Summer is here - our July pose of the month

Summer is here!  Phew, it feels like it has been a long time in coming this year so for us July is all about getting outside and embracing all that the British summer has to offer – trips to the beach, swimming in the sea, outdoor yoga classes, watching the sun setting and the sun rising, picnicking with friends and family, bike rides and evening cliff walks enjoying the smell of the honeysuckle, fresh and abundant vegetables and soft fruit, bbqs and laughter, festivals and camping, live music and dancing. This month is all about having fun, enjoying the abundance in all life and creating more happy memories.                                                                        

This is also most definitely the month for practicing yoga outdoors and I love nothing more than this - hearing the tweeting of the birds and feeling the sensation of the sun and the light breeze on my skin, and of course the grounding nature of literally being surrounded by nature.  I like to move and stretch and open my heart to the heavens which not only feels incredibly liberating, but really helps to increase that sense of joy and lightness that comes from practicing back bending poses – I can never get enough of this marvellous pose, it just feels so great!.  Happy summer everyone, hope you enjoy it on and off the mat!

Urdhva Dhanurasana  (Upward Bow Pose)

Benefits

• Increases flexibility and range of motion in the spine;
• Strengthens the shoulders, arms, wrists, legs and spine;
• Opens the chest and shoulder girdle;
• Gives great vitality, energy and a feeling of lightness;
• Helps to remedy reproductive disorders in women;
• Helps to cure headaches and migraine;
• Beneficial for the nerves and the glands;
• Opens the heart and makes one feel alive.

Contraindications

• High blood pressure and glaucoma;
• Shoulder or wrist problems;
• Low back injury;
• Stomach ulcers and intestinal disorders;
• Pregnancy;
• During illness.

Photography by Nick Despres, please see www.nickdespres.com

Sunrise at Stonehenge on the Solstice

We have just been on a pilgrimage to see the sun rise at Stonehenge on the solstice with an estimated 25,000 other people (ok so we didn't go with the 25,000 people, there were 15 of us as it happened).

It has been an ambition of mine for some time and with the 40th birthday fast approaching it gave me a good excuse to drag along a whole heap of spiritual and not so spiritual (but happy to embrace the spirit) friends. 

So we rented a glorious farmhouse in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful countryside of North East Somerset and together we retreated from the world.  I found this marvellous quote in this little "Retreats" book that Ewan picked up for me in a charity shop on our last trip to London that reads:

"Why do people make pilgrimage? Sarah Maitland writes of England's national pilgrimage to Walsingham that it 'celebrates the Incarnation - God made not simply "flesh" but a drinking, laughing, food-loving, friendship-seeking, party-going human being...It refreshes the parts that other [Anglican] practices do not reach..."

We did this.  We enjoyed some beautiful freshly made food (if I do say so myself and a huge thank you to Laura and Steven for helping me), we drank wine, we danced, we laughed, we chatted, we made friends and we watched the sunrise.

The next day we enjoyed the solitude of the rural living, and some ventured to Glastonbury for crystals and Tor climbing, and others rested and meditated and chatted and soaked up the energy of a life lived outside.  We walked and I practiced yoga outside amongst the rose bushes while Elijah ran around.

We took an early night before our early morning 2am drive to Stonehenge for another more focused sunrise. What an experience indeed, many had been camping all night long, the Hare Krishnas were chanting and the Druids were drumming and some were high on alcohol and others on drugs, and some were smoking weed, and others were drinking coffee, and some like us were simply soaking up all this marvellous liberating energy.

We got to touch the stones.  Phew.

I tried to have no expectation of this, I knew it may be possible, but I didn't also want to be bitterly disappointed if the opportunity did not present itself, especially as I had Elijah in a sling on my back.  But we burrowed our way through and while I would like - next time ha - to spend more time feeling their energy without the craziness of the crowds, it was an honour and a gift to have this opportunity to place hands to two stones and feel their warmth.  yes their warmth!!!

We retreated onto the ridge a little higher than the stones to await sunrise and the most amazing thing was the fact that the clouds built up as time went on BUT they stayed hanging some way above the horizon so that the sun actually rose, it actually rose shining bright, hoorah, hoorah, thank you Gods, from the horizon into the sky and yes, we saw it rising and flashing light through the stones, such grace, such beauty, I am still inspired from the experience, there is still so much we do not know about this world and those who lived before us.

We returned home and took to our beds, and after a few hours I rose again myself and took to my mat to give thanks.  I cannot wait to return another year and spend the whole evening feeling those stones and allowing my heart to beat to the sound of the drums and my whole being to be filled with the light of such a holy and indeed spiritual place. 

With much gratitude to my fellow pilgrims and to all those who have trod the path before us and have welcomed and celebrated the sun, the provider of life, on the solstice with such open hearts and minds.

Love x

Open hearts - Beinspired yoga "class on the grass" 2015

Hooray for the sunshine and thank you to all you wonderful and generous people who came along and supported this year's yoga "class on the grass" thus far raising an incredible £640 with more to come from those unable to attend this morning - I have no doubt this will make a difference to lives both through Autism Guernsey and the Nepal Earthquake Appeal.  Thank you also to those who made such yummy cakes - very kind and much appreciated. 

I LOVE that we can help others through our yoga practice. It is so easy to forget about our interconnected nature as we become absorbed by our own lives with all its ups and downs and dramas.  It is all so easy to forget about the suffering of others too especially those in the developing world if we are no longer bombarded with their images on TV and in media.

This has certainly happened with Nepal which has all of a sudden disappeared from the news channels so that we could easily forget that the Earthquake ever happened, that people lost their lives and that others still have no where to live and no food to feed their children.  We cannot even imagine...and sometimes better not to imagine.

