Autumn Vinyasa Flow with Alessandra

Are you by chance feeling a bit run down, tired, possibly a little poorly and low energy?  I sure am and the coughs and sniffles on the tubes suggest I'm not alone.  It's no coincidence, Friday was the Autumn Equinox when our world spends equal time in dark as light and we begin to descend into the darkness of winter.  Perhaps that explains why I was in bed at 10pm on Friday night and couldn't get out of bed until 10am the next day.. 

But before I could get too bogged down in the post-summer blues I was blessed to spend Saturday afternoon with the beautiful goddess Alessandra Pecorella and the wonderful Live Music of Ann Malone for an Autumn Vinyasa Flow Workshop: Heart = Prana + Fire which was exactly what I need to spark my spirits.  

“As we approach Autumn Equinox the universal energy (Shakti) coils back towards the Earth and this reflects in a descent of prana-shakti (life force) along the spine towards its base.  The Equinox is when pran-shakti is half way in descent at the Heart Centre



And what better way to energise and enjoy prana flowing our heart space than beginning with a dance meditation.  Spinning, vibrating and dancing inspired by the image of celestial planets and the great universe, to the ecstatic beat of Ann Malone’s drumming was really freeing and it’s amazing how different and alive I felt straight away.  I will definitely take some time out to dance to my favourite song and just enjoy moving next time I’m struggling with morning asana.  

 That’s another thing I love about Alessandra’s classes she releases you from being bound to the yoga mat and encourages you to experiment and expand in news ways, in new directions and create space and light.  You never know what is coming next which means you have to stay fully focused (no chance of going into auto-pilot surya namaskars or deciding what to have for dinner here!).  But the krama sequences gradually develop and unfold and before you know it she’s led you into the deepest hip opener and somehow overridden the inner doubts that normally creep in as you approach the challenging asanas.       

I hope you can make it to Alessandra's classes to experience her guidance for yourselves.  In the meantime perhaps acknowledge the phases of the moon, chart any significant shifts in energy levels and acknowledge any correlations.  Allow this to feed into your yoga self practice or the types of yoga classes you choose to attend and when.  

Tonight is the New Moon so why not start now...    

Alessandra Pecorella www.alessandrayoga.com

Vegetarianism and Annamaya Kosha

When people ask me why I’m a vegetarian I just say that I don’t fancy eating meat and fish anymore.  Yes that is true, it wasn’t a conscious decision to stop eating meat and fish for a specific ethical reason I just desired it less and less until I didn’t want animal flesh in my body.  But the real reasons for being vegetarian go deeper and its part of my practices for spiritual evolution. 

Through practicing yoga we aim to travel through the five koshas/sheaths of the body; these are energetic layers which like lampshades dampen our pure inner light, our soul known as Atman.  On the yogic journey of self-realisation we progressively dive inwards through the koshas right to the centre of who we really are and to experience the purity at the eternal centre of consciousness and reach our highest potential. 

The outer layer is Annamaya Kosha which relates to our physical body and the notion that we are what we eat.  When we live predominantly in this kosha we are focused on identifying and defining ourselves by our physical body – fat, bones, hair, skin, nails etc – rather than celebrating our true self and the Divine.  Through practising asana (the physical yoga postures) we connect and refine the Annamaya Kosha, lightening the body and becoming increasingly aware of the affects of what we eat and drink and preparing us physically for meditation where we can transcend through the inner koshas. 

Eating animal and fish flesh seemed to slow me down, make me feel groggy and prevent the free flow of prana our life force.  It’s not really surprising as meat is denser and takes longer for the body to digest than vegetables and fruit.  By cutting out flesh I feel more energised, spiritually connected and in tune with my body. 

In a yoga class yesterday the teacher shared her strong views on how as yogis we shouldn’t eat meat because our bodies only digest 10% off it and the rest goes to waste.  And because when animals are slaughtered they are full of fear and aggression and these enzymes are shot into their muscle tissue which remains in the meat until its consumed having karmic affects and releasing these negative emotions.   I did find this interesting but I think it made me realise that I strongly believe in the freedom of personal choice and that different people have different needs and that as teachers we should give people space to interpret the information we provide and be their own teachers.

So yes I’ve shared my thoughts on vegetarianism but don’t worry I’m not dogmatic and would never ever judge anyone for what they choose to eat, especially if they did so mindfully.  This is just my personal experience right now, and as with everything this may change. 

Heart Opening with Marcela

Yesterday I spent a wonderful afternoon with one of my dearest teachers Marcela for a touching heart opening workshop in The Yoga Garden; a stunning Mogalian style Yurt in the beautiful sussex countryside.  I loved the intimate space and was lovely to be in the midst of nature, definately something I'd like to emulate in future.

