YOGA EVENTS – 2011

2011

JAN 22                          BONES FOR LIFE – ADAM WARD – BWY EVENT

MARCH 26                         IYENGAR WORKSHOP – RICHARD WARD – PEAK

APRIL 9                         IYENGAR – ROSS BELL – PEAK

MAY 7                        ALIGNMENT – SHARON PRICE – BEELEY

JUNE 11                         8 STEP BREATH – BWY EVENT – BRIDGET

JUNE 18                        BACKBENDING WORKSHOP – SHARON PRICE – BEELEY

JULY 10                        MAINTAINING HOME PRACTICE – SHARON – BEELEY

JULY 23                        JIVAMUKTI – ANDREA – CRICH

AUGUST 1 – 5                  YOGA ON & OFF THE MAT – RETFORD – CAROLYN CLARKE

SEPT 10                        WORKING WITH THE HIPS – SHARON – MATLOCK ESCAPE

SEPT 17                        CHAKRA AWARENESS – CRICH – LINDSEY

SEPT 25                         INDUCTION TT – CALOW

OCT 01                         AGM DERBY MULTIFAITH - YOGAFLOWS – MOHINI CHATLANI

15 OCT IST                         SEQUENCING IN A YOGA CLASS - ANDREA KWIATKOWSKI CRICH

12 NOV                        YOGASANA – GRANDVILLE COUSINS - CRICH

26 NOV                         INDUCTION 2 - RETFORD

Gil Hedley: Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech

there are so many useful pages linked/posted each week, he's one from today...

i did get my natarajasana ...

we spent Sunday at Induction 1 for Yoga Teacher Training, on reflection i don't really think i was in the Yoga TT zone on Sunday

Yoga in my life

In 1997 I was wrongly diagnosed with a groin strain, & today I still have the same injury, Yoga was suggested to me as an alternative to Pilates, in 2007 Colin & I started attending regular classes 2-3 days a week, after 2 years we both felt we had more to learn, we started attending workshops & event days & in September 2010 we started another regular class with Gillian Gee which in turn led to us doing the Foundation course in January 2011.

I have found Yoga has had an incredibly powerful & positive impact on my life both physically & mentally, especially in the last year as I have started to look at Yoga as a whole rather than just the physical postures, Yoga is a very important part of my life already & I can never see that changing

i read Frank Lunn passed (BWY Treasurer) the more we walk into this immense extended yoga family, its hard not to cross paths with so many, i still think of Helen once in a while, she reminded me so much of Aunt, i hope to bump into her again soon 

Col & i spent last week with Carolyn at the yoga centre, 5 hours of yoga a day, by wednesday i was struggling by friday i didn't want to leave, i have fond memories of two people Helen who reminded me of my aunt, well spoken & eccentric & Brenda, she & i were the only people who chose the orange circle this means everlasting.. no begining & no end, i can relate to that, we were there when the final funding call came in to renovate the new centre, so this is where we will do our teacher training

In Jivamukti a couple of weeks ago we were contemplating your guru being obstacles/ people in life getting in the way, rather than people who teach you good things, if you can kiss the feet of your guru you find your peace

Col also opted for another tattoo last week, Celtic quoted him 120 & 3 hours, he went elsewhere it cost £60 & took 45 minutes, its the same style as his skateboard sequence but Surya namaska, again i'll take a better pic when its healed  

 

We did Jivamukti last September, there are a seriously limited amount of teachers here in the UK for this recognised style of Hatha, which is a shame, i love how Jivamukti is more than just Asana & does focus a lot on the spirtualised side of yoga, why are certain people drawn deeper into yoga, i could feel a vast improvement in my practice from the last time. I find strict Astanga too regimented & unforgiving, we really do need to find a Kundalini or Bikram workshop/class, i have to say though the London prices are high =/ I know they have a higher expense on living but you've got to be able to afford to practice, the Yoga Show is at the end October BW members didn't have to pay last year, the trains don't book that far in advance just yet. We now have 5 free weekends to make the most of before we give ourselves over for the next 3 years, this is assuming there are enough people who get on to teacher training, though i personally wouldn't mind taking another year looking deeper into the 9 styles....  we have 3 classes a week booked starting in September & hopefully Jodie will start her Ashtanga class Thursday nights

as weekend yoga goes, i have to say this weekend gone has been my favourite by far, not so much hip work, both days were mostly inversions & backward bends, its not often i sweat that much & felt so good.. i still do... at the saturday workshop we met another person coming on to teacher training in January, she's from the Jasmine side but comes from Matlock

