Dear yogi’s,

Today I am excited to announce the publishing of our first ever video.

It is a short introductory film which will hopefully give you an idea of the ambience we aim for during our yoga classes. As we journey through 2010 we plan to launch a new area within the website, where for a small subscription fee you will be able to access High Definition (HD) video classes and workshops.

We would like to see people from all over the UK and potentially further a field to have access to yoga tuition, even if there are no studios near to their homes. Please keep you eyes peeled for these exciting changes and introductory specials offers.

All thats left to say is Happy New Year! Heres to an exciting 2010 during which all our dreams come true!

When I was asked to try out the new SB eco yoga mat I wondered if it was going to be as good as my beloved Agoy yoga mat. This mat has been like a best friend to me throughout the years, so it’s a strong bond. Also, I love the fact that whenever I get on my mat I know that it’s environmentally friendly.

This morning I did a couple of Sun Salutations on the eco mat and what an amazing mat it is. Firstly just like the Agoy mat it’s environmentally friendly (the title gives it away) It features a deeper embossed texture design to reduce slipping, this really helps out when your mid down dog. However one of the main things I loved about the mat is that it’s really strong and durable. Being made from 2 layers of TPE & reinforced with an inner mesh layer in between the layers, you definitely don’t feel like your going to stretch or wear it out after a couple of months. I also loved the fact that I could use the yoga carry strap as a strap for my practice.

If you’re interested in the Eco Yoga Mat or anything else from the SB brilliant new yoga range then just pop along to one of your nearest SB shop. Furthermore if you say you’re a Yoga Wellbeing follower then you get a healthy discount. Good karma all round.

There appears to be an unspoken debate about using music in a yoga class. Sometimes classes are accompanied by soothing melodies, devotional chanting, or even all out of rock. Other classes lean towards no music at all. Is there a version that’s best? Or, like most things in yoga, does it simply come down to what feels right for you?

In my own teaching I have covered a bit of Deepak Chopera and Deva Premal. When I started teaching, music always accompanied my words.  Some of my favorite teachers use music woven into their classes so I thought it seemed like a great idea.

I found that, for me, turning off the music helped me to focus on the energy of the room and the rhythm of my students’ breath. It allowed me to feel more in sync with my students and it felt like they were able to reach a depth of stillness that I hadn’t seen before. And so it stuck.

Has this experience caused me to swear off all music in yoga? Definitely not. I love going to yoga classes with music and without.

What can yoga offer your child?

A healthier body – Childhood obesity is on the rise and one of the main reasons for it is that kids today do not move enough. Yoga is a powerful technique for children to begin moving their bodies in ways that feel good and help them look good. Even if your child is of normal weight, yoga can help her become stronger, gain endurance and flexibility. If your child is involved in another sport, a regular yoga practice is a great cross training activity and it may help him reduce the risk of injuries.

The ability to control stress – Today’s children are under enormous stress. They are often over scheduled, they face tough competition in school, they have to deal with peer pressure, and they are trying to find their way in the world. This combination can cause children to become stressed out. Yoga can help your child learn how to relax. When your child learns how to control her breathing and relax during her practice, she can then apply this to her world when she encounters challenging situations.

Increased self-esteem – Yoga is a non-competitive activity. Yet it does offer your child the ability to master challenging poses (especially as he gets older). Your child can feel good about his increasing ability without having to worry about how he compares to everyone else. This experience of success can help your child feel more confident in his ability to be successful in other things too.

Greater concentration – The breathing and inward focus that is a main component of any yoga practice can help your child learn to focus his mind more effectively. A number of studies have shown that many children who practice yoga, especially those with problems such as ADHD, are able to concentrate for longer periods.

What is a kids yoga class like?

The main focus of a child yoga program is on fun. Often the children will pretend to be the animal for which the pose is named. For instance, when they are doing Cat Pose, they become the cat and may even meow. If they are doing Downward Facing Dog with their butts high in the air, they will often bark, as they become the dog. The children are encouraged to fully participate in and enjoy the ‘game of yoga.’ Sometimes the instructor will create an entire story about the poses that the children are in so as to make the class interesting and to fully engage them. The children don’t realize how much they are benefiting from the practice; the only thing they know is that they are having a good time.

