Sutra Neti! Always gonna look weird but apologies for the wet chin lol! Probably should have opened my mouth to show it better #tryingtosmileandlooknormal

Re-Visiting the Kriyas: Jala-Neti and Sutra-Neti

Yoga is the process of purification both internally and externally. This means that as well as performing proper exercise by moving through asanas, eating a healthy, balanced diet and practicing pranayama techniques, there are further cleansing 'routines' that are recommended in order to enhance the cleansing or purification process and these are known as 'kriyas'. There are 6 kriya exercises (Shat Karma Kriyas) and these are: Neti, Dhauti, Nauli, Basti, Kapalabhati and Trataka. I'm going to focus on the Neti Kriya. Today I woke up early, went to a full led ashtanga class, enjoyed a bath after breakfast (I don't work on Friday mornings which feels so luxurious) and then I dusted off my Neti pot and rinsed the rubber catheter that was coiled up inside. The last time I used these was in an ashram in India about 7 months ago when I was doing my first yoga ttc. These 2 props are all you need to carry out this exercise along with warm water and sea salt. The Neti pot is a small plastic container that looks a bit like an Aladdin's lamp. To explain what these are for, there are 2 types of Neti: Jala Neti involves filling the little pot with warm salty water and pouring half the water through one nostril tilting the head so that it comes out the other nostril thereby rinsing the nasal passages. You would then pour the other half of the water through the other nostril making sure to keep the mouth open so water doesn't get into the ears. This can be done daily, particularly in the morning. What does is feel like? It's not unpleasant but it just takes practise and a bit of getting used to. It's just like when you're swimming in the sea and water goes up your nose! You definitely feel cleaner inside the nasal passages and a bit clearer in your head in general. What are the benefits? Apparently this has a positive influence on the sense organs of the head and can be good to relieve tired eyes after hours of sitting at a computer. It can also be helpful for relieving headaches and any problems associated with the nasal and sinus cavities. I think it's best used as a preventative measure to avoid head colds and sinusitis. I have hayfever and had planned to use it proactively to prevent the effects but never got round to it although it has been found to ease hayfever and pollen allergies. Sutra Neti involves threading the rubber catheter (cotton thread that has been dipped in bees wax can also be used) up one nostril and then pulling it out your mouth. Pulling the catheter back and forth massages the nasal cavity and therefore produces a more thorough cleansing effect than the rinsing as it works more intensely. It is recommended that the first time you do this should be under guidance from an experienced yoga practitioner. What does it feel like? Apart from being a very odd thing to get your head around, looking clearly bizarre (see pic) it does feel very unnatural and counter intuitive to stick something up your nose. I find it fine taking the catheter up the nostril but taking your hand to the back of your throat to pull the catheter out causes the choking reflex and you might cough, your eyes might water and generally find it uncomfortable at the back of the throat. As with anything though with practice the whole thing becomes easier. I definitely feel clearer and refreshed from this kriya. I can breath more easily through my nose and I can clear my throat with ease also. I would recommend trying Jala Neti as it's an easy exercise that can fit into your daily routine without taking much time.

Jala Neti this morning! Check out my blog for more details :)

Just wondering if anyone would like to share if they practice gratitude and if so what their practice looks like? Would love some inspiration to start a daily gratitude practice myself :) 

Bhandas: 'It's all about the suction!'

I have a new found appreciation of the bhandas having attended a 4 hour workshop on them run by Karen. I have come to the conclusion as a result of this workshop that I shall develop my awareness of the bhandas not just to some day be able to lift myself up/over/away from my mat which in time I hope to do, but more because I think I now understand that they offer a way to a stronger connection with our bodies and therefore the capacity to practice with a greater integrity. Integrity was a word that popped up a lot during the workshop.

For this blog I’m going to write about mula bhanda in particular as we talked a lot about it in the second course weekend of the TTC during which I had the sudden realisation that I had not been practising with a conscious connection to mula bhanda.

“I never feel mula bhanda during practice” I found myself admitting.

Sure I had been trying to bring integrity to the movements and postures in my practice by drawing my navel to my spine and engaging my core but to be honest the deeper elements of the bhandas had not been at the forefront of my mind. I know about them, have done for a while and have been to a lot of classes where teachers have reminded me to engage with the bhandas by often quickly throwing in the statement ‘mula bhanda and uddiyana bhanda’ but they remained quite under appreciated in my mind.

Bhandas I have now realised are not so baffling, but are somewhat brilliant. They are neither elusive nor an optional extra but are as important as the breath. The term bhanda relates to the word 'bond’ and as with almost everything related to yoga it is another tool for creating unity. The concept of 'breath, bhandas and drishti’ has taken me a long time to understand possibly because I have been a bit of a vinyasa yoga person rather than a dedicated Ashtangi. I hadn’t realised the role of bhandas in relation to prana or realised that posture, breath and bhanda bond together to produce a seal of prana.

