Halfway through!! Congratulations! (and keep going)

Well done guys! I don’t know about you, but this 10 minutes is really getting me enthused about doing some personal practice. Yoga is a real multiplier: the more often you do it, the more beneficial it becomes. Keep up the good work.

10 Minute Plan No 7 – Audio-ish

Ok. The stick men are in the post below. I have promised a friend an audio version of the 10 minute plans and I finally did one…kinda.

The usual disclaimer: this just an aide-mémoire to what you know already. I’ve tried to do it in real time (interestingly for me: the 10 minute session was originally 20 long…I’ve choped it down to 14).

Halfway there! Keep up the good work…let your disappointments fall away and get back on your yoga mat tomorrow.

Namaste

Keith

10 Minute Challenge – Day 1

Morning all!

Here we are: day 1 and everything to play for. I had hoped to do my 10 minutes this morning (knowing full well that it wouldn’t happen!). But I have a plan for lunchtime – I know the evening is too busy.

Think about your day and plan where you can fit in your 10. Visualise it happening. And do it – it’s important to start well…

Best of luck out there. And please remember to share your experiences and ask any questions (your sharing has the potential to inspire others – don’t underestimate it

Slan,

h

10 Minute Yoga Challenge

One day more….

Yoga challenge starts tomorrow. The plan is easy: do 10 minutes of your own practice every day for 28 days and observe the difference.

Yoga gets better for you the more you do it. Flexibility improves with lots of repetition: 10 minutes a day is better for your development than a 2 hour class once a week. BKS Iyengar says ‘…you…are in a position to build up a good practice in only 2 or 3 years, provided your stick with it for as little as 10 minutes a day and have a good teacher.’ ( p70, Light on Life, 2005). I’m not prepared to speak for the quality of the teaching, but 10 minutes a day will get you off to a great start.

Check out the yoga categories here: 10 minute plan for some sequences or feel free to make your own (based on things you’ve done in class). The plans I’ve prepared are really just an aide memoire for things you’ve done in class, the descriptions are far from exhaustive – check them out in a book, but don’t get hung up on the detail: get the habit and develop awareness of what your body is communicating back to you…the detail will follow in good time.

Your practice will vary depending on what you do, or what time you do it at, and what type of person you are. I’ve read, heard and been told that when practicing in the evening, your body is more flexible, but your mind might be a bit dull and tired. In morning your body is reputedly less flexible, but your brain is brighter. These people have obviously not met me in the mornings…Again, awareness is the key: you can’t just run through the motions – you will benefit more from getting the habit of observing the information coming back from your body.

The ideal would be to spend 10 minutes on your mat. No need to change: just kick off your shoes. But it’s vital not to introduce barriers: make it easy to get the 10 minutes done every day. If you’re struggling, do it in front of the telly; you could do a forward bend sitting on the edge of yourt seat at work; you could do Uttanasana with your hands to the worktop in the kitchen while waiting on the kettle boiling. Be creative: 10 minutes is easy. It really is!

Good luck out there people! Please post your comments and ideas for success on the blog and lets encourage each other to stick at it thru February.

Day 1 tomorrow. More 10 min plans to follow. You can do it!!!!

New workshops – first date of 2011 imminent

Our first workshop on 2011 is set for Sunday 6th Feb in Western LC (more details on the website). Usual 3 months Iyengar experience required (or 6 months of any other style) – but that’s it. And let me know if you need a lift from town.

Dates to follow imminently for the workshops thru the rest of the year.

People often delay their first workshop – I’m not sure if its because they feel they aren’t good enough yet; or that everybody’s going to be some serious yoga-head; or they think they won’t last the pace;or they should wait until they start their own practice firstI don’t think its because I’m particularly scary. If this strikes any resonance with you, please be brave and come while the chance is there: these workshops are for you. I’ve been to workshops which have been proper scary: with serious teachers and elitist students. We’ve made every provision to make sure these are friendly, positive, inviting spaces for normal (well, sort of normal people of a wide range of abilities and commitment. Its a time and space for you to explore your own practice: remember you don’t have to be good enough to go, you go to get good enough in time.

On a more pragmatic note, if you are postponing coming to your first workshop, you may miss the boat. Although we have 4 planned for this year, we need to ensure the events well supported to guarantee that they run – so please don’t delay (and tell all your yoga-pals too!).

Throughout February, there’s a 10 minute yoga challenge – 10 min practice every day for a month. Starts tuesday – join us. More to follow on this tomorrow.

Thank you to all who supported our workshops in 2010. We had 5 in the end and I thoroughly enjoyed assisting at all of them: as a teacher you never get the perspective of watching a more experienced teacher run a class and (more importantly) observe and adjustment a roomful of students – you’re either teaching the class or in it. So a real privilege there – my teaching ability has been enhanced by the experience: thank you and thanks to Chris Robins.

Peace out all

h