practice Archives

JUDGEMENT

June 17, 2018

Why do we do it? There’s no denying it! We judge ourselves for our actions, we judge our partners and friends for theirs, we even judge those who we don’t even know. We say they’re too fat, too thin, too brown, too silly, and so on and so on…..

As discerning human beings with opinions and intellect we constantly make decisions and choices. It’s part of who we are. Decisions are an important part of everyday living. We live better lives because of them….or do we?

Sometimes our inner decision-making skills are off kilter, for all sorts of reasons. We forget to ask ourselves why we feel something is better for us. We find ourselves caught up in wanting to make decisions and choices for others because it’s our own preference, not theirs. We justify it by saying “It’s for their own good” or, “I know what’s best for them”. Effectively taking away the power to make decisions for themselves. I pose the question – Should we do this?

No doubt, there are times to look after our children or loved ones that are in need of care. But being lost to the capability of keeping themselves safe enables us to take on the role of ‘keeper’ or ‘parent’. When we notice changes occur and they are stronger and more capable, we can choose to back off from our temporary role.

As the receiver of this kindness we may begin to rely on others to take care of all our decisions, becoming less responsible for our own actions and happy to pass on this mantle to anyone who will accept it for us.

As the giver do we feel comfortable to continue to fulfil a desire in us that makes us feel needed, unaware that we are taking someone’s independence away from them – albeit with their blessing and consent, even their gratitude.

It can become obvious in the yoga class. A regular cue of mine is to take things easy, not doing anything that doesn’t feel appropriate or backing off when the body decides it has had enough. In truth, few people are aware of their bodies and what they need or feel. They are mostly happy to push through a degree of pain in order to achieve what the teacher is asking of them. In other words, ‘Let the teacher decide what’s good for me’ – opting out of taking the decision to be responsible for themselves.

There is no better reward as a teacher to see a dozen different students doing a dozen different things from the same instructions – all of them independently aware that their bodies are requiring something slightly different at that moment in time – without competition or enquiry. Not so much on other occasions.

The yoga class is the perfect environment to get in touch with the responses and reactions of the body and mind. To be aware that the mind and all its chatter can be so bossy it takes over and doesn’t always allow us to feel what’s best for us. It makes us compete with ourselves and others. It makes a poor judgement call, feeding the ego rather than the soul. We can use the term ‘Ahimsa’ (Sanskrit for non-harming or non-violence) to bring our awareness back to the relevance of the here and now, empowering us to make the best judgment call for ourselves. To know that judging others or making judgment calls for them is not always the kindest thing to do. In practicing Ahimsa and awareness we can be in a more informed place to decide what’s best for us. By example, help those close to us to be responsible for their own decisions, supporting their choices to encourage confidence and personal growth.

The reward may not be as instant but over time it’s a win/win. We then have confident and well-adjusted family and friends around us to support us to make our own choices when we face challenges, rather than make poor decisions for us.

I hope this blog has been as thought provoking for you as it has for me. Giving ourselves space for thought before we rush in and inadvertently force our judgment on others may be one of the kindest ways of practicing our yoga off the mat.

PRACTICE

SOUNDSCAPE

April 1, 2018

Most of us are blessed to hear the unique sounds of our daily living; but being used to it makes it easier to miss it.

We can make a practice of listening to sounds which happen to be around at the time. Stopping to do this on a regular basis can help make us feel connected to our surroundings, more at ease and embodied in the world.

Anytime can be a good time. Why not try it now?

Drop your shoulders and allow the breath to soften.

Relax the eyes, then close them.

Feel happy to pause from action, resting for a few minutes just to listen.

Let your other senses begin to take a back seat, as you tune-in to any sounds or apparent silence…

Let your ears be open to listening without trying, soaking up sounds in general, but nothing in particular.

Imagine your ears and eyes are smiling, with any tension in your neck or face just melting.

Become immersed in all these sounds together. Notice layers of volume, frequency, rhythm and texture.

But can you listen in a neutral way? Is it possible to simply not be bothered by any sounds which feel intrusive?

If you hear people talking close by, make a game of not homing in to conversation content. Listen as if it were an unfamiliar language; notice rather the manner of their talking, the level of friendliness in their interaction.

