Identifying With Your Witness.....

What's the most useful piece of advice or teaching I have been given?

It keeps coming back to me how profound this simple technique and idea has helped me.  Probably very obvious to some people but I find I refer back to this again and again.  So what is it?  Basically it is identifying with the part of me that is the witness to everything, the watcher, the observer, the seer.  I first became aware of this through one of Stephen Cope's books - (Google that guy, he's written some very interesting stuff).  He details an exercise "Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch and Allow" which I use in many of my yoga classes as a way to focus the mind and to eventually get beyond the thoughts.

At first I was intrigued about this mysterious watcher who is part of 'me', my over- active imagination visualised some dark hooded figure stalking me and shaking her head at my actions and words.  You can tell I had a lot more work to do at that point.  But then I realised this part of 'me' - (some would class as pure consciousness, light, Divine and probably dozens of other interpretations) is not a judge or a critic - merely an observer. 

So it began, the observer first of all watched my monkey mind in meditation, then watched my breath in asana practice, watching my frustration in balance postures!  But then I found when I was just going about my normal life, dealing with the kids and interacting with others - I was more frequently noticing my witness, observing my behaviour.  Just quietly and without judgement, noticing my tone and even observing thoughts as they were arising day-to -day. 

It has been a very gradual process and being able to identify with this observer does not make you think, behave or act in a virtuous manner all the time.  We are all human, we all get mad, sad, desperate, ecstatic and million other things, it's just now there is a little bit more awareness and more tolerance of myself, knowing it's all part of the human experience.

www.yogiclaire.com

What the Class Members Say - Part 7

Feel like starting yoga, but not sure?  Have a read of what my class members say.  I've not published one of these for a while, but it's always lovely to hear about personal yoga stories...this was kindly filled in by one of my Tuesday class members. 





1. How long have you been practicing yoga?

I attended my first yoga class on October 7th 2014 with my friend Gail, we had been thinking about it for a while.

2.       What do you feel you get out of your yoga practice? 

I benefit massively from an hour of yoga both physically and mentally, I feel relaxed and chilled out and a lot less stressed.  I have a bad knee and I am able to do yoga without pain.

 

3.       How do you feel your life has changed since you have been doing a regular yoga practice?

My posture is better than it was and I particularly benefit from the breathing techniques which I use on a daily basis in my very stressful job.  A good nights sleep!

 

4.       What is your favourite posture and why?

I love child's pose - I feel safe, relaxed and warm.  I also love cobra and sphinx - they are my new dance moves at friend's nights in.

 

5.       What would you say to someone who is thinking about attending yoga for the first time and a little afraid to take that first step?

Don't hesitate - just come along and see for yourself the great benefits you will achieve.  The class is a nice mixture of males and females of various ages and no one is competitive - yoga is not like that.  Claire is a delightful teacher and whatever your ailments - this can be accommodated.  I wish there was a class every day, I would be there.  Claire is twelve out of ten - thank you.

 

Questions kindly answered by one of our Tuesday class members, who recently began her yoga journey.  A joy to read - thank you Julia Nolan x 

 

Be selfish and help others...?

In a week's time I am off to give blood again, I know loads of people do this and I am not looking for a pat on the back for this as I only started giving blood again about 2 years ago, after a long break of about 20 years!  I kept meaning to do it but there was always something else which took priority.

Now I am back into the habit of it and of course I have some available time to do it now the kids are both at school.  I am now part of the Interval Study which is looking at whether it is safe for people to donate more regularly than the current system which is every 4 months for females, so I am going every 3 months and so far I feel fine.  See details here:  http://www.blood.co.uk/donor-information/

There is something so personal about giving blood, there is something more to it than giving money to charity (which of course is a great thing to do if you can)  It seems such a simple thing to do but I get such a rewarding feeling, like I am giving something of myself (which in a way is exactly what we are doing when we give blood)  all it takes is giving up a bit of time, and you get a biscuit and drink after!!  Which I confess was the original reason why I did it over 20 years ago, that and also having half an hour out of work as I worked for the NHS at the time and they allowed us time to go and donate!  I like to think I am a little less selfish now and a bit less biscuit orientated!  But having said that I have heard a saying that the most selfish thing you can do is help someone else - as we get so many personal benefits from a simple act of giving or helping.  An interesting article here about this very subject -http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/kindness_makes_you_happy_and_happiness_makes_you_kind/

If you don't already donate but think it is something you could do, then see the Blood Donor website and check if you are eligible, it is painless and the staff have always been so lovely and grateful.  I have also met some amazing people at the donor centres who have been donating for many, many years and quietly do so without the need to go on about it in a blog!! ;)

www.yogiclaire.com

Meditating on Tinnitus!

