The Vayus - exploring the energy body: This was a Monthly Gathering talk, and is a dive into the vayus- otherwise known as the pranic winds or energetic flows in the body. The map of the vayus offered to us by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a wonderful spring board to explore our felt sense of our inner state of being. This talk breaks down what the vayus are, how the 5 main directions relate to our experience of moving, breathing and experiencing, and how all of this relates to our day to day experiences living in the world. Begins with a short meditation practice and moves into lecture/discussion format. Feel free to write to me with any questions or insights ;).
Neck and shoulder release to wake up or wind down: Roll out of bed and onto your mat with this practice that will slowly transition you from stillness into movement with a focus on releasing and finding space through neck and shoulders. Can also be wonderful as a pre bed practice to slow down and settle before sleep.
Pregnancy practice to settle and ground: A slow and steady practice that supports settling, grounding and moving in a steady way through a whole body sequence to find release and space. This practice can be especially helpful if you are currently experiencing anxiety or agitation. Move from the ground into a hands and knees sequence and come up to standing for some side body release work before returning to the ground to close with relaxation and sound.
Unfurl into spring: A practice to support our unfurling into spring, tending to the transition from the curled up-ness of winter into the expansiveness of lighter days. We move slowly and steadily, attuning and processing, and making our way into a softly strong, heart centred flow practice. Embodied philosophy explorations woven throughout as we play with spinal extension in a variety of contexts, dolphin and forearm balance variations and half moon.
Bond with Babe: A practice to bond with your babe as you move, breathe and rest together. We start slowly meditative movement and sound, and unfurl into a gentle flow that stays close to the ground but brings movement through the whole body. Finishes with a long relaxation and chanting practice. A lovely way to bond with your baby as you practice.
Balm for your hips: Nourishment to release hips that feel sore or tight. This class starts with micro movements in the hip joints and slowly plays with mainly floor based explorations to coax movement and space through the tissues while finding the sweet spot between healthy constraint and flexibility. Could be a great practice after a long day of sitting or standing, after a run or if you are feeling a little stagnant through your hips. Props: a yoga strap or tie.
Restful movement, stillness and chanting: This nourishing class will offer you a gentle movement practice to release and unhold especially through your neck, shoulders and jaw, before moving into some stillness with restorative postures and opening into a chanting practice to close. Super soothing and settling for your nervous system to rest into. Enjoy.
Attune & Connect: a short & sweet pregnancy practice to attune and connect to yourself, to presence and to babe. We start with a little bit of sound and open into a varied practice that moves around the whole body with lots of options to explore, stretch and release before closing with a meditation.
Movement that Nourishes: This gentle practice is all about finding a sense of balanced tone through our whole body as we move, to access movement that is truly nourishing, hydrating and integrated. We explore the integration of the vertical axis with the horizontal axis and start small, close to the ground and quiet with legs up the wall variations, before moving into yummy, flowy, stretchy explorations in a variety of contexts. This class is great for when you want something restorative and nurturing but also need to move.
25 minute movement snack: a practice that gets going straight away and brings some movement into your day. Use 2 blocks to create asymmetry and challenge balance, and play with movements that encourage us to find a sense of balanced whole body tone as we move between ground and space. Gets your circulation going and moves through the whole body to revitalise and refresh through motion.
Floor based hip & upper back release: Find the ground and stay there for a little while. This class is perfect for when you are tired but you still want to move. A relaxing floor based flow that starts with stillness, opens into micro movements to nourish and hydrate the tissues and progresses into a flow that will support releasing through your hips and upper back as you offer your whole system an opportunity to settle and recalibrate. A good one for grounding, to down regulate before bed after a long day, or to release sore or tired legs & hips.
Strong & Spacious Hips: A movement practice that focuses on multi dimensional care for your hips. Starts on the ground with tiny movements to hydrate tissues, opens into a floor sequence to find spacious release through the hips, and moves into creative hip strength work to play with balance and stability. Progresses into a flowing sequence that requires the hips to articulate in a variety of contexts and directions to stay spacious, strong, resilient and adaptable. An important practice if you are sitting a lot!
Heart Flow: A well rounded pregnancy practice for any stage of pregnancy with a focus on the heart, circulation and pulsation. Settle in with some stillness to land and connect with baby, and slowly unfurl info a flowing practice that will release through the shoulders, upper back, hips and legs and ends with a yummy guided relaxation.
Drop into the Pulse: A class exploring the pulsation of heart beat, circulation and fluid movement through a varied sequence that moves around the whole body and introduces key philosophical themes around the relationship between the micro and macro via your felt experience. Starts with some sound, and progressively builds into a flowy, stretchy yummy movement practice before resting with your legs up the wall to close.
Feel good circulation flow: Bring awareness to your vascular system with this fluid flow that alternates between more dynamic movement to get our heart beating and moments of quiet stillness to rest into the pulsation of our fluid inner world. A feel good, full body stretchy flow to revitalise and refresh ourselves, with a yummy legs up the wall rest to close. 40 Minute practice. Props: Optional block
Radhe Govinda Lullaby: A lullaby for Radhe and Govinda, young lovers that embody the essence of joy. Radha, the goddess of the universe and Govinda - the name for a Krishna in his youth. This melody evokes nostalgia and a sense of yearning for the sense of wholeness that we somehow sense is available to us even when it feels out of reach - it is a call for an integration of the masculine and feminine aspects inside our own being (not referring to gender but more to yin/yang, solar/lunar, ida/pingala aspects of ourselves that when integrated created a third thing which is a felt sense of our own wholeness and interrelatedness with all that is. Melody by Paula Andreewitch.
Settle, move, integrate: A short practice to settle your nervous system and find balance through pranayama, movement and awareness practice. Begins with alternate nostril breathing to support a sense of balance through both sides of our brain and nervous system and then moves through a practice that focuses on contra lateral movement to highlight our senes of centre and inner spaciousness. A great practice to self regulate when we are feeling out of balance.
