by admin | Mar 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
Sleep. Inevitably we all need to rest. A good nights sleep is, for me, one of the most treasured of experiences. Many of us struggle to get one, due to being busy and not getting to bed until late, or to having busy minds and not being able to let go and drift off. We all know that with a good nights sleep under our belt, life feels so much more manageable. It’s generally thought that we need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep per night. Personally, the amount of sleep I need seems to shift and change – sometimes I need many hours and sometimes I feel really energised and need a lot less. I try to make sleep a priority when I know it’s needed and try not to stress out about not getting enough sleep when I don’t get my eight hours. I’d like to offer a few tips to help you fall asleep. They’re simple but useful. LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING: Directing breath through the left nostril only serves to stimulate the pranic channel that relaxes the nervous system. It calms and quiets the mind. Use the thumb of your right hand to block off the right nostril and breath long and deep for 3 to 11 minutes of through the left nostril. A great way to prepare for sleep. Try lying on your right side as you drop off. This will automatically block off the right nostril so you will breath through the left side, helping to slow everything down. HELP TO FALL ASLEEP WHEN THE MIND IS RACING: Lie on your back, legs extended. With...
by admin | Mar 7, 2013 | Uncategorized
The benefits of regular practise are many. In my opinion, it’s not about how long or how strong you practice, but the regularity of the practise that’s most important. Regularly and consciously moving the body is super important for your over all health. On a physical level, it’s about unlocking blocks of tension in the body, moving blood through your liver, spleen and kidneys to help the body detox. Letting energy flow freely will encourage the digestion system to work more efficiently so the metabolism is improved. Breathing more strongly, longer and deeper oxygenates the blood and balances the mind/body system. Becoming stronger – in both body and mind. Mentally, it’s about reconnecting intention and your will. Through deliberate, focused, aware movement we demand attention to this very moment. We place ourselves in the now. Coordination challenges initiate new patterns of movement. Through movement we release a lot of stuck, held emotion. By moving and stimulating the body, neural pathways are activated that allow you to literally see your world differently. Mental barriers can be cleared and we broaden our perspective on life. Bring your intention towards a regular holistic practice that contains the following: Breath awareness (more on the breath). Body sensitivity and observation. Moving out of the mind and into the moment. Movement that opens, lengthens and strengthens and is combined with breath. Relaxation to finish. You can create a short or long movement practice using yoga, walking, dancing, swimming, surfing; whatever suits you. As long as the practise contains all of the points listed above. If you need some ideas, take this link to follow some sun salutations or try a kundalini...
by admin | Feb 28, 2013 | Uncategorized
Did you know that each thought is reflected in your physical state? The level of thoughts you have will either lift and lighten your load or weigh you down. Your subconscious thoughts also influence your physical state. So what about our subconscious thoughts – as even though we’re not consciously subscribing to those, the subconscious mind can still be putting pressure on our system through some subconscious thought patterns we are yet to let go of. It’s through meditation that we are able to dig deep and shift some of our weightier subconscious thoughts. Negative subconscious thought patterns can leave us feeling a bit at odds with life; unsettled and unsatisfied. We can start asking “why me?” or think “if I just had… I’d be ok”. This in turn can keep the mind spinning and churning. So when do we just let all that rest and cleanse the mind, inviting in some spaciousness; making room for something new and fresh to arise? I’d like to share with you this meditation. This meditation works to stop the flow of normal thoughts and bring the mind to shuniya. Shuniya is a place of stillness. A point of neutrality that is removed from the subconscious back-stories we have on the ready. Removed from the ego and what we want and think we need. Sitting in a state of shuniya gives your whole system gets a break. In a neutral state we can allow the mind and body to rest, to restore and to balance. In this state we access our true self and find answers and understandings around why our lives are...
by admin | Feb 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
Knowing what’s right for ourselves as individuals and acting according to that, is these days, a true gift of awareness. There are so many ideas and conflicting beliefs in the world. Out of those, we look to choose a community with people and ideas that resonate – our friends, workplace, groups of interest – these all come with ideas, lifestyle choices, rules. Connecting with like-minded others is surely going to bring joy, however we still need to exercise our choices according to who we are as individuals. There is no ONE WAY and there is no right versus wrong. There is however, harmony versus harm. First and foremost it’s important to harmonise with our world in a way that feels right for us. We are the leader of our own lives. We are the guardians of our health. One of the main causes of stress in our lives is emotional fatigue due to not tuning in to our true self and what is right for us. The stress comes from a disconnect between you and your true self. By ignoring the warning signs or doing things that go against the grain of what feels right, we slowly wear ourselves down and we experience fatigue. As we’re carried along with the world, adopting all the ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’, it can feel like we’re harmonising and fitting in. However, that often comes with losing control of the management of our personal happiness. With a loss of control, we start to ‘cope’ rather than experience wonderment at the journey. Coping becomes the norm. Living inside our ‘coping stories’ creates stress, pain and...
by admin | Feb 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
In yoga we work on our ever-evolving self – physically, mentally, spiritually. Pattabhi Jois, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga has a famous quote, “practice practice, all is coming”. But before we focus too much on where we’re headed, let’s take a good honest look at where we’re at. When the pressure is on: Life can be all well and good when things are calm and cruisy, but what happens when the pressure is on? How do you deal with pressure? We all react to pressure in different ways at different times. We all have our triggers, our breaking points. Once tested, we can plunge into a reaction that buries any sense of calm and cruisy. Some examples: Flare up & get angry Lose confidence & get anxious Get defensive & shut down Reject the moment & give up Let your ego take over & feel like a victim Beat yourself up for not being better What’s the pattern of your personal DEvolution? Check in with your stress pressure patterns by observing yourself and your pressure responses in life. When pushed, where do you go? What’s the trajectory of your pressure triggers? Check out how they play out through your yoga. In a class you can observe and work with your stress pressure patterns by mentally challenging that reaction in a safe, held space. In a yoga class we test ourselves as we apply pressure through posture. The handy thing is that we’re all in a contained space, with someone (the teacher) reminding us to observe the breath, relax the mind, equalise the sensations in the body, just allow, move through...
