Balance

Balance poses are amongst my favourite asanas and I always include at least one in my classes. Balance poses can really bring you into your body, focus your attention and make you fully present. They can be quite meditative and sometimes when you come out of them you find that your perspective has shifted.

Balance is a process, not a state. When we go into tree pose we need to allow our weight bearing foot (and leg) to be open and responsive as we re-negotiate our relationship with the ground and gravity, maintaining length through the spine, staying in touch with the breath. Even as we find that sweet moment when our body is aligned and the breath moves through us without strain, there are constant shifts and micro-adjustments. In fact, it is when we freeze and we lock our knee and become rigid or we stop breathing that we are more likely to topple over.

Balance is more about freedom than about immobility. The joints need to be free and soft so that information can pass through them.

Balance is a dance where the dancing partners are the principles of asana practice: sthira and sukha, stability and ease. When that dance is at its best, balance brings with it stillness and a quiet joy. And we might find ourselves smiling softly.

Spring Practice

This last month we have been celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of the new season, at least on the mat, since the weather hasn't been particularly Spring-like in Scotland.
We have been working on joint mobility, building fluidity and space in the joints so that we can move through our Asana practice with a sense of ease. We have begun to do more standing practises as our energy levels go up with the increasing daylight. And a little bit of Spring cleaning in the form of Kriyas (cleansing practices) that, through repetitive movement, remove stagnation from the body.

According to “The Yellow Emperor Classic of Medicine”, one of the main texts of traditional Chinese medicine that I discovered thanks to my Qigong teacher, Mimi Kuo-Deemer, one should rise early and retire early during this season. We should also practice equanimity and be mindful of anger, which is more prevalent at this time of the year. Can we turn the energy of anger into something constructive?
The breath can also come to the rescue if we are overwhelmed by anger. One of my all-time favourite pranayamas, the bhramari or bee-humming, can be quite effective to disperse the red mist.

Gentle Years Yoga at LinkLiving’s social cafe

As part of my teacher training in Gentle Years Yoga (GYY) with the British Wheel of Yoga I ran a course of 6 yoga classes at the social cafe organised by LinkLiving in Torryburn.

It was an incredibly rewarding experience. There were 15 students, ranging from 69 to 84 years of age, most of whom had never done yoga before. But that was not a barrier. GYY is designed so that older adults who might never have taken part in a yoga class before can practice safely and still reap all the benefits.

You can read the article about this experience in the Spring issue of the British Wheel of Yoga Magazine here

A news item about the Gentle Years Yoga classes at Torryburn appeared in The Nine (BBC Scotland) on the 6th of April.