Harpenden yoga – Shanta Yoga

February 16, 2020February 19, 2020

Celebrating ten years of teaching with a mentoring programme

This year marks ten years since I qualified as a yoga teacher. It also marks a big birthday for me. On my thirtieth birthday in 2010 I took what my teachers called a “very auspicious” dip in Ma Ganga. It was very refreshing.

When I look back over the past ten years, so much has changed. Then, I was single and seeing a lot of the world. Now I have a wonderful partner and two amazing children. I’m more settled.

I remember being told at the end of my Sivananda teacher training that we were being selfish if we didn’t share the teachings. So I came back to London and taught anyone who asked.

It was scary standing up in front of a group of people. I used to feel physically sick with nerves. I doubted myself. I worried what people thought (a lot). But then my confidence grew – not just in teaching but in all areas of my life.

Yoga taught me to look beyond the surface, to pay attention. As a result, I’d say I’m a lot happier and at home in this body and with this mind. I know myself better.

Teaching yoga in Hertfordshire

Having taught in London for three years, I completed further training and moved to Hertfordshire. I started covering classes locally and began running classes, workshops and retreats. I felt a strong sense of community or ‘sangha’.

Clare Wener and April Nunes Tucker in the window of St Albans Sweaty Betty — Shop window yoga with April Nunes Tucker for the opening of St Albans’ Sweaty Betty 2014

Shop window yoga with April Nunes Tucker for the opening of St Albans’ Sweaty Betty 2014

In the past seven years, the local St Albans/Harpenden yoga scene has changed and developed considerably. When I started, I wasn’t aware of any other yin yoga classes around here. Awareness of the style was far, far lower than it is now. It was also easier to find space in venues to start new classes. There are now so many more yoga teachers in the area.

Teaching yin for Fluxus Fitness, St Albans

The growing popularity of yoga is brilliant. And people need yin to counter the increasingly hectic pace of modern living. There’s a reason why it’s the fastest growing style of yoga today.

More broadly, yoga has changed and developed too: the toppling of yoga ‘gurus’ from their pedestals in the #metoo era and the rise of the instayogi. Mindfulness is a workplace buzzword. There’s a growing awareness of yoga teachers’ pay thanks to the work of Norman Blair and others. Perhaps the London yoga market has now reached saturation point. Yoga is taught in many more schools.

What will be the next style of yoga to take the world by storm?

There’s a lot to think about and navigate.

Mentoring programme

With this in mind, I am offering a mentoring programme for teachers of yoga and mind/body/wellness practices. It can be tough teaching out there. It can be isolating too.

We’d cover topics such as:

The student/teacher relationship
Communication with studio owners and contacts at hire spaces
Running classes, workshops, retreats and holidays
Promoting yourself and attracting new students
The business and financial aspects of teaching
Work/life balance
Self care.

It would be a small group and we’d meet one Sunday evening a month for four months from March. I’d facilitate and provide advice based on my experience but we’d all share and support each other.

If you’d like to find out more and book, visit the mentoring page.

October 9, 2016October 9, 2016

Making space and letting go

Last Monday morning I threw up shortly before leaving the house to go and teach. At 24 weeks pregnant, I haven’t totally put aside the sickness I had earlier, but it’s much better than it was. The tiredness remains and I need a daily nap.

I arrived at the venue feeling less than great and tried to start preparing the room for class around groups of mums and toddlers glued to the floor chatting at the end of their children’s weekly dance class. I found myself sweeping grass and mud that had come loose from one toddler’s shoes. An awkward conversation with the dance class teacher followed.

As my students settled into the space and found their breath, I sat at the front of the room preoccupied. Is this all really worth it? Why am I doing this?

And then it was a lovely class. Two women had come for the first time, new to yoga, and their smiles and kind words at the end provided answers to my ponderings.

The future of my weekly classes

But having spent time this week thinking things through, I have decided to stop teaching my weekly classes at the end of this month, coinciding with the start of my third trimester.

It hasn’t been an easy decision. I’ve been teaching for over six years now, firstly in London and then locally in Hertfordshire for almost three years. It takes time to build classes and reputation and I am attached to all my students. I love teaching you. I feel a duty of care towards you. I enjoy hearing about your daily lives. But I need to let go. I need to make space for the next phase of my life.

At the end of Monday’s class, one of you said to me that I shouldn’t continue teaching on your account. I know this is true.