Then, focus on just one sound in particular. And give this your full attention, remain this way for some moments, just listening…

If there are other sounds, then pick out a different one… as if hearing it for the first time.

Continue this for as long as you like, hopping from sound… to… sound.

When you feel it’s nearing time to close the practice… breathe deeply.

Feeling firmly planted in the landscape.

Hear once again the general mix which is your soundscape, and let all your senses come into play. Open the eyes and smell your surroundings.

Smile if you like, and when ready begin to move… at ease in your environment.

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WAKEY WAKEY

March 24, 2018

There are times when life seems to take on certain flavours, often evoked by particular sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch…

Here’s a blog about the senses… our unique senses, through which we experience the world.

These senses are a powerful stimulus for thoughts, feelings, and how we respond to whatever’s happening at the time.

With their help we humans have evolved to be the most dominant, creative, volatile and destructive creatures on the planet – after a few million years!

Our brain lives in its dark closed shell. Signals from the senses are its gateway to beyond. These signals, translated into the common currency of electro-chemical impulses, then permit us to adopt our own individual slant on the world.

Our senses collaborate:

Vision is a whole-body experience.

Touch influences how we see.

Sight informs what we hear, taste and smell.

When trying to remember something, some people reach for their glasses… in fact, I admit, I’ve done it myself! It’s that feeling that somehow seeing more clearly helps us think more clearly.

And whilst I am grateful for my glasses, I do resent having something stuck on my face!

I encourage people to manage without them on the yoga mat… to enjoy a more carefree experience. Make friends with that blurry, fuzzy world!

At home on bright days I like to go spec-less. Or go walking! Otherwise all the bits that need cleaning and dusting are far too apparent in the sunlight…

But my light-hearted way of putting off housework unfortunately mirrors what may in some become a problem – namely, dulling the senses in order to bypass pain, or closing our eyes and ears to things which don’t reinforce our opinions. We thus cheat ourselves of our natural vibrant awareness and impartiality.

Yoga practices can help us appreciate and evolve connections. For example, the way we breathe reflects the way we think and feel… and vice versa.

It’s good to be reminded that what affects one aspect of us will always influence the function of our whole self.

The way we practise on the yoga mat is a good pointer to how we are in general.

And sometimes in classes people wisely close their eyes. Why? To better savour their own experience, rather than be made hungry by what the eye sees – thus avoiding the urge to achieve the shapes that other bodies are making!

We can too easily believe our eyes, even if they tell us that white is black and black is white.

Our senses can drive us to unwise and illogical behaviours, make us susceptible to strange beliefs and superstitions. We humans are prone to bias, to adopting moral stances then bending facts around them.

First impressions don’t always serve us well in the long term, if based solely on how someone looks or sounds that day.

Our senses can trick us when in highly charged or emotional states of mind; when asked to recall situations imagination can easily replace fact.

In yoga misapprehension is called avidya. And a purpose of practice is to see ourselves and others more clearly – to remove the veils of illusion, which yoga names maya.

How easily our senses can deceive!

We sense things as solid, including us, yet all is space and energetic particles.

We sense we are still, yet we’re hurtling through space on a fast-spinning planet.

We sense that the world is flat, just because we can’t see past our noses!

Our collective senses lend us our perception of the world, from which emerges our own unique, individual reality… it’s a miracle!

Yet, like all else in the world, our senses are ever-changing; their quality comes in tides.

As surely as the moon draws the ocean, they will be affected by ill health, negative emotion, fatigue.

Yoga helps us to take care of ourselves, knowing that how we behave will affect the world around us.

Clarity makes us better managers of ourselves… so that our senses can serve, and not enslave us. X

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SEASON’S GREETINGS

December 17, 2017

Well it’s been quite a season. So busy ! Full of work, yoga, website stuff….. and life – getting along with things has been both challenging and rewarding in equal measure.

Respect and love to all of you who have read and commented on our blogs. Your responses have meant so much to us and are so appreciated. Those of you who have English as a second language deserve special thanks for your efforts.

Some of your comments may not be visible to you at the moment. If you can’t see yours, please be patient. There are so many that it’s going to take time to get to them all. We will get there eventually. Massive apologies for not replying to each of you individually but there aren’t enough hours in each day. Please be assured, they are all read. We just can’t tell you how much your input and support means to us.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas – Merry Christmas to you. For those who don’t, we hope you have a wonderful winter festive season. Stay safe and warm with your families and friends and share your love and kindness with all those who deserve it – and maybe those who don’t!

