Let’s be completely honest and let’s start by saying that nothing beats going to an actual live yoga class to completely zone out, plus you are also learning yoga under the supervision of your teacher but I am writing this blog in favour of practicing yoga online.
As I begin writing my thoughts on setting an intention the sun is setting and I can see this straight through my bedroom window. I think about the day just gone and go back to how I started this morning. During my meditation this morning I felt strongly connected to my feet. I felt them positively heavy an steady. So my intention was to stay with that grounded feeling during the day. Did I manage? Most of the time yes, but sometimes my thoughts were a little unstable. But as I end this day I am back to that solid grounded feeling as the sun sinks into the earth.
From my own journey yoga is one of the most liberating experiences.
If you are considering starting your yoga practice here are just a few reasons why you should do Yoga!
IT FEELS GOOD TO MOVE YOUR BODY. The reason why it feels good to move your body is that during most people's daily lives, the body doesn’t fully get used. To move and connect to parts of the body that feel disconnected allows you to feel better as a whole.
The foundation of all standing poses is Tadasana.
Mountain pose is a pose that brings you back to neutral. Standing at the top of your mat, feet together doesn’t seem too challenging right?
But this basic pose is one to get right, to practice your awareness in, to remind yourself to breathe in and to really feel your body being present.
I started doing facials almost by accident. I have been working as a freelance makeup artist for ten years and shortly after trained as a massage therapist.
I have been doing yoga on and off now for the past ten years. During this time I’ve tried hot yoga, vinyasa, hatha, restorative, yin and acroyoga, the list goes on and on… I’ve enjoyed all of these styles but I’ve something was always missing for me and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Having your eyebrows or eyeliner tattooed is truly empowering. Many women who enjoy yoga, swim, run, or enjoy any type of exercise, opt for semi permanent makeup. However hot and sweaty you get, it is a fantastic feeling knowing all you need to concentrate on is your breath, keeping your heart open or your core strong, rather than worrying that your eyebrows may have wiped off. The confidence that you gain by having permanent, perfect make-up remains with you, whatever you are doing.
Many people hear the word 'detox' being banded around, especially at this time of year when our bodies are suffering after all the indulgences of the Christmas season, but what does 'detox' actually mean?
Everybody’s journey to the yoga mat is different, as is the experience of the practice of yoga itself. Whether you like the physical aspects of strength building and stretching or the spiritual connection to yourself that it may induce, we all have our own story to tell.
One cold, grey day in February, when I couldn’t get warm in my own house, I walked into Yard Yoga and immediately started stripping off my layers. It felt so comfortable, welcoming and nurturing. I wanted to spend more time there, so I approached Sarah and Daphne about becoming their writer in residence at part of my MA in Creative Writing.
As most of you know, I went to teach a yoga retreat in the French Alps. It was a truly amazing and nourishing experience, one that I truly hope to repeat again next year!
So now I’m super excited about my next Yoga adventure this summer in the Alps. And am writing because I would love to share the experience with you. I’m teaching Yoga at this amazing Yoga retreat in the French Alps. We will do yoga, hike and celebrate the full moon.
Within our deepest core lie three long complex muscles that stretch along both sides of the spine, span laterally from the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12) to each of the 5 lumbar vertebra and flow down through the abdominal core, the pelvis, to attach to the top of the femur (thigh) bone
As yoga instructors we are on a forever journey to improve ourselves, our practice and our whole way of being in essence our lifestyle and relationships with self and others. This journey never stops, it’s one for life, and this is one of the main reasons why I fell in love with yoga.
To start this journey we search for teachers that inspire us. I have many teachers that inspire me to strive to be a person that is forever learning and growing. One of the teachers I currently follow is Meghan Currie.
Meghan Currie’s own personal yoga practice is unique and completely different to any other that I have come across. She channels something that is true to herself, something completely intuitive and shows us amazing, strong yoga posture sequences.
Recently I completed a 30 day programme with her online on the Cody App (www.codyapp.com) which was called “Wild and Free”. Being wild and free is something I’m not naturally good at. I struggle with fear, I don’t feel strong enough to feel fearless. So I started the 30 days, with the aim of trying to feel into my body in a more fearless way, and also trying to feel where I can feel free and a little bit wild....
When I started a regular yoga practice, one of the first things I noticed was how much freer in my body I felt and as a consequence much more free in my mind, my mind was clearer - less busy with past and present thoughts, just simply more present and focused. It took a lot of commitment to keep going through the 30 days as all the workouts were intense and strong, but on completing it I feel amazing, I feel stronger and yes I do feel more Wild (as in less fearless) and more Free.
It so happened that just after I finished the programme Meghan Currie was in London teaching a workshop. For me seeing her is like going to see a celebrity. I was very excited and she did not disappoint, in fact she was even more inspiring in person. She talked about all the things I try and achieve through my yoga lifestyle, like trying to allow myself to explore all my edges, meditation, journaling, tuning in with yourself body and mind and releasing all the negative stuff from past experiences.
So here I found myself, during the workshop falling in love with yoga even more, and feeling so grateful that there are teachers like Meghan Currie who are there for us to take inspiration from. My favourite quote from her on that day was: “Feeling free and secure in listening to ourselves, is where abundance lies”.
If you would like to take the Meghan Currie 30 day programme ‘’Wild and Free’’ I would really recommend that you visit www.codyapp.com and explore this experience, I loved it and feel very inspired by it, I hope you can too.
With love, Sarah x
"Lift, reach, twist, arch" bellows my teacher Shy Sayar's smiling voice from the back of the class room to try and be heard over the screaming cicadas outside. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, Revolved Side-Angle Pose. I feel a bead of sweat run down across the inside of my lower ribs, watch it splash onto the purple mat, leaving a darker speck: I must be working hard.
Feel the body. What does it say? We are this incredibly unique life enclosed by flesh and bone and neural pathways whizzing across endless grids and with each turn the mind unfolds into different sensations, different thoughts and different emotions.
This practice is rooted in how you synchronise your breathing with flowing movement. The ultimate benefit is that you will arrive at a harmonious, balanced, and mindful state.
Did I forget to breathe? I step into the familiar hustle of Heathrow Terminal 4 departure lounge. My life once more on my back just the way I like it, alone, Birkenstocks with warm cashmere socks on, a yoga matt strapped to my bag, no make-up, ready to fly. For those that want to join me on my journey to becoming a Yoga Teacher, come fly with me! Over the next six weeks I will write and share with you some of my experiences on this amazing path that I have found myself on.