I had previously thought I’d take a maternity break but I’ve decided to wholeheartedly hand the classes over to another teacher. I don’t want the pressure of thinking that I need to get back to teaching every week after x number of months. I know I’ll come back – but in what form and where – who knows?

Yoga teaching is what I know. I know what I’m doing. It’s safe. But caring for a baby human? Many of you have told me how wonderful motherhood is, and I can try my best to be prepared, but it really is totally unchartered water. I need to accept that my future life will be very different. I need to make space to prepare and focus on my own practice.

My teacher Norman Blair talks about how we must stay at our ‘growing edge’: if we’re behind our edge, we get bored. Things are predictable and comfortable. Go beyond our edge, and we panic and become fearful as we’re way out of our depth. We need to stay at this edge in order to grow as a person. We need new experiences and challenges to push ourselves. Hello motherhood!

Teaching/class plans post October 2016

The lovely Niki Clark will take over teaching the Monday and Thursday morning classes from 31 October onwards. I know you’ll be in safe hands. I will no longer teach the Tuesday Mysore Ashtanga class fortnightly. April will go back to teaching this weekly and has her own plans for this class.

I will however continue teaching my yin workshops at BAYoga in Berkhamsted for the rest of the year (Saturday 5 November and 3 December) and you are very welcome to book a place. April will cover the yin workshops at BAYoga from January – May 2017 and I plan to resume teaching these from June onwards (fingers crossed).

April and I will continue to send our email newsletter so please look out for this for updates. If you don’t receive this and you’d like to, email April.

We will go for a cuppa after my final classes on Monday 24 October and Thursday 27 October so please feel free to come along if you’re local and available.

Thank you to everyone who’s come to class over the past few years and let’s just simply be open to what the future holds.

The Open Door by Danna Faulds

A door opens. Maybe I’ve been standing here shuffling my weight from foot to foot for decades, or maybe I only knocked once. In truth, it doesn’t matter. A door opens and I walk through without a backward glance. This is it, then, one moment of truth in a lifetime of truth; a choice made, a path taken, the gravitational pull of Spirit too compelling to ignore any longer. I am received by something far too vast to see. It has roots in antiquity but speaks clearly in the present tense. “Be,” the vastness says. “Be without adverbs, descriptors, or qualities. Be so alive that awareness bares itself uncloaked and unadorned. Then go forth to give what you alone can give, awake to love and suffering, unburdened by the weight of expectations. Go forth to see and be seen, blossoming, always blossoming into your magnificence.”

May 12, 2015

AcroYoga hits Hertfordshire – a weekend of fun and flight in St Albans

Emmeline and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the weekend. We were really impressed with your:

willingness to give things a try – even if it felt scary
communication skills – saying what worked, but giving feedback to each other about how it could feel better
openness – being able to feed back to the group
ability to build trust in people you’d only just met
sense of fun – lots of laughter!

Here are some photos and more information about the practices – text taken from acroyoga.org.

Saturday’s solar practice

Trust is the currency that we exchange in acrobatics. With this blanket of trust we become empowered and empower others.

The AcroYoga solar practices are the tools that unlock that power in others and ourselves. The solar elements build strength and feature inversions and partner acrobatics.

As we build strength by using acrobatic and gymnastic training techniques we build confidence. Push ups, down dog push ups, abdominal exercises and partner conditioning are some of the building blocks that create strong teams. We also cultivate the ability to coach each other to encourage positively.

The inversions give us the chance to build trust and efficient acrobatic techniques for headstands, handstands and so on.

Partner acrobatics is where we put it all together in a group of three: base, flyer and spotter. The base creates the foundation for the acrobatics, the flyer trusts and consciously moves through the air and the spotter makes sure this all happens safely! These practices build a playful, strong community that can help us all realise our true potential.

Sunday’s lunar practice

The first steps in the practice of AcroYoga are listening and relearning to be open. The lunar therapeutic practice includes massage, therapeutic flying and partner yoga. The aim in these practices is that both the giver and receiver can feel more full and balanced. Our main tools are gravity, sensitivity, loving kindness, feeling and releasing.

Massage is an ancient gift from traditions. It is a practice that can be cultivated to open the body using bodyweight, loving touch and mindfulness. Before students fly each other it is key for them to have some massage technique so they can be more confident when they massage people while they are in the air.

Therapeutic flying is an inverted aerial massage. The base supports the flyer with their legs as the flyer hangs passively. The base uses gravity, stretching and sensitive touch to open the flyers upper body. When the flyer comes down they do massage on the bases warmed up legs. The session is complete when both partner have given and received, based and flown, inhaled and exhaled.