I have had tinnitus on and off for the last 20+ years, it is thought to be part of my vestibular migraine condition.

I can remember first becoming aware of it and wondering how the hell I could carry on with this incessant whistling and whooshing in my ear.  The more frustrated I got the louder the tinnitus became - as if mocking me.  It kind of took on a life of it's own.  Around this time I went to Milan on a business trip (just working on an exhibition stand - so not as glamorous as it sounds!) and I remember the sheer effort and energy it took to really hear people over the sound in my ear.  I wondered how I could go on with this annoying sound always there.  There were some occasions when I thought I might go mad.  Luckily for me after a few months the sound subsided a little (or maybe I just got used to them) and I was able to go about my daily life without it troubling me too much.   But over the years it has returned on many occasions - sometimes very loud and staying with me for months on end.

Now I have a regular yoga and meditation practice I do find it easier to deal with, when the sound is there, it's just there.  I can interpret that sound as annoying or upsetting but that is my choice.....or I can think to myself, it is a sound my brain is perceiving, it is not going to kill me.  I even use the sound sometimes as an anchor for my awareness when in meditation, much like I use my breath as focus for awareness. Using the Tibetan singing bowls has also helped me feel like I have some sort of control over it.

The lessons I learnt from this were to change my own perceptions - I don't have a choice about the tinnitus - it is there most of the time, but I can control my response to it.  I can soften my shoulders, slow my breathing and listen with interest to what sound it decides to be today!  I think this technique can be applied to many situations in life, so maybe you don't have an annoying sound in your ear - maybe you have an annoying person/situation in your life.  You can be in control of your response to them.......you have the choice.......

I have also found some relief using a product called Hush Tinnitus, these are sounds which you can download and listen to in order to gain relief both whilst listening and for some people the effect lasts for some time after. Binaural beats are also a useful tool - there are many on You Tube which you may want to have a listen to (with headphones)

I know there are millions of people who also experience this condition, so I hope this post has helped some of those people realise that they have control over their response to it (and to everything)

www.yogiclaire.com

Parent & Toddler Yoga - lessons learnt....

I started my Parent and Toddler yoga class in September 2013, it's been chaos, fun, enlightening, relaxing, rewarding, exhilarating and down right knackering (especially when I am being a jumping bean or a penguin) but mainly it has been a wonderful learning experience.  Yes this is going to be an overly emotional and gushing post but I'm like that when it comes to little kids....

We all know that children are unique and special in their own way but witnessing them develop and grow within the yoga class setting has been a revelation.  When it's our own children we are aware of their development but oftentimes we can become so bogged down with the day to day stuff we forget to sit back and marvel at how amazing they are.  In my classes I have been able to observe with more of an objective eye as these aren't my own children.

When I used to take my boys to classes (and we went to so many - baby signing, baby yoga, rhythm and rhyme time, the list goes on)  I was always very focused on my children and what they were or weren't doing, sometimes marvelling at how outgoing some kids were and how fearless of strangers they seemed to be (while mine would hide their faces and cling to my leg!)  But actually there are many kids who are not loud and gregarious, I have seen them in my yoga classes, but when you are the Mum you tend to only focus on your own kids and the ones who are different - because the contrast is so stark.

But with a little care and gentle attention those quieter ones who don't want to join in everything, slowly begin to trust and start little by little to let their guard down.  In all yoga classes there is no competition and this is true of a kids class too, it's fine to watch and take everything in and then try it out at home or quietly on the mat when the other kids are singing and dancing.  I really hope that the children who have attended the classes have gained something that they can take through the rest of their lives, I hope a little seed has been planted in them so that they will continue their yoga or come back to it many years down the line.

I am still working with boosting the confidence of my own children, using mindfulness techniques, yoga and a little bit of Buddhist philosophy thrown in as they seem to be the sort of kids that will really benefit from this approach - both are over thinkers like their Mother!!

Yoga is great for everybody but if you have a child who seems to be lacking in confidence and tends to hang back and not join in, then a children's yoga class could really help them.  Most areas have some sort of children's yoga classes locally and if not, there are some amazing videos on You Tube.  Check out Cosmic Kids Yoga, one of the kids yoga training courses I did was with Cosmic Kids Yoga and they really are captivating stories, that younger children really get involved with.  Click the link to check it out -  Cosmic Kids Yoga

For more details about my classes for both adults and children see www.yogiclaire.com

Instigating Change....

