Week 9: February Theme: Exploration Last week I asked how are were feeling at that moment? Was lockdown giving you the blues? This week I invite you to embrace and acknowledge your feelings. Take time out to sit quietly, acknowledge all your emotions whether they are positive or negative. Imagine you hold each emotion one by one in your hands, notice how they, how they look. Do they have a colour, a size, a shape? Make no judgement whatsoever. Simply observe. Make friends with your feelings. Then place them back inside you. Task and Affirmation Quotation: “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Bengali Poet This week’s Task: Act on possibilities: We make our own success – and that means exploring possibilities for action every time they arise. Identify something you dream of doing – it can be anything from wanting to take up a hobby to starting your own business. This week, stay alert to the signals that could herald opportunity – a notice in a shop window, an advert online or an offer of business advice. Don’t let the possibilities, however fleeting, pass you by. Your emotions make you who you are. They each serve their own purpose. We need so called negative emotions like fear, sadness and anger as much as we the so called positive ones like love, joy and compassion. Acknowledge, embrace and recognise them all. 28.2.21 Stretch & Flow Yoga Recording This morning's 75 minute class with option for longer savasana (Dru deep relaxation going through each part of the body twice: physical and subtle) for those who want it included the Seat of Compassion and Chandra Namaskar (Moon) sequences in honour of the full Virgo moon we are experiencing now. · February 27, 2021 the Full Snow Moon in Virgo appears. · This full moon will inspire you to get organized and balanced in all areas of your life. · The moon affects all zodiac signs, but Virgo and Pisces will feel it the most. Let me know if you read my blog by leaving a comment at the bottom. What emotions did you observe in yourself? How do those emotions affect you? Can anger or hate ever be used for good? What do you think? I want to know your thoughts and opinions?
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Week 8: Task and Affirmation It's wonderful to see spring in the air, especially after last week's snow. Today people are walking around without coats, just T shirts and jeans. What an amazing climate we've got in the UK. It makes me realise how quickly things can change. Hopefully spring is around the corner and lockdown will ease, even if it doesn't end completely. In the meantime practice yoga - EBR3 to open the heart, The Tree of Transformation to break old habits and set new pathways. Look out for an announcement soon about park classes ... February Theme: Exploration Quotation: “One must never look for happiness: one meets it by the way.” Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904), Swiss Explorer This week’s Task: Find a new place: Easier said than done, I realise, while we are still in lockdown. However, my suggestion is to find a new place for your daily walk or maybe walk in a different direction. When you leave your house, instead of turning left try turning right. You will be surprised by the different perspective that gives you. Use all your senses. Find joy in the act of discovering somewhere new. Taken from Every Day Matters Diary by Dani DiPirro Week 7 - 14th February (Valentine Sunday and 5 year anniversary at Tesco) It's a while since the Sunday Stretch and Flow class has fallen on Valentine Day, five years ago to be exact. It was also my first time teaching in the Tesco Community Room at the back of the Roneo Corner store, sandwiched between the Bakery and the Fish counters with Harry the Stamp Club Man (who somehow evolved over the years into Harry the Record Man) at his table outside, acting as unpaid (and I admit not always entirely welcome!) doorman and very unpredictable DJ. If all that sounds a bit crazy - yes, it was but it was also wonderful that Tesco made the room available to so many groups throughout the week and enabled us all to keep costs down and give back to the community. Anyone who says that Tesco is the root of all evil obviously never came to a Tesco Community Room class! It's been almost a year since the world went mad (remember the great toilet roll dash???) and my classes went online. As someone said today - what a year it's been. Will we ever go back to the Community Room? Right now it's not looking that likely. The room was warm, cosy (sometimes a bit too cosy) and definitely convenient but I'm guessing that people will want more space and something a bit better in the future. I've already got several venues in mind and am open to other suggestions. Let me know if you know of a likely space and I'll definitely look into it. Maybe I'll even find a suitable space in my house or garden for people to come to but, for the time being, online is pretty much the only option. I must admit it's lovely to roll out of bed into my yoga room on Sundays instead of driving to Tesco, dragging assorted equipment across the car park in a Force 9 gale and negotiating the fruit and veg aisles through Tesco before sweeping the room and checking for embroidery needles. Ah, those were the days! So this morning's class began with a nod to Tesco and Harry (pictured above) with a Valentine love theme. Students were invited to dedicate their practice to someone - it could be another person or even themselves, to open their hearts and share their love. We moved through the Seat of Compassion sequence and a balance with hands outstretched to virtually support each other. The power of the mind is amazing and I genuinely felt supported and more balanced standing in our virtual circle. If you were there (or used the recording afterwards) I'd