Feeling at home - Findhorn!

I am fortunate to find myself up in Findhorn with the sun and the moon and the ice and the snow colliding to create the most wintry and magical of conditions for going deeper still.

There is something about the combined energy of Findhorn and the approach to practice of my teacher, Louise, which creates a certain aliveness. It is a feeling which cannot be bought or contained, or boxed or sold to anyone.

In this material work where everything seems to have a commercial value (including people - have look at the film ‘Sound of Freedom’) it is a relief to be reminded that there is richness in the simple art of being and in allowing one’s greater freedom.

Louise never stops inspiring me. Her knowledge of the human body and its song is one which encapsulates me and encourages me to keep slowing down and turning deeper inwards. The intelligence of the body is mind blowing so too the depth of what it might reveal to us if only we can keep getting out of our own way.

I am lucky that the powers that be connected us through my neolithic wanderings, and that those same powers being me here now, where I can continue those wanderings, to the beautiful snowy scene of Clava Cairns today. The peace I feel sitting in solitude at these places is met by the peace I feel when I have finished a practice with Louise.

And this peace has continued with my ramblings and walking around Findhorn, which has held me beautifully and encouraged me to find even more joy in simplicity. This is a stunning and unspoilt part of the world which reminds me a little of of the wilds of Vancouver Island; there is something about it that gets right into my heart.

So a huge thank you to Louise and her partner, John, and to this beautiful land and all the most lovely ladies who have shared the yoga space with me in front of the log burning stove with the smell of cinnamon and wood permeating the air and the sound of the birds tweeting in the bushes outside and the most glorious light that a wintery northern day allows.

Now I am looking forward to truly embodying what I have learned so that I can share with my students who have committed to this path of going deeper still, of working with breath and awareness to re-awaken the potential of the spine and encourage a new freedom and fluid strength in the body.

This is a practice that works from the inside out and was inspired by Vanda Scaravelli, whose primary student was Diane Long who is mentor of my own teacher, Louise. I am grateful to all of these ladies for all of their practice and teachings of this whole-body approach which releases blocks and increasingly allows us to truly ‘be’ in each moment.

It is quite in contrast to modern day yoga which often creates more rigidity in the body in its quest to fix the body into certain shapes and with certain breathing techniques, all focused on the external. We have to remember that yoga is an internal practice, that is attempting to set us free - to liberate us - from our suffering, not be the cause of it. It requires deep honesty and trust, and a teacher who has trodden the path ahead of us.

As Louise says, “all can benefit—to ease discomforts from ailments, to increase well being and vitality, or to deepen existing practices”. And she is right, this is a practice that is available to all ages and levels of ability, from those who are just beginning to those who are carrying much tension, all can benefit.

And thank you to my students too, who encourage me to keep finding new ways of engaging and helping to (try) to set them free from their tensions and conditionings, through traditional yogic practices. We are in this together and there is much joy that comes from our connection!

This moon is very much about the home. And this trip has reminded me of the joy of the home - feeling at home not only within our own skin and our body then, but within ourselves generally and within our environment. Ultimately our positive experience of home comes from our effective relating - more on this next time as I delve into conscious uncoupling!

Happy full moon!

With love Emma