A few final thoughts for this year…

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued support and energy over the past year!

With thoughts moving to 2017 and hopes and wishes and resolutions, the one word that I repeatedly return to is Ahimsa, which is at the very heart of yoga. It is often defined as meaning “non-harming” or “non-violence” and means never engaging in any form of aggression or violence towards others, towards ourselves or towards Mother Earth.

My specific wish is that we find ways of being kind to ourselves. Very often we are our own worst critics and we create our own excuses for not moving forwards.

Practicing Ahimsa means accepting and embracing ourselves just as we are, in the present moment while resolving to move forward with faith, courage, confidence and conviction.

With best wishes, love and light,

Angela 

This is a post I’ve been thinking of doing for a while. I’d say putting it out just before the Christmas season kicks off is the right timing, wouldn’t you say?! It’s about indigestion and how yoga practise can help you with its symptoms.

Indigestion can be caused by a mixture of stress and overeating — and, let's face it, this time of year easily ticks both boxes! Yoga practise can really help with physical digestion and to relieve stress. Many of us have probably heard that "twists" are great for digestion, but while twists always feel good, they are not actually massaging the internal organs. So how can our yoga practise really help with digestion?

According to Dr. Carrie Demers, an integrative medical physician and yoga practitioner, it's not so much the poses that we do, but how we practise them. Yoga's digestive and stress-relieving benefits are inextricably linked. It is as much about the physical practise as it is about the relaxation practise.

When we are stressed, our sympathetic nervous system — which activates the "fight or flight" response — is very active. The blood flow to our gastrointestinal system is lessened. When we are able to tune into our parasympathetic nervous system — which allows our "rest and digest" process — there is a greater blood supply to our digestive system.

Physical yoga practise is effective in stimulating the digestion, but it is important to breath deeply too. To activate the parasympathetic nervous system, to "rest and digest", basic relaxation poses can help. 

Here are a few to try immediately:

Savasana (corpse pose — lying flat on the back)
with the added support of a bolster under the knees and a blanket under the head

Viranana (hero's pose — kneeling)
lying back over a bolster

Sukhasana (easy pose — cross legged)
with a bolster behind the bottom to support the back

The most benefit for the digestive system would be gained by practising each of these poses for three to ten minutes while engaging in diaphragmatic breathing. Also, lying on the left side of the body after meals can often help to ease heartburn, acid reflux and general indigestion.

These simple breathing techniques can also assist when looking to relax deeper into the poses — taken from Brightening our Inner Skies, by Norman Blair

Inhale down spine to sacrum and exhale from sacrum to heart space,
breathing in warmth and welcoming and breathing out tension and tightness,
directing breath into areas of restriction (with a sensation of openness for the inhale and a sense of release for the exhale),
an inner mantra like "let" on the inhale and "go" on the exhale,
consciously accentuating the natural pause before and after inhale and exhale, (this is called "the four beats of the breath").

So, maybe after Christmas dinner has been finished, we should all lie down on the floor and just breathe....!

​I’m going to start this piece with a story told by S. N. Goenka, a Burmese-Indian teacher of Vipassana meditation. He died in 2013 at the age of 89.

The Two Rings

‘A rich man died leaving two sons. They decided to separate, dividing all the properties between themselves fifty-fifty. After all the matters related to property were settled, the two brothers came across a small packet carefully hidden by the father. The packet contained two rings — one was an expensive diamond ring and the other was an ordinary silver ring costing only a few rupees.

‘Seeing the diamond ring the elder brother developed greed and desired the ring for himself. He explained to the younger brother, "This packet is obviously a family heirloom and not part of the joint family property. Our father evidently desired the diamond ring to be passed on from generation to generation and stay within the family. Being the elder brother I will take the diamond ring. You had better take the silver one." The younger brother smiled and agreed.

‘The younger brother was curious as to why the father had preserved the silver ring, which had very little value. He took out the ring and examined it. On the ring were written the words: 'This too will pass.' The younger brother said, "Oh this was the motto of my father: 'This too will pass.'" He placed the ring on his finger.