You could argue of course that we all suffer one way or another.  We may well be able to feed our children and shelter from the rain but this is not to say that we do not suffer all the same. Ironically however, it is our own suffering that is the seed of compassion - our own happiness flows more freely when we take the focus off ourselves and put it onto others. Once we have felt our own heart, we can begin to remind ourselves that others have hearts too.

There is this marvellous quote from the Dalai Lama which resonates hugely, it reads:

"We are but visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful with our lives. If you contibute to other people's happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life."

We can help people every day of our lives if we choose, we don't have to give money to them or raise money for them, we can help by simply opening our hearts to them, by  listening to them (how often do we truly listen) or by smiling at them, or just simply being kind and compassionate.  We spend so much of our lives rushing around that it is so easy to become disconnected to those around us and to forget how much we are - at the core - so connected to one another.

There is this marvellous extract in "Wherever You Go, There You Are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn:

"It seems we know full well from childhood that everything is connected to everything else in certain ways, that this happens because that happened, that for this to happen, that has to happen. Just recall all these old folk tales, such as the one about the fox who drinks most of an old woman’s pail of milk which she neglected to watch as she was gathering wood for a fire. She cuts off his tail in a fit of anger. The fox asks for his tail back, and the old woman says she will sew his tail back on for him if he will give her back her milk. So he goes to the cow in the field and asks for some milk, and the cow says she will give the fox some milk if the fox brings her some grass. So the fox goes to the field and asks for some grass, and the field says, “bring me some water.” So he goes to the stream and asks for water and the stream says, “Bring me a jug.” This goes on until a miller, out of kindness and sympathy, gives the fox some grain to give the hen to get the egg to give to the peddler to get the bead to give to the maiden to get the jug to fetch the water…and so the fox gets his tail back and goes away happy.” Kabat-Zinn concludes, “This has to happen in order for that to happen. Nothing comes from nothing. Everything has antecedents. Even the miller’s kindness came from somewhere.

Looking deeply into the process, we can see that the same applies. No sunlight, no life. No water, no life. No plants, no photosynthesis, no oxygen for animals to breathe. No parents, no you. No trucks, no food in the cities. No truck manufacturers. No mining, no steel for the steel workers. No food, no steel workers. No rain, no food. No sunlight, no rain. No conditions for star and planet formations in the formative universe, no sunlight, no Earth. These relationships are not always simple and linear. Usually things are embedded in a complex web of finely balanced interconnections. Certainly what we call life, or health, or the biosphere, are all complex systems of interconnections, with no absolute starting point or end.

So you see it helps, I believe, to remember that our every action has an effect.  That if we can find the courage and strength to live life from our hearts with compassionate and be present, truly present, the more we can help to ease suffering, not only others but also our own.  So that when we practice yoga we practice for the benefit of the whole world, we offer ourselves, our heart and our soul and try and make a difference, however small, in this world.

So thank you again to all of you who made a difference on your yoga mats this morning and thank you to all you wonderful open-hearted people who make a difference every day without needing recognition, and thank you to my parents for all the many ways in which they have made a difference by opening their home and their hearts.  May we all find the courage to truly live our lives from our hearts with a sense of connectedness to one other every day of our lives. Om shanti.

Mercury is no longer retrograde!!

I don't know about you, but I am delighted that we have reached June 11th marking the date that Mercury is no longer retrograde.  Phew, what a rollercoaster of emotions and this uncomfortable sensation of being "stuck" this last 3 weeks what with that super cleansing Sagittarius full moon on the 2nd thrown into the mix too. It is so true what they say, during mercury retrograde, "don't travel, don't sign contracts, don't marry and don't touch electrics!"

You may have experienced this for yourself too, it has been a period of re-evaluating, re-forming and re-investing as you question everything in your life and finding yourself thinking "Is this what I really want?" .  We are not yet out of the water through, we need a few days to allow things to settle but by the 17th things should start to flow again, and then of course we have the solstice, when the light far, far outweighs the darkness, so that I am quite sure we will all feel light in our lives somehow.

It was perhaps a good time for those who joined me on a Reiki 1 course last Sunday to be bringing Reiki into their lives, as this shakes things up a little and potentially provides a new way of life, or a new way of feeling or thinking about life.  Reiki is really magical in that regard as it helps us to realise and indeed come to terms with our denial and therefore offers us the chance for personal spiritual development and being truer to ourselves in the process, causing us to question our authenticity then.

I had not planned it consciously but it just so happened that I have enjoyed 3 sessions of Reiki spread over the last 3 weeks with my friend and fabulous Reiki Master, Chrissie Robert's who has recently set up her own Reiki venture and with good reason too.  I am passionate about the healing potential of this marvellous energy and am delighted it is even more available here in Guernsey with more people becoming attuned and practicing.

I am still waiting for the dust to settle and am reminded this last week or so of the need for patience, which is certainly something I need to work on!  Still I have no doubt, my faith is high, that we are all where we need to be at this exact moment in time any confusion will soon become clear so that our frustration, over-thinking and restlessness may ease.

We are actually off on a pilgrimage to Stonehenge for the solstice in a week's time, which is hugely exciting and good timing! it has been an ambition for many years so we are incorporating it as part of my birthday celebrations this year and we are delighted to be joined by some close spiritual friends, and indeed some non-spiritual friends too! 

I have missed these kind of journeys the last few years, they always have their challenges, but I guess that is the essence of any journey, for it is through the challenges that we learn more about ourselves and others as we are tested in both faith and spirit. I have no doubt we will face further challenges, but what I have learnt thus far is that the more we can let go of expectation, the more we are able to stay present and appreciate our experiences, whatever they may be.

