Week 4: April Theme: Trust My gift this week for anyone who wants it is the Sunday recording (available to use any time until next Sunday). Try the class for yourself and, if you enjoy it, let me know ([email protected]). A trial week is only £5 for unlimited access to zoom classes and recordings as well as Tuesday park classes. Pay an additional £45 from next Sunday for unlimited access until 3rd July (9 weeks). Membership will reduce by £5 each week now until renewal time - meaning no-one needs to pay more than £5 a week for classes, however many they want to attend. Full details will be in my latest newsletter, on its way to you soon! Quotation: “Anything you lose comes round in another form.” Rumi (1207-1273), Persian Poet This week’s Task: Have faith in what’s to come: Trusting in the bigger picture can help us to weather a storm when it comes. This week, identify one thing that has gone wrong recently – a mistake or argument that has unsettled you, perhaps. Spend 10 minutes visualising it as a grey cloud in a blue sky. Imagine it swirling and changing from grey to white – and then disappearing. Hold the notion that the blue sky is always beyond, waiting for the clouds to clear. 25.4.21 Stretch & Flow Yoga Recording 75 minute class with a longer savasana for those who want it. Today we prepare for the full moon completing the first half of its cycle on Tuesday. We are nearing the end of the action phase and moving towards the time of letting go and allowing the universe to take care of our plans and intentions. We practise Chandra Namaskar (Moon Salutation) with a stronger option for those who want it. Our activation includes filling the sky with sparkling stars and connecting with the earth by moving forwards and backwards – focus on one foot at a time. We also test our balance leading to Diver Pose. Meeting Recording: https://zoom.us/rec/share/tnUwBlMUiSNq6_U3oHzPsHv-GPdgrwNnLtI-JWW9v2i3Xb9HgPVm5fOyx4HwQuo.b5mLF5tyACgYqH2_ Passcode: =1#V#pt1
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Week 3: I woke up this morning to sun streaming through the window and the promise of summer days to come. As we are in the action part of the moon phase (last week was a new moon and next week it will be reaching the point when we have to let go and allow the universe to work with whatever we've set in place) today's Stretch and Flow focused on our power base, Manipura chakra, at the solar plexus between the navel and the base of the sternum. Manipura translates as “city of shining jewels” and holds our most precious asset, our sense of self. Manipura is a male energy so it seems especially fitting this weekend in memory of Prince Philip whose funeral took place yesterday. Before working with Manipura energy ask yourself the following questions:
We practised Agni (fire) Mudra (thumbs raised, fingers clenched) to exercise the eyes: Stretch one arm in front at shoulder height, thumb wrapped in clenched fingers, lift the thumb while keeping the fingers clenched, slowly open your arm outwards focusing your eyes on the thumb while keeping your head still, return your arm to centre and repeat with the other arm. Then we stood for a whirling meditation (have a wall or chair handy for balance!) or do it outside in the garden so if you fall you’ll land on the soft grass (if that happens take a moment lying face down and allow the earth to absorb your energy). Whirling is one of the Five Tibetan rites which practised regularly promise the gift of eternal youth. By whirling in circles the chakras are speeded up. The idea is to start slowly, arms crossed over the heart (left arm on top) and gradually unfold the arms, keeping the joints soft and the focus lowered towards the solar plexus as you turn towards the left in circles. If you feel confident you can close your eyes and move faster. Stop if you feel too dizzy. The more often you practise the more turns you'll be able to make. When you stop make sure you've got a chair or wall nearby to steady yourself with if necessary, close the eyes and stand quietly in Tadasana (Mountain pose) for a few breaths. Apparently Bruce Forsyth practised the whirling meditation every morning in his later years! We continued with the Dru Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun) and the Tree of Transformation. and ended with Half Lord of the Fishes, Bridge and Belly Twist before savasana. Today’s affirmation: I am strong, I am powerful, I can do anything I want to do! Week 2: Today's class ended up recorded in two parts due to a tech issue (space unexpectedly ran out on my iphone so I had to switch to the laptop). However they say "it takes an ill wind to blow no good" and today I learnt how to edit the recordings so the version I sent out only shows me and the bit with bewildered students wondering where I'd gone doesn't appear. Yes, there was good from the potential disaster after all. We celebrated the new moon with the Moon Salutation (Chandra Namaskar) followed by the Tree of Transformation to break old habits and bring your power back into the present. This new moon I invite you to set your intentions for the coming month. The next couple of weeks are the time for action as you put your plans into motion. Everything needs to be in place by the full moon when you will have to let the universe take over. I have lots of plans for the community up to July when, hopefully, we'll be out of lockdown and some kind of normal life will be possible. Keep reading my blog and emails to see what we'll be doing next. I'm hoping for a mix of zoom and in person classes plus maybe some other activities to make this truly a vibrant community with body and soul. Today’s affirmation: I have all the resources I need to do anything I want to do! April Theme: Trust Quotation: “He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” Lao Tzu (d.533BCE), Chinese Philosopher This week’s Task: Build your trust: This week, identify one thing from your home or work life (perhaps as simple as stacking the dishwasher or as complex as organising a work event) that you are usually unwilling to delegate. Hand it over to someone else, don’t meddle, and do say thank you! Trusting someone else to do a job will strengthen the bond between you and free up your own time for something new. The start of a new quarter and Easter Sunday celebrations. The weather is still warm and sunny (despite dire weather forecasts of snow!) so hoping that Tuesday will stay nice for our second week of outdoor yoga. The first week was amazing with a heatwave! I've got lots planned for Gold Members so hoping that everyone will renew and tell their friends and family to join too. New joiners can have a trial week with full Gold Member access for just £5 and then pay the balance (which reduces in increments each week up to the end of June) if they want to continue. The option to pay weekly is still there but I would strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of the Gold Membership as it's much better value! This week's recording is available for everyone to enjoy (this week only) as a sample of what to expect from a Body and Soul class. Please share and enjoy with no obligation. Week 1: Task and Affirmation April Theme: Trust Quotation: “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese Writer This week’s Task: Learn from your dreams: Dreams can be filled with messages from our inner selves. This week, as you wake up each day, note down all you remember about your dreams, even if they are just fragments. At the end of the week, reflect on what your dreams may have been telling you. Feel free to look up the possible meanings of specific symbols in the dreams, then layer these with insights of your own and trust these instinctive interpretations. 4.4.21 Stretch & Flow Yoga Recording Easter Sunday Special: 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. Today’s class includes the Seat of Compassion and the Tree of Transformation as we move into spring. Today’s affirmation is: I trust in my own abilities! https://zoom.us/rec/share/LPC0T1_haopbOCdVYkuoiI8SybGYWsHffI09qq25HkVfWlTeASoS_PPZvP29sQVV.vFa4m8h-L8DwC8BL Passcode: *mA?w2X* |
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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