‘Time passed. Both brothers went through the ups and downs of life. The elder brother used to get delighted when spring came and he was prosperous. He lost his mental balance and developed greed and attachment. When the good phase went away and winter approached, he became highly anxious. He needed medication to be able to sleep. When that did not help he completely lost his balance.

‘As for the younger brother with the silver ring, when spring came he enjoyed it but remembered his father's motto: 'This too will pass.' He did not get attached to his circumstances, but enjoyed them while they lasted. When spring passed he said to himself, "It was inevitably going to pass and now it has done so. So what?" Similarly, when winter approached and circumstances became bad he did not become agitated but remembered: 'This too will pass.' Thus he was able to preserve his sense of balance through all the ups and downs of life and lived his life happily.’

​I recently read a book called “The Art of Purring” by David Michie.  It’s a gentle take on the theory of Buddhism and how its teachings can help us through some of the challenges we face. The following, taken from the book, has stayed with me since I read it for the first time:

Impermanence. Never forget: this too will pass.
The only thing you know for sure is that however things are now, they will change. If you feel bad now, no problem. Later you will feel better. You know this is true. It has always been true, and it is still true now.

What is the point of worrying?
If you can do something about it, fix it. If not, what is the point of worrying about it? Let go! Every minute you spend worrying, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. Don't allow your thoughts to be like thieves, stealing your own contentment.

Don't judge.
When you say, "This is a bad thing that's happening”, how often are you wrong? Losing a job may be exactly what you need to start a more fulfilling career. The end of a relationship may open more possibilities than you even know exist. When it happens, you think it’s bad. Later, you may think it’s the best thing that ever happened. So don't judge. No matter how bad it seems at the time, you may be completely wrong.

According to the teachings of Buddah, life is comparable to a river. It is a progressive moment, a successive series of different moments, joining together to give the impression of one continuous flow. It moves from cause to cause, effect to effect, one point to another, one state of existence to another, giving an outward impression that it is one continuous and unified movement, when in reality it’s not. The river of yesterday is not the same as the river of today. The river of this moment is not going to be the same as the river of the next moment. So does life. It changes continuously, becomes something or the other from moment to moment.

The words, "This too will pass" are the words that have stuck with me. In fact, after having discussed these words in a recent class, one of the participants said that she thought she should get the words tattooed onto her body so they were always there to refer back to!

We all face difficult times. During those times we have dreadful moments and think they’ll never get better, but when we look back we can see that the difficult time passed and we’re still here! Getting through difficult times can bring home what’s really important in life. 

I read these words recently. They’re a bit of a cliché, but still...

As we grow older our Christmas list gets smaller, and we find out that the things we really want can't be bought.

I often get asked by friends and students which type of yoga I teach, what other forms of yoga there are and which style would be right for them. Most styles of yoga are based on the same basic yoga poses (asanas), but the way these poses are taught can vary greatly. I thought I would pick out the most popular types of yoga and give some basic information.

Hatha Yoga
I usually describe Hatha Yoga as an umbrella term. This is the kind of yoga that I teach. It includes most yoga styles. The main objective of Hatha Yoga is to create an absolute balance of the interacting activities and processes of the physical body, mind and energy. The systematic form of Hatha Yoga began to emerge in India in the 6th Century CE.

In a Hatha Yoga class you will practice asanas as a physical practice and pranayama (yoga breathing exercises), which help to calm the mind and the body in preparation for meditation. Hatha Yoga classes can vary greatly, but are usually suitable for all levels.

Vinyasa Flow
A Vinyasa Flow class can include many different styles of yoga. It is generally quite dynamic and strong, the asanas flow from one into the next and are usually quite strong and based around sun salutations. There is always an emphasis placed on the breath taking you through the practice. A Vinyasa Flow class is not generally aimed at complete beginners.

Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga is a system of yoga brought into the modern world by Sri K. Patthabi Jois. Some Ashtanga classes are led, but many follow the Mysore style. Mysore is a form of self practice. Most Mysore studios offer courses for beginners which teach the initial set of asanas from the First Series of poses — the Primary Series. Once students have mastered the initial asanas, they will be taught the next poses in the series one or two at a time and continue to practice the sets of asanas, always in the same order, until they complete each series. Ashtanga is typically fast paced and physically challenging. There are six series in total, although I have never managed to get beyond the first one!