So as much as I would love to touch the stones and see the sun rising, I am not expecting to be able to do either.  I shall just be delighted to experience for myself and share in the energy of this much revered and ceremonial event that will find us joining 50,000 other potential spiritual revellers as we welcome the dawning of the day on the summer solstice here at one of the most mind blowing spiritual sites in the UK.   

By the time we return to Guernsey on the Monday morning after our whirlwind weekend, the confusion of Mercury retrograde should be well passed and fortunate for us, my brother arrives from Byron Bay, Australia, with the family, so it is a real light and love-fuelled time for us, and I do just hope that the sun shines this next few weeks!!!

I can highly recommend this marvellous article about Mercury retrograde - http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/06/mercury-retrograde-is-over-now-what/

With love and light

June pose of the month - Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog)

Vicki in downward facing dog on Herm

June is my birthday month and as a true Cancerian, I am very much home loving.  After a busy few months of travel, I am really looking forward to spending much of this month at home (aside from a pilgrimage to Stonehenge for sunrise on the summer solstice!) to nurture, renew and enjoy this light filled time of year.

This month for me downward facing dog is a marvellous pose to practice as it feels a little like “coming home”.  A foundation yoga pose, this posture is practiced frequently in the style of yoga I love to practice and indeed teach, and it does feel a little like I have come home when I practice it because it is so familiar to me.  It is an incredible pose as it offers so any benefits and I would recommend we practice this pose every day if we can.

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Benefits

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression;
• Energizes the body;
• Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands;
• Strengthens the arms and legs;
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menstruation,
• Relieves menstrual discomfort when done with head supported;
• Helps prevent osteoporosis;
• Improves digestion;
• Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue, therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, sinusitis.

Contraindications

• Carpal tunnel syndrome;
• Diarrhoea;
• Headache.

Photography by Nick Despres, please see www.nickdespres.com

Photography by Nick Despres, please see www.nickdespres.com

Beinspired Morocco yoga & wellbeing retreat 2015

I will be honest, arriving at Villa Mandala near Aourir in Morocco was initially a shock to the system. You see despite the fact we had spent the previous two days in Marrakesh adjusting to the Moroccan culture and climate, and while we had been warned about the concrete remains around the Villa that had not been entirely cleared since the authorities knocked down some illegal construction work, I was still not prepared for all the rubbish littering the road and surrounding area. It reminded Ewan and me of Kathmandu in Nepal where everyone throws their rubbish into the river and surrounded area.

Still I tried to remain positive; I had been told that the Villa Mandala is a true gem hidden off the beaten track and Banana Village’s best kept secret, plus the arrangements for the trip were so painless that I had a feeling it was just meant to be.

And to be honest any concern I may have had disappeared once I was shown around the Villa and checked out the beautiful bedrooms and the communal comfy seating area with a dedicated tea, cake and fruit space, to say nothing of the outdoor terrace with its swimming pool and of course the amazing wooden rooftop yoga Shala with its stunning views of the Atlantic surf which was rolling onto the natural beach.

I am not quite sure how we found ourselves here to be honest.  I have a feeling I came across mention of the Villa on Katy Appleton’s website when I was looking into her training dates, and as it has always been a dream of mine to teach overseas retreats with the family in tow, I guess I thought I should make a start now that my son, Elijah, had begun his travels and Morocco is a little off the beaten track which suits me well, so I contacted the Villa and booked the dates and here we are, arrived in person, Elijah now 18 months old and walking.

The Villa comprises eight uniquely designed bedrooms and each has a real feeling of quality, sprinkled with trinkets and designed to a theme such as the Indian room or the Butterfly room, I just love the Moroccan style, it completely resonates with me, all that detail and color.  Four of the beautiful rooms are sea facing and all en-suite – they have the most enormous windows offering fabulous views of the endless horizon and then 4 with a view of the Atlas Mountains or garden view at the back (some en-suite).  The rooms were all priced accordingly and offered on a first come, first served basis with a supplement for single occupancy.

As for the yoga Shala, wow, this is something else.  I dream of owning a space like this all of my own one day and I was incredibly excited to pretend it was indeed my own on that first afternoon as I practiced in front of those marvelous views of the surf, the roar of the waves soothing my nervous system and making me feel very much at home having grown up on the west coast of Guernsey.  This was bliss for me in so many ways – not least the plethora of props at my disposal, and the opportunity to burn incense and candles without it being deemed a safety hazard as it is in the community centers back home!  Small pleasures - what a joy indeed. I shall have to keep dreaming and praying (and working!).

The outdoor terrace area was a sanctuary with its much needed swimming pool to cool off during the heat of the day and the shaded area where you could sit to escape the sun and chat to one another or read your book, and of course the sun loungers where you could lie in the sunshine and snooze.  And then there were all the beautiful flowers in pots and surrounding the walls, such bright colors and so uplifting for the soul.

That Saturday evening the guests arrived from the UK, 14 students from Guernsey and 1 from Jersey, all travelling together on Easyjet from Gatwick and all known to me. This is unusual and a blessing indeed and I was very excited about the prospect of spending a week working as closely as I could with each student to help develop their practice and their awareness of yoga both on and off the mat and share my passion for Reiki with them too.

As for the yoga retreat itself, well I have been on quite a few over the years all varying in their approach so that in Goa we spent a few days in total silence and intoxicants were not permitted and yet in Italy at the Hill That Breathes, we were actively encouraged to enjoy the local wine and coffee should we choose.  In Bali we explored mudras and ritual as well as pranayama, asana and meditation. In Goa we chanted and danced and acted. In Devon we walked through the countryside, and in the Cotswolds we sang. In Australia we joined together for kirtan, and we recited mantra with our rosary beads in the early hours of the morning.

