Slowing down to improve

How is your practice going ? Are you managing to find a rhythm ? 

I thought I would use this newsletter as a check in to see how the year is going for you? 

Ideally, I like to practice yoga daily, it is my strength training, my stretch, my mental break between one event and another. I always feel better both mentally and physically, even if I only manage five or ten minutes. I admit yoga doesn't happen everyday as I intend, but I know yoga is there to make me feel better if I need it. When I need it, I make sure to find that 5-10 minutes. Yoga doesn't always have to be a full, intense

I was motivated to become a yoga instructor as I couldn’t keep this secret to myself. I wanted to use this newsletter to refresh you and your practice if you are feeling as though all those new year's resolutions are not working out as planned.

Yoga is a gentle practice with so many secret benefits. Yoga wraps us in a glow of warmth whether we attend a class or practice at home, whether we practice for five minutes or an hour. (See the youtube below even three minutes can leave you feeling better)

The secret is that yoga continues to assist us throughout our day off the mat. It offers us a nod of comfort we have trained ourselves to recognize. We find it in a muscle we can relax using only our mind and breath. We find it in an anxious moment resolved by returning to the present, to our values, to the yoga secret. 

As Yogis, we use techniques we have learnt on the mat throughout the day so really we are really practicing yoga continually.

Yoga is gentle as it offers all the adaptations we need in that moment.  We can always find a challenge but we can also always find peace and quiet. 

I used to think yoga was only advanced if you could do a headstand or tiny dancer or another challenging pose. Now I think advanced yoga is finding the right pose for you. Sitting in easy pose; relaxed and present is as advanced as any of those complex poses. A true yogis can find true solace in a simple pose.