Saturday we booked in for 6 hour workshop, i didn't get so much out of this one, Bridgets teaching was rushed & she didn't explain herself properly, we are once again heavily leaning towards the BW Foundation Degree, so much so i filled in the Introductory Day forms last night

I found our 2nd teacher for next year & she has a 3 week summer school running, i constantly search for retreats/workshops & although the retreats here & abroad look so nice they only have 2/3 hours of yoga a day, so it kind of defeats the object, this one has 5 1/2 hours a day for 5 days monday to friday with lunch included for £145 each/ or £260 residential... i do think its a good idea to work with her before we decide to do the next 2 years, there is no going back once we decide, i'm still 75% yes 25%, just from a finacial position, 4k each is a lot for 2 years or we could do the Yoga Alliance for a year like Bec did & only pay £1500 each, she is our longest standing teacher & if i'm honest, my favourite... i have a few months to decide yet so i'm not rushing any decision

i'm pleased i mastered crow/crane a while back... & it took a while due to my shoulder injury..  

... this is what Arthur & Dudley think of Donna Fahri ^^

i am questioning my ability of being a yoga teacher, i haven't come along some self discovery travelling in Tibet or found myself in India studying in one of the top yoga centres, my yoga comes from anatomy & that need to know just what is wrong with my physiology & how i can heal or at least maintain some level of balance, my mind or body is hardly ever quiet, my concentration is poor, my mind wanders, i have difficulty processing information so quickly, my left & right don't come naturally, i have to think about things, i look around at my peers, yes i have ego & i can't accept that we aren't supposed to, i wonder if i feel so inadequate why they don't, how my lack of knowledge & my desire to understand everything is my main frustration, i look at some great teachers & i could never reach that level & isn't that where we are supposed to aim

"no matter how different we appear on the surface, we all share the same life, no matter how convinced we are of our own ideas, there is always another to consider" - Donna Farhi 

this statement is so true, i have always understood there is no black & white, its all just grey.... my faith in humanity screams at me even when people are so self involved they can't see past their own ideas & i have learned to walk away, i became cynical & tired, especially with the ones i love/d the most, i now understand what people say always isn't what they mean, however trivial ....apparantly you tell people what they want to hear rather than being honest or saying nothing seems to be the obvious answer, this makes for very pointless friendships that over time suffers or comes to a natural end, so i ask.. what is the point, why do we waste precious time on people... i have just started reading Donna Farhi's books, its the first author i understand, she makes me think, this is probably where i question the promise of sincere, skillful & constant practice of yoga will give me peace, happiness & freedom & i will break through my self limiting & self immobilizing thoughts & behaviour... i already accept who i am & why i behave the way i do, life experiences make & shape us... & with every person who disappoints me, another makes me smile, even in the smallest of gestures & the balance is always restored 

...... this aside.. i do find i am very content in life at this point, maybe it is the magic of Yoga & i just can't see it yet or that all this practice makes me too tired to care about such triviality

after a break from yoga for 10 days, we are back at it till August now, Yogi's seem to have August off, not quite sure why this is, i'd have thought at the warmest time of the year there is nothing better... a fair few workshops booked along with regular classes & foundation

we went to try another new teacher/class on Thursday, although she wasn't what i'd call a 'proper' teacher she was ok, she taught with her back to the class, very odd

we spent today in a workshop with Sharon in Beeley, looking at alignment, she's a fantastic teacher i just wish she was close enough to have regular classes with

we are still very much in the yoga zone, workshops, classes, foundation training, we are noticing just how much better we have become just since the new year, the house is slowly being taken over by all things yoga/teacher training.. we have a new Monday class as Lisa has become manager of the fitness classes in a closer gym & teaches her Fitness Yoga, though i have to say she should really make them all take their socks off! The Ros Bell Iyengar workshop was excellent, its quite amazing the little things each teacher can show you, she was amazing, i couldnt even begin to guess how old she is but she's taught for 34 years & she looks so good on it, there aren't many Iyengar teachers at her standard, though i don't agree with some of the teaching aspects of Iyengar, its just dangerous.... I really like Sue who owns Peak, i'm really looking forward to her coming to do a British Wheel Day next month, i just want the rest of class to come too but they don't show much interest in workshops outside what we do already, maybe money is an issue for folk, its not cheap really when you add it all together.. & yes i will give in and get some tight yoga pants or maybe shorts  just for Sue as i wont be stripping to my pants again like i did for Ros so she could look at what on earth is going on with my thighs vs calves, i hyperextend my knees & stand in tadasana knock knee'd, at Becs class last week for the first time i actually stood on one leg holding my big toe with the other leg out stretched 