On this retreat I was keen for the students to create their own experience, to join in as many of the classes as they liked, to rest and take time out when they needed, to drink coffee and alcohol if they so wished or to abstain completely, but either way, there were no rules and my only request was that they all try and enjoy themselves!

There were two classes a day except for the yoga free day on the Thursday to coincide with the kitchen being closed that evening and the Saturday when we left for the airport at 4pm. The morning class took place between 7.30-9.30am and was an active, flowing and invigorating class to prepare everyone for the day ahead.  This was certainly my favorite time of the day, the air was relatively cool and clear and I loved the light as the sun rose above the Atlas Mountains and shone through the windows at the back of the Shala.  

The energy was high during these classes and the students were all very focused so that during the week they were all advancing their practice - some practiced headstands (Sirsasana) and upside down bow pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) for the first time, others crow pose (Bakasana) and touching their toes (Paschimottanasana and Padagusthasana)and all sorts of other postures that we practiced over the week including backbends, forward bends, inversions, arm balances, twisting, hip opening, balancing and core strengthening poses.

This class was followed by breakfast.  Oh how we were spoilt with all the glorious freshly made vegetarian food.  I miss it dearly!  Breakfast consisted of home-made granola, local dried fruits and nuts, fresh fruits, yoghurts and milk (dairy and non-dairy), local bread, a fresh smoothie, sometimes scrambled eggs, other times boiled eggs, sometimes banana pancakes other times plain pancakes, washed down with coffee and a selection of teas available too. It certainly set us up nicely for the day ahead!

Free time was then set aside each day so that some lay by the pool reading a book and others ventured to the beach to soak up the sunshine, others enjoyed a massage with the on-site experienced French masseur or a trip to the local Hamman for a good old scrub (so that the ladies returned glowing).  Yet others ventured into the local town, Aourir, a short walk up the road to use the cash point or follow Karen and Glen’s lead and visit one of the local cafes for some Moroccan mint tea drunk while watching local life take place in the street with all its activities and people going about their daily business  -  the vegetable and fruit cart sellers reminding us again of Nepal and the freshly baked local bread stalls and then the meat hanging in shop windows and not forgetting the cute and yet dirty kittens waiting nearby (needless to say Elijah loved these!).

Others ventured 5km up the coast to the small fishing village of Taghazout, which has become popular on account of its marvelous surf so it attracts surfers from around the world. A small group of us took a taxi up here one morning and Ewan succumbed to a photo on a camel on the beach with Elijah while I held my breath (he was quite certain before he came away that he was not going to go on a camel!)! Gary, Ewan and I then enjoyed a swim in the Atlantic sea before joining Jackie, Hayley and Amanda for a much needed Moroccan mint tea in one of the many al fresco cafes in the village.  

A group of us travelled to Agadir, a popular tourist town, for the afternoon to visit the local Souk, which was fun, albeit a challenge to shop in the 44 degree Celsius heat which had descended by then. Fiona and Chloe got quite some attention as without doubt the Moroccan men were rather taken and their trip to the Souk was far more exciting than the rest of ours with chatter and offerings for tea!

Some did well with their bartering, Margaret and Connie bought themselves some lovely earrings and Hayley managed to buy a rug which impressed me no end.  Ewan bartered for some shoes to take home to our Mums and I had a good rummage around the seconds clothing stalls, which was great fun (many clothes are made in Morocco and some find themselves to these stalls so that you can pick up an item of clothing for 80p!). Ewan got himself a haircut and shave with one of the local guys who tried to overcharge but they reached a happy agreement in the end.

It was hot, hot, hot that day though, the mid 40 degree heat-wave had hit town and we were all delighted to head to the main beach for a much needed swim in the sea.  Phew, what a relief, even Elijah enjoyed playing in the waves and did not want to leave! However the sun was really intense and while some ate their lunch sitting on the beach, others waited until we returned to the Villa and could sit in the shade.

Another morning some visited the local weekly market a couple of minutes’ walk up the road.  This was a feast for the eyes indeed and I could not quite get my head around the plethora of brightly colored, locally grown and fresh fruits and vegetables for sale at such cheap prices compared to what we pay at home. The strawberries actually tasted like strawberries, the cherries were sweet and juicy and the blueberries were amazing!

Elijah, Ewan and I ventured into one of the local tea tents to escape the heat and one of the older men showed us how they make their mint tea, which is such a refreshing drink (I just tried to overlook the enormous amount of sugar that goes into each pot)! We bartered in the market here again too, although I suspect that the antique jewelry I bought for friends back home is anything but antique even if I did pay antique rates, especially as one of the guys gave Elijah a key ring, must have helped to appease his guilt!

It was at this market that we felt like really irresponsible parents as one guy told us to “cover the kid”. Elijah was covered in sunblock and was wearing his bandana but the more we thought about it, the more we realized that he was probably the youngest person in the market. It made me also appreciate the reason that many of the local people wear Kaftans to cover their whole bodies and protect them from the sun.  Jan had the right idea with her umbrella to keep her head protected from intense sunshine. 

Lunch every day was pre-prepared in individual lunch boxes and stored in the guest fridge at the Villa.  This was usually a salad of sorts and consideration was given (as it was at every meal) to those who were gluten and/or diary intolerant. You could take your lunch with you if you went out for the day, or eat it at the Villa at your leisure. Not forgetting of course the bowl of fruit and daily and freshly baked cake available for people to nibble.