Kit and I live in an area of in the North West of England where there is a huge diversity of cultures, all of which enrich our lives and create a better place for us to live in and give us a greater understanding of the world outside our little ‘Burnley Bubble’. Our tolerance and acceptance of differences can only help to make the world a better place to be in.

Much love and best wishes for a prosperous, peaceful and happy new year.

For the locals, we will be starting a new weekly yoga class on the 18^th January at The Exchange Project (St Johns in Colne) 6 pm. Come and join us if you can. We would love to see you and share a little yoga. All are welcome.

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SNORES AND SNOOZZZ….ES IN THE YOGA CLASS!

October 22, 2017

Oh, what heavenly ease, sliding between wakefulness and sleep… at least until we hear the sound of snoring and think, “Uh-oh, that’s me!”

If you often fall asleep in yoga relaxations, I hope this blog will inspire you to also try such practices at those times when you’re more likely to remain awake.

Momentary brainwave shifts between waking and sleeping states are part of savasana relaxations: a form of meditation, but with greater chance of falling asleep, simply because we’re lying down.

Now, yoga is a light-hearted business, where we hope to take ourselves less seriously. And whilst there will be occasions when we completely fall asleep, our aim is actually to remain awake… sometimes easier said than done!

And sleeping is not the only obstacle to relaxation practice… savasana can be a challenging pose in other ways until we’re used to it.

In a class situation it’s a position that requires trust, especially for those who feel vulnerable. Some will find it hard to settle, lying eyes-closed, open-handed and on their backs.

A benefit of not drifting off is that we’ll feel more alert and energised afterwards.

Why? Because such practices help relieve us of draining nervous tensions, freeing up energy for other tasks.

I’m in a privileged position when teaching yoga.

If I’m perceptive enough I can gauge people’s mental stress.

If I’m skilful enough I can show them how to help themselves feel both engaged in their practice and at ease.

Many of us are, unfortunately, chronically knackered, frazzled and unable to relax unaided.

So it’s really no surprise that hard-pressed people fall asleep easily, once they drop the effort of holding on and begin to let go.

Releasing tension is always a step in the right direction.

Lack of rest is a common cause of suffering. It denies us an opportunity to recharge and heal.

Our nervous system has evolved to be primed for switching quickly into fight-or-flight when needed. But it’s slower to shift back to a restorative state. Nobody thrives in emergency mode, or with one foot always on the pedal.

Yoga helps restore homeostasis to a beleaguered nervous system.

The right practice will bring equilibrium and balance body systems, relieving nervous tensions, general ailments and malaise.

Sometimes we need reminding to exercise, literally, our patience, compassion and sense of humour in practice.

And hopefully, having felt the energising benefits, we’ll be inspired to keep practising… and wonder how we ever got by without it!

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VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

October 1, 2017

Here are some thoughts on being stuck in ruts, and some ideas for getting out of them.

It’s easy to get stuck in ruts. They can creep up slowly like frowns and bad tempers, unnoticed until they feel like part of us (they aren’t!)

When the rut is deep as a ditch and our mind set has narrowed…

Maybe we’ll resign to it because it’s been suggested that, “we’ve made our bed and now we must lie in it.”

Maybe we’ll grow to like it because it feels safe and familiar.Or maybe we don’t know we’re in it because we can’t see beyond it.

Our brains have cognitive bias, say the scientists.

Good for survival, but it makes us prone to prejudices. We look for evidence (I told you so!) to support and validate our beliefs.

If we like being told we’re correct (who doesn’t?) we’ll tend to read, watch and listen to what tells us we’re right. It reinforces our conviction.

We might even prefer to be right than to be kind.

Lack of awareness certainly makes for a view which is limited and narrow. And this is reflected in all aspects of us: in what we think, feel and eat, in how we breathe and move, and in what we then say and do.

I like practical tasks like digging. I used to love running until neck and knee problems put paid to that…

So dodgy knees took me off to my first yoga class (age at least 31) and I’ve never looked back.

