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Hello & Welcome to The Autumn Meditation Bundle Autumn is a time of turning inwards, to embrace the energy of the Yin (feminine), yet we often find that there is very little time to pause and turn inwards. September ...
Listening to your body
Our bodies contain a mountain of wisdom inside. If we listen closely enough it will tell us what to eat and when to eat. It will tell us when we need to drink. For women our menstrual cycles will tell us when it is time to rest and tell us when we are fertile.
Over time we have stopped listening to our bodies, we use apps to tell us what is good for us and what is bad, we have apps that predict our monthly cycles and technology that tells us when the best time is to try for a baby. It’s all useful stuff and can help us in all sorts of ways but it shouldn’t be at the expense of listening to ourselves, our own wisdom. If we listen closely enough we know the answers, we know what is good for us and we know what is bad for us. The issue is to trust ourselves, honour ourselves and have the belief in ourselves.
Over the past 10 years I have been submerged in personal and spiritual growth. Through yoga I have learned to connect with my breath, body and mind and I actually listen. Through listening I’ve changed my yoga practice over the past 7 months. Before that my yoga practice was more energetic, perhaps four or five rounds of sun salutation at a pace, sometimes practice would be full of challenging postures but not now as I listened to my body and took action. My body needs a more gentle and nurturing routine especially after long shifts. Listening to your body is about honouring you’re self as much as it is about preventing injury. So next time you come to class set your intention to listen to and honour your own body.
Aspects of a Yoga Class
The prospect of a 90 minute class can be quite daunting one but more so a very enjoyable one. It offers the time and the opportunity to explore yoga, delve a little deeper within ourselves and most importantly relax. Classes are always supportive, friendly and provide a community feel, it’s lovely to see people come together to learn and grow through their yoga practice. The purpose of yoga is to do yoga, to combine mind, body and breath, and as our energy is stimulated and flows through our bodies the transformational aspect of yoga happens on its own. We just need to turn up and practice the 8 part sequence.
Have you ever noticed the body following a long working day at the office, perhaps you have been sat at your desk all day, or you have been on your feet for hours, some of you may have been driving for a long period of time in the car or perhaps just moving from one meeting to another with very little movement in between? If we take a moment to notice we can feel a series of aches and pains running through our bodies, tightness in our joints, stiffness in the neck and heavy tired eyes from hours of concentration. We can alleviate these symptoms by engaging in yoga practice but for it to be effective we need to combine the mind, body and breath with movement.
Any Yoga class should consist of an 8 part sequence, creating a sense of balance. For the majority of yoga classes you will usually start in Savasana also known as Corpse posture. As we settle and relax you may still be aware of the aches and pains that have been accumulating throughout the day but in yoga practice the smallest of movements can make a difference to how we feel. As we close our eyes and begin to move inwards (part 1) we immediately remove ourselves from our working day and we begin to prepare for the here and now, our yoga practice. As we begin to focus on our inward and outward breathing our bodies begin to respond and start to relax, we will start to feel the tension in our bodies that we have been holding in our bodies disappear and we begin to forget that the tension ever existed.
Venturing from relaxation into conscious yogic breathing (part 2) we become energized preparing for our intention setting through solar salutation (part 3). When we begin to move our bodies no muscles or pair of muscles or joint works in isolation, they work together. It is usually tension that causes restricted movement but by focusing inwards on our bodies and continuation of our conscious yogic breathing the tension releases and we can move more easily. With asana practice (part 4) we delve deeper into our yoga practice through exploration of postures (part 5) it provides further opportunity to observe the body, what tension is left can be released by focusing the breath on these areas. Asana practice impacts on the health and wellbeing of the spinal cord, allowing our energy to flow more easily.
As we return to stillness (part 6) our bodies are free from tension a result of the combined movement and yogic breathing. We are present, removed from the past that was just a few hours ago. We will recognise/know that a change has occurred, and have created an absolute balance of wellbeing on the physical, mental, emotional on spiritual levels (part 7). Following our yoga blessings we will leave our yoga session behind with a sense of peace, harmony and wellbeing just as we were meant to be (part 8).