Partner yoga is the art of using each other’s body weight and breath to open and warm the body. This is a way for us to use a partner’s strength or bodyweight to open our bodies in new ways. In all of these practices gravity and loving touch help us to let go of fear and pain. As we learn to listen deeply we can use our power in a sustainable way.

We will be running another weekend of AcroYoga in St Albans in Spring 2016. If you’re interested in coming, let us know.

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015

YouTube yoga schmoga

hqdefault Now don’t take this the wrong way but I’m bored.

This week I’ve seen a YouTube film shared on Facebook by a number of people and it just hasn’t inspired me. You know the kind of thing I’m talking about:

Young, fit, athletic, woman in skimpy clothing doing advanced asana in a stunning location accompanied by suitably calm yet inspiring music.

Meh.

There’s no end of debate about the commercialisation of yoga, the sexualisation of yoga and a focus on beauty and the aestheticism of the practice.

“Wow, isn’t she amazing. I wish I had a practice like that. I wish I had a body like that. I like her top…” These films may be viewed by some as inspirational – or indeed aspirational – but I feel they take us away from accepting what is. What is possible in this body today?

Yes, the woman in the film has a stunning practice and it’s obviously taken her many years of dedication and hard work to reach this point. I’m sure she’s faced many hurdles along the way too. And I’ll put my hands up – I’m no stranger to watching yoga porn on YouTube. But give me something I haven’t seen before. I’m getting so bored.

Give me guys in prison learning how yoga can help them find peace. Give me African kids giving Bikram a run for his money. Give me yoga for people with cancer.

For this reason, the thing I’m choosing to share is This Girl Can: an amazing government advert showing how, in a nutshell, this girl can. It’s honest, refreshing and shows what the average woman looks like when she exercises.

Watch This Girl Can and then watch the YouTube clip I’ve seen on Facebook this week. Then tell me which one makes you feel better.

Alternatively, you could come along to February’s yin yang workshop at All Saints Studios this Saturday. The theme for this month is celebrating imperfection. Visit the workshops page for more details.

November 3, 2014April 27, 2020

The happiness of Swami Krishnadevananda

This month I’ve found myself talking about Swami Krishnadevananda in classes. This name may not be familiar to you and that’s ok.

He was the Director of the London Sivananda Centre and had quite an impact on me. It’s hard to find words to do him justice but I’ll give it a go.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘Swami’, it means teacher. They’ve normally renounced all material possessions in order to devote their lives to spiritual practice. You might think I’m talking about an Indian guy but this is where Swami Krishna was different – and this is often the case in Sivananda circles – he’s a 6ft something bean pole of an American from the Deep South. His age was hard to determine. His hamstrings were immense. He remembered your name, knew what was going on in your life and it felt like he always had time for you.

His laugh. His laugh had you in stitches in satsang. You weren’t laughing at what he was saying, mostly you were laughing at him laughing. His asana classes were normally a giggle too and he knew when to push you, and when to back off. And he rocked the harmonium. He dressed up as Santa at the Christmas parties.

When my mum and dad once came to satsang, he gave them a special welcome and they felt like royalty. I loved him for this.

Anyway, there’s one story that stands out for me.

He told us how he lived all over the US. He went to one city, got a job there and something wasn’t right. He boss sucked, his job sucked. So he moved to another city and the same happened. So he moved again and again.

And you know what? Wherever he lived, the same things came up for him. So he stepped back and started to look at himself. I mean really look at himself. Then he was able to work out what needed to change.

We always think that external things will make us happy: “when I have a job I love… when I live in a great city… when x, y or z happens… then I’ll be happy.” We’re all capable of being happy but as cliched as it sounds, it’s within.

I hope Swamiji is happy. Wherever he is now, I send him love and blessings and when I think of him I can’t help but smile.

Om shanti.

Do you have memories of Swami Krishna? Feel free to share them below.

At the next yin/yang workshop in Harpenden on 15 November I’ll be talking more about happiness.

With Swami Krishna at the Sivananda Ashram, France, 2011

October 5, 2014

It was an honour to teach you

I’ve just taught my first weekend retreat. It was a yin and Ashtanga retreat and many of you were new to Ashtanga. Some of you were new to yoga!

When assisting the led Ashtanga classes I noticed lots of stuff going on throughout the room: glances and voiceless looks of “I’m in pain, come and rescue me” and whispers of “I can’t do this.” There were baffled looks of “you’re expecting my body to do what?!”

