I'm learning through my practice of 'being in the cycles' that many of our outer seasonal customs mirror beautifully our inner experiences should we care to pay attention to them. So, as we prepare to light bonfires and send fireworks into the sky I figure it makes perfect sense that once in a while I might have an inner bonfire, or festival of sparks, that forms a perfectly normal and natural part of my own inner seasons and cycles.
At equinox there is a balance in the hours of daylight and darkness. In āsana practice (postures) we seek balance between the left and right side of the body. In meditation we seek balance between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Today is the first day of August and it is on or around this day that the festival of Lammas is celebrated. We are now half way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. The days have been shortening since the end of June and an 'exhalation' into the darker half the year is… Continue reading Lammas / Pratyahara
We established A Space to Be in 2009 to provide a small, safe and protected space for the practice of yoga, massage and meditation. Our Community App is the online version - private and distraction free to help you create your own 'space to be' at home.
When I was asked to teach a workshop on the theme of 'Yoga and the Environment' I immediately said 'yes'. From 'Being in the Cycles' to 'Mother Earth Has Got Your Back', my yoga practice and teaching has always been infused with imagery from the natural world and I have written before about My Guru.… Continue reading Yoga and the Environment
Most of us begin our yoga practice with an interest in āsana (pronounced ah-sana) - otherwise known as postures. Practicing āsana allows us to develop a better relationship with our body, to really feel our body and learn how to use it and move it wisely. For many of us this deepening relationship with our body begins an enquiry into other aspects of ourselves, like our breath, our thoughts, our feelings and our spirituality. Whether or not that's what we intended, we find ourselves on the path of yoga and we might start to seek for a map of the territory.
