Those grooves, those hips!

My car broke down on Saturday afternoon, on a hill, on a corner.  Thankfully it was a one-way road, there are small mercies.  We got it going again only for it to break down a little further along the road, by Waitrose, on a busy Saturday afternoon, where's the luck.  It wads quite an experience actually, because I wanted to be anywhere but where I was.  The pregnancy hormones don't help of course and I could feel the anger and frustration moving in.  Thankfully E took control of the situation and while we had to spend an hour in Iceland carpark (another novel experience), before we knew it the car was whisked away by AA and we were left to walk home on foot.  The funny thing is, I had only just washed my car a matter of hours earlier.

Anyhow the whole experience has been quite a blessing.  No car means no rushing around and means learning to accept the kindness of others and ask for help in getting around when necessary.  Funnily enough two lessons I have been struggling to learn the last few months, but which will no doubt set me up perfectly for the months ahead when the bean arrives and I find that I can no longer rush around, nor do it all on my own.  Funny how the Universe works!

I do find that it is rather marvellous really, how the Universe does encourage us to learn. Look at Kerry Katona, bankrupt for a second time.  I read an article with her recently where she said we need to learn from our mistakes of the past and move forward into the future.  I wonder if she has now learned her lesson or whether she will be declared bankrupt for a third time in the future.  Not that I am judging, only that it seems obvious to me how the Universe does indeed create the situations for us to learn from old mistakes, and if we keep making the same mistakes, it will keep providing us with the opportunity to learn again, be that in our relationships, our careers or our lifestyle choices.

Essentially it is all about breaking the patterns.  And sometimes the patterns are very deeply ingrained.  You can think of them like grooves, the more you keep repeating the same movement, the deeper and more ingrained the groove will become.  Changing the pattern is the tricky bit, because more often than not the pattern is deeply ingrained in the mind.  And the mind is a tricky thing, very powerful.

That is one of the reasons I have always found Yoga so enlightening and helpful.  Not only does it awaken us to the grooves in our life, but it helps us to reprogram so that we, essentially, make different choices and create more positive grooves than support us rather than hinder us.  After all, we all want to be happy and yet more often than not we, yes us, we are the cause of our own unhappiness. if someone else talked to us the way we talk to ourselves, well they probably wouldn't be our friends.  All that judging, about the way we look, about our ability to do this or do that, and all the fears we create too, let alone the limitations, who needs an enemy when we are more often than not the biggest enemy we will ever meet.

We looked at this a little last night during class, about the concept of "ahimsa", the first of the yamas, the ethical principles of Yoga as set out by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra.  Ahimsa means non-harming to self and others.  More often than not we will consider the non-harming to others aspect of this yama, in terms of our relationship with others, without also considering the non-harming aspect to ourselves.  This is the very ground of the practice, the foundation from which all other choices evolve.  How enlightening, and yet how scary to let go of any effort to harm the self...

As Cyndi Lee says, "Letting ahimsa be your guide means, at the very least, don't be a nuisance.  We often think of ourselves as nuisances to ourselves, but if we take a closer look we might see how we get in the way of our own happiness, how we create our own suffering, through habitual pulling and pushing.  This tendency to engage in personal tugs-of-war shows up frequently in seated poses, especially forward bends and hip openers".  For those of you at class last night, or those of you who practice forward bends and hip openers in your own practice then this probably rings true.  These poses can often take you to the heart of the matter - it is often said that the hips contain our ability to manifest the expression of our heart throughout the world.

So I am without a car, which can only be good for my hips as I have to walk quite a bit instead!  This is a joy in itself, okay so the rain is not ideal, well not when you have to walk into work, but it is a lovely opportunity to embrace the seasonal change, the leaves turning brown and falling from the trees, the hedgerows of ripening blackberries, the changing skies with those wonderful autumnal clouds, that smell, ah yes times they are a changing.  In fact we have a full moon this Thursday and the autumnal equinox on Saturday, where we experience an equal balance of night and day.

So let the change flow, tap into the grooves, see what isn't working ad let it go, you can do this through your Yoga practice, by practicing those seated and hip opening poses that challenge you, by breathing through them and changing the attitude with which you do so.  meditate too, that is so powerful in helping us to recognise the mental conditioning and changing the way we "see" things.  Yoga Nidra too, such a powerful tool with the opportunity to establish a Sankalpa and let go.  And then of course just getting to a Yoga class, making that step, well that starts to change things in itself.

