Some Things Never Change!

As usual I struggled over the title for this piece - it may be a bit of a departure from my usual 'everything is changing, nothing stays the same' ramblings and it is a strange one, as it all started with a mouse.....

We had a strong suspicion we had a mouse in the house (you can read that last sentence with a Scottish accent if you like) this suspicion became fact when I came face to face with our little friend a few weeks ago.  It was in the middle of the night and I didn't have my specs on but I heard its tapping claws on the lino and saw it scuttle out of the bathroom door.  (it had also left me a mousey present on the bathroom mat) Anyhow - this triggered a memory of childhood when my Nanna lived in this very same house where I live now, and she too had mice in the house!  Now of course it's not the same mouse - and our house is now very different from when my Nanna lived here, we have modified it somewhat.  My grandparents had a market gardening business and the field and greenhouses stretched for what seemed like miles into the distance behind our house.  There was an old well and some large, black scary water tanks which I would stand on my tiptoes and look into and imagine all sorts of mystical worlds in the ominous, inky depths!  There was even a story about how one of my great Aunts had fallen down the well, she escaped unscathed though - thankfully.

So the fields are now a housing estate and the greenhouses and tanks are gone, but the house lives on with us living in it and it's latest family of mice.  It is indeed a house full of memories, one of my great aunts had started to write a book about her childhood here a few years before her death and it details some amazingly happy times she spent in this house where I now live with my family.  There are some wonderful descriptions of the walk to school - the school which my Granddad, Mum and my sister and I and now my children attend.  The present school building is spanking new but it's on the same site and has the same name.  In the book my Great Aunt detailed happy Christmas times, hanging stockings by the fireplace ready to be filled with nuts and fruits.

Great Aunt Ada also wrote about hot and humid school sports days that she and her brothers attended, just like my kids were doing a few weeks ago, and like I did errr several years ago but she writes that they won prizes like a necklace, a dressing table set and many other things - her recall of these things suggest they meant a great deal to her.  The sun is still the same sun that shone brightly down from the same sky.  Different people, different times but some things never changing.

So in a way this piece is about change - the people, some of the buildings, the surroundings but this is in contrast to the bigger stuff,  that same moon that I gaze at most nights, is the same moon that my Mum, Nanna, Granddad and all those other relatives looked at.  Same moon, same sun, same sky, same bricks and mortar holding all those memories from everyone who has lived here......including all the mice. 

Below are the first words transcribed from Great Aunt Ada's book which she began at the age of 70 but sadly never finished, there are about 30 pages in total and it starts like this:

"How well I remember the days that are gone,

Long days and golden we spent in the sun,

Green of the meadows and pink of the clover,

Magic of laughter, and innocent fun,

And my memories linger on of days long ago..."

 

"My memories are my dearest possessions, to turn back the clock, and to be once again in a loved place with loved ones......."

This is the old chimney pot which has always belonged in the garden of our house as well as the stone garden ornament below it, which has been around for as long as everyone remembers, we're not sure exactly what it is but seems to feature a pineapple!!


For details of Claire's Yoga Classes in Sale - see www.yogiclaire.com

Banana Flapjacks - you'll love this one!

At my seasonal yoga workshops I usually serve up some tea and treats as a thank you to my class members for attending. Click here for original recipe.

As great and tasty as these flapjacks/cereal bars/seed bites are, they are just soooo crumbly so it's a good job a class member's dog Maisie - the golden cocker drops in at the end to 'hoover' up the crumbs from the church floor!!

So I got my creative baking head on and decided to do a few experiments to see if I could come up with a better recipe, with less of the crumble factor (this is indeed a first world problem - flapjacks that are too crumbly!!)  Sorry Maisie, no more crumbs.....

Here is the final recipe:

Banana & Seed Flapjacks (makes about 12 medium sized flapjacks)

200g of porridge oats.
2 mashed bananas.
1 tablespoon of honey (or agave nectar for vegans)
1 large free range egg, beaten (vegans can omit this, this helps bind the flapjacks so there may be more of a crumble factor if omitted)
100g mixed seeds
100g mixed fruit
60ml coconut oil

1. In a saucepan melt the coconut oil and honey together.
2. Mash the bananas and mix together with the beaten egg.
3. Mix the oats with the fruit and seeds.
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry.
5. Press into a lined baking tin.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes on 180 degrees C.

Wait until the flapjacks have cooled a little before cutting.  Enjoy with a cup of green/chai tea!!  Or come along to the next Yogi Claire Yoga Workshop and sample for yourself!!
www.yogiclaire.com

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