Yoga Vocal - Issue 7

from Yoga Vocal - Issue 7

by Paul Warner

where good news is the news

OPERATION REBOOT | DREAM BIG

"Hey now, hey now. Don't dream it's over. "Recognise the lyric? A classic from Crowded House that is playing in my head as I write to tell you that the studio doors may be closed on its 1st birthday, but thanks to your discipline to practice and refusal to let the tech get the in the way, Yoga Local is still very much open for business. And in this climate, that’s really something to celebrate. Thank you so much for your support guys. On June 21st I will be raising a glass to each and all of you. YL is rooted into its community and it's team and you guys are providing such solid ground. And, just so you know, when we do get to be in person again my wish is for us to be even more resilient and ready to serve you than ever. Behind the scenes me and the YL team are working on Operation Reboot, a plan to bring you the best combined online and in person experience possible and manifesting all kinds of other stuff I once never dreamed I could. Dare to #dream with me?

**Juggling work and home ed with two kids doesn't make it easy to maintain your yoga practice during lockdown, but look where YL member Nicola has been escaping to for some #findmeaning time in May.**
#findmeaning

YOUR MONTH AND ME

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When you’ve been practicing for a while, you may notice yourself doing the same poses in the same way, day after day. And I don’t want you to be doing that. Nah, the key to creating a lifelong practice that is sustainable, enlivening, and invigorating is… creativity. Which is why we’ve been working to #FINDMEANING by bringing the magic of metaphor and symbolism into our shapes and flow this month. Yoga is rooted in spiritualism, and many of the postures have a meaning that goes beyond simple strengthening and lengthening of muscles. Some poses indicate strength, such as Warrior pose, and some indicate surrender, like Child's pose. In week one we looked at how we use natural and humanistic archetypes to remind us of our essential nature – our majesty in Mountain, our ability to nurture and sustain life in Tree and to lose our encumbered adult self in Child's pose. Week two we looked at tools as archetypes. Plough as a metaphor for unearthing what doesn’t serve and reseeding what does. Wheel for its association with transportation and movement. We called on our Crow and Pigeon practice to focus and take flight in week three and finished the month honouring the life giving nature of the sun and the balancing soothing energy of the moon.

Josie. x

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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YOGA FOR WHEN IT ALL GOES SCREWY

I got a post in my newsfeed just now that curiously aligned with what I wanted to share with you this week. So here it is…It said: If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L means First Attempt In Learning. End, is not the end. In fact, E.N.D means “Effort Never Dies”. If you get NO as an answer, remember N.O means “Next Opportunity”.

This positive thinking m’larky is no big secret. Whether you work in business, sport, education, the arts, media there’s someone talking about mind-set and how it’s key to getting what you want – y’know, success, happiness and all that. But what most of don’t talk about is the fact that while we know having our minds in order and having the mantra that all is well with the world is fantastic, some days we are just not feeling it. Am I right? Tell me if it’s just me?

Well, I know it’s not, because just the other day I had a conversation with a great gal who said posts like the one I’ve just shared made her want to stuff that well-meaning positive thinking in some place not very Namaste! Oh boy, do I hear ‘ya’? Yep, it’s so true. When you’re not there, you’re not there. (Cue damaging, killer gremlin voice that’s agreeing and nodding right with you). The good news is you can get there.

Working on mind-set is very cool and groovy skill that you can develop just like you work a muscle. It takes time, but when you do the work consistently, you build super strength for dealing with the stuff that screws you up, or your day up. And it doesn’t matter whether you want to out-run your competition, push past a plateau, or ditch some kind of negative behaviour, working on your mind-set can be a game changer.

How do you work on mindset? Get your butt on a yoga mat AND meditate. It’s a winning double combo if you’re ready to push past obstacles that hold you back from living the life you want. J X

HOW'S YOUR CROW?

3 WAYS TO #FIND MEANING

Most of the postures (the asana) we do in class come from the Hatha yoga tradition. Some derive their inspiration from animals, some from nature and some from ancient spiritual stories. In our practice this month we’ve been working with poses that are inspired by birds. Pigeon in our Anchor practice and Crow in Rise and Energise. Here are three ways of how to use the archetypal nature of Crow in your practice.

1. As your knees tuck up towards your arms visualise your legs curled back as tail feathers.

2. The symbol of a crow is seen in some cultures as a sign of death. Perhaps this pose can encourage you to look at your life to figure out what’s not working and let go of the ‘dead parts’ to make room for growth.

3. Crow asks us to balance on our hands and take flight, bringing up fears, anxiety and inadequacies. Use it to listen to your inner voice. Is it instantly telling you ‘you can’ or ‘you can’t’?

So, how's your Crow Pose coming along? A message from YL's Maz...

'Back in March at Yoga Local we explored the theme of "Be Brave" through working up to our crow pose.ll admit that when Josie shared this theme with me I was pretty nervous - how could I teach a set of classes working up to a pose I've been failing to master for 5+ years?

I could have shyed away from the challenge, but instead I lost myself in working alongside the wonderful yoga local community to not only teach but also to learn along the way and explore the physical and mental journey to crow pose.

What a privilege it is to be able to practice with the community as we grow and learn together, from seeing our Rise class tackle poses that take them out of their comfort zones, seeing the Begin Again class make wonderful progress each week.