Bikram Yoga
Bikram classes are always taught in the same way, no matter which yoga studio you attend. They consist of the same, copyrighted twenty-six postures and two breathing techniques, taught in the same order for ninety minutes. The studio is heated to 40.6 degrees Celsius with a humidity of 40%.
You cannot help but sweat a lot in a Bikram class! The classes are physically and mentally challenging. Founded by Bikram Choudhury, this form of yoga is supposed to detoxify the body, help with weight loss and the heat allows you to move deeply into the poses.

Iyengar
Iyengar Yoga, named after and developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, places its emphasis on detail, precision and alignment. This form of yoga focuses on the use of props to enable participants of all abilities to practice the classic yoga poses more easily and effectively. In a typical Iyengar class, poses are held for longer than in other schools of yoga in an effort to pay closer attention to the precise muscular skeletal alignment within each asana.
B.K.S. Iyengar — 14th December 1918 to 20th August 2014 — "I always tell people, live happily and die majestically."

Yin Yoga
Most forms of yoga today are dynamic, active practices designed to work with the muscular half, the "yang" tissues. Yin Yoga allows you to work the other half, the deeper "yin" tissues of our ligaments, joints, deep fascial networks and even the bones. A Yin yoga class is a slow-paced style of yoga. Poses, usually seated or lying, are held for at least five minutes. Usually using props, the time spent in the poses can be challenging. The purpose is to apply moderate stress to the connective tissue, with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility.

Anything take your fancy?

When you go and visit somewhere new it is hard to avoid making comparisons. Earlier this month I was lucky enough to visit Thailand. I had no pre-conceptions about my visit, other than that the city of Bangkok was supposed to be insanely busy with grid-locked traffic, noisy and a bit outrageous.

It’s a fascinating country. Did you know that Thailand is the only country in south-east Asia to have escaped colonial rule? Its major religion is Buddhism and it has a society and political system shaped partly by the military and the monarchy. Its constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, assumed the throne in June 1946 and until last month was the world's longest reigning monarch, until his death at the age of 88.

We happened to visit the country shortly after his death, so the Bangkok I visited was a little subdued. The death of the King had had a profound affect, not just on Bangkok but seemingly on the whole of Thailand. Almost every adult was dressed in black as a sign of respect and grief. All the pictures of the King had been changed from colour to black-and-white and all the TV channels had been replaced with black-and-white royal broadcasts. There were shrines to the King in many public places and meters and meters of black-and-white ribbon beautifully tied along the walls of buildings.

We were lucky to be taken around the city by three local Thai ladies. When we approached the outside of the Grand Palace they told us that the King was inside lying in state. The official period of mourning for the King is one year and it is thought that during the twelve months most Thai people will want to come and pay their respects. There were long queues of people waiting to see the King and stalls set up next to the queue giving out free food and drink.

The unified reaction to the King’s death was quite startling and made me think about the concept of collective consciousness. 

Collective consciousness is the set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society. The term was introduced by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim in his Division of Labour in Society in 1893. Durkheim argued that in so-called “traditional” societies (those based around clan, family or tribal relationships), totemic religion played an important role in uniting members through the creation of a common consciousness. In societies of this type, the contents of an individual's consciousness are largely shared in common with all other members of their society, creating a mechanical solidarity through mutual likeness. 

What struck me so clearly was how much the event of the King dying had affected everyone. The Thais we met were so gentle and respectful and their collective grief and sense of loss was palpable. But the sincerity of their Buddhist faith came through very strongly. Buddhism is a religion where there is disengagement from craving and clinging to impermanent states and things. The Thai grief hat we witnessed was very dignified.

I couldn't help but compare the way the Thai people had reacted with a collective consciousness to the death of their King with the way we would react in the UK. I was humbled by their respect and generosity. Perhaps there was a similar sense of loss when Diana, Princess of Wales was so tragically killed back in 1997, but rarely am I struck by such a sense of one event having such a profound effect.

I had an amazing experience visiting Thailand and am grateful for being able to visit at such an emotional time of transition.