Ngunguru Yoga

Yoga helps us align our energies to the natural rhythms of the earth and sun’s light cycles, creating a sense of ease at a change of season., and more recently – peace and acceptance with the Earth ! We bring our awareness to the balance between day and night, light and dark, fire and water, yin and yang.

We move from sun to moon, outer achievements to inner reflection, movement to stillness, Samana / centering energy to Langhana/ grounding and calming.

The autumn equinox is a time for celebrating Harvest and Gratitude, for rest and renewal, a dormant phase. At a broader holistic level, we can think of our own personal harvest, taking time to acknowledge a sense of completeness, whole, just as we are, time to consider our journey over the last season, reminding ourselves to stay centred, connected to our higher selves and to our creativity, and then to move forward with acceptance to the coming season. We prepare for the coming winter and incubate seeds within, a time of rebalancing, focusing on new shoots that will grow, cutting out the old wood from our lives!

The autumn equinox reminds us to practise continuous holistic motion and to balance all parts of ourselves, on all levels – physical, mental, emotional, energetic, bringing us into equilibrium. Yoga practice for the Autumn Equinox involves a variety of grounding and balancing asanas, rhythmic sun salutations, still yin poses opening our yin meridians, which tend to be on the inside of our limbs and sides of the body– heart, pericardium, lung and kidney, spleen, liver. Yin energy involves the intuitive feeling parts of ourselves.

We can acknowledge the Autumn equinox by honouring the flow of life and greater cycles of which we are all a part. Perhaps celebrate a few days either side, in your own way, with a meal, a candle, yoga practice, a meditation or just connecting with the heart of the sky and the Earth, in this way our natural body rhythms become more in tune with the flow of days.

We begin for the year 2021 starting, Tuesday February 9th. Come and enjoy the anchor of Yoga, unique in its wholeness, balancing all aspects of our selves.

“To keep the body in good health is a duty … otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom and keep our mind strong and clear.” ~Buddha

We will bring awareness to our hearts and release any heaviness during February which is National Heart Month. We will open and anchor our hearts in our physical body with back bends for our thoracic spine, bringing space for the flow prana / subtle energy, open our shoulders and hips to release emotions and enhance the health of our hearts with even calm breaths, balancing our autonomic nervous system and improving our vagal tone.

We will bring our awareness to Ayurvedic principles of practising wellness and self healing. We will also cool the Summer Element of Fire, balancing our Pitta Dosha. We will practise Ahimsa, the first Yama of love, kindness and compassion, firstly for our selves and then we can do the same for others. Ahimsa – love, self care, looking after ourselves with Yoga.

Opening to Spring Space

After a nourishing winter time, stoking the fire, and yoga vinyasa, we open to Spring, a season of change, the emerging light restores our ability to see the dark corners of our lives ready for change. Yoga helps us to balance and harmonise with the natural waxing and waning of life, we develop patience, connecting with our own inherent nature and a harmony with nature, this strengthens our immune systems, as we consciously do in autumn. This photo shows native clematis on our Tutukaka Coast.

Spring is a time of renewal, a chance to begin again, planting seeds of intention to nourish, awakening to growth and renewal. It is a season of gratitude, for all that we have and the ability to start over.

We begin to lighten up physically, mentally, emotionally, we spring into action, we embark on spring cleaning, a bodily cleanse, detox, a de-clutter, we feel a sense of ‘spring fever’ cleansing, purging, detoxifying, sewing seeds and planting the garden. These actions bring heat and more grounding.

Traditional Chinese Medicine awareness

Early spring brings our awareness to the Earth element which guides us to feel grounded in where we are at, and gives us a strong foundation and roots from which to transform and grow. We draw new energy up from the Earth and release waste energy back to the Earth. Cleansing gives new space for clarity and purpose.  We balance our stomach and spleen meridians, connecting to our pelvic essence and foundation.

Later, we move into the Wood element with the qualities of germinating seeds for our highest potential, extending, soft gentle persistence, harmony, east, green, ‘being and becoming’

Wood involves the liver and gallbladder which can work overtime in winter as we eat heavier warming comfort food, so in spring we can begin to eat lighter wholesome easily digested food, stimulating elimination and clearing of stagnant toxins from tissues. Bitter fresh herbs, local seasonal raw greens , veg and fruit, chai and chamomile tea, reducing mucus, revitalising the liver and enhancing the immune system.

The Subtle Energy Body

Chakras – subtle energy centres, activated by the nadi channels in front of the spine, carrying prana, our life force. Manipura, our inner sun,  stimulates our digestive organs, building strength in our core for the physical demands of spring and summer, a centre of personal power and vitality. We build healthy digestive agni or fire to reduce toxins, in yoga ‘ama’. Anahata awareness, opening our heart with backbends to increase blood flow to and from the heart, calm windy spring emotions, developing peace and tranquility, letting go of the old, renewing, growing.