When we go about our every day lives, we encase ourselves in a suit of armour. We smile broadly and up goes our facade. We have our coping mechanisms.

We might be successful at work, we might have a wonderful loving family. On the surface it might look like we’ve got it made.

But we all have issues with our bodies and minds. They carry our habits and histories.

I’ve heard it said that we’re at our most honest and ‘authentic’ when we’re on our mats. We’re laid bare. We’re vulnerable. There’s nowhere to hide.

Ashtanga, without a doubt, is a demanding practice. Moving your body in unfamiliar ways is challenging. Finding your breath in these postures can feel near to impossible.

How do we approach these situations? What goes through our minds? There’s fear, feelings of not being good enough, worries about getting it wrong or hurting ourselves, thoughts of being the worst in the room. Do we give up or do we give it a go?

You all did so well. You experienced the Ashtanga primary series. And maybe this weekend you weren’t able to sit in half lotus (let alone full lotus) but that doesn’t mean you never will. You just can’t do it… yet.

But to be at your side, listening to your fears and concerns, and offering little words of encouragement while you took your first Ashtanga steps was a privilege. It’s wonderful to pass on bits of knowledge I’ve had shared with me over the years.

Thank you for letting me in. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you for giving it a go and exploring and playing. You’re amazing.

August 5, 2014August 5, 2014

My classes are only for people who are good at yoga.

Last weekend I was at a party at a friend’s flat in Balham, South London. A few years ago it was the venue for a weekly class I taught to a group of blokey triathletes. You can read about that entertaining experience here.

Over a glass of wine I was chatting to a girl and it was revealed that I taught yoga. She said, “I’ve done yoga but I’m not very good at it.”

“I’m not very good”

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we put ourselves down? We judge ourselves against others and against ourselves. We tell ourselves that we should or could be better.

We compare ourselves to before we had that injury or health condition. We compare ourselves with the body we had 20 years ago. We compare ourselves against someone who’s been doing yoga for years or against someone whose background is as a gymnast or dancer.

So much of our lives are lived as a competition. How much can we do before we have to pick the kids up from school? What can we achieve today? Can we improve our 10k personal best? We’re always striving.

This is a picture of a netball trophy. It isn’t mine.

The joy of yoga

For me, the great thing about yoga is that it isn’t competitive. PE was never my forte at school. I hated netball. I got motion sickness on a trampoline. I’ve got a funny running style. I always got picked last for any team.

But with yoga, you just move your body in a way that feels good for you. And some days it feels ok, and on other days you feel like you’ve got the body of Dorothy’s buddy the Tin Man… and that’s ok.

You become aware of what’s going on inside. Emotions come up. Sensations come up. You simply witness that stuff and you accept it.

To hell with the competition.*

“The renowned seventh century Zen master Seng-tsan taught that true freedom is being “without anxiety about imperfection.” This means accepting our human existence and all of life as it is. Imperfection is not our personal problem – it is a natural part of existing.

We all get caught in wants and fears, we all act unconsciously, we all get diseased and deteriorate. When we relax about imperfection, we no longer lose our life moments in the pursuit of being different and in the fear of what is wrong.”

Tara Brach

* But if you beat me at Scrabble, I’ll never forgive you.

July 14, 2014July 14, 2014

Top 10 chanting (kirtan) albums

Hello pop pickers!

Off the back of what may have been Harpenden’s inaugural evening of Sanskrit chanting last weekend, I’d like to share my favourite chanting albums with you.

You’ve got no excuses now – you can get your Om on in the car, whilst doing the washing up, or on the 8:04 to London St Pancras. As with all the best hit parades, we’ll start in reverse order (click on the titles to buy/listen to the albums):

10: Bhajans (songs) from any of Amma’s World Tours

Amma, otherwise known as ‘the Hugging Mother’ loves to chant. I’ve chanted with her on her world tour when she’s visited Alexandra Palace in North London, and I’ve also been honoured to join her at her ashram in Kerala. In Kerala she had me in tears (read about my Amma experience).

Her chanting is proper traditional Indian yoga chanting and a proper slice of devotion (bhakti).

9: Wah! – Maa

And now for something completely different… Featuring the music of American singer/yogi Wah Devi, she mixes traditional Sanskrit mantras with a bit of funk and dance.

Not at all traditional but rather good none the less.

8: The Kirtaniyas – Heart and Soul

I first heard of this group last year via the harmonium teacher Daniel Tucker and I really like this album. They’re not amazingly well known and you can download via their website by simply naming your price.

