Yogahaven

          “Never get tired of doing little things for others.  Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts” – Anon   I’ve been AWOL on the blogging front over the past four weeks. There’s been a fair bit of ‘life stuff’ going on, and it all seemed to culminate…

One year ago today, I walked into Yogahaven Clapham for their very first class at 6.45am taught by the lovely Sandra. Little did I know the impact that walking through those doors that morning would have on my life. To put things into context, I was not in a good place this time last year,…

Week One – Start from Where You Are It’s early on Sunday morning and I am woken up by rays of sunlight beaming through my bedroom window.  For a moment I wonder where I am then I remember I am in Morocco and it’s my first day of Yoga Teacher Training.  This will be home…

In a few days I fly off for two weeks to begin yoga teacher training with my yoga home. It’s not something I’ve taken lightly.  I’ve thought about it so much.  I first started looking at teacher training courses roughly two years ago. And each time I would dismiss the idea pretty quickly.  For a…

That the Heat would teach me about Accepting the Things you Can’t Control… Early in my Bikram practice I was obsessed with the heat.  Constantly. “OH MY GOD!  How hot is it?!”  “Is the teacher going to open the door and let some air in???  Why aren’t they opening the door yet?!” “@*#!  Is the…

“Be present in all things and thankful in all things”      – Maya Angelou   It’s interesting how what you focus on can show up, not just once, but again and again.  In class the other day our teacher talked about the ability to see our challenges as gifts. Earlier that same day I’d been reading…

Last month I mentioned that two of my lovely yoga home teachers were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.  Well… they did it!  And they broke through the fundraising target for their charity too so lots of children will benefit from the money raised.  I was moved reading Allie’s account of their experience.  Thinking of the mental determination,…

That attempting to practise selflessly would lead me towards forgiveness…   In the classes at my yoga home our teachers often talk about Selfless Practice.  I always set an intention for each class and practising for someone else can feel like the best thing to do in situations where you want to help but don’t…

“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little…”                                                                                                                                                         –         The Bhagavad Gita I’ve been on a bit of a journey with the way I eat over the past few years.  My body has become much clearer about what it does and doesn’t…

I feel like – scratch that – I know I talk about yoga a LOT.  I will happily talk about it with anyone who will listen (or not, as the glazed-over expressions of some friends and colleagues indicate…).   I even had a conversation about yoga with a stranger at a bus stop the other day. …

Good Luck to my teachers Allie and Leon who are setting off on an incredible adventure to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, raising funds for the Village Education Project.  This is a wonderful charity working in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania to improve education and reduce rural poverty. Sending you both positive vibes all the way! xx

I was in Flow class the other day when just as we were moving into half-pigeon our teacher uttered the words, ”…working into the Psoas”.  My eyebrows shot up. The wha -? While I’ve become more familiar with terms like Mula Bandha (Root Lock) and Uddiyana Bandha (Upward Abdominal Lock), for instance (though I’m still…

I’ve done weights before, but not like this! Yesterday evening I tried Pulse Yoga for the first time at my yoga home. As someone with several lapsed gym memberships to my name it’s fair to say that though I’ve done weights before, I have never loved the gym.  Yoga, I love.  Yet, I understand the…

‘Leela’ means ‘play’ in Sanskrit. I learned this at my yoga home because that’s the name of the style of Hot Yoga which is taught there.  ‘Leela’ is something that Stewart Gilchrist also touched on during his  workshop with us last month. At the weekend, we had some spontaneous ‘Leela Time’ when one of my…

Cynicism stinks. Cynicism is an easy thing to hide behind in order to stop you doing things that challenge you.  I hadn’t realised just how cynical I’d become.  I had this brought home to me recently by the most unlikely source – US comedian and satirist, Stephen Colbert. I was procrastinating over something I was…

I always get excited when people I know have great things happening for them.  Leon Taylor, one of my lovely teachers from my yoga home, has his first book coming out on 1st May.  Leon is an Olympic Medallist in platform diving and is known for inventing the world’s most difficult dive. I’m really grateful…

That it would bring up ‘stuff’ when I least expect it… I had been fine all day. Chirpy, even.  The news hadn’t come as a surprise and it felt like such a relief that it was finally out in the open…. Buoyant, I bounce along in the early evening sunshine as I head to my…

I was recently told a story by someone who used to do Iyengar classes with a teacher who would direct rather personal comments to her students during their practice, including bluntly telling one poor lady on more than one occasion that she was “too chunky” (!)  Not surprisingly, she didn’t keep those classes up, despite…

I think I’ve met a True Yogi. At the weekend I had the great privilege of attending a workshop led by Stewart Gilchrist at my yoga home. During a two and a half hour class titled ‘Chakra-ise the Asana’  Stewart taught us about the chakras (our wheels or nerve centres of power) in relation to…

I have just begun Astanga classes at my yoga home.  This is not my very first experience of The Primary Series.  I had a brief introduction years ago on a series of beginners’ classes with Leela Miller.  Leela was incredible, but I never went back beyond those classes.  I felt so intimidated by my surroundings…

That It Would Show Me I Have ‘Issues’… I’ve realised that I have a bit of an issue with accepting my limitations.  While I am gradually learning and experiencing the benefits of the internal practice, at times I have a real struggle with the external, focusing on the physical aspects – namely what I ‘cannot’…