Oooh… it was so nice to be moving like that again, with such variety. Again! (yes, again!) It was both new and familiar, like some distant childhood experience freshly restored.

I think children do stuff (call it yoga if you like) to help themselves, but the travails of life tend to come to the fore, and it becomes obscured.

Without awareness in ageing, we can easily become set in our ways.

I was really quite shocked as a yoga-class newbie to find how limited my body had become.

Yet I was hooked… I got a mat and started home practice.

Years have passed, but I’m still as keen (even more so!) I’ve stuck with yoga because the methods work, plain and simple.

Yoga refreshes me. It reassures me that whatever’s happening I always have options, and this stops me being defensive or feeling backed into a corner.

I went to yoga to soothe my knees, but I gained a way of life.

I feel spacious and stronger both physically and mentally – more likely to flex in the wind than to snap under strain.

What I did on the yoga mat started to percolate into my everyday life – as if being on the mat was practice for being off it.

I was literally discovering how to exercise compassion.

It affected my whole function.

Fears, especially about the future, can easily creep up on us. We humans have developed the capacity for self-awareness. It’s a price we pay for being the planet’s most dominant (destructive too) and bossiest occupant.

We’re mortal and we know it, and this is a common cause of trouble within and between us.

We’re emotional creatures (not knocking it!) living in a messy world where change is constant.

Uncertainty can riddle us with behavioural biases which we build into walls, because it seems rational at the time (they’ve all got it in for me!)

Blinkered vision and fortress mentality mean loss of equilibrium: a mind-set gone belly-up.

Yoga helps remove skewed views and misapprehensions. It’s like physical and mental decompression for times of pressure.

When we’re skewed, all the wonderful stuff we can do on automatic – helpful habits, happy routines, positive coping strategies – can vanish, or worse, morph into hindrances.

Sometimes life just feels too complicated.

Carefreeness has melted away and we just feel like scarpering!

I’ve heard people call our present digital age a post-truth era, because we’re awash with fake news and misinformation.

Our computerised lives are increasingly ruled by algorithms. And if we’re not discerning this can compromise our freedom.

And where we do feel we have choice, decisions can be difficult, as it’s so hard to tell fact from fiction, and truth from lies.

Joy and I see more and more people coming to yoga classes because they’re frazzled.

It’s no surprise that people are distracted, lose keys, lose tempers, get defensive, behave badly, get stuck in ruts, put themselves under pressure… or blame others for their troubles when the fault lies with them.

Don’t forget that yoga (and any tradition concerned with restoring harmony in our wonderful but troubled world) comes from the experiences of people seeking a bit of peace for themselves, often under hardship and in violent times.

History has a habit of repeating itself.

Many do seek peace but find it hard to live in peace.

Harmony can only endure between us when we have some measure of peace within us.

And yoga is a helpful means to restore this.

Isn’t it brilliant to find a means to help us feel spacious? To find breathing space, with more room for thinking and moving? To realise that we’re more likely to explode with laughter than with rage?

Yoga methods shed light on our options so we can then make better choices.

Open-mindedness helps us see more clearly, further, and from different viewpoints. We can then imagine how it feels to walk in someone else’s shoes.

It takes all kinds to make our wonderfully rich and diverse world.

In nature, monoculture struggles where diversity thrives. (We are nature!)

Variety is most definitely a spice of life.

Try these simple and light-hearted ways to help you counter ruttishness:

Drink from a different mug
Go barefoot when possible
Listen to a different radio channel
Wear more of your clothes
Use the other hand when cleaning your teeth
Eat different foods
Use the other ear when on the phone
Change a routine
Use a different locker (if applicable)
Break a bad habit – or just notice that you do it
Sit in a different chair, or on the floor
Smile at people more
Take more interest in people’s lives
Stand on one leg now and again
Practice yoga… and next time you’re in your yoga class, try placing your mat somewhere different!

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THE SAVITRI GAYITRI MANTRA

October 1, 2017

Mantra yoga is the yoga of sound. Chanting helps to quieten the mind and soothe the nervous system, it is therefore used as a meditative aid; it’s a very peaceful practice and has nothing to do with inducing trance-like states!

