Yoga with Susie

13/05/2022

I am teaching at a retreat!
This will be in February next year and only for women 40+. I have attached a short promo video and if you would like more information, please contact Amanda (the founder) on [email protected]

Really excited to be proud of the team.

14/03/2022

“However beautifully we carry out the asana (poses) however flexible our body might be, if we do not achieve the integration of body, breath and mind, we can hardly call it yoga” (TVK Desikachar, the Heart of Yoga`).

I love this quote and for me, it wonderfully encapsulates what yoga means to me. Even though I have been practicing yoga for well over 15 years, I know that my down-dog is not perfect (I cannot get my feet completely flat on the floor and I do not create the perfect triangle) and my standing forward fold is not great (I cannot have my legs completely straight with my hands flat on the floor beside my legs) but I know that this is not what yoga is about.

My yoga practice (and the yoga I teach) is much more about the mind-body-breath integration that is mentioned in this quote. When I am less concerned with what the asana looks like and more focused on how it makes me feel (so the function of the posture rather than the form of the posture) I am not only being more true to myself, I am also being more true to the intended purpose of yoga.

07/03/2022

When the gates of the body allow light in, peace dominates.
(The Bhagavad-Gita)

I, like so many others, have been deeply saddened and troubled by the unfolding situation in the Ukraine.
Yet again, the world seems full of chaos and destruction and it is hard not to be overwhelmed by it.

At a time when there is some much imbalance and instability in the world, it can be hard to find balance and satiability in ourselves. One way to help ourselves feel grounded is to practice yoga. Feeling the connection with your body and breath can help you to feel more grounded and balanced.

I was on a yoga workshop this weekend (entitled Yoga for Changing times) and we talked a lot about this.
One thing that struck me was the thought that we practice yoga not as a way to escape but as a way to live life better. The more balanced and stable we feel, the better able we are to deal with what life throws at us.

When you next notice yourself feeling instability and unbalanced, just take a moment to stand, feeling the earth beneath you and focus on deep breaths and see if you can notice a subtle change.

21/02/2022

A phrase I often hear people say when I ask if they would like to try yoga is "I'm not very flexible". This is a common misconception about yoga: that you cannot practice unless you are flexible.
Women are generally more flexible than men, but this can be to their detriment as it can often lead to them injuring themselves more (through hyper mobility). Men tend to be stronger but more stiff. What we aim for in yoga is somewhere between strong and flexible. Yoga can build flexibility and increase strength (two things that are very important for us as we age).

This blog post here talks more about this issue.

It is a common misconception that you have to be flexible or flexible enough to practice yoga. In fact one of the reasons for starting yoga is to try and get more flexible. There is a saying that goes something like: "yoga will meet you where ever you are in life" In other words there are no pre-con...

05/09/2021

Face-to-face evening classes and my daytime class are staring back at the end of September.

Face-to-face classes will be running in East Dulwich at the Goose Green centre.
The classes will start again on Thursday 30th September and the Autumn term will run for 10 weeks (with no classes on the 28th October and the 25th November). There will be 2 evening classes, one at 6.45 to 8pm and the second from 8.15 to 9.30pm. Size will be limited to 4 people per class in the current times.

I am also going to be running one day time class via Zoom on a Thursday from 11.15 to 12.15 (same dates as the face-to-face classes)

Please drop me a line if you are interested.

25/08/2021

Why Viniyoga?

We are all different, and we move in different ways. Viniyoga takes account of this and allows a variety of adaptations to enable you to enjoy and experience the benefits of yoga whatever your level of experience.

This includes:
Breath-focused movement: each movement begins and ends with the breath, allowing you to be guided by your breathing. The inhale and exhale actions facilitate different movements and provide different potency.
Function of the posture over form of the posture: the posture may need to be modified for you but will still allow you to receive the benefit of the posture. This about ensuring you get the benefit of the pose without having to worry about that it looks like.
Moving in and out of the posture before a stay in the posture: moving in and out of the posture before staying allows you to get a feel for your for your body and the how it feels in the posture, so that when you stay, your body parts are in the correct alignment.
Sequencing of the postures: each posture has a different benefit and often requires preparation as well as counter posture after (to allow your spine to move back to a neutral position). The correct sequencing is therefore important to ensure you get the most from the posture whilst minimising the risk of injury or muscle stain.

22/08/2021

We are living in very uncertain and challenging times right now. This can have an affect on us in many ways, not just our mental health but also our physical health.
One thing that can happen when we feel stressed and are perhaps not looking after ourselves well, is that our blood pressure can increase. This can lead to a whole lot of other issues if not treated correctly. We know about the impact that a good diet and moderate exercise can have on reducing stress and your blood pressure, but what about yoga?

In an episode of the BBC series, Trust me I’m a doctor (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2ntR2hB4QtldQwHdJXjvGkR/is-yoga-as-good-for-me-as-aerobic-exercise) the team talk about the benefits of yoga to help reduce your blood pressure as well as other benefits.

I am a teacher of the yoga that was used in this programme and currently run weekly classes (on a Thursday day time via Zoom and 2 evening classes that are face-to-face). If you want to come and try a class, please drop me an email at [email protected]

Please note: I am not a medical practitioner and you may want to discuss any changes to your exercise routine with your GP before trying something new.

We test the effects of gentle yoga on blood pressure and mental health

22/08/2021

Yoga for letting go:

Do you find it hard to let go of thoughts, feelings, desires and maybe even possessions? You are certainly not alone. 2020 was certainly a year where we all had to confront letting go: of plans we had made, of holidays and parties that couldn’t happen, of trips to see friends and family and maybe of life as we knew it. This was by no means easy and for me personally I really struggled to let go of plans. This is not something I do well, as most people who know me will tell you.

However, my practice of yoga did help. In the yoga texts (the Yoga Sutra specifically), they talk about the concept of “vairagya”: this can be translated as dispassion, detachment or letting go. The book Embodying the Yoga Sutra (by R. Roy and D. Charlton who I trained with) talk about it as “ cultivating an open space in which new possibilities can arise. We move away from the push/pull duality and towards a place where we have the freedom to use the support of abhyasa (practice and discipline) to disengage with that which blocks us”

Practicing yoga can help you to understand that holding onto things will inevitably serve you no purpose. It is about learning not to feel the pull by your attachment to things and perhaps becoming more Teflon coated as my yoga teacher once said to me, so as to allow the thoughts and feelings to wash over you without becoming stuck to you.
For me, this has been the most valuable lesson I could learn. It is not easy.

A practice that works specifically on a long exhale is a great way to explore the concept of letting go. Being able to let go of something allows for the possibility of something new to take its place and you can view the inhale and exhale as having the same affect: the exhale is about riding the body of something to allow for something new to come in.
Maybe next time you practice yoga, imagine letting go of something on the exhale and welcoming something new in on the inhale and see if you can notice any subtle changes. It won’t be the quick fix to all our life struggles (the ancient texts also make reference to the fact that you need to practice diligently too to feel the benefits of yoga) but perhaps it is a place to start.