Newsletter

Yoga is Life

Newsletter
I hope you are well and you are enjoying the beautiful summer we have. I was thinking about what to share this month and it came to me that many people see yoga as practice on the mat, whatever the practice is. But for me, yoga is so much more. Life is my practice. And this summer I am working very hard with my fear of water. I learned how to swim when I was 38. It’s still new and I have a lot of negative associations with water, especially deep water because I was drowning three times as a child. For the last few years, I was practising befriending my fear in a deep swimming pool. And it was tough. I had panic attacks each time I couldn’t touch the bottom, but lifeguards were there, so I didn’t worry too much and kept going. And after a few months, my mind got used to it and I felt safe. So I moved to a deeper one. The same process happened. So I dared to swim in the lake. With no one watching. But I had my little buoy with me so each time fear paralysed my body I was resting on it. And I still keep going. The fear is still here, but I think we have an understanding. It knows I won’t give up. I am stubborn, and each time it gets smaller and smaller.
My friend asked me–why am I doing this to myself? The answer is so easy – life is so much bigger than our minds, our fears. Fear is limiting my perception of the world and I want to see life as it is and not what’s comfortable to see. Hence, I face my fear. That’s the only way, safe and small steps, but hopefully one day I will get there. And each time I conquer fear, the feeling of freedom is expanding and I float… I feel weightless… I feel like I come closer to something, closer to life, closer to the truth. Everything in our life is a practice, and how we react to it is up to us.
 
 

Yoga Evening classes – Brine Leas College starting Sep 22

Newsletter
So that’s what we did last Friday at the Brine Leas Showcase!
I’ve been teaching the Brine Leas Yoga evening classes for a year now and I really enjoyed it. And we start again in September!
There will be additional advance yoga and meditation class and my husband will teach Yoga for Men! All on Wednesday night!
And my stand was next to the one and only Mel who is also a German teacher (and a very good one too! I took her class) and she will also start some soap and bath bombs workshops too!
The programme will be ready for you by the end of next week. Email our fabulous Ann at evening.classes@brineleas.co.uk to get one straight into your inbox!
or have a look at the link below:
http://brineleas.co.uk/information/evening-classes/
 
See you there!

Clearing the mind…

Newsletter
When I was in the Ashram, I was part of the gardening team as my Karma yoga, and after two years of Covid, you can imagine there was a lot of weed to deal with in the gardens. Somehow I became an expert, especially on dock leaves. As the internet is informing us, “The leaves are used to soothe nettle stings and often grow nearby the offending plant. The cooling properties were also used to soothe insect bites and stings, as well as scalds, blisters, and sprains. They were a popular remedy for staunching bleeding or for purifying the blood.” It worked with nettle stings!
 
It’s a strange little plant which spreads quickly, but the most fascinating is the roots. It had very strong roots. Reminded me of parsnip but much thinner and more flexible. Some roots are deep down in the soil and to remove them, you have to come up with a system of loosening the ground around it and digging under before pulling it out. Sometimes a lot of force is required, I even lost my balance and landed flat on my back. Sometimes I didn’t remove the root and only the leaves stayed in my hands. And the next year new leaves will come up, maybe weaker but still there.
 
Some roots were wrapped around another plant, living almost in a symbiotic relationship. It was almost difficult to recognise which root belong to which plant.
 
And it’s the same with our mind, isn’t it? Our mind is built on unique patterns of behaviour and emotional responses. And sometimes they are rooted so deeply in our minds that we think they are part of our DNA. We identify with our thoughts and we think that’s who we are. But we are not. We can change any behaviours because the real You is under all those layers of patterns, and we need to uncover it again.
 

Ashram Life

Newsletter
I just came back from the Mandala Yoga Ashram 10-day retreat and it’s so difficult to put in words what I would like to express.
It’s a place on the top of the hill, facing the Brecon Beacons, surrounded by beautiful gardens and nature.
It’s a place where I can befriend my mind, where I can be myself and there is no judgment.
It’s a place of work as well as meditation, but work also transforms into meditation through karma yoga.
Every single time I go there, I let go of part of myself and discover another layer.
It’s something you need to experience for yourself.

Let It Go

Newsletter
This year we talked a lot about surrendering and letting go, which is also this month’s theme for our classes. My teacher inspired me to go into practice a little deeper and, as a result, I created a poem I would like to share with you. Let me know what you think:
 
Just let go
Like the trees let go of leaves
For the winter
 
Surrender
To the abyss
To the unknown
To the darkness
To the light
 
Like a grain of sand lost in the desert
A drop of water sank in the sea
Let the earth tremble under your feet
Let the whole life fall apart
 
And surrender
To the space
 
and your breath
Ebbing and flowing
 
The never-ending
Pulse of life
 
The only thing that is real
The only thing that exists
 
You