“Be present, be patient, be gentle, be kind… everything else will take care of itself.”
Yoga
Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.
Yoga shows the way.
Why bring yoga into your life?
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In the fast-paced world that we live in today, I would like to invite you to slow down, take a breath and through yoga begin your journey to reconnect with yourself. Yoga teaches us how to take care not only of our physical body but also how to create a focused and calm space in our minds and hearts.
Life circumstances, societal rules, and expectations which we navigate, can easily alienate us from ourselves. The less we are connected to ourselves the more poorly we function. This can make it difficult to feel the magic of our own existence and fulfil our true potential. My aim during my yoga sessions is to create a safe and calm but also creative and growth-encouraging space. In this space you can be truly authentic, you can on many levels get to know yourself better and at your own pace realign with your Core and the Universe. This means sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone, allowing some discomfort and challenge into your life. By taking this path little by little you start to experience your True Self and purpose. The changes might be slow but sooner or later every yogi discovers for themselves that during their practice they start to enter into a peaceful and content space more and more often. A perfect sign that the doors to where and who you want to be have been unlocked. Then it is time for you to push them wide open and live your life fully.
The Five Pillars of Yoga
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While often the general conception of yoga is that of exercise and meditation there are actually 5 Principles of Yoga. I encourage my students to think about them as five equally valuable and strong pillars that create a foundation of a temple where the union of our Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit can happily reside and thrive.
“Health is Wealth.
Movement is the Medicine.”
Asanas
Asanas (Exercise) are the various yoga poses and sequences of those poses that aim to challenge and increase the strength and flexibility of the body. Though they can be demanding, yoga asanas are different from other forms of exercise as they incorporate both challenge and recovery. Rather than only focusing on dramatically increasing your strength, yoga puts emphasis on conserving and renewing your energy. It shows in the way you will feel after each balanced session, both refreshed and energised.
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Movement, necessity, or extravaganza?
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The research clearly shows that our bodies are designed to move, dance, flow. We are basically born to move. Inertia, lack of movement will lead over time to stiffness and weakness of the body, lack of energy and premature aging. Of course we all have different needs. We need to carefully listen to our bodies to choose the right amount and type of exercise. But the sooner we realise and accept that movement is essential to our healthy functioning the sooner we start to have better control over our health and growth.
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Movement is perhaps the simplest, most natural resource we are equipped with to combat stress and a sense of stagnation. As we start to move our body breaks down the stress hormone cortisol and begins to produce endorphins: natural painkillers, dopamine: the pleasure hormone and serotonin: mood stabilizer/booster.
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As humans, we move to express our wants, needs, emotions, thoughts and creative ideas. How well we move, and how much we move, determines often how well we engage with the world and establish our larger purpose in life.
Yogic types of movements might not appeal to everyone. I often hear that some people find them to slow, some too intense, some to “spiritual”. I personally love to swim and run, I promote cycling and dancing. But still if I was to recommend the most comprehensive way of reconnecting with your body to anyone it would be with yoga practice. Yoga requires no equipment, You can even practice from the comfort of your own home. For a fulfilling, beneficial practice to take place all we really need to do is to move at our own pace, to the rhythm of the breath, opening, lengthening, energizing, and feeling, to reestablish the sense of being strong, alive, and rooted in the present.
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“With the breath we receive the invitation to life and find the spirit trail.”
“Change your breathing, change your life.”
Pranayama
Pranayama (Art of Breathing) is a Sanskrit word meaning literary “restraint of the breath”. Prana, means breath, which is believed to be the life force of our bodies and the world, while “yama” means to restrain, to have control of. Through incorporating into our daily life breathing techniques, we learn to use effectively the life force of the Universe, and ultimately, we create a union within our own system (body/mind connection) and between ourselves and the world’s energy. Yoga teaches us to move with the breath, to flow with the breath through life. By working in the asana practice in synchronization with the breath shifts the prana across the body and creates a sense of inner balance and union.
Why breathing is so important?
The way we breath can energize and calm us (deep abdominal-diaphragmatic breathing) or make us feel depleted and agitated (shallow-chest breathing). Yoga offers a range of breathing techniques that help to calm, reconnect and invigorate our bodies and minds. The right kind of breathing will restore vitality and peace in the entire system.
