Zen Mouse

Last week, amidst my fuzzy head, a small teaching related "issue" came up. It was not something uncomfortable but it occupied my mind all day because in a recent survey I had conducted, a similar comment was raised. At the end of the day, I began to write something to address everyone and consulted with a friend who teaches in a similar capacity. Let's refer to my friend as the zen mouse. I am sure there will be many teachings from him in the future on my blog. He is so wise but so humble, I thought of the symbolic story of the mouse that Ganesh sits on; hence, the zen mouse...

He reminded me...

"....we teach with ourselves as a tool. We open up and let it just be there, so in some ways it is personal. The teaching and the meeting is personal- but it is not the same as being close personal friends with everyone"

This is especially true when it is a small shala and a small town / city where we actually have the opportunity to get to know each other. I am really grateful for this, because I am not so sure I would be so deeply engaged in a large studio or city where I am unfamiliar with most of the people who walk in. It is not that I will share any less, but the conversations would not be the same. Over the years, some of my clients have also gone on to become my friends, regardless of whether they are still in class or not.

However, the challenge arises when there is some degree of familiarity, because expectation starts to grow. We become a little more sensitive - just like we are with family members, because we are comfortable with it. And in a way, this is quite sweet.

I hope you all know that when you stop coming to class, it does not go unnoticed. I notice all of you. But I am very aware that nothing is permanent and do not expect you to be in class forever. I am comfortable with change and welcome it. I will seldom contact you to check on you unless I know you have been ill and want to know if things are o.k. The space is there for you to come and go as you please and you never have to explain anything (unless you wish to) and please, never feel obliged to, and never feel awkward about something like that. 

However, if I have hurt you in any way, by doing or not doing something that was expected or unexpected, then I sincerely offer my apologies. I try give my time and space as fairly as possible but at times, just as with life, what I want does not equate what happens or what translates. I live another day to learn :-) Namaste

neeeneeneee

it has been such a struggle to keep my head together the last twO weeks!! i am not sure what it is busying itself with. i have been trying really hard to keep up with it but all i have been getting is white noise neeeeeeeeneneneneeeezzzz... as a result of this, i have lost the plot slightly- forgetting facts; i could not remember for the life of me if it was the parasympathetic or sympathetic nervous system that was stress related- dOh...
i forgot a client, almost forgot another. almost fell down the stairs and have lost time being somewhere else... blehhh

times like these are for more asana practice :-)
when my mind struggles to be still (or make any sense) i take my focus completely into the physical, and there...the mind stills - magic! 

i cannot deny that i am an asana junkie! 
i love asana practice
i love yoga philosophy
i love yoga yoga yoga
bit mad really... but i love it!

:-)

London 2012

There was something so incredibly powerful about the Paralympics experience. I guess partly because we did not know what to expect. When we booked our tickets to the events, we did it because we really wanted to see the aquatic centre and the stadium. We had managed to get some tickets via some friends to the Olympics and had such an amazing time we wanted more and managed to get ourselves some Paralympics tickets.

It was quite a different experience...
The great thing about it was that you were not just witnessing a sporting event. There was so much happening around the event itself. You got to see the relationship between the guides, minders, coaches and the athletes and how they managed themselves. For example, when athletes without arms came out to swim - how they took off their outer layers, how they got out of the pool. Things we take for granted. Or how minders lifted paralysed athletes in and out of the pool. Minders are ready with wheelchairs and prosthetic legs at the poolside. It was a real eye opener.  One thing that stuck me the most was how in one moment, these athletes have to be the great person with all that believe in themselves to go for gold, and in the next moment, how they have to let someone help them. You just have to let your ego go and trust and accept the help of the support around you. It was all very dignified and the relationships around them was a beautiful thing to see.

The crowds were also AMAZING. The stadium was completely packed and so we know it is around 80,000 people. The energy - I cannot describe. It fills every atom in the body. The cheer at the Paralympics was also different. It felt like a cheer for the human spirit. For hope. For grace. It touches you to tears!

<3

And when it had sunk in, it occurred to me that actually, we all have (or think we have) "limitations" on some level. When you see these guys, you realize where your limitations really are and how much easier it is to manage it. It is really about how much of it you are willing to embrace so that you may shine your brightest light. 

This Olympics has left me a legacy for sure!    

iS It O.k?

Some days, I feel so challenged by my job. When I decided to teach yoga, I never thought it would change my life in so many ways; especially the way see myself...

