Healing Yoga for Term 3 begins on Tuesday August 1, with Open classes at 9.30 and 5.30, and a Beginner Class on Thursday at 9.30.We start to celebrate return of the light!
August brings this image to mind, under a bare fig tree, new daffodils, actually now, in July in our Northland garden!
Winter Wisdom
As, you may now know, I love to practice around the seasons, this brings us in touch with the earth and sun’s light and dark cycles, linking these with our natural body rhythms -we can think of Ayurveda – the traditional medicine of India, Ayur( life), Veda ( knowledge), giving harmony of the mind, body and environment. During August, we will continue with our winter practices, keeping moving well during winter, maintaining space in our body and mind, an unimpeded balanced breath giving a calm focus, awareness of our immune system always, but especially during winter.
Foundation poses are important for me, with a Physio background- they draw our attention truely inward and give us awareness and time to make a change – they involve Wisdom, which is the key to Yoga – we learn to let go of ego and fear, to adapt and embrace a change. We should always include and embrace Foundation poses, even if we feel we are no longer Beginners! They give us detail, alignment, balance and integrity. Integrity is a muscle’ and as the muscles work and balance, residual tension here is released giving a well functioning body and an overall feeling of wellbeing. Ironically, winter coolness gives us stillness, the ability to hold the body in a pose, to focus on the body and still the mind.
Vinyasa
Winter is also a lovely time to build on our Foundation, and add Vinyasa flows. Vinyasa is traditional in Astanga style yoga, involving the transition between different postures, linking the body movement and the breath, a flowing moving meditation. It is important however, to go fully into each pose , to empty the breath slowly and fully, enhancing our parasympathetic nervous system, before moving on. Modern vinyasa can be too fast for some and detract from self awareness, so simple Sun and Moon Salutations are wonderful to learn and incorporate into a home practice. Practise Sun salutations in the morning facing the rising sun.