The Savitri Gayatri comes from the Rig Veda, which was composed between roughly 1700-1100 BCE, making it one of the world’s oldest spiritual texts. This mantra is also cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. Gayatri is the name of the Vedic metre in which it was written. The metre comprises of 3 lines of 8 syllables. The Savitri is the most universally known Gayatri from a family of mantras.

It is a petition to Savitr the solar deity, or wherever we personally feel our life-giving energy comes from. It is a call from the heart for the benefit of all humanity. The first line of om bhur bhuvah swah is considered a preamble, an invocation which is not strictly part of the mantra itself.

This is my own take on the Gayatri – please do look into other interpretations as well. I am no physicist (obviously!), but I love to sense this in terms of vibration, light, wavelength and solar energy – a powerful directed surge to waken up the attuned awareness of a single person, community, city or whole nation – all the growing billions of us even. It drums quietly through my head quite regularly – especially during challenging times. I often find myself chanting it out loud in private – when I’m walking along or driving. Even though I have others in mind when chanting the Gayatri, I do find it really helps to both calm and inspire me, especially when the chant is repeated audibly for a few minutes. It’s especially delightful to chant with other people – quite a force:

om bhur bhuvah swah / tat savitur varenyam / bhargo devasya dhimahi / dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

We meditate upon our source of light and life so all may be enlightened

OM – Universal energy, primordial vibration

BHUR – earth, also the physical plane

BHUVA – sky, also the energetic plane

SWAH – heavens, also mental plane

TAT – that, also our greater underlying awareness and intelligence.

SAVITUR – the sun, the creative force, our source of life, all wavelengths of energy, even those signals beyond the light spectrum which we humans don’t pick up such as gamma and infra- red rays; also it refers to attuned awareness and perception.

VARENYAM – magnificent

BHARGO – inner light, wisdom

DEVASYA – divine, radiance

DHIMAHI – we meditate upon, may we attain

DHIYO – understanding the mental faculty which permits the flow of intuitive perception

YO – which, who NAH – our

PRACHODAYAT – enlighten, awaken.

Listen to the mantra by pressing the arrow below

PRACTICE

UPON WAKING

June 25, 2017

A powerful tool for improving mental state, this practice helps nip things in the bud before the day gets going.

Cultivating the skill of watching how we waken helps us gauge our mood more easily. It’s like a reset button to help improve how we respond during the coming day, whatever happens.

Being able to step back from knee-jerk over-reactions is liberating.

Feeling we have room to move helps us see that we have choices.

Feeling we have room to breathe helps keep our centre calm to help weather life’s storms.

Notes on practice

This is a practice done in bed before rising. It’s a useful habit to cultivate.

It can be easily adapted to last only moments or be extended into minutes.

Like other practices, it’s simple, but not easy to apply. It’s easy to wander off in thought or daydream, or in this case to fall back into sleep!

The practice makes a number of suggestions – just take up whatever’s useful and make it your own

The Practice

Become aware of being awake.

Resist the urge to move just yet. Let the eyes stay closed.

Allow yourself this pause to mark the moments when sleep is ending and consciousness begins.

Note the position of your body as it wakens.

Become aware of having hands and limbs. Softly gaze into the backs of your eyelids.

Slowly roll over onto the back if you’re not like that already. If the back likes it, bend the legs at the knees.

Following these first stirrings of your day, settle again and let the hands rest.

Become aware of the body breathing. Sense its movement as you breathe.

Have the tongue on the roof of the mouth. Letting it lift at the back helps the mouth stay closed.

Sense air at the nostrils; follow it moving out, and then in.

Let the exhales soften and the inhales lengthen.

Recall any significant dreams. Take them in so you can revisit them later.

Notice how thoughts and feelings arrive.

Rest the hands on the belly if that feels ok. Let the exhales be calm so they steady the breathing.

Allow the belly to relax. Enjoy the movement of the breathing.

Become aware of facial expression. Let your eyes stay closed, but imagine them smiling, whatever your mood.

Notice the manner and rhythm of the breath. Let the inhales deepen.

Breathe into every nook and cranny. Feel the entire body being breathed.

Imagine the breath as a healing white light. Draw it deeply in. Let it soak into tissues, cells, molecules.

Your body of light is energised, more than enough for the day… and this energy will not drain away through contact with people and the world.

