A Yogaversary & a Thank You...

This week sees the 4th year anniversary of my Thursday evening class at Sale Moor Methodist Church.  I had been teaching for a while at LA Fitness when I decided I wanted to set up my own class at my chosen venue.  A location very close to my heart, my Mum attended Sunday School at this church, I went to Brownies there and play group.  Both my sons went to playgroup there and my eldest son attended Paint Box art club there and I even had my 9th Birthday Party in the cellar!!  I love all my classes but I always like to mark the anniversary of the Thursday class as it was my very first private class.

So here's a little thank you....

Thank you to all class members past and present....... thank you to those who come to class in snow, hail, rain or shine.  Those with broken hearts, broken minds and broken bones (yes really!!) 

Thanks to the ones who attend every class without fail and to those who come when they can.  Thanks to stressed out Nanas, tired out Mummies, to weary Daddies - hope the yoga helped!

Thanks to those who only ever came to a class once - I sincerely hope I ignited a spark of interest in yoga and you went on to join a different class or developed a home practice - I really don't mind, just as long as you didn't give up!

Thanks to those who have now moved away, I hope you found a lovely new yoga teacher in your new home town. 

Thanks to those who became too ill or frail to attend a yoga class - I hope you found some peace.

Thanks to other yoga teachers who attend my classes, it is truly an honour to have you there.

Thanks to those who fall asleep in savasana and those who struggle to relax but give it a good go every week! 

Thanks to those who are determined, those who are curious, those who try their hardest and those who allow themselves to slow down and back off when it is completely against their nature to do less than 100%  That truly is a challenge - I completely understand that!

Thank you to everyone who has supported my classes, here's to many more years of yoga!! 

www.yogiclaire.com

Mindfulness Backlash??

I have found mindfulness to be a helpful tool on occasion, I have blogged about how it has helped me. I am not 100% mindful and present every waking moment, delighting in chopping every carrot or cleaning the toilet! But sometimes when I feel a rising panic, the stress response when I have too much going on, and have said yes to too many projects; then that is when I can guide myself to the task at hand and remain 100% focussed on that and only that.  It works for me and calms me down and I know it works for many others.

 
Recently though there seems to be a bit of a backlash against this practice - some referring to it as a 'snake oil' which claims to sure all ills. I suppose it was inevitable, as everything that becomes 'popular' or 'mainstream' at some point is questioned at best or torn down at worst.

See this New York Times Article  for an example of this. It does, however, raise some interesting concerns about how meditation and mindfulness can be used in questionable ways.

It has made me question whether we are just expecting to much of this practice and this has coincided with me reading the auto-biography of Alan Watts - a spiritual philosopher, writer and teacher.  He died in 1973 (the year I was born) so was a completely different generation to me, but it seems back then they were asking many of the same questions as we are now (and probably the same questions as spiritual seekers many hundreds of years ago)

There is a passage in the book where he is talking to his wife Eleanor and they are discussing the method of concentration on the eternal present, she says:

"Why try to concentrate on it?  What else is there to be aware of? Your memories are all in the present, just as much as trees over there.  Your thoughts about the future are also in the present, and anyhow I just love to think about the future.  The present is a constant flow like the Tao, and there is simply no way of getting out of it" 

Alan then writes "with that remark my whole sense of weight vanished.  You could have knocked me down with a feather.  I realised that when Hindus said Tat tvam asi  'You are that', they meant just what they said.  For a whole week thereafter I simply floated, remembering Spiegelberg's telling me of the Six Precepts of Tilopa:

No thought, no reflection, no analysis,
No cultivation, no intention,
Let it settle itself."

So where does it leave us with regard to mindfulness?  There is no magic answer.  We have to ensure that when we are using certain practices, we are discerning. We are evaluating whether it is beneficial at that time, and not expecting too much from the practice. Are we using the practices in an appropriate way?  I daresay there are some people who it just doesn't seem to work for and maybe even some people who are just very naturally focused on the present without having to do it as a practice.  Or maybe like Eleanor says even your memories are part of the present moment.....perhaps sometimes we need to just 'go with the flow' this is something my own Mum and Yoga teacher has said to me on many occasions and sometimes it is the appropriate response....let me know your thoughts on how mindfulness has worked (or not worked for you)

www.yogiclaire.com



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