On Thursday (our day off) Vicki, Estelle and Lisa all tried surfing.  Villa Mandala is owned by the same people who own Surf Marroc, which is renowned for its surfing instructors.  The ladies certainly seemed to enjoy themselves and they returned to the Villa all happy with tales of standing-up on their surf boards and sunburnt feet to show for it! The next day they all had sore shoulders but were still talking of trying a lesson down at Vazon this summer so this did not put them off!

Jan, Amanda and Jackie all stayed behind at the Villa enjoying some shade and peace while the rest of us headed off to Paradise Valley.   It was perhaps a little crazy going inland into a valley in mid-40 degree Celsius heat but it had to be done.  We stopped off at a women’s development center en-route where we watched the ladies splitting the argon nut from its husk so that they can make argon oil, a specialty of the region.  Wow, how incredible, these ladies crack nuts for 8 hours a day, such patience, meditation in action perhaps, I have so much respect. The oil is very healing and can be used in cooking but also in beauty products and on the hair.  Most of us bought a little something to take away with us.

From there we ventured in the minibus further inland before parking up and following the driver a little further inland 20 minutes or so on foot.  It was seriously very hot - I have never known heat like it - and I was really concerned for one of the ladies who is really sensitive to heat, let alone Elijah who was in a sling on my back and needed to be watered down every 50 meters or so. 

We finally made it to the freshwater pool and to this day I still cannot help giggling to myself as I recall the moment that Hayley attempted to cross the pool by stepping onto what was quite obviously (to me at least) a slippery stone and sliding fully clothed in the most graceful manner into the pool whilst trying to keep her bag above water!  I should not laugh really as sadly her camera was destroyed in the incident (not the memory card fortunately) but it was just incredible the way in which she almost floated into the pool and then just took off her clothes (she was already wearing her swim wear underneath) and continued swimming!

The rest of us joined her and I have to say this was the only time I was actually cold during the whole trip as the water was very fresh and when you swam below the rock face in the shade, well little goose bumps appeared, hoorah for some relief from the intense heat!  Inevitably we were hot again the moment we clambered out of the pool back onto the sun-heated rocks and within minutes we were trying to move as quickly as the temperatures would allow back towards the minibus stopping along the way in a cool and shaded café for some yummy mint tea and another opportunity for Elijah to see some kittens, albeit angry hissing ones!

On the Thursday evening with the kitchen being closed we all headed out for dinner at a local restaurant.  Despite Nadia’s best efforts (French Moroccan she was able to communicate with the waiters much easier than the rest of us speaking fluent French – thank you again Nadia!), the meal was disappointing after the amazing food we had been eating in the Villa all week and I believe that next time we would probably go to one of the smaller street cafes.  Still it is all in the experience and at £6 for a meal we could not complain too much!

Aside from Thursday, the late afternoon class took place from 5.15pm – 7.30pm. This class was slower and more meditative and introspective than the morning class, especially considering the temperatures, which were intense in the yoga Shala by that time of the day. Not only is the Shala on top of the roof and therefore subject to the heat of the sun all day long but it faces west and therefore faces the sun as it slowly descends at this time of the day.

This meant that during the heatwave (which lasted pretty much all week) we had a daily balancing act of opening the front sliding doors and the side windows and yet having the necessary curtains closed so that a breeze was able to come in and yet no one was practicing in direct sunlight. I opened the back windows during a mindfulness session on the second afternoon but quickly realized that this encouraged the garden flies into the room, which created quite a reaction from the students so we voted to keep these closed the rest of the week deciding the heat was more bearable than flies crawling all over you, especially during relaxation!  It was a relief the final Friday afternoon when the temperatures eased and we could enjoy the class without the constant concern about curtains and windows!

I must admit I have found this quite a lot over the years; that when you come to focus on your practice on retreat or intense training courses, the flies and the mosquitoes will appear, and so too in this instance the heat (fortunately a dry heat, I have been suffocated by humid heat too in the past).  I believe they come for a reason, to teach us a little bit more about the manner in which we can let go of irritation or wanting things to be different to how they are, of the manner in which we create our own suffering by our reaction to those things we cannot change in our lives.  You have to laugh really, the Divine works in mysterious (and not so mysterious) ways!

These afternoon classes were organic and I tried to give consideration to the temperatures and the conditions within the Shala so that each day was different and we incorporated a variety of practices so that students could deepen their experience of yoga beyond the mat – these included chanting, meditation, pranayama, restorative yoga, gentle asana, mindful movement, yoga nidra, relaxation and Bija mantra.

One day we attempted a more active class to opportune the heat, a little like Bikram which is practiced in a room heated to 40 degrees Celsius, and this was received a little like marmite, some loved it and some loathed it, so at least everyone has a better understanding of whether the latest craze for hot yoga is for them or not!

Immediately following this class, evening nibbles and dips were available on the terrace or inside the comfy communal living area depending upon how warm we were all feeling.  The dips were always really yummy, I particularly enjoyed the kidney bean one and the humus. Some drank wine and others stuck to water, there was no pressure either way. Dinner excitedly followed and was always incredibly tasty - oh my gosh what a shock to return home and have to cook for the family again!

Over the week we enjoyed a plethora of dishes including vegetarian kebabs, lentil shepherd’s pie, beetroot with green beans and tapenade, broad bean Tagine with carrots, Moroccan salad, pumpkin and green bean thai curry, eggplant lasagna with zucchini (the dairy-free one was my favorite!), creamy spinach with mushrooms, beetroot patties, couscous with mint and cucumber and pumpkin and walnut salad. There was more and we were all given a copy of the recipes when we got home although I doubt the dishes will taste as good as they did there with all those super fresh and local ingredients and spices.