Consider the day and the date and whether it’s significant in any way.

Imagine yourself in the places today where you expect to be. Picture yourself interacting well and feeling at ease.

Picture yourself being perceptive, responding wisely, taking interest in others… making good decisions.

Call to mind anyone for whom this day is significant. Imagine them bathed in their healing white light.

Call to mind in turn any of your best-beloved. Picture them where you think they might be – also bathed in their healing light-energy.

Call to mind anyone causing you problems, or from whom you’re estranged. Send them some light. Feel any anger or resentment melt from your belly. Imagine yourself not the least bit defensive the next time you meet.

Return to the breath at your nostrils. Inhale a sense of physical and mental space – space to move with comfort and ease; breathing space; lots of room to think clearly.

Inhale what could serve you well, such as courage, joy, vitality.

If your heart feels heavy, imagine it lighter.

Exhale any feelings of nervous apprehension about the day ahead.

Feel ready to be a good receiver.

When it’s time to move, enliven your senses. Hear any sounds around… those close by, then those further away.

Feel a surge of energy as you open your eyes. You’re now ready to rise and get to grips with the day!

Click here to read RAISE YOUR DAY blog

PRACTICE

A BREATHING PRACTICE

May 31, 2017

A practice for breath awareness:

Find a comfy warm spot.

Lay on the mat in Savasana (flat on the floor) – you may prefer to sit – you may prefer to try this lying in bed.

Begin by taking the attention to the breath and the heartbeat.

Take a moment to arrive in the space you are in.

This action – or lack of it – may be enough to aid your calming and relaxation process. If that’s the case, don’t search for more. Be happy that you are in a good place in the mind and body.

Become more aware of the breath and inhale gently and softly through the nose. Allow the outbreath to be equally as long as the inhale – or maybe a little longer if that feels comfortable for you.

It can be useful to breathe in to the count of 3 and out to the count of 3. This helps to focus the mind on the breath and away from external distractions. If you become uncomfortable, return to your free and normal breath at any time.

Next notice where you are breathing – in the chest – the belly?

Try directing it consciously first to the belly then the chest. Notice how the belly expands, and how the movement creates subtle movements of the hips in their sockets, or the gentle tilt of the pelvis. If you are holding tension in these areas the movements may not be happening.

Take the awareness and focus to these areas and try to relax as you exhale. With a little patience and practice these movements will become apparent as you tune in to the body.

Notice when the chest expands how the ribs lift and widen and how the shoulders are able to move in the joints.

This is the body’s natural way of creating space and movement in the joints and is perfectly normal. Observe a young child or baby as they are sleeping – young enough not to have learned the sensation of holding tension or subconscious restricting habits. You may be able to recreate this special free breath in your own practice.

When you feel comfortable with this gentle breathing you will be able to do it anywhere and use it for your own wellbeing and relaxation. 5 or 10 minutes every day will have you doing this without having to think about it.

PRACTICE

A PAUSING PRACTICE

May 28, 2017

We can only feel the benefits of a practice by remembering to do it on a regular basis.

Resolve to allow yourself pauses throughout the day, until it becomes part of what you unconsciously do. The challenge is largely remembering to do it.

It’s too easy to not make room for these practices, by feeling we can’t spare the time – even though they’re enjoyable and beneficial, helping us to function so much better. We actually save time in the long run.

(Like other practices, this will soon also be available as a podcast.)

The Practice

Recognise a natural pause, a short break from action.

If upright, stand still; if tired sit down.

If clutching something, put it down. Be empty-handed and open-hearted, and welcome this space.

Notice the breath, which reflects how you are feeling. If you are stressed or have been rushing, allow the out-breath to soften; this will help reduce the heart rate.

Sigh a few deeper breaths out through the mouth, as if exhaling for now the cares of the day.

Remove any glasses to give your eyes a break. If the face feels tight, yawn and stretch it, then relax.

Allow the shoulders to drop and release the weight of the arms. Relax the hands. Let the head float up, jaw releasing, back of neck softening.

Take a moment to attune your senses. Feel your body breathing. Notice sounds, smells, temperature, and the contact of clothing on skin.

With relaxed gaze, take in your surroundings. If outdoors, notice wind and weather.

It is possible to become entirely absorbed in these moments, a central calm in the maelstrom of a changing day.