At the yoga show back in November I really enjoyed watching the acrobatic yoga feats. Acro yoga is a new craze that is growing across the Atlantic. A small crowd of spectators oohs and ahhs over their breathtaking moves. This “flying” looks like fun, so I jump in and have a go.

My new friend becomes my base: He’s on his back, feet up in the air, and I lean over and lay my torso on his feet, ready to play airplane like a kid.  Before I know it, I’m in the Bound Angle Pose, but upside down.

The transition is thrilling. I’m not sure how I flip over, but now his feet are on my low back, my head near his chest, my feet on the level of his knees. I’m grabbing my ankles in the Bow Pose, but since I’m upside down. It’s very relaxing and liberating.

I’ve just gotten a taste of one form of fun being had by yogis who are letting loose—combining their love of asana with a passion for off-the-mat physical activities like circus arts, theater, dance, and outdoor adventure. These new yogic art forms—AcroYoga cultivate trust, connection, and playfulness. One thing I always try to remember when practicing is not to take it to seriously and to laugh as much as possible. Acro-yoga is a good reminder to make sure you keep that same playfulness in your own practice.

Ingredients

For the rice pudding
50g/2oz butter
75g/3oz sugar
125g/5oz round-grain pudding rice
750ml/1pint 7fl oz milk
seeds scraped out from 2 vanilla pods
150ml/6fl oz double cream
pinch salt
For the apple compote
75g/2oz butter
100g/3oz demerara sugar
4 Bramley apples, peeled and diced
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

What to do

1. For the rice pudding, preheat the oven to 140C/280F/Gas 1.
2. Place a saucepan onto a medium heat and add the butter and sugar.
3. Add the rice and cook until it puffs up.
4. Add the milk, vanilla pod seeds, cream and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
5. Stir well to combine.
6. Pour into an ovenproof dish and bake for 2-2½ hours.
7. For the apple compote, place a saucepan onto a medium heat and add the butter and sugar.
8. Add the apples and spices and stir to combine.
9. Bring to a simmer and cook until the apples have softened but still retain some texture.
10. Allow to cool.
11. To serve, place a spoonful of rice pudding in a bowl and top with a dollop of apple compote.

I droped in on a class in North London over the weekend. Fifteen minutes into the sequence, the teacher calls the class together to demonstrate some alignment details. Half the women in the room move forward. The rest turn on their mobile phones and begin checking their messages.

Those women could have been doctors on call. But I am guessing that they have a bit of internal busyness syndrome—the breathless, stress-addicted feeling of having way too much to do and way too little time to do it. Internal busyness, a complex of internally generated thoughts, beliefs, and bodily responses, can certainly be triggered by an especially busy day or a lot of competing demands. But unlike external busyness, which is the more straightforward state of simply having a lot to do, internal busyness doesn’t go away when tasks are done. External busyness—the pressure that comes from juggling a job, children, and all the tasks of running your life—can be managed. It can even be a yogic pathway, if you know how to practice with it. Internal busyness, however, manages you.

So when people say to me, “I’m so busy I can’t find time to practice,” I always ask them which kind of busyness they’re distressed by: external or internal. One clue that you might be suffering from the internal busyness syndrome is this: When you don’t have an immediate task at hand, when you have a moment that could be devoted to a few Ujjayi breaths or just spacing out, do you find yourself still mulling things over, wondering what you’ve forgotten to do? That’s internal busyness.

The paradox of busyness is a bit like the paradox of stress. On the one hand, human beings are built to be busy. We’re hard-wired for action—when it comes to our minds, muscles and life skills. To live is to act and there’s a lot of bliss in using our skills. Given the choice, most people would opt for a full life, even at the cost of having too much to do. Happiness, so elusive when we’re pursuing it, has a way of sneaking up when we’re fully absorbed in something—even if it’s just washing the dishes.

One powerful way to work with a tendency toward internal busyness is to periodically pause for two to three minutes during the day. While you’re at your desk or doing the laundry, play with a yogic practice like the ones described on these pages. The idea is to do it for its own sake, without expecting results.