Happy week everyone.

xxx

Yoga Body, Buddha mind, a wonderful weekend in London

Wow, that was the most inspiring and enlightening Yoga workshop I have attended.  For me, Cyndi Lee is a true inspiration, her teachings resonate on every level and I can only aspire to be as effective a Yoga teacher as she is when I am a similar age.

She has helped to answer a lot of the questions running through my mind, not least on the Yoga mat, but more so on the Buddhism that has attracted my heart and mind for many years but has only recently manifested into a practice and way of living, and even then, it is of course a work in progress.

I loved the meditations, the teachings, the sharing, and of course the practice.  It was so liberating to be treated as yet another student and not to experience the usual warning alarms that come with being pregnant. Instead I was left to tap into my own innate wisdom and decide for myself, and indeed for the bean, what felt right in terms of practice on my mat.  Very kindly, there was little that I could not practice, for the sequencing was, on the whole, pregnancy friendly.  Whether I shall live to regret practicing as strongly as I did, handstands and all, remains to be seen, but it was so empowering to be able to just do what felt right in that moment.

It is fascinating this pregnancy malarkey, in terms of the amount of fear that comes with it.  Not least the worry that one experiences in terms of whether everything is okay with the growing baby that you cannot see, but also all the fear surrounding you from midwives and indeed other people, all the things you are told you cannot do any more, even if you feel that really, you can.  All the messages out there about what is right and wrong.  Honestly it is draining and probably one of the reasons I am trying my hardest to step back from it all, all the books, all the tales of birthing and beyond, all the concepts of parenting, all the information that is now available at the touch of a finger.  So much for our own innate wisdom, I can't help feeling that we are just getting further away from all this.

The same goes in life generally.  And I guess that was one of the joys of the weekend, to remember what this Yoga malarkey is all about, and more importantly what this yoga teaching malarkey is all about - a commitment then to an awakened existence, to help others also awaken and manifest as enlightened beings.  To touch in and live and experience life through your own wisdom, more clarity, less confusion, so you are less inflicted by your fears and concerns - less attachment and aversion, less suffering, more happiness, happier world.

The physical practice of vinyasa, which really means 'to place in a special way', that every cause has an effect, is wonderfully awakening, present moment and liberating.  Each afternoon I left class buzzing, eyes wide own, calm and very centred.  It is fun, a joyous experience seeing what the body can do - what the mind, then, enables the body to do, to move beyond the limitations of the mind, to address that "I can't" attitude, which shows up on the Yoga mat all the time, and therefore shows up in life too.  All those negative tendencies that we adopt throughout our life, that prevent us from living as fully as we may like...or as we can, if only we would allow ourselves to.

It was wonderful to be free and anonymous in London too, to walk lots, to enjoy some yummy vegetarian food, to have a hotel room all to myself (small pleasures) and to be able to look around the shops, albeit lacking in pregnancy clothes in London as much as in Guernsey!

A huge thank you to Cyndi and indeed to my travelling partner, fellow yogini and friend, Jackie, for a fantastic weekend.

With love and much gratitude.

xx

Shiva dancing

Wow what a week, Shiva has been dancing in our lives again, so much destroying and letting go, no doubt to enable us to re-create and with that grow.  My whole being feels as if it has been tossed and turned and shaken upside down and all around in a washing machine.  Phew.  Talking to friends I know I am not alone, change is most definitely in the air, never felt it so strongly in such a short period of time.

The changing season is most definitely in the air and having enjoyed the most amazing summer I am personally ready for the change.  I just love the autumnal weekends with crisp sky and that beautiful Autumnal light, blackberry and apple picking for wholesome pies, let alone all the tomatoes and beans and the butternut squash on their way.  Exciting times indeed!

I had the most lovely Sunday yesterday, waking to feel the autumnal shift in the air, a gentle bike ride to morning pregnancy Yoga followed by a lovely sunshine filled walk through the St Andrew's lanes with a dear friend, putting the world to rights and helping to vocalise the events of the past few days. We picked beans up at E's sister's allotment, such a gentle energy up there, before pottering in a garden centre and swimming in the sea at Cobo at high tide.  We enjoyed a glorious sunset last night having eaten down on the west coast, the perfect end to a lovely calm day.  Nature abounds with beauty.  Thank you.