I blog a lot about things changing and the impermanence of everything, it seems relevant every single day of our  lives.  Sometimes 'things' just change organically but other times we need to be intelligent and proactive and instigate these changes for the good of our health and to benefit those around us.

My personal yoga practice has changed massively over the last 6 months for various reasons.  I have blogged about my dreaded migraines, so this has affected my practice and I have been having some physio to help my neck pain which could possibly be linked to the migraine problem.

After the first physio session I felt completely and utterly deflated as she told me how stiff my neck and upper back were, my reaction was so ego driven it was untrue - what me?? A yoga practitioner with a stiff neck/back - how can it be??  But then when I started to think about all the stuff I have done in the past which have contributed to my neck issues it's hardly surprising I am experiencing neck troubles now, things like driving 6 hours straight without a break, swimming breast stroke with my head out of the water, head-banging in rock clubs(I kid you not!) and also a life long habit of sleeping in a prone position (not good apparently)  My physio advised me to lay off the headstands for a while, so it has been about 2 months since I have been into a headstand, at first I was itching to do it because I have been doing different headstand variations most days for many years.  So there I was facing up to my ridiculous attachment to a yoga posture......again!

It has given me time to embrace other aspects of the practice, my meditation times have increased, and I have been using some healing mantras which are amazingly therapeutic and soothing.  My physical practice has become more like the yoga which I teach, which is gentle, nurturing and with an occasional invitation to challenge.  My balance has been very difficult due to the dizziness and complete deafness in one ear but each day I try to practice at least one balance posture and have no expectation of a result and I think it is improving.

As time goes on everything will change, kids grow up, people die, shit happens and yoga practice changes whether we like it or not, it's when we become resistant to change that problems arise.  If we are too attached to anything including our yoga practice - then we suffer.

I recently attended an amazing pranayama workshop with Pranayama Master Sri O.P.Tiwari and he told a story about attachments which really resonated with me:

'There once was a dedicated yogi who was told by his teacher that if he practiced each and everyday for 3 hours that he would eventually meet with God.  So for many years he practiced diligently, one day there was a knock on the door - it was God "just wait a minute" he shouted "I've only done one hour of practice - I haven't finished yet!"

He had become so attached to the practice itself he had lost sight of what he was doing it for!  This can happen so often in our lives - we miss the bigger picture, we can become obsessed with the minutiae of life.

So whether change happens outside of our control or whether we need to instigate it ourselves, we need to accept it as an inevitable part of life, let's have a flexible mind and allow ourselves to be carried along with the flow but gently guiding that flow if we need to......


www.yogiclaire.com

When Worlds Collide....

I attended the Yoga Show with my Mum in Manchester today.  There were several reasons for wanting to attend but I had a few reservations about going as I thought maybe I would see some things as 'not really yoga'  I worry a bit about how commercial yoga has become - about how it is portrayed that you need these clothes and that accessory to practice yoga, when really all you need is your body and an open mind, some would argue that you 'need' a mat but I have practiced many times without one.

I found myself being drawn in by some of the stuff  "oh wow I really need another Ganesh statue" that kind of thing.....which was a bit disconcerting as I am always trying to de-clutter and simplify my life, but that's marketing for you, I should know I studied it and worked in a sales and marketing role for over 12 years.  In fact that was one of the other reasons I wanted to attend, because I spent a considerable amount of time in my 'old job' working on exhibition stands both in the UK and also abroad and I can remember all the hard work I had to do to get a sale!!  I wanted to experience what it was like to be a visitor to an exhibition.  I know it's not quite the same thing because the industry is very different, but it sort of feels like a conflict, yoga and sales/marketing - but I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that yoga is big business and I suppose I am part of it. 

Another reason for going was to see my Mum's reaction to everything there, she has taught yoga for over 30 years and I am fascinated by what she thinks of the yoga world in 2014.  But she took everything in and liked some stuff and wasn't keen on other stuff - but just let it all go.  She didn't get annoyed by anything she saw.   We both loved the Iyengar demo as it was very professional and to the point and we both stocked up on teas and coconut water - because we like it - not because it will make us better yogis!!

So - it is what it is - my old world of sales and marketing colliding with my yoga world and I have to accept that some of it is not for me and some of it is wonderful and exciting.  So all in all we had a lovely morning of mooching round the show, people watching while we had our lunch, and maybe even thinking about attending next year.


www.yogiclaire.com