Mula bhanda relates to the pelvic floor and the root chakra and as such translates as 'root lock’. Gregor Maehle states that,

“By slightly contracting the pubo-coccygeal muscle, which goes from pubic bone to tailbone, we create an energetic seal that locks prana into the body and so prevents it from leaking out the base of the spine.”

Mula bhanda takes a lot more focus for me but I have realised how powerful it is after finally managing to use it during my practice finally. I became aware towards the end that during a vinyasa I engaged the bhandas for certain postures but not all and so I tried to remedy that. I’m not able to 'jump through’ (yet!) but when I did switch on mula bhanda it suddenly opened up the possibility that maybe I wasn’t as far off it is thought. Moving upwards and forwards while holding mula bhanda brought a lightness and ease to the movement. Rather than trying to haul myself back up to the top of my mat, by suctioning and drawing everything up I seemed to find the antidote to gravity.

Using the bhandas, I discovered the amazing ability to suction my tummy area in so it almost disappeared into itself in an empowering combination of body / breath / energy. Engaging mula bhanda in core exercises brings a whole new level of intensity to them. It’s such a small action in a sense but so transformative. By creating an enhanced connection to that area I hope to remedy a long standing detachment I’ve had from it which I think has held me back.

So to conclude, my new found appreciation of the bhandas and intention to focus on using them in my whole practice has given me a bit of a boost. I now feel that I have woken up a part of me that would otherwise be asleep and as a result of creating space and lift with the bhandas, I feel like I have more access to move into new postures over time. I’m going to endeavour to hold mula bhanda throughout my whole practice with more words from Gregor Maehle as a reminder,

“Every posture needs to grow out of its root.”

Sometimes we also just need to remember Karen’s key message for me from the workshop,“it’s all about the suction!”.

Using straps, blocks and our bhandas in a really fun and interesting workshop with Karen @avidyogi who took us through an exploration of the bhandas for 4 hours and it was really cool playing around :) meadowlarkyogaandhealth

Reflections on Yoga Teaching Styles Part 1

Following on from beginning to teach yoga over the past couple of weeks both casually to friends and once for real, I have started reflecting on how I might develop my own teaching style. I feel like I am mainly sticking to imitating my favourite teachers and treating their cues and phrases as a pick and mix that I can scoop out into my classes. So far I feel comfortable with this and I figure that hopefully what I like and find useful will also be helpful to the people I teach.

However over time I aim to carve out my own style. To help me do this I will need to scrutinise how I have been teaching and what I feel I need to work on or faze out. I have been taking yoga classes in Edinburgh over the past 8 years and I took a number of classes in New Zealand and Australia whilst abroad last year. I’ve been trying more of a variety of classes and teachers recently to get a feel for teaching styles. Attending classes abroad has been really interesting both in terms of the difference in teaching methods and also the standard of shala or schools. All these experiences will inherently influence how I teach but recognising why I have been doing things in a certain way and how I can improve them is always something I aim to do. Although, it’s not easy to detach, take a step back and observe yourself.

I am going to write this as a note to myself that I can come back to in 6 months time. A good teacher told me that you really have to become your own mentor and I really hope to be able to do this-be my own teacher as well as learn from others. So here goes, in this first part I’m going to focus on the liquorice and nougat pieces that may have found their way onto the scales but won’t make the paper bag:

* Using my voice

Talking…too much, too fast and too loud or quiet.

By too much, I mean wordy or repetitive explanations that lose clarity and do not add anything. Sometimes this sounds self-indulgent to me. When I start to ramble I realise that I have lost focus. This could happen due to nerves, losing concentration or drifting away from the original plan.

By too fast I mean when you feel rushed to get everything you want to say out in time-perhaps this is a sign I am saying too much. The class might lose its flow and the focus might detract from the students and their breath.

Projecting my voice is something I need to consciously remind myself of however being too loud can seem shouty. Too quiet is frustrating and excluding especially for clients further towards the back of the room.

Using my voice to keep energy levels up, remembering to adapt my tone of voice to the movements so to add emphasis, build momentum or slow down the pace and others.

* Although clients may change each class, I think it’s important to shape a class to suit the level of the clients and offer options so that clients are always able to join in every posture at one level or another. Although a class plan may seem exciting, if it’s above the level of your clients, it won’t work and you may have to end up adapting or changing it. The downside if you don’t is that you might put people off returning.

* Avoid being too casual. I like relaxed, informal classes and a teacher to bring in their personality, but even when teaching friends it’s important to treat every class like a real/paid class.

