Dear yogis,
How are you doing? I went for a drive this morning as 38 days of not leaving the apartment complex was getting to me but it was quite the sight to see everyone being masked - they’re compulsory in the town that I live in. I realised very quickly that I prefer the tedium over the unnerving feeling that I had being out there. And I’m so thankful for my own yoga practice in times like this - it’s my anchor, it keeps me grounded and truthfully - sane.
I’ve been doing four days of advanced teacher training with the fabulous Annie Carpenter who has been teaching yoga teachers for 40 years now - so much wisdom and grace. One thing she said that struck a note with me was that having a yoga practice is like having a savings account for when difficult times come rolling along. And I find that to be totally true. I’m always thankful for the tools of asana, pranayama and meditation but especially now, more so than ever. And I am so glad to be able to share the wisdom of yoga with y’all.
With that in mind - I have a brand new series of ASL yoga workshops for May with a new time of 10.30am for Mondays and Wednesdays at 7.15pm as usual - they both have a lovely discount of $10 off as a consideration of the times we’re in at the moment. We’ll be focusing on the Niyamas as well as cultivating our asana, pranayama and meditation practice. And doing Cow Faces like above. Yes this pose is actually called Cow Face - yoga can be very humorous!
You can of course, as always book individual workshops instead if that suits you better. You will get homework sent to you too to continue your practice for the rest of the week if you wish to do so. I really hope you can join me in continuing to explore the wisdom and the magic of yoga in these difficult times.
With Love,
Lilli x
May - Monday 10.30am-12pm (CDT)
May - Wednesday 7.15pm-8.45pm (CDT)
Yogic Philosophy of the Week
Yoga is an eight-fold path and the seventh of the eight limbs is Dhyana. Meditation or more poetically - glimpsing the soul. I love that definition. Becoming more aware of who we are. Nothing more beautiful than that. There are so many different meditation practices and I always feel sad when I hear someone say that they tried meditating a few times but then gave up as it was too hard. I feel sad but I also totally relate as that was me too for a good few years until I went to a festival and I did a meditation workshop with a guy called Brett Moran who had been in and out prison all his life. He did a space visualization with us along with a fabulously hippy interpreter who conveyed his message beautifully and there it was. And ever since - it’s been a truly beautiful journey. The space visualization however doesn’t resonate with my husband - he much prefers a different meditation practice. And this is why I teach a different mediation practice in every workshop I teach. On the off-chance that it lands with you and it becomes a tool in your toolbox for navigating this crazy world that we live in. And I will leave you with this Zen proverb that simultaneously makes me smile and cringe in acknowledgement:
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit in meditation for an hour.”
Pose of the Week
Quite a few of my yogis this week have had neck and shoulder pain - this is a fairly common thing to come up in yoga classes but it’s definitely no doubt been compounded by the world we live in right now. There are so many amazing yoga poses for neck and shoulder pain but I do especially love to do a Reverse Warrior when my neck and shoulders are all bunched up - it’s deliciously releasing for the back too.
BSL Yoga Workshops
Every Monday and Wednesday evening at 7pm BST I teach a yoga workshop in British Sign Language - a 90 minute interactive workshop via Zoom. We do breath-work, a meditation technique and a juicy yoga flow in every workshop. Yoga homework is sent to you too to continue your practice for the rest of the week! The cost of the workshop - £15 - you can pay weekly or monthly.
To join the workshop, get in touch with me via replying to this email or DM me via Instagram for the payment details and you’ll get a Zoom number via email.