There were deserts too including a chocolate and avocado tart, orange with cinnamon, lemon sorbet, seasonal fruit salad and a selection of Moroccan cakes. Yummy! After dinner most students headed off for bed although some chose to sit up and chat together enjoying the warm air (one evening it was 30 degrees at 10pm) and another glass of wine.  On our second evening together we joined on the scrub land just ahead of the Villa and Ewan made a fire for us so that we could burn our pieces of paper where we had written down all we wanted to let go of from our lives as part of a burning bowl ceremony, with the stars shining overhead and a lot of orbs floating around us in the air.

Another evening a few of us ventured to watch the surf from the shoreline and Mohammed, the wonderful Moroccan guardian of Villa Mandala took Elijah, fully clothed, into the surf and then took him back to the Villa and plonked him on a surfboard in the pool – his first surf experience and in Morocco too, my brother Ross would be most envious as he dreams of surfing here, not that Elijah was really surfing!

Mohammed and his team at the Villa were great, they really made us feel at home and did what they could to help.  Like with most of the Moroccan’s we encountered, they all took a shine to Elijah and he was frequently whisked into the kitchen for cuddles and kisses (they love to kiss children over there, he even got kissed by a little girl in the surf one day and a teenage girl ran after him on the beach and planted a kiss on his face!) and bless them, they opened the freezer for him one day so that they could all cool down together!

The Villa is managed on behalf of the owners by an Australian yoga teacher called Tara, who is now living in Morocco and would ordinarily teach the yoga to visiting individuals who book with Villa Mandala directly for one of the many yoga and surf holidays they run.  She is assisted by a British yoga teacher called Jenny and they both checked in twice a day to make sure everything was running smoothly.  They also booked all our activities and taxis so that we did not need to manage this ourselves.

By Friday the heatwave had passed and the temperatures had returned to a more reasonable 25-30 degree Celcius, which was so much more bearable and made taking Elijah to the beach far easier than when the sun was so intense, being that he is so fair skinned.  There are a choice of beaches near to the Villa, one which has thus far escaped tourism and which I loved for its cleanliness and the fact you could do your own thing, the other one was a little more touristy and there was the opportunity for camel and horse riding and also people selling donuts – and yes, Ewan tried these too!!

I was sad when Saturday arrived, the whole area had grown on me throughout the week so that I saw beauty where once I had only seen the rubbish littering the surrounding area.  Ewan and I laughed about this and it reminded me very much of this fabulous reading by Eckhart Tolle called “Beauty Arises In The Stillness Of Your Presence”, which I shared with the students on that Saturday morning, which reads as follows:

Beyond the beauty of the external forms there is more here:

Something that can’t be named, something ineffable,

Some deep, inner, holy essence.

Whenever and wherever there is beauty,

This inner essence shines through somehow.

It only reveals itself to you when you are present.

Mind, which lives in the past or future,

Can neither recognize nor create beauty.

Could it be that this nameless essence and your presence

Are one and the same thing?

Would it be there without your presence?

Go deeply into it.

Find out for yourself.

It is so true that the more you slow your life down, the more you are present, the more you become present to yourself, your soul then, the more beauty there is in everything, the more presence.

We followed a relatively balanced sequence that last morning, putting together all we had learned over the week, giving thanks to Surya, the sun God and provider of life, and giving thanks to ourselves and each other for a fabulous week. It was truly an honor for me to teach up to 4 hours of yoga every day, I felt energized, alive and clear and hope that the students felt the benefit of practicing this much in a week and spending time in such a healing and happy environment.

After the class and our final breakfast together, we completed our burning bowl ceremony by writing down those things we would like to bring into our lives over the next year, a powerful practice and accompanied with angel card readings, how I love sharing these with others, they are fabulous ethereal beings!

The rest of the day we all pottered as we awaited our evening flight to Gatwick from Agadir.  We had to vacate our bedrooms before breakfast but were able to enjoy full use of the Villa throughout the  day and a lunch was prepared for us as normal, and we even got a chocolate and banana cake to share too! Some enjoyed their final massage, others scrubbed clean at the Hamman and others soaked up the last of the Moroccan sunshine by the pool or on the beach, us making the most of the opportunity to swim in the beautifully warm sea before returning to the cooler sea back home!

We were all flying back to Gatwick on the same flight that evening, which meant we did not get to our hotels until midnight.  Standing in the queue for check-in back to Guernsey the following morning at 7am with some of the other ladies, we commented how, in that early morning and lack of sleep, mid travelling state of being we felt anything but enlivened after our week of sun, yoga and healthy eating.  Still after a good night’s sleep I felt great and was delighted to be teaching the next evening and some of the ladies from the retreat even joined the class! Needless to say I have made a provisional booking for 2017 and Ewan and I are already looking forward to some more Moroccan fun and just hope that the planned development work in the area does not destroy what is indeed a hidden gem!

Photos from the retreat can be viewed at the Beinspired Yoga facebook page (this is a private group so you may need to subscribe).

May pose of the month - Garudasana (Eagle Pose)

May is most definitely the month to be inspired and energised by the vitality of nature.  You cannot help but feel awakened and enlivened when you immerse yourself in its Spring beauty – here in Guernsey the rich brown Guernsey cows just look simply stunning within the lush green landscape while the colourful hedgerows literally take one’s breath away – how lucky are we to enjoy this all for free, Nature’s abundant present-moment gift to us all.

Our yoga practice can of course inspire, energise and help us to remain present too.  Garudasana, Eagle pose, is a fabulous pose to practice to embody all of these elements as we attempt to balance on one foot while trying to twist arms and legs around one another, no easy feat because we can often feel really constricted and awkward and can find it all a little tiring!

To help us practice this pose, it helps to consider the myth behind its name. In Tibetan traditions, the garudas are considered a magical species – they are often described as outrageous because of their extraordinary ability to fly and never land because they never get tired, and all because they learn to ride the wind.

