Hey you - how are you? I hope the 21st edition of the Sunday Papers finds you well, safe and healthy.
I’ve really loved studying the first path of yoga with y’all in the April workshops - the Yamas. And now I have a brand new series of both ASL and BSL yoga workshops for every Monday and every Wednesday in May. We’ll covering the second path - the Niyamas, the roadmap of personal practices.
The ASL and the BSL workshops both have a discount when you book the series (four workshops). The same Niyama will be taught on both Monday and Wednesday - so take your pick of which day and time is best for you. You’re welcome to do both for a deeper practice if you’d like. You can of course book individual workshops too if that suits you better. Everyone is welcome to join in - from total beginners to advanced level yogis. Come one, come all!
“There is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms - a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual room. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” It is with this proverb in mind that the workshops are designed with - with yoga poses, a yoga flow, breath-work, a meditation technique and homework sent to you so you can air the rooms in-between workshops :o)
The 90 minute workshops are taught with a dose of self-care, science, psychology and humour for a holistic kinda workshop - I would love for you to come and join us! You can buy your ticket below.
I also have some good news - I finally figured out how to record just my teaching in the workshops (rather than myself and everyone in tiny squares) so I can send the recording to you along with the homework if you miss a workshop for whatever reason - this means you won’t miss out on anything. Happppppyyyy dayyyyyyyzzzzzz.
As always, email me any questions you might have or if you’re unsure about something. I’m so looking forward to sharing the wisdom of yoga with you in May.
With love and tenderness,
Lilli x
ASL Yoga Workshops (May)
Monday 10.30am-12pm (CDT)
May - Wednesday 7.15pm-8.45pm (CDT)
BSL Yoga Workshops (May)
EMAIL ME TO BUY YOUR BSL WORKSHOP TICKET
Yogic Philosophy of the Week
Yoga is an eight-fold path and the final path is Samadhi. The joining of all the parts of who we are - the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Enlightenment. Self-realization. Getting to know to ourselves better. Discovering that wild love for ourselves. Supreme bliss. Becoming friends with both our light side and our shadow side. Dismantlement and growth. Discovering our true North. The return to the Self. Whew. Consciously nurturing and nourishing each part of us is to set foot on the path of Samadhi; which hunk needs our loving attention today? How about tomorrow? Next week, month, year? Samadhi is ever-evolving and some people might say - a moving target; but it’s a wild ride worth taking methinks.
Pose of the Week
I’ve been teaching quite a few peak poses this week. I just loved what my teacher Annie Carpenter’s teacher said to her about doing peak poses; ‘I don’t care how far you go with the pose, I care about how deep you go’ - as in how deep you go on an exploratory journey of your body and your mind rather than accomplishing the pose which means very little in itself. The last Yama is Aparigraha which translates as non-attachment, we discussed this in the last workshop in April about how that it’s really about the journey and not the destination when it comes to yoga. That we can practice yoga simply just for the love of the practice itself. I’ll be honest - I do love it when I finally crack a pose I’ve been practicing for months but in this vein of honesty - that feeling really doesn’t last very long at all. So with this in mind - I introduce the king of all poses - the headstand.
If there are no contraindications (back or neck injury, high blood pressure, pregnancy, heart conditions and glaucoma to name a few) - there are many benefits to this pose - here’s a few:
Stimulates and provides refreshed blood to endocrine glands - the hypothalamus and pituitary (which controls the growth hormone) the pineal gland (which regulates melatonin), and the thyroid (which helps to regulate metabolism and sex hormones).
Strengthens your core - the obliques and the rectus abdominal and the transverse abdominal muscles. And the upper body - your arm, shoulder and back muscles work hard to keep the pressure off your head and neck.
Increases blood flow to the face, scalp and brain which means more oxygen for all and it can also lead to improved circulation.
Helps to alleviate mild depression, anxiety and stress.
Improves digestion.
And the fabulous thing is: all the benefits above are in the attempting of this pose as well as the actual accomplishment of the pose. I did a BSL video (along with an English transcript) on the difference between Tripod and Supported Headstand - you can have a look on my Instagram account if you’d like.
If you’ve never done it before and you’d like to try it out - put the weight on your arms (stop immediately if your neck hurts), activate your core, don’t jump up, have lots of patience, use a wall as a safety measure and breathe. Other tips in the illustration below. P.S Or come to one of my workshops :o)