21/06/2023
Happy International Yoga Day!
I hope 2023 has been a smooth ride for you all so far. As many of you know, Matt and I welcomed our beautiful son, Remi, earth side on December 9th. It's been a wild ride! I had planned on returning to teaching yoga well before now however, the demands of motherhood have left less energy for other endeavours than I'd (optimistically!) expected 😅
I found the first few months of Remi's life a really challenging adjustment. Initially, I felt frustrated and deflated by how hard it was to continue my yoga practice as it were pre-baby, which has been such an integral part of my health and wellbeing for so many years. Eventually it dawned on me that as my life changes, so too does my yoga practice. It needs to adapt, evolve and grow as I do.
As you probably know yoga starts on the mat, but is so much more than a physical practice. It is the harmonious linking of mind, body and breath to cultivate a peaceful state of being.
And so instead of trying to carve out ambitious chunks of time for a dedicated movement practice, my mothering has BECOME my yoga. I move with Remi, as we play and stretch together. I breathe deeply and fully as I rock him to sleep ("shhh" breath is a daily pranayama! 🤣). Nursery rhymes have become my mantras and, I find singing them is just as effective at activating my vagus nerve / parasympathetic nervous system as chanting the "Om" mantra!! In the difficult moments I come back to the simplicity of my breath, using it to ground, centre and calm me.
Mothering has turned out to be the ultimate practice of mindfulness; being fully present with Remi and soaking in the moments - beautiful and challenging alike - knowing they will pass. This 'new' yoga is also a deep practice of acceptance, non-resistance, kindness, patience, trust, listening to my intuition and setting boundaries around the way I expend my energy. These aspects align surprisingly well to Patanjali's 8 limbs of yoga, in particular the Yamas and Niyamas - moral guidelines to how we live our lives in relation to self and others (let me know if you’re interested to learn more about this).
And so, with this message I hope to remind you that yoga can serve you in SO many ways. Cultivating a practice may not need to look like attending a public class every week. I encourage you to consider where in your life you are, or could be, incorporating some of these deeper aspects of yoga this winter 💙
I feel really excited to return to sharing classes this year when the time and energy feels right, hopefully soon. Please keep an eye on events for details. If you have any suggestions for what sort of classes and offerings are calling you, please get in touch and let me know!
May you stay warm and well during these winter weeks.
Much love and blessings from our little family to yours,
Elise xx