Riding the wind simply means riding the flow or energy of any situation or challenge, remaining open to what is occurring and finding a way to become spacious, stable and steady within any situation, without resistance. When you resist you are more likely to get tired and give up. 

So this pose encourages us to stay present to what is happening, to open to possibilities, even when faced with obstacles such as simultaneously twisting and balancing, and to ride the energy of the pose thereby helping to leave us feeling energised, inspired and enlivened, just like nature!

Benefits

Helps to loosen wrists and shoulders

Strengthens and loosens the ankles and hips

Releases tightness between shoulder blades and across the sacrum

Cultivates confidence

Strengthens the legs

Improves balance and concentration

Helps to prevent cramps in the legs and improves circulation

Removes stiffness from shoulders

Contraindications

Plantar fasciitis

Knee problems

Ankle injury

Shoulder injury

Sending love and light to Nepal + my experience of yoga and trekking in Nepal

I am so sad for Nepal, which has been a beautiful home for me many times over the years. I am horrified by the intensity of the earthquake, which has seen ancient temples and buildings in Kathmandu reduced to rubble and whole villages destroyed, let alone the loss of life and the despair up in Everest as an avalanche has effectively cleared the mountain at just the worst time.

You see we are in the middle of one of the two peak seasons in Nepal, and this Spring one offers the potential for summit to Everest, so the country is awash with trekkers and tourists.  Not that there is a good time for an earthquake, but this is really a very bad time for an earthquake especially as this will impact on those who rely on the money they make this season to see them through the Monsoon to the next tourist season in the autumn.

The Nepali people are the kindest and most generous and giving people I have met.  They have helped me on many occasions so that I have always felt safe and have made many friends over the years. Being such a poor country the people suffer many hardships, there is infrequent electricity and running water and there is no free healthcare or social security payments to help those in need.  They must rely on International charities and family members, which still finds so many living in abject poverty and on the streets.  Yet they still smile and say “Namaste” as you pass by.  We do not realise how lucky we are in the West sometimes.

I am still waiting to hear from our dear friend, Narayan, who has helped Ewan and I and many of our friends over the years.  I am confident he is safe but will feel relieved to hear from him nonetheless.  My dear friend Devika who many in Guernsey will know from her visits to the Island to teach yoga is safe and well, fortunately Pokhara, where I used to spend my time, has escaped unscathed.

My heart and soul and prayers go to all those suffering in Nepal and to the country itself, which has suffered enough over the years.  It makes no sense sometimes that those with so little are affected so much.

With love and light

Emma

Here below is one of the published articles I have written on my trekking experience in Nepal.

LIVING YOGA: TREKKING TO MOUNT EVEREST BASE CAMP

While it may have been a long held dream to visit the Himalayas, I am not sure it was ever a conscious decision to trek to Everest Base Camp; I simply signed up for some voluntary work in Nepal through Moving Mountains, a charity with which my Dad was involved, and later discovered that the trek formed part of the package. Quite by chance, I discovered that another Guernsey girl, Jo Chapman, would be joining me, the daughter of friends of my parents who I also knew personally.

So Jo and I travelled out to Nepal together and discovered that we would be trekking with 6 boys ranging in age between 18 and 23 years old, one of whom was – quite coincidentally – also from Guernsey, Tom Ayres, whose family live about 100 metres from my own family, as the crow flies, at Vazon...it is a small world!.  

After a few days getting to know each other and adjusting to the chaos and yet vibrancy of Kathmandu we flew to Lukla (2,800 metres), the starting point of the trek.  We would spend the next 9 days trekking up to Kala Pattar, which, at 5,545m, is a little higher than Everest Base Camp and provides panoramic views of Everest and the surrounding Himalayan mountain range. I am certainly no mathematician but even I knew that we had some hill to climb (and not just in the literal sense either).

Interestingly after a few days spent in Kathmandu, feeling like a fish out of water, and very much in the mind set of old, I assumed that my yoga practise and growth would have to wait until after the trek.  However, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. The trek was the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life. But each challenge actually provided me with the opportunity to address my earlier questions and concerns and find my own answers and sense of truth.

Physically, we spent hours and hours trekking along simple dusty trails, up and down valleys, across suspension bridges, up steep, steep rugged and dusty steps, around Mani stones and Chortens, circumnavigating yaks and porters, who carried incredibly heavy loads.  The higher we climbed, the thinner the air became so that breathing, at times, was as challenging as simply putting one foot in front of the other.

We stayed in simple, simple Lodges, the plywood walls and floorboards so thin you could hear every sound in the room both beside and below you, the single windowpanes offering little protection from the cold.  We slept on thin mattresses on simple plywood beds, our sleeping bags providing our sole source of warmth and comfort. The rooms were often so small we were just about able to stash our rucksacks between our beds, sleeping two to a room.

Everything has to be carried up to the Lodges by porters so food supplies are understandably limited.  Everyone was forced to eat vegetarian due to lack of fresh meat (after days of having to listen to comment after comment about being a vegetarian, I couldn’t help thinking this was karma: the boys sulked) and menus are generally all the same; mixed fried rice, mixed fried noodles, mixed fried potatoes, chips, chapatti based pizzas with yak’s cheese, eggs, powdered soups, fried Tibetan bread and Dahl Baht, the latter becoming my staple, a dish of rice, lentils and vegetable curry (a complete protein as it happens) eaten by Nepalis twice a day, every day of the year. 

