I hope this email finds you well and that you’re not going stir-crazy. Today is my 16th day of being at home and I’m just so thankful for technology for keeping us all connected. I attended my Advanced Yoga Teacher Training today via Zoom and I have two new tips for doing a virtual yoga class!
1) Set up as many screens as you can with the same yoga class playing at the same time on each screen and position them on each side of the room.
2) And set up a screen behind you and put it upside down on Portrait Orientation Lock (iPhone) - meaning when in you’re in Down Dog - you can still follow it all!
Do you have any other Zoom/virtual tips? I would LOVE to hear them as we enter this strange new world.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing a 90 minute restorative workshop via Zoom at 9am CST. Restorative yoga is where we hold poses for a lot longer than usual - it’s a lovely way to reset our nervous system and sometimes it allows for things that are in the background to come to the fore - and therefore allows us to acknowledge it. And sometimes, when we acknowledge something, it loses its’ power over us - which can feel very freeing.
I look forward to a much needed reset with y’all tomorrow at 9am. I will send the Zoom number later on tonight so you’re all set. You need a mat, a strap or dressing gown robe or a tie - does anyone even have a tie nowadays or are ties from a bygone era? Also bring all the blankets, pillows and cushions you have in your home with you. Sluuumbbberrr partaaaay!
There is also a brand new series for Mondays 9am and Wednesdays 7.15pm in April. This is a 90 minute workshop and it’s interactive via Zoom. This is great as it means I can answer any questions you might have and I can give feedback on your form. Zoom is free for you to download and you’ll get one Zoom Meeting Number for the whole series to make the process seamless. If you book the Monday series (4 workshops) - you get $5 off and if you book the Wednesday series (5 workshops) you get $10 off. The workshop includes optional homework sent to you so you can carry on benefiting from all the wisdom that yoga has to offer for the rest of the week :o)
The benefits of booking a series: you get the lovely discount, it’s scheduled in the calendar for a whole month so you don’t need to think about booking it or paying for it, it also helps you to prioritize your mental, physical and emotional health and it also means you can really build up on your knowledge from the prior week.
You can also totally book individual workshops if that suits you better right now.
To join the workshop, you need to download and install the Zoom app on your phone, tablet or computer and if you can, connect your device to your TV! You also need a yoga mat (or a towel) and some comfy clothes. You could also dim the lights, light some candles and maybe put the diffuser on or light an incense before the workshop to set the ambience.
I’m so looking forward to connecting with you on the mat next week.
Book your ASL Yoga workshop tickets
— March —
Restorative workshop 9am-10.30am (Central Time)
— April —
Monday 9am-10.30am (Central Time)
BOOK MONDAY SERIES OR WORKSHOP
Wednesday 7.15pm-8.45pm (Central Time)
BOOK WEDNESDAY SERIES OR WORKSHOP
Private Classes
I also have private classes available - for six people for instance, it would be $10 each for a 60 minute class. Please reach out if you’d like a private virtual class - I teach on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and I have a few available slots left.
British Sign Language Classes
I’m so excited to have finally launched the weekly British Sign Language workshops which are on every Wednesday at 7pm BST. If you’d like to know more about the workshops - drop me an email!
Yogic Philosophy of the Week
Yoga is an eight-fold path and the third of the eight limbs of yoga is…asana! The most well-known of all limbs. Most people know asana as poses, but interestingly the actual translation is ‘comfortable seat’. As in you do asana so you can sit comfortably. Yoga has been around for 5,000 years now, organized religion has only been around for 2,000 years, isn’t that interesting. And, all those years ago, the purpose of asana was to prepare for meditation. To still the mind. Meditation was considered as the most important limb. But nowadays, people see yoga as a way to work out. And yes it’s great to work out but it’s also great to work out so we can do the gritty inner work for transformative change. I can’t meditate if I haven’t done a few stretches first at least - otherwise all I can think about is the tension in different places in my body. If you’ve struggled with meditating so far - try it out just after you’ve done a yoga class and see how it feels, see if the quality of your meditation is any different. Happy meditating :o)
Pose of the Week
Easy pose. A simple crossed legs sitting asana. The pose that people most associate with meditation. The key to this pose is to roll the pelvis forward so that you feel tall without effort. How to do this? Sit on the edge of a folded blanket, a meditation cushion or just an ordinary cushion. The hips should be higher than your knees - this will avoid you slumping two minutes into your meditation session. Your spine should feel long and strong and your chest is opening outwards. Your shoulders, jaws and neck are relaxed. Hands on legs. Palms up. Blisssss.
Sukhasana by Chiara de Eccher
You may remember I mentioned that Melissa of Melmira came to one of my yoga workshops and she did an interview too - well…HERE it is! I hope you enjoy watching it :o)
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2791765557543396