So the schools return this week and with that, a routine to life appears again.  For me personally, it is an exciting week of Yoga as I am off this weekend to London for a final training course before the bean arrives.  I am just so excited to be going to spend the whole weekend with a dear friend and Cyndi Lee, one of the most inspiring Yoga teachers in my life these days.  Such great timing, I just can't wait to absorb the energy and wisdom of her teachings to enhance my own practice and my teaching too.

Talking of teaching, the Autumn schedule begins in earnest next week, that is also exciting, due to changing personal and work commitments there have had to be some changes which sees the classes moving to St Martin's, at least for now, will be strange having hiked up to St Peter's for the last 5 years or so.  So there is more change you see, even in my world of Yoga teaching!

The new moon appears on Thursday, I am hopeful that this will bring some degree of calmness after the turbulence of the last weeks or so - that certainly was a very powerful last full moon!

With much love and gratitude.

xxx

Take a stand for Yoga today

A great article I would like to share with everybody.  I couldn't have said it better myself - bring on the happy body, happy mind and happy nervous system for a happier world to live in.  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-hardy/201305/take-stand-yoga-today

On that note, came across this marvellous quote in Pema Chodron's book, "Living beautifully with uncertainty and change", in which she writes:

"There's a story that Ed Brown, the Zen chef, tells about his early days with his teacher, Suzuki Roshi. Ed was the head cook at Tassajara Zen Mountain Centre in California in the 1960s and was well know for his volatile temper.  Once, in a fury, he went to his teacher and complained about the state of the kitchen: people didn't clean up properly; people talked too much; people were distracted and unmindful.  It was chaos on a daily basis.  Suzuki Roshi's reply was simple: "Ed, if you want a calm kitchen, calm you mind".

"If your mind is expansive and unfettered, you will find yourself in a more accommodating world, a place that's endlessly interesting and alive.  That quality isn't inherent in the place, but in your state of mind. The warrior longs to communicate that all of us have access to our basic goodness and that genuine freedom comes from going beyond labels and projections, beyond bias and prejudice, and taking care of each other."

I guess it comes back to the fact that it is all mirrors out there, staring us back, the challenge comes in catching ourselves, in that moment, and being conscious of the decisions we are making rather than reacting and it all coming back. Needless to say a regular Yoga and indeed meditation practice can help us enormously to become more accustomed to the present moment experience of life, and the asana and pranayama really help us embody this experience too.

On that note, happy bank holiday, time to go practice on this beautiful Sunday morning!

xxx

Happy camping and full moon on its way x

We went camping in Herm at the weekend.  Not convinced camping and 26 weeks pregnancy go hand in hand, well not in the wind and rain in any event, but still it is always lovely to enjoy the Herm energy.

We took E's Mum along with us, which meant I was able to chill a little on my own, much needed, activity is becoming a little more challenged with the pregnancy, and with office and yoga work both busy, peace is certainly something my spirit craves at any opportunity.  It is a marvellous camping space, probably one of the best you are going to find anywhere with views of Alderney and the northern tip of Herm, all the swallows swooping around the field and 5 baby pheasants eating all our crumbs, stunning really.

We were able to enjoy a stunning sunset on the Friday evening, wow, beautiful skies to end the evening.  So too views of the moon, building to a full moon.  I guess there pros and cons to everything, in pregnancy you tend to need to go to the toilet far more often, which meant lots of in and out of tent in the night, and yet provided an opportunity to witness the stunning night sky, the tracking of the moon and the star shining brightly above.  Wonderful.  Even if I was a little exhausted the next morning!

Yoga asana practice has become a little more of a challenge too.  Bean is most definitely growing in there and my tummy is getting rather huge, which does limit somewhat the ability to move quite like I would have done in the past.  Still, it is wonderful to be pregnant and I am enjoying all the changes this brings.