While the curry contained potato and one or two other vegetables (limited I must admit), the closest we ever got to fresh fruit was the odd apple chopped into our morning porridge.  Initially the lack of fresh food was a challenge for me but, like everything else, I had to let this go and it was a liberating experience. I became particularly sensitive to the needs of my body and did not berate myself (as I would have done previously) for drinking sweet, milk powdered Nepali tea when I needed a sugar and caffeine hit and adding salt to my dinner when my salt levels felt low.

Most of us were conscious of eating “safe” foods and we were fastidious about the cleanliness of our hands and faces.  I put grapefruit seed extract in my water each day and these efforts seemed to pay off - there were many bouts of diarrhea and suspected food poisoning in the group, but I avoided both.  As for showering, well initially I was able to shower each day – you pay for a pot of hot water, which is poured through a basic shower head, housed in a simple wooden shack outside of the Lodge itself – but in the higher climbs I was forced to go 3 days without a shower; this didn’t seem to bother the boys as much as me – our challenges were very different on this trek.

We all suffered with altitude sickness in different ways too: we “lost” 3 of the boys to this a few days before reaching the highest point of our trek and they had to descend, one of them showing early signs of cerebral oedema (he was carried down the mountain by porters).  I was ill on the very last day as we attempted to ascend Kala Pattar, my head had been thumping for days and was now accompanied by nausea.  This was a defining moment for me, my ego wanted to continue to the top of the ‘hill’ (after all we had come all this way) but my body was telling me to stop.

Incredibly I stopped.  This was actually a blessing as I turned around and unexpectedly watched the sun rising over Mount Everest, while the others struggled on ahead completely unaware.  I vomited in the open air as we descended the mountain that day, another blessing - the boys who were ill during the night had to use the rancid toilets generally awash with smelly urine and faeces, nauseating in themselves.

Yoga helped me to maintain a sense of calmness and balance as I adapted to life up in these mountains.  It was simply yoga in action.  Every day, as I trekked, I focused on my breathing, placing one foot in front of the other on the uneven ground, head down, listening out for the sound of bells indicating the arrival of yaks, concentrating on my inhalations and exhalations. On occasion the thumping in my head would wake me in the middle of the night, reducing me to tears and I would focus on my breath, (in the thin air, it was easy to get scared) to help calm me down and encourage sleep.

Initially, while trekking, there was far too much time to think and I suffered with a particularly restless mind.  But after a while, I began to draw my energy within, detaching myself from my senses, from everything going on around me, learning to let go and accept things as they were.  Sometimes I would go beyond thought, withdrawing my awareness from everything around me so that time and space lost all meaning; meditation in action perhaps. 

I also went through periods of feeling intensely angry; angry at the exhausting nature of the endless hills, angry at everything around me, at myself, at my often restless and persecuting mind, angry, angry, angry, angry at nothing in particular, angry without a present cause.  I had to learn to let it go, not to identify with these fluctuating emotions, to let go and to move on before they were really able to take hold.

I became more and more conscious of the frequent opportunities to let go as every experience was far removed from my “comfort zone”.  I took to my mat as often as I was able, squeezed between the two beds in our room, wearing thermals, burning Tibetan incense, and I would practise, stretching my aching limbs, inverting my thumping head and allowing my heart and lungs to rest.   I enjoyed the familiarity, the quiet time away from the rest of the group and the peace and joy of going within - I would come away from my practise feeling calm and renewed.

Without trying, I became particularly aware of the yamas and niyamas, the moral and ethical limbs of yoga – non-violence (trying to let go of inner conflict), truthfulness (particularly important when you spend so much time with others), freedom from desire and greed (I couldn’t feed it out there, simple as that), cleanliness (I was so very aware), contentment (again an acceptance with my life in that moment), austerity (you only have to observe the austere lives of the local people to learn so much about austerity), and a faith in something so much greater than me (the omnipresent energy of the Divine up in the Himalayas certainly brought this home).

Furthermore, as time passed and my awareness focused less on the self, I began to notice the beauty in everything around me – the majestic snow capped mountains, with their frozen rivers of ice, the grey tinged, jade coloured waters flowing through gaps in the ice (forming ice caves) and between the large boulders of the surreal moraine terrain, to say nothing of the quiet nature of a landscape so removed from civilisation that you can’t help feeling a sense of the Divine permeating through the thin air.

Towards the end of the trek, and without effort, I couldn’t help but embrace Tibetan Buddhism, a philosophy I have been drawn to these last few years: not only does it permeate this Himalayan landscape, awash with Stupas (where the watchful eyes of Buddha’s gaze look out across valleys), Mani stones, prayer flags and prayer wheels each carrying the sacred mantra “Om mani padme hum” (which simply means hail to the jewel in the lotus…implying from darkness comes light), but it pervades the spirit of the Sherpas people too and I learned much from their seemingly present moment acceptance of life.

However, while life became less of a challenge as we descended the mountain, I was still very relieved to arrive back in Lukla, to make contact with my family (this is the longest I had gone without) and to enjoy a comparatively decadent night in a hotel – I was immediately aware of all the comforts I took for granted previously.  And as time passed, I realised how much the trek had provided me with the opportunity to live yoga thereby encouraging progressive and ubiquitous transformation, simply through life.  The penny dropped.

In short, I realised (and how liberating this realisation) that transformation on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and, particularly, spiritual, is not simply limited to the guidance of others in yoga studios, on retreats or in books – but can happen in any moment of life if we challenge our limitations, listen to our inner guide and embrace every heart-felt opportunity for transformation. 

To me yoga is everything and it is nothing, it is everywhere and it is nowhere, it goes beyond definition and limitation, it is simply to be lived as a direct experience of the vast interrelatedness of all life and all things.  Of course this is only my experience and my sense of truth (that I try not to limit by definition), which I share with you to simply encourage you to experience your own transformation in your own way.