When they chant ‘Hari Bol’ I always think they’re saying ‘horrible’ over and over again.

7: Peter Kater – 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

Ok, this isn’t strictly a kirtan (chanting) album. It’s the soundtrack for a film about His Holiness the Dalai Lama but it does feature Tibetan Buddhist chanting. It’s by multi-platinum selling Pianist/Composer/Producer Peter Kater, who has received six Grammy award nominations. He’s amazing. It’s amazing.

6: Sivananda – Yoga Chants of India

This album features snippets of audio sung by Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda – the teachers who founded the school of yoga where I originally did my teacher training.

It also features modern takes on traditional chants, including one led by Swami Krishnadevananda who ran the Putney Sivananda Centre where I taught for a few years. He was about six foot five, from South Carolina and he rocked the harmonium. The version of Raghu Pati Raghava provides a chance to hear his voice.

And now for this week’s top five…

5: Deva Premal – Love is Space

If you’re interested in yoga music, it’s a given that you’ve heard of the lovely Deva. She’s sold around a million CDs internationally and visited London last month as part of a world tour.

I really don’t like this album cover but her version of the Gayatri Mantra is fab.

4. Jai Uttal and Ben Leinbach – Music for Yoga and Other Joys

This is a chilled out yoga album. Think Goan beachfront café made of coconut palm fronds, sitting watching the sunset… and that’s where this album takes you. It’s Café del Mar meets yoga.

Nataraja is my favourite.

3. Snatam Kaur – Anand

Snatam is slightly different to the other yogis included here. She chants in Gurmukhi – a language that’s Sanskrit based, but not pure Sanskrit – and she was brought up in the Sikh Kundalini yoga lineage as taught by Yogi Bhajan.

She has a wonderful voice and the name of this album – Anand – translates as ‘bliss’.

2. Krishna Das – Heart Full of Soul

Called ‘the American chant master’ for good reason, Krishna Das is another kirtan stalwart.

The first time I saw him in London, I was blown away. It was at the Union Chapel on Upper Street and everyone really gave their hearts and a lot of soul.

And it’s a non-mover at number one…

1. Jai Uttal – kirtan: the art and practice of ecstatic chant

This is my favourite kirtan album. It’s two CDs and contains over two hours of great chanting. Jai also gives an introduction to the practice and talks about what drew him to it.

His voice gives you energy and you’ll be joining in in no time…

So that’s my top 10. Have I missed your favourite out? Feel free to comment below as I’m always looking to expand my CD/iTunes collection…

Oh and we’re going to set another date for a Harpenden chanting evening. If you’d like to come and I don’t have your email address, email me.

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Guest post: New parent/carer and child yoga class in Harpenden

At the end of next month, my teaching buddy and friend April will be starting a new yoga class in Harpenden. It’s for parents and carers to do with their children. In this guest post, she tells us more about the class.

April Nunes Tucker parent child yoga Harpenden — Big dog little dog

The Big Dog Little Dog Yoga class was born out of a request on Facebook. On the Harpenden parents’ group someone was asking whether they knew of any yoga classes they could do with their kids.

I did some Googling to see if there was already something like it out there but I couldn’t find anything. There’s lots of classes for mum and baby or toddler but not actually with your kids so I thought it would be fun to start something.

I know that I enjoy having Lincoln and Grace ‘help’ me in my practice at home so the new class format takes in some of that including physical partnering, breath work and relaxation. It’ll also include some experiential anatomy – this is a dance term and it’s when you learn where things are by feeling. You use touch and movement exploration.

It’ll be my son Lincoln’s yoga teaching debut – he’s 4 (start em’ young, I say…) and he will be demonstrating the postures with me. When we practice together I feel that it brings us closer physically and goes beyond normal cuddling.

It’s also purposeful because there’s a physical exchange. So in a twist, we must both rotate our bodies equally to get the benefits of the practice. Or he might need to back bend so I can forward bend. It’s the reciprocal nature of a partnering practice but you’re doing it with your child.

The class offers a chance for the relationship to be one of equality. You’re not just the bossy, nagging mum, dad, grandparent or carer. It also takes you out of the taxi service role of taking your kids to classes. You can do it together and both stay fit, flexible and healthy.

Lincoln was asked why he enjoyed doing yoga with mommy. He said, “it’s fun.” And you can’t argue with that.

