Yoga in Hertfordshire
Just a quickie to say that I was asked to write an article on a yoga retreat for Inspired Times magazine. It’s now been published and it’s on p16 of the online version.
The article covers the retreat I went on over last New Year in Somerset and much fun was had by all.
Enjoy!
In preparation for my trip, yesterday I moved the contents of my flat into a storage unit on an industrial estate in South London. It was quite humbling to see all my wordly goods crammed into a 40ft/12m sq box. I was less impressed when I realised the cost of storing it all could easily sustain me in India for a month or so.
These possessions felt a bit like a millstone. No matter how many trips I’ve made to charity shops, it’s like lava flow – it’s all-pervading. I was at a satsang at the London Sivananda Centre at the weekend and Swami Krishnadevananda was talking about the importance of simple living and it was Gandhi who described his ideal lifestyle as “simple living, high thinking.”
In the West, we often we turn to material possessions for happiness but we forget that happiness can be found within. We become attached to these items and what they say about us: “I’ve got a huge flatscreen TV therefore I’m successful” or “I read intellectual books therefore I’m educated” but it’s really just our ego and we’re masking our true self.
It’s like in meditation. The Tibetan Lama Sogyal Rinpoche talks about how clouds obscure the blue sky beyond. The clouds are our thoughts, getting in the way of the blue sky or our ‘true nature’. By calming our mind, the clouds are lifted and we reconnect with who we really are.
So there you go. Who’d have thought that a warehouse in Wimbledon could allow us to think about the teachings of such great minds. In the meantime, next Friday I’m off to Thailand for two months to do more teacher training. I’ll then be visiting Sri Lanka and India and I look forward to keeping you all updated!
Om shanti.
Another example of how sailing can bring out the yogi in us.
As well as teaching yoga in the evenings, I have a day job working for the Government – well, up until the end of next week anyway. After then I’m heading to Thailand, Sri Lanka and India to do some more yoga training for a few months. I would much rather write about that but all in good time…
Normally my practice allows me to stay pretty level headed and able to deal with stress (I think. Others may disagree…) but work’s been busier than usual and I have actually felt like I’m living through an episode of The Thick of It. We’re short-staffed to the point where yesterday there were two of us instead of the normal six and I’m counting down the days until I leave. It came to a head yesterday morning when my inbox was filling up before my eyes and I had to action almost every email as there was no-one else there to share the burden. Waves of panic were coursing through me and I could feel my head throbbing à la Stressed Eric.
I thought to myself, “if I don’t step away from my computer, I think I’m going to crack.” I left my desk. I made my way to an emergency exit stairwell that’s barely used and I actually laid down on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs in savasana. I didn’t care if anyone saw me. I focused on my breath and placed one hand on my abdomen and the other on my chest. I felt relieved as I gained control of my breath and my emotions.
Stepping away from my desk allowed me to achieve some clarity and on returning, I basically said to my boss, “you can send me all these emails and tell me they’re urgent, but there’s only me here and I’m not superwoman.” Of course, I didn’t quite use those words but it seemed to do the trick.
This reminded me of an interview I had for working at a yoga studio doing their marketing. I was asked how I dealt with stress because “it’s not like you can lie in savasana in the middle of the office when it gets too much.” Seriously, the interviewer said that to me. But I did yesterday! And it worked! How funny is that!
I’m so happy it’s the weekend tomorrow. Enjoy.
Om shanti.
You know how yoga’s all about being humble, not rating yourself against others and letting go of your ego? Well in light of this… my blog’s been nominated for an award! Vote for me! Vote for me!
I’ve never been nominated for anything in my life so please excuse my excitement and the frantic jumping up and down whilst waving my arms about.
Tonnes of blogs have been nominated and there’s some really fab blogs in the list. You’ve got until 25 June to do me proud people.
Visit this Google+ page to cast your vote. You’ll need to sign into Google+ and then you’ll be able to see a clickable ‘+1’ hovering over ‘The Diary of a Yogi’.
Thank you. I’ll continue my plight to be humble and ego-less once this is over.
It’s been a delightful (or dare I say ‘jubilant’) Jubilee holiday here in London. There’s been such a feeling of positivity and it’s great to see Union Jacks dotted all over the place.
I, however, was not in London over the actual weekend. I was sailing in Sardinia but the Queen’s Jubilee didn’t escape us. Oh no, we dutifully hoisted our Union Jack bunting but everything didn’t go according to plan. The bunting snapped and our vital halyard (aka bit of rope) got stuck at the top of the mast.
Skipper cursed and we wondered how we were going to get it down. “I’m not going up there” and “I’m petrified of heights” rung out amongst the crew. Skip himself said that he’d only ever managed to get half way up. I said rather quietly that I was willing to give it a go. Heads whipped round and mouths gawped open. “Are you sure, Clare?” they said. “Yeah, why not. I’ll see how far I get,” I replied.
Before I knew it I was strapped into the bosun’s chair (read: little seat and harness) and was armed with instructions and Skip’s trusty Leatherman. I readied myself at the bottom of the mast by closing my eyes and taking several deep yogic breaths. The line became taught, the bosun’s chair took the strain, I was on my tippy toes and then I was swinging up on my way.
I mentally repeated my mantra in order to steady my mind and I kept looking up, maneuvering myself around the various cables, aerials and bits and bobs coming out from the main mast. Fortunately we were in a marina so the sea was calm but the higher I got, the more I felt the sway and my knees hit the hard mast a few times.