Anti-rushing Practice

This practice releases the compulsion that often arises when you’re in a hurry. Try it now, and then practice it the next time you feel yourself rushing.

STOP. Stand or sit totally still for one full minute. First, say to yourself, “I have all the time in the world.” Then, bring to mind the image of a buddha in meditation. Hold the thought of the image in your mind while you breathe deeply and slowly five times. Keep that image in your mind as you continue on your way.

I love wearing Sweaty Betty clothes for my yoga classes. Not only do I find SB yoga clothes really comfortable but I also find those extra little details make all the difference. Many of my lovely clients ask about where to buy decent yoga clothes because most of the time they end up in a sports shop feeling a little bit lost. I always direct them to there nearest Sweaty Betty shop and they come back to my next class all smiles.

I just wanted to let you all know about the Pilates socks which are an absolute steal at only £6.00. They have additional grip on the sole of the foot and a little strap of elastic that makes sure the sock stays in place in your three legged down facing dog. Ok, they are not strictly for yoga use but if you need something that is going to give you a extra bit of grip in your inversions then I would strongly recommend them.

If you’re interested in the Pilates socks or anything else from there brilliant new yoga range then just pop along to one of your nearest SB shop. Furthermore if you say you’re a Yoga Wellbeing follower then you get a healthy discount.

The Dancer – Natarajasana

This is a great asana to get into over this festive time. It not only strengthens our shoulders but also improves our balance. Why not give it a go? As always we’ll start with a modified version of the pose.
(not-ah-raj-AHS-anna)
nata = actor, dancer, mime
raja = king

Step by Step

1. Stand in mountain pose. Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee. Press the head of your right thigh bone back, deep into the hip joint, and pull the knee cap up to keep the standing leg straight and strong.

2. There are two variations you might try here with your arms and hands. In either case, try to keep your torso relatively upright. The first is to reach back with your left hand and grasp the outside of your left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower back, actively lift your pubis toward your navel, and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the floor.

3. Begin to lift your left foot up, away from the floor, and back, away from your torso. Extend the left thigh behind you and parallel to the floor. Stretch your right arm forward, in front of your torso, parallel to the floor.

4. The second option with the hands is to sweep your right hand around behind your back and catch hold of the inner left foot. Then sweep the left hand back and grab the outside of the left foot. This variation will challenge your balance even more. Then raise the thigh as described in step 3. This second variation will increase the lift of your chest and the stretch of your shoulders.

5. Stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Then release the grasp on the foot, place the left foot back onto the floor, and repeat for the same length of time on the other side.

Full Pose

For the full pose, perform step 1 as described above. Then turn your left arm actively outward (so the palm faces away from the side of the torso), bend the elbow, and grip the outside of the left foot. (You can also grab the big toe with the first two fingers and the thumb.) The fingers will cross the top of the foot, the thumb will press against the sole. Inhale, lift the left leg up, and bring the thigh parallel to the floor. As you do this, rotate the left shoulder in such a way that the bent elbow swings around and up, so that it points toward the ceiling. It requires extreme flexibility to externally rotate and flex the shoulder joint in this way. Reach the right arm straight forward, in front of the torso and parallel to the floor. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, release, and repeat on the second side for the same length of time.

Yoga is about caring for the world so we thought we would let you all know about The Age of Stupid. The Age of Stupid is the new four-year epic from  director Franny Armstrong. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlehwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

The Age of Stupid

If the question is “What can I do about climate change?”, then the answer is “10:10”.

On 1 September 2009, the 10:10 campaign was launched in the UK. A few weeks later 10:10 launched in The Republic of Ireland. The plan is simple: by working together to cut our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, everyone can make a meaningful difference. Over 50,000 people, businesses, schools and organisations have already signed up and pledged to make a difference.Now we need your help to take 10:10 global. Sign-up, donate some money and volunteer your time using the simple tools below. If you are in the UK or Republic of Ireland, head over to 1010uk.org

The production was notable for its innovative way crowd-funding financing model, as well as the Indie Screenings distribution system which allows anyone anywhere to screen the film.

We will keep you updated about our future events that are in the pipeline.