Yoga practice brings us medium and long term rewards for the mind, body and soul. It feels so much better to inhabit a looser, freer body than a contracted, tight, bound up one. Yoga can yield a pretty instant “feel-good” effect and by integrating all parts that make up the self, yogis can sense a feeling of standing taller and feeling freer. Most of us start a practice either feeling restless, hyperactive, anxious or feeling lazy and lethargic, but by the end of a session usually we are in a more pure and balanced state.
The actual word “yoga” can be interpreted in many ways, but more often it is “union” (balance of the mind, body and soul) and “oneness” (being part of the universe and connected to all living beings) – I believe many of us can identify with these definitions.
Yoga is a journey lasting a lifetime, from darkness to light; from a veil of illusion to clarity; from tension to release and peace…..it is all about the journey and not the arriving as they say.
Patanjali’s yoga sutra describes yoga as consisting of 8 limbs and for many these days yoga just means exercise. However the yoga practice itself is in fact only one of the 8 limbs and many people will, through the practice of yoga, find themselves drawn to explore the remaining 7 limbs as their yoga practice progresses.
On our journey together in our yoga sessions we will begin to explore the 8 limbs of yoga, helping ourselves to further deepen our practice and spread it in many directions, each of which will lead us to a greater clarity of mind, release and acceptance of “what-is”.
Starting with the first limb….. THE YAMAS
Yamas are moral restraints and guidelines as to how we may control our actions, speech and thoughts with regards to ourselves and in relation to the rest of the world. There are five yamas, the first being AHIMSA
On Tuesday we will focus on Ahimsa. This is non-harm, non-violence and non-injury to oneself or to other living beings. This is a good place to start our practice…..overworking or forcing our body can be seen as neglecting to take care of ourself and as such is a form of mis-use and harm or violence towards ourselves. Starting by being gentle and coaxing/nudging ourselves into postures will have far more long term effect than using force. Force of any kind can never bring good – it will ultimately always end in pain.
I look forward to seeing those of you who have booked for the second half of term. These Tuesday sessions are now fully booked, however I will let you know if a space becomes available.