‘Last. One.’Kay?’
Music to your eyes after several rounds of sweaty Vinyasa eh?
Dear friends,
Next week’s workshops will be based on Santosha which translates as contentment (my favourite Niyama!) - it’ll be jam-packed with all kinds of tools to generate contentment as well as the holy trifecta of asana, pranayama and meditation - I can’t wait! There’s still time for you to join in the workshops - the links are below. If you can’t make the workshop times - I can send you a recording (along with the homework) that you’ll have access to for 7 days. If you can’t make the workshops at all, I have the 45 minute class on Friday (this class is interpreted by the wonderful Barbie so non-signers are welcome) - you’ll need to book your ticket on Eventbrite (link below) to get the new Zoom number. So looking forward to seeing you on the mat next week!
Until then, Om and Namaste,
Lilli x
BSL Yoga Workshops
Monday and Wednesday 7pm (BST)
EMAIL ME TO BUY YOUR MON/WED WORKSHOP TICKET
ASL Yoga Workshops
Monday 10.30am-12pm (CDT)
Wednesday 7.15pm-8.45pm (CDT)
ASL Yoga Class (Every Week During COVID-19)
Friday 1pm-1.45pm (CDT)
Yogic Philosophy of the Week
Abhyasa and Vairagya - Effort and Surrender. Feels rather apt for this week as my classes and workshops (at the request of yogis of course) have taken on a decidedly sweaty flava! I’m guessing this is in no small part due to being at home all day and wanting to sweat out all that unexpired energy. Sweat (along with deep breathing) is a great way to get cortisol (the stress hormone) outta our system. However - in each pose there is Effort and Surrender. As in - you get to decide how much effort and how much surrender you want to have in each pose.
This could be releasing your arms in a long-held Warrior Two and flying them up again, it could be going into a Child’s Pose instead of attempting that Handstand at the wall or it could be skipping yet another round of Vinyasa. Without Vairagya - we’ll run out of steam.
It could also be putting your thoughts of ‘I can’t do this any longer’ aside and pushing yourself to hold that Plank for a little longer because you know you will feel good afterwards, it could be trying that Crow even though you’ve never done it before and it feels awkward or it could be showing up for your yoga class even though you’re not really feeling up to it (I feel like this sometimes - and I always have to remind myself that I’ve never regretted doing a yoga class, ever.) Without Abhyasa - we’ll not grow.
Point is - you get to decide every time - Effort or Surrender? Sometimes I’ll go to a yoga class and I will surrender and then I’ll get all this energy flowing in and it becomes the time for effort. Sometimes it’s the other way around. Sometimes the whole day is about surrender for me - and some days it’s go, go, go. More broadly, we also get get to decide what areas in our lives need more effort and what areas needs to be surrendered. I like to do a Full Moon ritual where I write down something that is no longer serving me and then I’ll burn it in a tiny itty bitty witchy cauldron (and I keep a note in my Notes of what I wrote down - obvz) and I check in at the next Full Moon to see how I’ve been doing. I also set myself a new goal every New Moon and check in at the following New Moon (I also keep a note of this in Notes. Obvz). I’ve done this for about a year now and it’s been deliciously empowering so far.
So to conclude - without Abhyasa, we’ll get exhausted and without Vairagya - we’ll stay in our old patterns. Yoga and Life’s good ol’ perpetual dance eh.
Pose of the Week
It’s got to be the Crow. This pose is the definition of Effort and Surrender - oh gosh it’s such a fine balance with this one! A fun-loving attitude while attempting Crow is a must I think. You can stand on a thick book or a block to give you a little bit of leverage and you can play around with where your legs are on your arms to find your sweet spot and you can lift just the one foot and alternate to start with. You could totally have a Crow Challenge with friends/family at home or via Zoom for big laughs - Happy Crowing!