love to know about your experience. Use the comments box below to let me know. Week 7: Task and Affirmation February Theme: Exploration Quotation: “Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), Polish Philosopher This week’s Task: Step beyond yourself: Habits seem safe, but can be limiting. Identify three patterns in your behaviour. They don’t have to be bad habits as such but it could be time for a change! Do you read the news at breakfast? Eat only Italian on Wednesdays? Check emails before bed? Reading at mealtimes can inhibit our experience and our conversations. Italian is great, but so is Chinese. Emails before bed disrupt sleep – why not read a poem instead? This week, explore the options to do things differently. Taken from Every Day Matters Diary by Dani DiPirro 14.2.21 Stretch & Flow Yoga Recording I'm sending this week's recording to everyone as an anniversary and Valentine gift. Enjoy this love themed 75 minute class with option for slightly longer savasana for those who want it at your convenience any time this week and completely free of charge or obligation. Start by dedicating your practice to someone you want to send love to – it can be another person or yourself. Includes the Seat of Compassion sequence with a twist! and a balance with virtual support from each other. The link is posted here with my compliments for you to use whenever you want a bit of nurturing and self love: https://zoom.us/rec/share/Jd4IgDqCqKwM2veXJZgd4z5dHE1MIwmK8cqJhFSGFCDn0mhUaslkIMkaM0B92c6A.F_xfKwcE6CbOAEaL Passcode: =M%%sA3b Join me for the Book Club on Friday at 7pm (free and open to all) https://zoom.us/j/93812927612 Meeting ID: 938 1292 7612 and/or try any of the timetabled classes. Book using the online calendar cal.smoothbook.co/5f1b819caa85381e17743f2c#/class and pay afterwards (email me for the bank details). A trial class is only £5 and you can come to other classes in the same week free. If you want to continue with unlimited access (plus recordings) just let me know. From next Sunday you will only need to pay £30 for 6 weeks and you can even share your membership with a friend at no extra cost to you. Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine Sunday. Om Shanti Mary Week 6: February Theme: Exploration Affirmation: Every day I open my heart and mind to exploration and discovery. As we enter the second month of the year (the fourteenth of the new decade) snow was falling softly outside my window and I could see the tops of the trees turning white. OK I realise it's not settled on the ground (maybe it will tonight) but for a moment the world looks better and, for a short time only, it's lovely and cosy being indoors with nowhere to go. Hopefully with the spring we'll be set free to explore the outside world again. I'm looking forward to trips further than the local park, visits to friends and coffee in crowded cafes again but in the meantime why not explore our own homes. What do they say about us? And why not explore ourselves, the inner most place that we so rarely take time to discover? Today's class (after a short internet hitch, probably caused by the weather! and a moment of panic while I pressed all the wrong buttons, definitely in the wrong order trying desperately to get back on track) included a slow and mindful EBR1. If you already know the movements, I recommend following my voice rather than watching the screen and closing your eyes during this practice. What do you discover about yourself? Explore that space, notice how you move, how your body feels, enjoy being in the moment. The simple movements of EBR1 are all that are needed to release tension from every joint, allowing energy to flow freely bring ease (rather than dis-ease) to the body. Today I invited people to become aware of the subtle bodies (koshas) as they moved. In the yogic tradition, different layers of our being are referred to as the koshas. There are 5 koshas, often drawn as circles. You can think of the koshas from the physical body outwards or inwards. Another way to think of the koshas is like a Russian Doll, one inside the other. All are equally important but we often focus only on the physical and ignore the other layers.
We also practised Flowing Tree - which I also encourage you to practise with your eyes closed. You can choose to rest heel on ankle if you're not sure about your balance or you really want to take time to focus inwards and to experience the moving meditation OR challenge yourself by taking the foot higher, onto the calf or even the inner thigh - always avoiding the knee. We finished with the Tree of Transformation - reaching forward as we step back, reclaiming our power and fixing it back into the present. Practise this sequence every day for 21 days in order to change habits and establish a new way of being. I find that the simplest movements have the most power to transform us. Give it a go and let me know in the comments how you get on. Quotation: “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” Albert Camus (1913-1960, French Philosopher This week’s Task: Embrace your safe place: Exploration isn’t always about trekking in new territories – it can happen anywhere. This week, begin at home. Find an hour to spend in your favourite room (maybe where you do yoga!). Treat it like a cave of treasures. Explore every corner; dig through the drawers and cupboards; leaf through the books. Think about what the room and the things in it say about you. In exploring the room, what do you discover about yourself? Taken from Every Day Matters Diary by Dani DiPirro |
MARY GRIFFITHSI qualified to teach in 2015 but my yoga journey started much earlier, way back in the 1970s. Here I share my experiences and passion about everything yoga. Archives
May 2021
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