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Pranayama practices directly influence functioning of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems bringing the two branches of the nervous system into a state of balance. Therefore, breathing practices will help combat high stress levels, promote a healthy metabolism, clear emotional blockages, steady our feelings and feel more in control of our lives.
By drawing our attention to the breath throughout the class Yoga teaches us to respect our prana, become fully mindful of it and learn how to use it to our benefit “off the mat”.
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Pranayama can be also a gateway to spiritual experience, the steady inner focus and freeing of the mind often opens the door to enter a sense of deep peace, acceptance and connection with the world and Universal Energy.
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I invite my yogis to start they Pranayama practice with simply establishing a mindful connection with their breath. Mindful breathing, becoming curious about one’s breath is something we can all practice anywhere life takes us, even at the bus stop. But even more complex, elaborate techniques can be introduced gradually, already in the early stages of someone’s yoga journey. AnalomaViloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing), Kapalabhati (Scull-Shining Breath) or Ujjayi (Ocean-Victorious Breath) are just a few breathwork practices that can revolutionize the way one feels physically and mentally.
“You are the Sky.
Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron
Relaxation, (The Art of Stillness,)
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By entering the state of physical and mental stillness we release the tension both in the physical body and the mind. By putting the body/mind union at rest, we revitalize our Nervous System and achieve inner peace, making us feel relaxed and rejuvenated. This relaxed feeling is carried over into all our activities, helping us conserve our energy and let go of all worries and fears.
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The most commonly used and beneficial relaxation posture is called Shavasana. The word Shavasana is translated as resting in a “corpse pose”. Shavasana itself is often used as a starting and final posture in many yoga classes. This asana consists of you lying flat on your back with your palms open and legs about hip distance apart. In this asana, you lay and release. In this pose we absorb the benefits of the asana practice, we rest actively letting go and relaxing. This powerful transitional phase between asana and everyday life is a essential time when in the stillness of the present moment we have an opportunity to recharge our batteries, experience a deep connection with the energy of the Universe but also check in with ourselves.
“Every time you eat is an opportunity to say I love and respect myself and the world.”
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Diet
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Sattvic (Diet) is the principle that asks us to bring mindfulness into the food that we consume. This principle asks us to consider certain aspects of our diet: the type of food that we consume, the quantity, the way we eat and also where food is coming from. The Yogic approach encourages us to eat whole foods, the ones that have not had any of its features taken away or any artificial substances added. It promotes moderation and slow, mindful eating. It also emphasises the fact that plant-based foods tend to be the most healthy for the human body, ecologically more sustainable and help us to live in perfect harmony within the animal kingdom. Following the guidelines above leads to develop great vitality, balanced metabolism and helps to maintain good strength, flexibility and lightness in the body.
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Considering your diet we must remember however that each person is different with a different constitution that digests certain foods differently. Socrates’s aphorism “Know Thyself” comes to my mind. As we practice yoga we grow knowledge about ourselves on so many levels. Mindful, yogic eating will eventually guide us to establish and create the diet that will meet the needs of our unique bodies.
"The quieter you become,
the more you can hear."
Meditation and Positive Thinking
Dhyana (Meditation) and Positive Thinking is the practice of mindful reflection, contemplation and focusing of the mind. Meditation is used for an insight, gaining self-knowledge, and connecting to the world outside of your body. Meditation allows us to connect to something larger. It asks us not to just think about ourselves or the body that we are in, but to be at one with all.
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Other immediate benefits
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Meditation helps us to build inner strength within our minds. Through this practice we become more focused and disciplined, we develop a clear sense of direction and purpose.
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As we sit calmly to meditate, we begin to gain a new perspective and what might have felt like overwhelming and stressful at first often will start to feel manageable or even be seen as an opportunity for growth.
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A Strong emphasis to stay in the present moment will make us feel immediately calmer, more grounded and in control of our lives.
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Meditation offers a space to transform our hearts. Regular practice helps us to feel more accepting, grateful, loving, patient and kind.
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It will also increase our imagination and creativity.