my life at the moment is simply Yoga & hounds.... i love how its changed my perspective on an awful lot in my life or maybe thats just age, i've found a couple of different workshops for us to attend over the next few months, i'm really keen to learn the differences between different styles, so we have booked on an Iyengar weekend & hope to start Ashtanga in a regular class, its so limited here, its all just Hatha teachers =/ & i also found a thursday night Tai Chi class i'd like us to start, i'm back on the vitamins/minerals, fish oil, collagen & gluco/chron i do wonder if its placebo or they do have some benefits as i do generally feel better on them than off, i don't think the deep hidden vegan within me will ever appear... though never say never....  i turn my nose up at some of the cleansing practises now but in time maybe i could bring myself to consider Kunjal (stomach wash) or Dhauti (Food Pipe Cleansing)  after all the Neti does work wonders..  

i have noticed Senior Yoga teachers have the strangest feet.. we had a teacher called Richard Agar Ward at a 3 hour workshop on saturday, our first insight to the pure Iyengar style, i love new teachers, i really believe each one offers something regardless of style but the Seniors really are something to look up & inspire to... after so much Trikonasana on saturday & feet breaking.... which as soon as my extra blocks arrive i will be doing on a daily basis, toe stretchers clearly don't work, its always usefull to let a teacher know your injured, in many places for me, i learnt some really usefull techniques if they work who knows, i understand the headstand more too now...  i'm glad sunday was a day on back bending.. but i'm really looking forward to the Ros Bell workshop & yet another Iyengar full day in May.. 

yet again i have muscle strain, this time in my right thigh grrr this is my stronger leg & its really impacting on the left.. i really do need to sort out my imbalances but i just keep injuring myself =/

so i meant to blog about my feet.. since Gillian mentioned my toes not being straight, its driving me to distraction... though its nothing serious, it will be interesting to see if i can move my toe positions using several devices, Dr Strelley didn't really think my phalanges were bad enough to justify any kind of drastic treatment & i so agree with her.. so i have these squishy things to wear inbetween my first 2 toes & a pair of guards to wear just in the day to cushion the joint..  & a contraption to wear at night that has the potential to hurt =/  feet really aren't pretty....  & i do think my little toes are more out than the rest

we did a full Yin Yoga class last night, i'm not keen on Yin but i have to say i slept through & my hip is ok today

Back to yet another full yoga day next sunday.. i have all this great incentive to excell out of a class but when it comes to it its a half hearted effort, as its the 1st tomorrow maybe i should try a little harder....

So... this is where i take yoga really seriously .. huh.. what i do isn't enough, though i think 3 years at least twice a week is 'quite' seriously.. sunday was a very long day & we were told to keep a personal development journal..

so heres the yoga bit... i already kind of knew i have over developed calves & under developed quads & a weak belt around my lower back/stomach thats not to say i'm not strong, i am but only in my legs, i'm in imbalance, i'm not strong in my upper as i don't lift weights & my quads are weak as i don't power squat/lunge or even walk up many steps, i barely ride my bike, weather obviously & aside from hound walking miles on end & yoga i need to balance it with something else... weights/lunges/squats/abdominals but i really dont want to cause my body any stress so i intend to be sensible...  thats hard for me... thats aside sunday's morning session was basic postures but totally broken down, i do now feel my strength is coming from my calves & not my quads, the seated poses i found interesting & i've never actually sat on a rolled up blanket, makes all the difference in the world, my right hip doesn't like me to sit in one seated position for long & its not that i don't have the flexibility to get into the positions, i can do half lotus very comfortbaly, Vajrasana is where you sit on your heels, Sukhansana simple crossed leg, Siddhasana (acomplished pose) is something i've never sat in before, the cat (Marjaryasana) leading with the crown is also something i've not done before.. i always thought Tadasana/Samasthiti was the same Mountain Pose/ Equal Standing but i do see how it could cause confusion in a class, it is the same but your heels touch & you feel ready to move in Samasthiti.. i really need to start reading my books..