From what are you pausing? What kind of thoughts have you been thinking? Have they been a good influence on your behaviour so far today? Notice thoughts which come whilst you pause.

Imagine inhaling everything you need right now, to help improve and make the best of your day. Breath in what’s helpful, breath out what isn’t.

Move on when ready, restored by this pause… until the next opportunity.

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BEST FOOT FORWARD

May 28, 2017

Let’s get straight to the point. What I’m thinking is… throw the shoes to the back of the cupboard!! ‘Have I lost my senses?’ Maybe I have, or maybe I’ve just gone to sleep. Let me explain…

Consider what it feels like when you cover your ears, they don’t work properly, the sound is muffled. In other words the sense of hearing is dulled and the sensitivity is lost.

Imagine the same scenario with your feet. Put on a lovely comfortable pair of supportive shoes. The result is the feet are so cosy they go to sleep. They have nothing to do, no ground to feel, no heat or cold sensation. In other words, they’ve stopped having to bother. We may even work harder to search for sensation by stamping or hitting the ground harder in order to compensate. This can have the knock-on effect of creating tension or damage in the joints.

SET THEM FREE!

Kick off the shoes and socks, walk along that lovely shag pile that cost a fortune. Let the wool tickle the toes. As the feet feel what is beneath them, enquire where the weight is. Feel the toes spread as the weight shifts to the front of the feet. Feel how much they are able to bend when there are no shoes to stop them.

Take it to the beach for the wow factor or walk on the early morning dewy grass before breakfast. This will wake up the feet and let them feel again.

Clearly it would be poor advice to say no to footwear completely. It’s obviously not a good look with the interview outfit or at the busy shopping centre. We need to be aware of the hidden dangers of walking on unsuitable surfaces or being hurt by sharp objects. Let’s do it when we can. There’s nothing like the feeling of the ground beneath the feet or feeling the earth rise up to meet us as we walk. So feel your feet on the ground and let the floor be your friend.

(Inspired by my deliciously very touchy feely feet and an article I listened to by Leslie Kaminof)

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ON RESTING

May 16, 2017

Rest is a lull from action – a period of some minutes sitting or lying in comfort, free from mental clamour or thoughts which disturb the mind.

Resting helps us thrive. The lack of it will make us restless and unwell. The full regenerative power of proper relaxation is often overlooked or undervalued as a vital part of health, despite its positive effect on everything we do.

When our life is out of balance it is also common to feel restless, and the things we eat or drink or do to help us relax might be making things much worse. We are naturally pleasure-seeking creatures, and can too easily do what does not serve us best!

When feeling under pressure and short of time, it is easy not to make the room for decent rest –even though a break will help us feel and function so much better that it saves time and energy in the long run.

Lack of proper rest is a major source of human suffering. Conscious repose is therefore a basic Hatha Yoga practice.

During rest, the mind has moments free from conscious thought. Organs function at their optimum rate. With the heart and breathing steady, the nervous system calmed and soothed, then the mind is quieter.

Such quality repose gives respite, where we can restore strength and renew vigour. It improves the mental state so we are less over-reactive at other times.

By taking care we become more aware of how things can drain our energy and make us vulnerable to malaise.

Holding unnecessary and habitually unconscious muscular tension can indeed wear us out. The mind and body are part of each other; where there is muscular tension there is also mental. It is a vital part of human make-up. But in chronic excess it is a common bane of life, much more than people realise.

Many do not know that holding on to tension causes hurt, not just to themselves but to others. A tightening reaction to a situation influences our response, over-reaction being a common cause of conflict. Hence the aim to be free of this is a worthy part of daily life.

Rest is distinct from sleep. But while resting, there may well be pleasant moments drifting between wakefulness and slumber. An optimum nightly period of deep sleep helps keep us well. But it is possible to be restless and asleep. It is possible to sleep in pain. It is possible to sleep with such tension that teeth are ground away. Holding tightness during sleep means waking up exhausted.

A simple focus for attention at the beginning of rest will aid relaxation. Bringing the mind to settle on just one or two things reduces mental fluctuation.

Stirring up emotion is un-restful, so this focus should be neutral, such as the breath, the hands, or some non-evocative sound. A visualisation needs careful choosing, so that it does not set off a train of thought.