I've been going to Marcela's classes for around 3 years and attended two yoga holidays with her, I can't begin to summarise how much I've learnt from her teachings, incredible attention to the anatomical body and core strength/bandhas, creative sequencing, building ujjayi breath and sense of fun and play!  As a teacher what I now really appreciate and find inspiring is seeing how Marcela's own practice is continually evolving and shifting and how this reflects through her teachings with real authenticity in a constant state of enquiry and passing on.  I'm determined to honour my students in the same way and have this real yearning to continually learn, stretch myself and seek knowledge and inspiration from the widest sources.

Marcela devoted the anahata chakra awakening workshop to compassion.  Being compassionate to ourselves means allowing suffering.  Suffering is a natural part of life, and to be compassionate with others we need to experience and feel emotions.  This is part of surfing the wave of life, sometimes the sea is calm and happy and sometimes the sea is rough and angry.  We need to be flexible and release feelings otherwise our surfboard will get stiff, tense and eventually snap.  We should trust in the flow of life, everything is moving, no emotion is constant. 

However our brain can get addicted to certain emotional patterns amd the neurotransmitters these produce so we can use certain techniques to trick the mind.  For example if we smile even if we don't feel happy it releases endorphins which make you feel happy - try it for yourself.   In our yoga practice we can work with our body to override negativity and physiologically cultivate positive feelings.  A great example is backbending which opens the heart and as Marcela explains,  

"Performing them makes you feel elegant, light and clear-minded. There is a euphoric sense of liberation in releasing the heart, and feeling fully alive and connected to nature. when we let go, so does the spine, and then universal Prana can flow through us."

Marcela Enriquez Wakeham http://www.stillflowingyogateachertraining.com/teachers/marcela

The Yoga Garden http://www.theyogagarden.co.uk/index.html

Moments of euphony with Emil

Thanks to my dear friend and one of London’s most fantastic, dedicated, centered and connected vinyasa flow teachers AJ, I had the pleasure of attending a Pranayama and Philosophy workshop with her beloved teacher Emil on Thursday evening.  Emil greeted me, taking my hands in his and his aura was so calming and warm I could immediately see why AJ had sung his praises and felt incredibly lucky to be there.  

We spent 1 ½ on pranayama/ breathing exercises.  As you may have picked up from this blog breath is a really integral part of my practice and I incorporate pranayama exercises into my daily practice.  However I have not experienced much teaching in pranayama, as Emil pointed out London is one of the leading places for yoga asana (physical practice) but there is not many classes focusing on pranayama, so this was eye-opening.  I would often do rounds of kapalabhati or bastrika in quick succession but Emil showed me that the true moments of peace are when you allow time to come into still silence between the exercises, when having worked and strongly manipulated the breath you completely let go and come into a natural state of breathing and bliss. 

Emil also showed me the beauty of subtlety when applying bandhas and using mudras and awareness.  When in kumbhaka (retaining the breath) I would typically come into full mulha, uddiyana bandha and jalandhara bandha but Emil encouraged us to soften and work with our awareness bringing it to the tip of the nose or our root.  By letting go gently, I found my mind letting go. 

We also did a wonderful variation of nadi shodhana; breathing in through both nostrils and raise the right arm out to the side and reaching up above our head, then bringing the right thumb to close off the right nostril to breath out of the left nostril as slowly right lower the elbow down to the centre and releasing the right hand to right knee and changing side to side.  During this exercise we took our awareness to our hands, my fingers tingled with energy and felt this freedom of otherness.  Emil talked about meditation being a holiday from yourself and complete rest and relaxation which completely resonated with my experience of nadi shodhana. 

Following the pranayama practice Emil imparted more of his wisdom and humour.  He reminded us that we are householders not professional yogis / sadhus – the renunciaters who leave everything behind to live in solitude in pursuit of enlightenment – so we should be realistic, find what works for us to create a balance as if we did follow all the practices of the renunciaters we would come into trouble.  Without a busy mind we wouldn’t survive one minute in London – crossing the road would be a challenge, we wouldn’t be able to hold down a job or support our families.  So allow this yoga just to let us slow down sometimes and be a rest, a holiday from the busyness.  And is it really so wrong to have desires?  Isn’t it in fact great to desire our partners?  Isn’t it lovely to feel attachment to our families and friends?  This was such a refreshing approach! 

Emil  talked about Tantra and this being a fairly new concept (in the ancient history of yoga that is), about spanda the vibration which connects the universe and allows us to stay connected to the world around us.  So rather than turning inwards and leaving everything around us and renunciating we can turn towards a viewpoint which connects us with the everything in the world, the bigger, the higher.  As a householder we can use the yogic ethics to guide us on this journey, to help us evolve but we can stay connected to the world around us and in the words of Emil it’s ok to desire chocolate!  Phew!

Emil Wendel
http://www.beyond-the-asana.com/

AJ
http://www.ajyoga.co.uk/