Patanjalis Sutras for Spring

Yama -Ahimsa opening our heart with kindness and compassion. Niyamas -Sauca – cleansing to give space and clarity, letting go, simplifying and  Santosha – contentment with change, what is.

Spring Space

Physical space around / Akasha– opening to the air, feeling light and spacious, cycle of prana, being aware of yourself as an energy being on the Earth. Connecting to nature and the greater things of life, giving a perspective space. At home or on your yoga mat, creating a comfortable positive space around, that is your own and is YOU! Physical space in the body, opening, stretching eg. the space between our shoulders and ears, between the vertebra, between our fingers and toes. Going deeper into that sense of ‘Embodiment’ – being in your body – creating space at a cellular level.  Space for the breath, permeating into every nook and cranny, releasing creased cramped areas with new energy and prana. Khumbaka – retaining the breath, allowing time and completion. Emptying fully ( Saucha – cleansing, purification).  Space in our minds /Sukha/ease– a chance to connect more deeply with our true selves, not what we feel we ought to do, or someone else is doing -letting go as we do around a New Moon and each Equinox and Solstice – releasing those things and emotions that no longer gladden our heart, nor feed our soul, resetting our Sankulpa shakti with acceptance and forgiveness, a sense of starting over always.

Pranayama

• Full expansion for spring, expanding the inhale, extending the exhale. Establishing a relationship with the breath, pauses and space/Khumbaka,giving us space between the thoughts.
• Ujjayi victorious breath, sounding like the hiss of the ocean, a resistance breath creating lung strength, a sense of clarity and alertness.
• Kapalbhati shining skull or breath of fire promoting heat, increasing oxygen exchange and boosting our metabolism but with a softer more passive inhalation than Bhastrika in winter.

Asanas for spring involve rooting down to rise up, opening, flowing!

We have been bringing our awareness to mindful transitioning and flow, the wisdom of yoga helping us lead with the breath, link the breath with movement.

Foundation poses, building a grounding strength as we connect to the Earth.    Sun salutations – awakening, lightening up, varied and with rhythmic flow, boosting circulation, moving lymph, loosening mucus, improving spinal flexibility, even long breaths to maintain sukha and concentration, mindful transitions, integrating our neural systems, spreading prana throughout the body, calming our emotions. Backbends open our heart and lungs and improve our immunity, tonify our kidneys and bladder, opening our shoulders and hips stabilises our spring emotions. Hip openers prepare for spring activity. Balances at the Spring Equinox, balancing light and dark. Twists and core poses alternately compressing / expanding the belly and chest to relieve sluggish winter digestion, aid metabolism and removal of toxins/ama. Inversions for spring cleanse our organs and promote a sense of tranquility.

After practice we should feel light, warm, invigorated if we have generated enough tapas/inner heat with sukha/ease – this develops with consistent practice, harmony of the breath with movement of the body, focus of the mind.

Winter is the Element of Water, when the body flows like running water , it is always renewed, always fresh. Move, is the thing, keeping our bodies open and flexible and strong as they are in summer, balancing fire and water elements. Yoga during winter has a powerful detoxifying effect on our bodies, balancing Kapha Dosha. We learn to take yoga into our daily life, tending the Tapas, stoking the fire!

Adding to the strong stillness of yin poses during ‘Autumn time for the Self’, Winter brings awareness / Wisdom, fine tuning. We have the time to understand our energy as feelings and to become aware of our Subtle Energy, our layers.

Winter is Yin, cold, damp, a time to reflect, rest and consolidate energy. The Water element supports and nourishes the vital storehouse of energy that will sustain us through winter. We honour the new fresh coolness, whilst keeping an inner warmth, our inner sun, centering, nuturing and nourishing. We bring our awareness to our Kidneys.

Mindful Yoga blends the Chinese Taoist concept of effortless flow and Vinyasa yoga from vedic roots in scriptures from India, opening meridians and sharpening our neural systems, together with Breath work/conscious Pranayama enhancing life energy, and concentration techniques for mental clarity.

Winter Wellness and Warming Poses

Winter in the winterless north, still keeps us on our toes and we will be practising lots of Balance poses to keep us warm, focused, stable and neurally sharp through winter!

We challenge ourselves with heart openers and poses for our core – aligning and shining through winter, bringing our awareness to Manipura, our inner sun chakra. We build ‘agni’ fire, like the sun in the sky, agni is the internal furnace of the body, giving heat and energy, helping our digestion and metabolism during winter. We practise warming pranayama – Kapalbhati, Bhastrika, maha bundha.

We bring our awareness to a broader level – Matariki  when we reconnect with others, and the Earth, putting down roots, opening our hearts.

We have a special practise during the Winter Solstice week.