A friend asked, "why do we feel we have to train so much"...

It is a mad world... 
The job makes you question yourself a lot
Here are a few thought patterns...

"OMG did I say the right thing? Was that actually right??" 
-checks books, refers website, consults teachers... and then even after all that, checks again..

"Oh man, that was not good / That did not feel right"
- goes and practice 

"They are not getting any better, I am not doing something"
-checks books, refers website, consults teachers... and then even after all that, checks again..

"They are amazing!! I need to keep up if I want to keep serving them"
- increase practice, does more training, workshops, classes etc

"what did she just say??" "maksikanagasana" wt...
- goes and studies asana index again

"man! words are not flowing out of the mouth today"
- sulks

"Can't do that! Can't do that! Can't do that!"
- ponders... decides it's not important one day, decides it is the next - depending on who's training or workshop just attended 

"fibula, tibia, ulna, radius...psoas..where is it again?? S.I, T-bands...arrgghhh"
- studies more anatomy

"chakra? yes yes, I can name the seven, no i don't know how to cleanse them and i cannot tell if they are blocked"
-...... 

"yayy full class tonight!"
- delighted smirking

"so few in class today. I suck"
-panics

Attends a class "wow! she is amazing! am i like that? I don't think so..."
- worries

Hahaha
I love my job. It is a constant challenge to believe in myself, trust what I know and to trust the universe <3

September

Dear friends

Namaste 

Welcome to my new blog site! I felt it was time to consolidate all the blogs and practice a bit of simple alignment. I hope this site will serve you better in future. In the past, i had posted several blogs on short sequences, names of poses, etc but i think as the blog got a little older, the post just got lost. I will post them again soon and make them easier to find.

Please also accept my deepest apologies for cancelling classes on the 13th & 14th August, especially those of you who turned up for class. I just got so sick and could not stand upright for the two days. It really made me appreciate that for most of the time, I feel good, and not to take this blessing for granted. But I am really sorry never-the-less. On this note, please do keep me updated with your mobile numbers so that I can text you next time such a situation arises (hopefully not for a long time but you never can tell)

A quick reminder that we will break for a week soon from the 27th - 31st August. 
All classes resume on the 3rd September with the exception of the Wednesday morning Vinyasa class that will resume the week after on the 12th September. 

A HUGE heartfelt thank you to all who showed up at the 108 event and all who contributed in some way or another! We raised (so far) £400 for the Hamlet Centre and £113 for the foodbank! The weather was amazing and the place we (literally) saluted to the sun was so lovely and peaceful. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! These things only work with your support and we are very very grateful for it!

Some News

Time Change

Wednesday evening class will now run from 19:30 - 21:15
The extra time will allow us to incorporate some pranayama or meditation into the practice.
Looking forward to it!! 
(from September 5th) 

Yoga Gives Back

This year, the YGB global event runs on Saturday, 29th September 2012
As one of YGB's ambassadors, I will be hosting a class on the day, possibly with some guest teachers. Please do come along to support the cause. It will be no different from a weekend class except that all your fees go to YGB, it may be a longer class (maybe 2 hours) with more than one teacher - how fun does that sound? :-)
Please sign up as places may be limited. If we are very over subscribed than we may move venues (somewhere nearby)


Namaste

I look forward to see you all on the mat

xx 

Begin

Today feels like a good day for another new beginning, so welcome to my new blog site! I felt like it was time to start a new space and consolidate my stories, newsletters and events under one blog so i can stop sending people on little trips around w.w.w. 

I choose the name for the site because, firstly, I love the two words and secondly for what it means to me. LOL


प्राण Prana - life force, energy, subtle energy

Pra - to fill
an  -  to breathe or to live

Prana is the reason everything moves, grows, lives. It is that that is all around us and within us. Yoga practice concerns the movement of prana. It is the sweet juice of life.

Giddy - silly, dizzy
(According to Thesaurus)

I am so grateful for this life! It is really just dizzy with prana! That is what this is about. 
I dedicate all my life and work efforts to my parents- my late father, who passed seven years ago today; my papa, my Guru and my best friend and my mum, who, tirelessly made everything happen for us. Without them, this giddy life would not be. 

A U M

"for as the earth comes from the waters, plants from earth and man from plants, so man is speech, and speech is AUM- this is the essense of essences- AUM is the Self of all"

Shiva Rea from The Upanishads, Chandogya Upanishad 

Shanti Shanti Shanti

peace peace peace