About half way up, the winching stopped for a few moments and I looked down. Thoughts of “oh my god, oh my god, what if ‘x’ happened, what if ‘y’ happened” flooded into my head and I banished them by chanting my mantra out loud. I chanted like there was no tomorrow. After a while, I then moved on to repeating peace mantras:
Om namo narayanaya daso ham tava kesava
Om dum durgayai namah
Om hrim maha laksymai namah
The chanting regulated my breathing and every other thought was banished from my mind. I found out afterwards that my friend on deck had said, “Erm, I think she’s chanting.” I was shouting mantras at the top of my lungs.
Before I knew it, I had reached the top and it was bliss. Ananda through and through. It was peaceful, serene and the views were to die for. I set the bunting free and was very grateful to have my camera on me so I can share the views with you now.
I was very happy to make it back down to terra firma (or at least ‘boat deck’) in one piece and I honestly think that if I didn’t have my mantras i would have chickened out. The power they have to steady your mind is amazing. In everyday life, if I have negative or repetitive thoughts going round in my head, I repeat my mantra. Although Sanskrit mantras are meant to contain more energy, you could try repeating something like ‘let go’ or just a simple ‘om’ in time with your breath. It can be so meditative.
So what’s the message of this post? Surely it’s that mantra chanting can help you reach new heights.
Has yoga ever led you to do something unexpected? Has yoga helped you achieve something? Feel free to share below!
Erm, I’ve just received an email saying that one of my blog posts has been nominated for an award in the US.
The email says this:
As a nominee of this award, you have full permission to display the “Nominated” emblem on your website.
I don’t think it’s a hoax but it’s a bit odd. There’s more information about the awards here and I’ve dutifully displayed the emblem. Apparently voting starts on 11 June. I’ll keep you posted and badger you for your votes…
How very entertaining! Thank you to all of you who wrote such fab comments!
Read the nominated blog post here.
Last Thursday I taught my last Bermondsey Village Hall class for a while. I’ve taught there continuously for the last 18 months and it’s been great. I’ve taught old friends and made new friends. One week, my friend Sundeep came to a class while he was over from Mumbai for work, and another week even the Police made an appearance (burglar alarm-related).
It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve noticed a drop in numbers this year despite getting clued up with Google Adwords and it feels like there’s more and more competition for yoga in London. I don’t think the recession has helped much either. But I’m truly grateful for having some committed yogi regulars and I feel guilty for leaving them.
“Then why are you having a break from teaching there?” I hear you say. Well, I reply, I’m going away soon to do more training. I’m doing a course for five weeks on Koh Samui in Thailand, then I’m going to Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks to see a friend. I’ve then got a bit of time in Mumbai on the way home. I’ll be away for just under three months and I can’t wait.
I’ll be back in the Autumn and they’re keeping Thursday nights at the hall open for my return. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a class in the London Bridge area I can highly recommend Bermondsey Fayre on Bermondsey Street. Liz and her teachers are fab and I cover there from time to time.
If you’ve been to any of my classes over the last 18 months, thank you. You’ve been a joy to teach and keep up the practice! I’ll keep you updated on my travels over the next few months too.
Namaste.
This is great!
I had the pleasure of my lovely Lebanese friend, Duna, visiting London recently. We had good chats, went to a yoga class together and she taught me to proper pronunciation of important words such as halloumi and hummus (the ‘h’ should always be a bit breathy).
She and I did our yoga teacher training together in India and then our preggers yoga training in Austria. I’m always impressed by what she’s been getting up to. One minute she’s teaching a class on the beach to 50 people who say thank you by giving a donation to charity, and the next minute she’s teaching inmates at a Beirut prison. Yes, even drug dealers and convicted murderers are getting a dose of Duna. No-one is immune.
I told her that I thought it was amazing, her going into a prison and sharing the power of yoga with all these blokes. Her husband thinks it is terrifying and that his wife has finally lost the plot.
She said how it started off as a one-off workshop, visiting the prison as part of an NGO, teaching a class of laughter yoga. One inmate apparently broke down during the class as he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed. Despite the tears they loved the class – it was fun and different to anything they’d done before. Duna now visits on a regular basis and she’s noticed how much calmer the guys are the end of each session.
The benefits of yoga are indeed far reaching. I turned up to teach my regular Thursday night class at a little hall in London Bridge and I found a middle-aged lady standing outside the door leaning on two walking sticks. She asked if I was there for the MS support group and I gave her the disappointing news. She followed me into the hall, heavily reliant on her sticks, and told me how she was meant to be a case study, talking to others with MS about what it’s been like to live with the illness for the past 24 years.
She’d never done yoga before and decided to join the class so as not to have a wasted journey. I told her to only do what was comfortable and just to enjoy it. She certainly didn’t find this too difficult, smiling and joining in where possible during the class. She did her own seated version of surya namaskar, stretching her hands up above her head and brought her head into her bent knees with her feet flat on the floor. I helped her move from sitting to standing and she did shoulderstand with her legs up against the wall. She found this quite entertaining.
At the end of the class she said how much she enjoyed it and that she may even come back.
Yoga can now be found in the most unlikely places and people who aren’t young, free, flexible or nimble can practice. I’m still teaching the triathlete ironmen and have taught people with ME/CFS. We certainly have to be thankful for our bodies, what we’re able to do with them, and also be thankful for our freedom.
No matter who is practising asanas, the benefits felt by all are the same. It unites people and seeing students’ chilled out, de-stressed faces after a nice long savasana is enough to warm the cockles of your heart (definition for those not familiar with old English idioms).
Om shanti.