I'm so thankful to Josie for inviting me in to this wonderful community and I'm so grateful to those that join me for classes each week.

"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it" How have your crow poses been coming along? X Maz

CLASS SPOTLIGHT

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Class: BEGIN | Again If you've completed BEGIN or need a little extra hand hold before you step into the full Yoga Local studio programme, this is your class. Mixed level classes may be welcomingly billed for everybody, but I have always questioned; how much does it work for every ‘body’? To have a fun and accessible yoga experience you need a class (and environment) that’s going to be effective and cultivate your particular interest in the practice – not leave you dissatisfied or inadequate. Which is why we're offering BEGIN | Again, to meet the needs of beginners, returners and people with limitations (injury, muscular imbalance, poor posture). Here’s what you can expect from this lovingly-crafted series of classes:

Practice Stage 1 Key Poses: Explore the foundations of a postural practice with breathing techniques, and meditation.

Mood: Be curious, find confidence, explore who you are, where you can go and start building the foundations of a solid yoga practice.

Pick this class if:

- You need support making your first steps into class

- You want simple and sufficiently challenging poses

- You seek variations for body types, abilities and reasons for coming

- You want break downs of poses stepby-step

- You like your yoga jargon kept to a minimum

- You desire simple cues and clear demos

- You are seeking uncomplicated transitions.

FEED YOUR #DREAM

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Once upon a time, a Native American elder was telling his grandson a story of two wolves that live in each one of us and wage a daily struggle for dominance in our lives. One wolf is filled with love, joy, hope, peace, gratitude, optimism, generosity, understanding, humility, kindness, truth, faith, and compassion. The other is a reflection of bitterness, envy, anger, sorrow, guilt, greed, arrogance, self-pity, inferiority, lies, ego, selfishness, and judgment. Their struggle is constant, their determination to win unwavering.“So, which wolf wins?” asked the grandson. The grandfather responded, “The one you feed.” I wanted to share this story because when it comes to creating the life you want it’s about choice. You can choose to see yourself living your dreams, or you can choose something else. The word for dream in Sanskrit is Bhavana and means the ability to see yourself in a positive way. How often do you dare to think of yourself so positively that no doubt creeps in. How often do you dare to unlimit yourself and follow your dreams? How can you cultivate this quality of Bhavana? Practice, practice, practice my friend. In yoga we repeat the same postures to witness the body and mind on a daily basis, and check in with what’s strong, where openings have been created, where we’ve found more confidence, more flexibility. We shine a light on where we are struggling and what needs our attention.Daring to dream means daring to focus on yourself. Giving yourself enough sleep, food, and exercise. To meditate daily. These are the lifestyle tools that I have used and we all can use to transform our life. To become a better friend, partner, colleague, person. To give us the opportunity to feed our dreams rather than fuel our doubts. If I had not dared to dream and let doubt hold me back, I would still be a jobbing yogi, working the village hall and health club scene. Instead Yoga Local the studio is celebrating its 1st Birthday on International Yoga Day 21st June (despite lockdown) – pretty cool right? Can we all get there? You bet. Let’s follow our dreams together. See you in class. J X

B r i n g i n g a d r e a m t o l i f e

F r o m C r a f t S h o p t o S t u d i o

The Studio - Year 1 Story

Still Dreaming

A Y e a r O n

THE VEGAN VIRGIN

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I have decided to call it Veganovirus because this whole lockdown thing has caused me more that a few anxieties and as many of you will know that have suffered from any sort of mental health issues, eating is a short-lived form of comfort. I have broken my pact with myself, dairy has made an appearance, even a sausage raised it’s head on one occasion… shame on me. I felt bad immediately afterwards and voted not to slip again but it is like walking on a friggin’ ice rink, slip after slip, the more I slip, the worse I feel, the more I slip. Lots of other shit going on personally means I feel like a fat failure… this is not the sh*% that you normally get to read but no point hiding behind a lie, right? I am still drinking non dairy milk, but I can feel my energy levels have dropped and my body aches more. Because I feel sorry for myself, my yoga has been sidelined too, you know the feeling, when one thing goes, it is easy to blame that thing to let everything go… in this case the thing I blame is Veganovirus, an affliction of the mind, body, soul and in my case, buddha tummy too…

NEW TEACHER

WHO: Becky Gosney

EXPERIENCE: Over 10 years

TEACHES: Yoga Bootcamp

Meet my wild and wonderful friend Becky Gosney. This gorgeous gal fuels my adventure seeking spirit and her energy is just infectious...(she's one of those phenomenal souls you know is meant to be in your life and I couldn't be happier about that). It's actually pretty hard to keep this chick in one place for long so I'm delighted to get her on the team and teaching you guys. So… please give a warm YL welcome to Becky Gosney guys. You are in for a treat because she's only an incredible yogi she’s a sports women with a Masters’ degree in Sports Physiology. She loves nothing more than Becky is co-teaching with me on retreat in Morocco and will be joining the YL Team officially at the end of June, offering a monthly Yoga Bootcamp to get us physically fit! So, what can you expect? A fun, dynamic, callisthenics, strength and fitness based class that will develop and stretch your body that little bit further. So please come and say hi and give Becky a big YL welcome.