Yoga July 2024
and the summer break and return dates
Namaste all,
Summer is nearly upon us and is the time for rest and relaxation so do please enjoy yoga through July finishing on Monday 22nd July and resuming again on Monday 2nd September.
Classes during July:
GREASBY CENTRE
MONDAYS 11.15 AM:
1st July,
8th July,
15th July,
22nd July - (LAST CLASS BEFORE THE SUMMER BREAK)
Classes will resume after the summer holidays on MONDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER.
I hope that you have been enjoying our exploration of the movement of the spine in relation to the rest of our being - the nervous system, the mind, the breath and whatever you perceive to be the higher consciousness.
The last few sessions before the summer break we will continue to focus on allowing the breath to move the body to deepen our connection to Self.
Beginning the breath just a moment before the movement to keep the mind focussed within the body and body responses.
Working with the breath isn’t just about keeping the nervous system calm or encouraging a deeper in breath to feed muscle it is about connection within where we can begin to listen to the deeper and more subtle feedback from our whole being rather than just the noisy feedback from mind and body.
When we practise listening to subtle feedback, we delve deeper into understanding the connection of our whole being and of our higher consciousness whatever we perceive that to be, God, Energy of the Universe, connection to the Earth energy, connecting in short to that which is beyond the mind, the ego and the conditioning that we all receive during our life!
Not an easy task, but one well worth pursuing daily:
create a space where you will feel comfortable
watch the breath - just the natural in flow and out flow
watch thoughts - let them come, let them go, acknowledging difficult or recurring thought patterns
be gentle with yourself and don’t judge!
notice feeling and sensations within the body
let go of expectations
have gratitude you took time in the first place to try to make a deeper connection to the Self.
‘Knowing when we need to rest shows a huge amount of understanding of ourselves, respect for our bodies, and allows our practice to support us for a lifetime.’ Eckhart Yoga
The Yamas and Niyamas of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Niyama - Isvarapranidhana - surrender to the higher being
‘Isvarapranidhana’ is made up of two words; Isvara, which translates as ‘Supreme Being’, ‘God’, ‘Brahman’, ‘Ultimate Reality’ or ‘True Self’ and Pranidhana, which means devotion, surrender. In most translations of this Niyama, we’re advised to ‘surrender’ to this Supreme Being or higher self, and is a means of developing a relationship with the universe, higher self, something beyond the self, and making each action an offering with gratitude.
The purpose of practising Isvarapranidhana is to help us to free ourselves from the limitations of our ego, mind stuff and conditioning, to be bigger than we think that we are and in the words of Marianne Williamson from A Course in Miracles:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
And if you don’t have a belief in a God, then whatever you perceive the higher consciousness to be is what you connect to so that we are better able to let our own light shine!
Shanti Om
Sue x