Future Workshop Dates Announced!!

Dates are organised for the rest of 2010. Please put them in your diary (they are all Sundays at the Western Leisure Centre 11.30 – 2.30)

Next workshop is April 25th

then 20th June

and Sept 19th

Cost is £14 for the session, or £10 if you pay 1 month ahead of time.

Same setup as before: we’re priviliged to have Chris Robins leading (and I’ll be there to support). You need to have 3 months Iyengar experience, or 6+months at any other style. If you’re lacking transport, we will arrange to pick you up outside park place (probably about 10.30).

We’re redesigning the website at the minute, and will add the dates to the new news page as soon as it’s ready.

Yoga in the Park – Sunday16thAugust

See you in Cardiff in the usual place: on the grass opposite the town hall. 9-ish til 10.30 and a coffee after – Borders perhaps. No teaching, just practice. We can talk as much yoga as you like after.

If you’re just starting off in your personal practice and are not sure what to do, try using the 10min yoga plans to help, or think about the poses you’ve done in class and the order. If you want to check out a book: try Mira Mehta’s ‘How to Use Yoga’ (entry level) or ‘Yoga: The Iyengar Way’ (beginners ++). I’ve also discovered an excellent box set of ‘Yoga Action Cards’ by Judy Smith (Borders were selling them £4). Or speak to me and I’ll put something together for you…I’ll do it once or twice to get you off and running.

Whatever way you do it, it helps to write a plan. Keep it simple: a list of names, or stick figures. And remember your own practice isn’t necessarily about getting it right: it’s about exploration.

See you Sunday. Fingers crossed, we’ll get the weather. Namaste.

Restorative asanas

Nos da, pob.

Just a quick note about something that came to light in class tonight.

I gave people the choice of doing Salamba Sarvangasana and variations or restorative work for the last half hour. And I was surprised to see how many people chose the restorative route. Was there also a look of relief around the room – or did I imagine that? Have I been overworking you all this time? If so, I am so sorry! :-O

Please let me know at any stage if you want to do restorative poses in class: I don’t know the day you’ve had, or how you’re feeling on the inside. Most of the classes are a little on the late side, and we all have busy lives, so it’s absolutely understandable if you want to do some asanas that help recharge the batteries. In fact, that’s one (of the many) beauties of yoga – the restorative work.

Sometimes, people have a whole class of restorative asanas. Maybe someone’s on their period; maybe somebody feels a little run down; perhaps another is tired after a long day/week/month. Whatever the reason, it’s fine. And don’t feel you have to share your reason either. You can have a whole class of restorative work, or the last half hour: it’s easy for me to do, and better for you too. I just never thought of mentioning it before tonight.

Don’t think it’s something to resist, or that it’s in any way a cop-out. It’s not. It shows good body/mental/emotional awareness. And is also a sign that your teacher has earned your trust.

So, do I have your word that you’ll let me know when restorative is the route you want to go? Person-centred yoga. I think there could be a future in it…

Great way to start the weekend

We’ve been  meaning to do it for a while now, and finally time and finances and opportunity were in alignment (in saggitarius, with mecury retrograde;-). We got to go to Bristol for a hard working yoga class. It was like  a school trip: B and  I were up early and waiting for C to pick us up. He has  been going to  this quite regularly since Xmas and  we talked a month or so back about going up together and splitting the cost.

 

So there we were, down at the bus station at 9 in the morning, with our mats and the sunshine for company. Waiting for a lift in a car we wouldn’t recognise…you can over-plan these things.

 

The class was excellent: just good to get the challenge of a hard working yoga class. It was at the Yogawest studio (http://www.yogawest.co.uk) and Lynda took it. I have been there once before for a professional development day last October or so, but this was the first class (and the first time I met Lynda). It was described as a level 2 class: for those who have done at least as year of Iyengar training. We started with some salutes: urdhva hastasana into uttanasana then later into adho mukha svanasana, with trikonasana and parsvottanasana and parsvakonasana variations. Nowhere quickly, lots of detail on the side ribs – and on other things besides. Lovely to listen to someone with an easy familiarity with that level of detail. We spent some time in urdhva dhanurasana – from a high bolster, going straight up. Good advice on my stiff wrists: turn the hands out. That worked. Lynda also got us to keep the weight in the feet/legs and split her description of action in the buttocks into 3: top buttocks keeping a constant length in  the lumbar  spine; middle buttocks lifting straight up (I reackon this is why my glut med was so sore over the weekend); and bottom buttocks – lengthening away.

 

We finished with a supported halasana over a chair for 5/6 min and a bit of a supported, prone twist to both sides. Afterwards, I introduced myself to Lynda and got some information on the Junior Intermediate Level 1 teaching. It all happens on a Friday: you pay for the 10-12 class in the moring and take an hour break before going to the JIL1  session in the afternoon. L said it was fine to go along to a session in a  pay per go fashion (I’m quite convinced that I need to enhance my personal practice over the next year before I considering going for the next level). I also have a difficulty with teaching Fridays. She gave me a list of future dates…I have them here somewhere…

 

It really is a lovely spot: all the equipment you need is there (we didn’t need our mats in the end); a purpose built space filled with photos of BKS, and other smaller visual prompts and inspirations; flower beds outside build out of great big railway sleepers, complete with a compost bin tidily along one wall. B and I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed an apple and basking in the warmth of our asana practice waiting on C: well, not truly waiting. He wanted to finish off with time on the ropes and the backbenders, and sure we were happy to bask in the glow of being alive.