can hold your forearms open in the walk up the wall version of forearm balance for at least one full minute without letting the armpits close or collapse. (There are other armpit opening practices – ask your teacher if you need more help).

PLEASE REMEMBER – Headstand is an advanced pose that requires strength, openness, ability to direct energy and an active core. Improper practice can lead to serious neck injuries. Please do not move beyond these poses without the guidance of an experienced teacher.  Always take time to rest in Savasana after these practices, and eventually kneeling or Savasana after Headstand.

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Free Yourself Through Forgiveness

Free Yourself Through Forgiveness

by | Aug 19, 2022 | Editorial

Free Yourself Through Forgiveness

Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,

I find I am constantly exploring different aspects of the universal principles of Abhyasa and Vairagya. Although traditional translations are usually “practice, action” and “surrender, detachment” respectively; you could also include “doing/non-doing”, “structure/space”, “holding on/letting go” and the definition I want to explore today of “moving forward/pulling back”.

A lot of our practice involves knowing when to push forward, knowing when to pull back. When we are stagnant, frustrated, or in fear – it may be appropriate to push forward into a pose/practice. When we are exhausted, unwell or creating depletion, we need to know when to pull back. Sometimes adding a load strengthens bones and joints, but if a joint is unstable, adding a load can irritate it and lead to injury. (TIP: If our muscles are tight around a joint, it could be because they are trying to protect an unstable joint – pull back and begin from the ground up, see if you can move into the pose safely, communicating to the body with your breath, creating alignment and building awareness).

The same principles apply in life off the mat too. As the famous Kenny Rogers said “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em”. Who knew Kenny was so wise!!  😀

But what about when we feel stuck emotionally and find it hard to move forward? Especially around a person/event we perceive has harmed us in some way, and we can’t forgive?

Over recent years, I have done a lot of work around forgiveness. Here are a few strategies that really helped, that are loving and inclusive, and truly liberating…

  1. Ho’oponopono or similar. A Hawaiian practice of repeating the statements “I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you” like a mantra whilst visualising the person you want healing with. I’ve been told several ways to do it, but the one that worked best for me was finding a recording that I could play (google Ho’oponopono) and let the words wash over me while meditating.

 

  1. One of my favourites is to visualise you and the person connected by a beam of energy. When you cut/break that energy see their energy return to them, yours to you. No harm to either but no longer connected. (Double whammy if you play the Ho’oponopono chant at the same time).

 

  1. I also visualise the person in my morning blessings and chant for them “May they be at peace, May they feel love”. (Sometimes imagining them surrounded by golden/white healing light). It feels amazing to exercise love towards them instead of anger. If they heal, they will no longer be in pain, and far less likely to hurt others. I feel very empowered and free when I do this – even though it may seem difficult and counterintuitive at first!

I hope this helps to free you up and be able to move forward again.

Wishing you all much love and freedom,
Suzanne

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