Oh and one last thing - to set up the room and be organised from the very start to avoid faffing around which may lead to starting late or disruptions during the class.

'Limitless' By Danna Faulds

Sun says, "Be your own illumination." Wren says, "Sing your heart out, all day long." Stream says, "Do not stop for any obstacle." Oak says,"When the wind blows, bend easily, and trust your roots to hold." Stars say, "What you see is one small slice of a single modest galaxy. Remember that vastness cannot be grasped by mind." Ant says, "Small does not mean powerless." Silence says nothing. In the quiet, everything comes clear. I say, "Limitless." I say, "Yes."

'What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.'

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/02/what-if-there-is-no-tomorrow-there-wasnt-one-today/

Thrown into Teaching

Despite suffering from severe nerves and the sense of dread that comes from thoughts a such as ‘what if I forget what to do?’ and ‘I’m not ready for this’, generally I actually relish opportunities that throw me head first off the highest diving board and in at the deep end, so to speak.

And that’s exactly what happened to me the other day. Having planned a slow-paced, peaceful day involving nothing more than perhaps a self-practise and coffee with a friend, a phone call from a yoga teacher buddy changed all that. In a matter of minutes I was running around the flat clutching my copy of Gregor Maehle’s book and flapping my yoga mat behind me in a frenzy.

My friend asked if I would cover her lunchtime Ashtanga yoga class at a nearby gym. Of course I wanted to help her out and grab his opportunity to teach, but there was a fear-induced hesitation when I asked, ‘how many people usually attend?’. Secretly hoping for a quiet lunchtime class, the reply was 11-18. Gulp.

'Have you ever taught in a gym before?', my friend asked. No I hadn't. I hadn't taught anywhere before since completing my training just over 2 months ago, other than my friend's living room. But there's a first time for everything and nothing else for it but to seize the day - oh and drag my non-yoga practising husband onto a mat in the living room to quickly run through the class first (a frustrating yet worthwhile experience).

Anyways, I put on a co-ordinated yoga outfit to help step into the role of ‘teacher’ and headed off in a rush to the gym. I didn’t have much time to focus on my nerves so that was a good thing but gradually I was trying to convince myself that I could so this. Armed not only with my mat and Gregor Maehle’s huge ashtanga book (highly unnecessary when I barely had time to grab a bottle of water let alone read 292 pages) but also the words of wisdom and support from my yoga teacher flatmate, I carried myself into the yoga studio. I’d like to share the advice imparted to me by said friend which I found really encouraging and useful:

- take your time - less is more - if you’re not comfortable adjusting, don’t do it - demonstrate and talking is easiest at first - breathe - it’s just yoga, and if you take out few mins at start while people are still arriving, plus savasana, it’s only 53 mins :) - pretend you do it every day - they don’t need to know it’s your first class!

I have only recently started practising Ashtanga, being more of a Vinyasa Flow class junkie, but thankfully the day before I had attended a full led ashtanga class and most of it had been imprinted into my memory (ok so I forgot Purvottasana but hey ho). I really was grateful to my husband for being a willing guinea pig and to my friend who has become a gem of a mentor to me. Practise and support are so valuable.

I taught for 1 hour and here’s some notes to myself that I took away from my teaching experience:

- Speak up! I realised about 3/4 of the way through that I wasn’t projecting my voice and this was especially necessary in a gym where just below us they were playing pumping beats.

- Face the class when demonstrating, for example I realised I was facing the mirror at one point with my back to them…mirrors are very confusing!

- Everyone’s breath sounded like it was going at different paces so I tried to count the number of breaths slowly, evenly and consistently while giving cues in between-this will take more practise at multi-tasking.

- Offer people the chance to grab a block before the class starts or at lest tell them where they can be found-in this case the blocks were kept in a box outside of the room so getting one was a bit disruptive during the class.

I didn’t adjust much to be honest, I needed to keep my focus and concentration on the whole class although I did support one lady in Utthita Hasta Padangushtasana.

Anyway I made it through and I enjoyed it! I loved it actually and hopefully the people taking the class didn’t mind it too much either. I got some thank yous and smiles at the end which was really nice. I feel like a bit of yoga teacher now :)

Amazing to have stumbled or should I say tumbled across this just now seeing as I am currently suffering with Supraspinatus tendonitis due to repetitive strain for abducting my shoulder whilst massaging....now I know how to prevent it - yay! Thank you :)

Anatomy at the heart of Yoga practice

Before having had the opportunity to dissect, I had a general idea of the “shoulders,” but now I am fully aware of their anatomical structure. I can move into them with much greater insight, thinking about each structure and its action on the joint as I...