Magic Wand Yoga

Dear Yogis

Ahhhh, the absolute magic of yoga! Last week I was feeling nauseous, shaky, hot and dizzy before having to teach two evening classes. I had walked a while in the sweltering day and felt as though I had walked across whole continents! Legs Up The Wall posture was a god send and absolutely instinctive. Without any deliberation, my body seemed to know that bed rest or sofa slouching was not going to cut it. The posture is a magic wand! So much so it’s on my website now. Absolutely everybody can do this and I also used to start my Yoga for Sports classes like this. After half an hour I was completely restored.

Gratitude

In Greece recently I taught this sequence to friends including the just awarded MBE, Chris Shurety, for services to music. He founded the orchestra I was a member of for a decade, he introduced me to Kythera where he held orchestra ‘retreats’ and he is the reason I started yoga retreats there. Endless gratitude!

Training

After writing this I’ll be packing for a weekend at the Yoga Connects Festival. I can’t wait to practice with Ambra Vallo and acro-man Eugene Vegan Butcher, and people I’m hesitant about but I’ll have a go such as Stewart Gilchrist (who has the kind of Om that invokes the devil!), and other teachers I can’t wait to practice with like Jim Tarran and Keef Miles. There’s even ‘Dance and Yoga’; the description is accompanied by a picture of a couple in a Tango pose. Why don’t you come! Thea Gordon-Rawlings has a spare ticket you can have for £85 (RRP £250). Contact theajgr@gmail.com.

Eden Fitness Ealing

I’m very humbled to say that the brilliant Jenny Fearnley is teaching the two Eden classes this morning(7th July). She’s a wonderful teacher and I often tell you of her workshops at Yoga West. I’m so pleased to introduce her to the lovely Eden Yogis.

Home Studio

There are a few spaces left next week. Come along. Lots of newcomers have discovered my little Bikram studio so book early. While it’s so hot, the Ashtanga-based classes will concentrate on the seated postures with the option of vinyasas. It’s a nice opportunity because classes usually concentrate on the standing postures to the point that you will probably know the standing sequence but have no idea of the order of seated poses. (Let me know if you have any questions about your booking. Sometimes the confirmation email doesn’t generate. You must click the 'Complete Booking' button to secure the space when booking online.)

Yoga in the News

For Wimbledon fans, the Yorkshire Post tells us that: ‘British No 1 Johanna Konta is hoping a combination of yoga and mindfulness can help her handle the pressure at Wimbledon. She looks to yoga for mindfulness, breathing techniques and practicing something that isn’t tennis!

I thought this was an interesting and entertaining way of describing the benefits of yoga in a particularly Red Top way! The Mirror urges us to ‘Beat your body niggles by busting a move and ease your aches and pains’.  Wind, constipation, snoring and cravings... I suppose the things they thing will be relevant for their readers! Nice article!