Full moon tomorrow, another Aquarius one too, time to come together collectively and bring change to the world (see the Be inspired Yoga facebook page for more on this).  I am all up for that, however challenging it is to sometimes to unite, as we are all so used to our culture of individuality that coming together collectively is not always as easy as it sounds - a good place to begin is on our Yoga mats and for that very reason I am eternally grateful for the local Be inspired Yoga community and all the students who make the effort to come together on a Monday and Saturday evening during these wonderfully bright and sunny summer days.  It makes such a difference to the spirit to spend time with all these marvellous energies.  The gift of teaching Yoga is indeed one to be treasured, and one for which I am gracious every day.

So more beautiful weather, evening high tide, aren't we lucky, time to go give thanks through a practice.

Love and light

xx

Yoga class at St Germain Nature Reserve

Great class at St Germain Nature Reserve last night, thankfully the weather held up and whilst it was not the warmest of evenings, it was still wonderful to teach outside up there in nature with those wonderful views and the sounds of the birds in the background.

Amazingly we were left alone, no dog walkers, although we practiced dog pose ourselves.

We made the most of the soft grass with some fun Yoga poses, parsva Dhanurasana (sideways bow pose) for example, no fear of hurting hip bones!

And some core strengthening balancing poses like Vasisthasana.

And of course the joyful boat, Navasana, my Mum's favourite (well one of them).

And one of my favourite poses, Trikonasana, looking up towards the thumb with views of the clouds above.

Everyone was amazingly balanced, we were indeed the trees blowing gently in the wind.

It really is a joy to practice out in nature, seeing the clouds rather than the ceiling when you are lying on your back, or the field in the distance when you are bending backwards into Urdhva dhanurasana.

And of course being so close to the earth, rabbit poo and all!!

Thank you to everyone who came along and joined this special class - there is a whole album of photos for those of you who did attend, just drop me an email.

Have a lovely weekend.

Love and light

Emma xx

The perfect loveliness of sow

I have been reading a beautiful book by Cyndi Lee about women's relationship with their bodies, which is not always that kind, in fact we really can be our own worst enemy at times.  It reminded me of the whole concept of embodied awakening  where we become present with the life that is given to us, respectful of what the Tibetans call "this precious human form".

There is a lovely quote from Tibetan master, Tsong Khapa, who says, "This human body is more precious than the rarest gem.  Cherish your body; it is yours for this one time only....a thing of beauty that passes away".  Indeed we should be embracing, respecting and blessing our bodies, exactly as they are, in this moment.  There is a beautiful blessing described by Galway Kinnell in "St Francis and the Sow":

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within , of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on the brow
of the flower
and retell it in words, and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of the earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of her tail...
the long, perfect loveliness of sow".

Enjoy the sunshine

xx

Carrot cake and not hanging on too tightly!

I have been meaning to share the low fat, moist carrot cake recipe with those of you who enjoyed this wonderful cake at the Yoga "class on the grass" a few weeks a go now.  It is Delia of course and you can check out the recipe, which is dairy free if you don't add the topping, at http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/low-fat-moist-carrot-cake.html.  Happy baking!!

Also, following on from my posting the other day, I wanted to share this wonderful story with you from Cyndi Lee's marvellous book, "Yoga Body, Buddha Mind", which further addresses the whole concept of letting go...

"Julia Butterfly-Hill discovered how to do this during her two-year residency in Luna, a thousand-year old redwood tree in northern California.  Julia was committed to living in the treetop for as long as it took to convince the Pacific Lumber Company to stop destroying old-growth forests and causing disastrous environmental problems throughout the region.  In early 1998, more than sixty days since she had touched earth with her own two feet, she heard radio warnings of seventy-mile-per-hour storm winds coming her way.  her survival instincts told her to climb down, but she was afraid that if she left Luna, the tree would be cut down.  She recounts her experience in her book, The Legacy of Luna...

...I was trying to hold onto life so hard that my teeth were clenched, my fists were clenched, everything in my body was clenched completely and totally tight...I knew I was going to die...Had I remained tense for the sixteen hours that the storm raged, I would have snapped.  Instead....as I started to picture the trees in the storm, the answer began to dawn on me.  The trees in the storm don't try to stand up straight and tall and erect.  They allow themselves to bend and to be blown with the wind.  They understand the power of letting go...Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are those ones that break...Learn the power of the trees.  Let it flow.  Let it go.  That is the way you are going to make it through this storm. And that is the way to make it through the storms of life".

Have a lovely weekend.

xxx