A review by Sue Larsson
The sessions promise to be interesting and exciting as a festival with three different teachers online is a very different experience to the usual online class. We are asked by the teachers in advance to bring a few props such as blankets, support cushions and anything needed for comfort and ease plus handouts are provided to download. After many hellos and introductions, we are all settled in for the first session of three.
Mindfulness with Claire-Louise Symonds
Claire-Louise treated us to a very informative and ‘hands on’ presentation on Mindfulness aided by a ‘workbook’ that she had made and sent to us prior to the session. Her interest and study of Mindfulness started after she had completed her Inner Yoga Trust teacher training and led to her setting up a Mindful Lives teaching practice. Before getting into the subject, she demonstrated and instructed on how to sit to enhance one’s awareness and fully arrive relaxed and attentive at the start of a practice.
She explained Mindfulness as “Paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgement, to things as they are, with curiosity and kindness”. As only five percent of our 25,000 to 50,000 daily thoughts are useful and relate to the present, these are those which need ones attention to get to a state of mindfulness which helps in joining the body and mind.
We went through an exercise of Tapping – a first for some of us – aimed at helping us become more aware of our body and ‘sensing’ into it rather than living in our head in ‘doing’ mode.
The second exercise related to stress recognition and management. We were invited to relive in our mind a stressful experience and note how our body felt at that time. We were then invited to depict this on an outline of a body diagram. When faced with a stressful situation, knowing this can help preempt the bodily and thought stress reactions.
We next practiced the Three Step Breathing Space technique which can help us connect with the present moment when feeling under pressure or out of control. We also learnt about Finger Breathing whivh was a wonderful way to switch off the stress response.
Claire-Louise’s session was calmly and expertly delivered and imparted knowledge, understanding and practices that we could benefit from in our daily yogi lives.
Bones for Life – Strengthening the internal structure with Helen Davis
Helen Davis’s session started with an explanation of why she had moved away from teaching asana based classes. Helen graduated from the IYT in 2018 and had expected to be teaching yoga for many years to come. Following an accident in her home, Helen broke both her wrists which led to the shock diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Not one to give in (or up!), Helen turned this diagnosis into a learning opportunity and started to research how she could help to heal herself and create strong bones for an active life.
This research identified Bones for Life®, a movement based program that evolved out of the Feldenkrais Method, which focuses on creating optimal conditions for bone health.
Helen shared a series of movements with attendees that showed us how small, subtle and rhythmic movements, with a key weight baring element, helped bone density to improve. This is the dynamic response to gravity.
Interestingly we didn’t need to do both sides in each movement as a principle of Bones for Life® is that the body/brain neurologically remembers the movement on one side and applies it to the other side!
There was lots of squeezing, bouncing and resting in the movements which, while subtle, were quite tiring and really effective.
If you missed the session then it’s worth watching the video recording which can be requested by emailing administrator@inneryoga.org.uk. Helen is running an Introduction to Bones for Life® which looks fascinating. https://onestepforward.today/bonesforlife/
An introduction to chanting the yoga sutras of Patanjali with Sarah Waterfield
Sarah began her session by chanting the Shanti Mantra for students and teachers.
Sarah described that the sutras were the threads of yoga. Each thread stands alone but together make a whole full of meaning. Patanjali comes from the oral tradition handed down through the generations from person to person orally. There is a mythology surrounding his yoga sutras which consist of layers of meaning. The story begins as chaos reigned. There was much mental disturbance and the people begged for help with many prayers, pleading to Vishnu with the hands making a V shape. The help appeared in the form of half-man/half-snake, with the mythical bird Garuda giving support and alertness, to give yoga and 1000 innumerable solutions to help mankind solve his problems.
Within the folds of Devi, the Cosmic energy, rests Siva the foundational Consciousness Devi or Kundalini the primordial power active in the great drama of the awakening of the unmanifested Siva.
Patanjali gives solutions in the form of the sutras and chanting is a way of giving thanks to be in a good state O leader of snakes!
Sanskrit needs to be pronounced precisely and comes from an ancient lineage. Raga or call-and-response is the way of chanting, listening and then replying. Sarah emphasised the need to be fully present to listen and repeat.
She then translated the meanings of each syllable of the sutras 1 to 4
Sarah chanted the sutras 1 to 4 with precise pronunciation, indicating where the notes on each word rise or fall from the handout sheet.