Big Dog Little Dog Yoga for children (aged 4-11) and their parents/carers will start Sunday 27 April in the dance studio at Roundwood Park School (AL5 3AE). It will run term-time on Sunday mornings from 10.45-11.30 and costs £8.00 a class (per parent/child couple). For more information, visit April’s website (it’s a work in progress) or email her directly to book.

Photos thanks to Carli Spokes.

Read an interview with April about yoga and her teaching.

April Nunes Tucker yoga Harpenden — Lincoln provides balance.

January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

Indian tales: The highs and lows of Goa yoga

Earlier today I had my last yoga practice in Goa. I was on the roof of a one-storey building – the kitchen for the beach huts where we’re staying. As I went through my standing postures, an old bloke was shimmying up the surrounding coconut palms, sending ripe coconuts crashing to the earth below. I faced the ocean and breathed with the waves.

Tomorrow we leave Goa and head to Mumbai for two nights before flying home to London. I’ve been thinking about the yoga I’ve practiced over the last two weeks. Here are some things I’ve learnt and perhaps you’ll find them useful too.

Drop-in classes: a mixed bag

You just really don’t know what you’re in for. On Christmas Day morning I went to a led Ashtanga class with an Indian guy called Deepak. His adjustments were a little unconventional (verging on dangerous) and I felt my body tense whenever he moved near me. He was as bendy as the bendiest bendy thing and didn’t seem to show much empathy for Westerners in their first ever yoga class.

Other classes were lovely but just going to one class then trying a different class the next day doesn’t allow a student/teacher relationship to develop. Consistency is key.

Immersion is good

Katharine and I stumbled upon the Indian Shanti Yoga Festival and it became one of the highlights. At a plush beach resort in Ashwem, we spent three days surrounded by yoga addicts and a schedule that ran from 8am to 10pm… all for £25.

I reconnected with Sivananda yoga through classes with Nataraj, the Director of the ashram in Kerala where I’ve spent time previously. Witnessing him in his baggy Sivananda yellow t-shirt and white trousers just made me feel so happy. He looked a bit at odds with girls wearing tiny lycra shorts but the atmosphere was very welcoming and inclusive.

There was a lot of bhakti (devotional practices). The festival opened with a homa (fire ceremony) to Lord Ganesha. We all offered something to the fire – something we wanted to cast aside for 2014. Swamis from various Indian ashrams taught classes and led the chanting of Sanskrit bhajans.

(Anand led the Ganesha homa.)

(Swami Sugoshananda: “Everything happens as planned and it is for our own good.”)

I also went to a Bhagavad Gita talk, taught by an elderly New Yorker with a huge white beard, long hair and piercing blue eyes. He reeled off the slokas (verses) in Sanskrit. Hearing the words of Krishna to Arjuna with his accent: “Hey Arjuna, so you gotta fight people you care about. But you just gotta do your duty!”

Acroyoga is awesome

Acroyoga founder, Jason Nemer, taught at the festival.

With one person being the base, another the flyer, and another the spotter, we did some therapeutic flying. We practiced giving each other massages in ‘folded leaf’ and worked on backbends suspended in the air in ‘high flying whale’. We did handstands holding onto the backs of your partner’s ankles while they were in a high plank.

(Me being a high flying whale.)

I like the philosophy behind the practice. It’s about building trust and confidence through letting go. The flyer has to resist any urge to control and you are totally in the hands (and feet) of your base. It’s playful, fosters closeness and you learn a lot about your partner. The sessions open and close with kirtan – chanting in a circle, developing togetherness.

Jason will be teaching five days of acroyoga at Triyoga in London later this year.

The final day included four hours of Thai Yoga Massage run by the acroyogis. Thai massage is seen to be a complementary practice to the more acrobatic side. I like this. It’s the yin and yang idea. The massage is the yin (calming, cooling, slow, soft) and the acroyoga is more dynamic, energising and fast-paced.

Summing up

Some of my most enjoyable yoga moments have been my self practices but I’m also looking forward to going home and getting back to classes – both teaching and being a student.

I know this trip has been about relaxing, spending time with my sister and also doing some yoga, but if I were to return to India for yoga, I’d do a period of study with someone who can help develop my practice. I’ve got my eye on David Garrigues’ intensive in Kerala in 2015, a trip to Mysore or even a retreat with David Keil at Purple Valley in Anjuna.

That’s the joy of yoga. There’s always more to learn and India is always calling.

Classes start back in London and Hertfordshire from 12 January and the first yin/yang workshop at Breathing Space in Harpenden will be on 18 January. My first BAYoga Studio yin workshop is on 1 February.

Happy new year everyone.