Week 10: Task and Affirmation March Theme: Gratitude Quotation: “Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.” Walt Whitman (1819-1892), US Poet This week’s Task: Celebrate both light and dark: Sunshine is a symbol of positivity. Darkness tends to denote the opposite. But, in the darkness, the stars light up. This week think of one thing each day that darkness gives you – from a reason to stay in bed longer to the chance to see starry skies in all their sparkling glory. Consider how elsewhere in life the flipside of a positive situation can provide reasons for gratitude, too. Taken from Every Day Matters Diary by Dani DiPirro This week’s blog explains the role of Shiva and his importance in the Dance of Life – especially relevant now as the festival of Shivaratri will be celebrated on Thursday, 11th March. This Hindu festival takes place at night at a time of the month when the moon is at its darkest, appearing as just a sliver of silver in the sky. Shiva, as the dancer in the circle of life, appears as a destroyer desolving the past and making way for the new. The class today included elements of the dance with Dancer and the Salute to Lord Shiva known in his role as destroyer as Rudra, hence the name Rudrasana. This sequence can be a standing warming sequence before or instead of Surya Namaskara (Salute to the Sun). The word rudra is cognate with the English words "red" and "ruddy" ad the Rudras are identified in Vedic texts as eleven red complexioned devas, intimately linked with Shiva and associated with the principle of destruction. They are devas of space and time and represent the ten forms of life breath along with the intelligence. They live in the liminal space between consciousness and unconsciousness, between hard intelligence and he intuitive world of emotion. Rudra also means "howling". The eleven types of life breath cause everyone to howl when they abandon the mortal body, and that grief is felt most painfully halfway between the heart and the mind. Enjoy the dance of life and embrace all of its experiences. Life isn't supposed to be easy, we have good and bad times, daylight and darkness but it's all part of the dance. Accept it all, go with the flow and out of darkness light will flow ... With thanks to my teacher trainer, Conrad Paul, Founder of Yoga Professionals and co-author of The Complete Guide to Yoga for Fitness Professionals published by Bloomsbury.com. He sadly no longer with us although his teacher training courses are still available through the YMCA. Also acknowledging Avatar Art, Neo-Vedic Paintngs celebrating Life by Steven J. Rosen and Kaisori Bellach. 7.3.21 Stretch & Flow Yoga Recording 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 is about the Dance of Shiva so includes two versions of Dancer (Natarajasana) and Conrad Paul’s Salute to Lord Shiva with Rudrasana which is an intermediate/advanced pose set into a sequence but practised here using the wall to aid balance. Followed by the Tree of Transformation. There are a few quality issues for the first few minutes but after that it’s fine! https://zoom.us/rec/share/0z5wsGGDmHebubAMLlSuF2jhbXOGvIgd1vU9dpn-v_uEwTWDZ20cWukg4bUbrr3E.LoYzQcywpxrAmbcU Passcode: DyPK?5H^
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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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