How much quiet is needed for rest can depend on the frame of mind and the individual. What is background sound to one could be distraction to another. Sounds heard should not stir us by the listening. Eyes tend to close, but softly gazing into the back of closed lids can help focus attention.

Thoughts may come and go while resting. Observing thought waves can be a conscious practice. At rest, one can be aware of thoughts, of their frequency and intensity, without being spurred by them into more thinking. In skilful rest one is not roused by, or attached to, the kind of thought one has; they remain as mental fluctuations, like clouds drifting across our mental sky.

Prolonged minutes of wakeful rest, with thought waves pleasantly absent, may be regarded as meditation. This can happen with the eyes open but not looking. A lowered gaze helps keep the mind from distraction. And any aural or visual input needs to be non-evocative.

Slipping into the rapture of meditation does not come from trying not to think. It is a mental state, inherent from early age, which can happen spontaneously – if we allow space for it to happen.

At such times one is unaware of breath or body unless they demand attention.

Minutes of meditation can compensate for hours of lost deep sleep.

Daydream, rest and meditation are a welcome default setting for the brain. Such wakeful disengagement from daily action can foster insight and creative thinking. It can produce effortless inspiration. And, out of this void, solutions to weighty problems can appear without bidding.

Kit Hartley. Lidgett. May 2017

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The power of rest

May 15, 2017

Nervous energy keeping you awake… insomnia… high anxiety…

Sound familiar? Wouldn’t you like to wave them goodbye, and say hello to well-balanced harmony, and proper sleep?

Please do check out our related Yogatalk articles and practices, on recovering sleep and rest.

You might think that me being a yoga teacher makes me forever bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and superfit… Wrong!!

Quite honestly, I have a string of health issues and a history of addictive tendencies and anxiety.

I really don’t mind admitting this, because when people see me well and happy they must then conclude that yoga actually works – saving me from myself!

Joy and I teach yoga so we can share with people these simple ways to keep fit and well. This website is our way to try and cast the net a little further.

Lack of rest and sleep is a growing malady for the world; its proportions are endemic, especially it seems for the young. Too many teenage brains are in a constant device-checking default mode, even throughout the night!

So these poor frazzled brains have acquired minimal attention spans; they’ve forgotten how to rest and even how to sleep… and they’ve still got adulthood to come!

Alarmingly, we can grow accustomed to this compromised state, and regard it as normal.

Yoga’s focus on vitality and energy, which I love, makes modern science fascinating to me.

I read in the New Scientist (a kind friend gives me her old ones – I read them and pass them on to others) that our present age is being called the Anthropocene, viewed as the period when human activity is having a significant impact upon our planet, and all its occupants.

Scientific data confirms that more and more of us are living in the realm of the walking unwell. Modern neuroscience has raised awareness (useful but alarming) of the link between lack of rest and poor health.

Lack of sleep and rest really is torture.

There’s a growing interest in how the 24-hour cycle (or the circadian rhythm) affects health, and a growing consensus that we tick along to not one, but thousands of body clocks. Understanding this can improve lives.

It’s now no longer trendy to burn the candle at both ends – hurrah!

And we should now be encouraging our exhausted teens to stay up late, and to rise late… this suits them better, apparently.

Modern science is finally catching up with yoga teachings as a route to health. If we know what to do, and feel inspired to do it, we all have the power within to keep well. Yoga is joyful, not austere, and inspires us to practise.

As I said, I’m no stranger to anxiety. I was an anxious child, but I developed numerous strategies in order to cope.

Years later, in my first ever yoga class, I was reminded of some of these nuggets, and I thought, ‘So it’s called yoga – seems familiar!’ The point being that I could have avoided years of anxiety, just by remembering – or by taking up yoga sooner.

Feel free to check out ‘A resting practice’, which my childhood experiences helped to formulate.

A practice can help positive overcome negative. It can help quell that anxiety of being wide awake at 3 when the alarm is set for 6.

Once free from fretting and mental clamour, we can just savour the peace of a new dawn. We can slip back into lovely sleep, or just happily rest and listen to the blackbirds.

Ps the practical reminder ‘A resting practice’ will soon also be available as a podcast, along with others… so watch this space!!