Lizzie for Free : a yogi's blog
The Free State of LizArchive for indaba
Move the body and mind with music (on May 17th)
Nadam, the sanskrit word for deep listening, is described as the super-conscious sound current that manifests all of life. The seed word Nad means to flow, and Nada yoga unites inner and outer sound through flowing vibration. All of matter is made from energy, and sound creates energy. It follows, then, that everything seen, felt and heard has a sound quality.
In a sense, all movement starts with sound vibration, which is why practicing asana to music, particularly certain kinds of music, is so potent. Indian ragas ground and stabilize the body due to their calming nature, but also their rhythmic cycle and tonal quality. Chants invoking the names of the divine are also beneficial in regulating the breath and inviting fluid, meditative movement. This type of chanting can even unblock and open the heart.
Whereas practicing asana to music that helps to support a steady breath or reinforce a class theme is powerful, there is nothing as visceral as practicing asana to live music. The sound waves are electric and melodies are able to penetrate even the most blocked areas of the body.
This Thursday, come practice at Indaba Yoga Studio from 6 to 7:15pm with LIVE MUSIC. Luc Acke will join us from Belgium,playing harmonium and chanting while I lead a Jivamukti open class. Pre-booking may be a good idea as space is limited.
lululemon trunk show and FREE class at Indaba
Come for a free yoga class at Indaba Yoga Studio on April 28th from 2-3pm, and stay for some retail therapy! lululemon athletica will be hosting a trunk sale after the class. For more information, contact Indaba Yoga Studio or Aoife Kane from lululemon athletica. Hope to see you on the mat!
Customise your ride: practice safe, practice smart
how to strengthen your practice in any yoga class
In the midst of the yoga backlash of articles that mention the many ways yoga can harm your body, one of the key elements of the practice seems to be overlooked. Yoga is ultimately about empowerment and self-responsibility. Being with yourself on your mat, not concerned with the person next to you or what the teacher may be pushing you to ‘do’ with your body, is a big challenge for the ego, but an endeavor with large rewards. The truth is, only you know what is safe and available for your body on any given day, so developing skillful listening, listening to your breath, to your inner teacher, is essential to a safe practice.
This workshop will be challenging for any practitioner, perhaps physically, perhaps mentally, as we look at the role of habit patterns and the ego . We will deconstruct postures into their building block components to ensure that any class you go to is a chance to feel energized, positive and well balanced.
Investigation of standing postures, twists, balances, backbends and inversions will ensure that whatever practice space or class level you may find yourself in, you not only survive, but thrive.
3 hrs, 30£, early bird special price until 1 week before workshop.
April 1, 1-4pm
www.indabayoga.com
AVERSION TO INVERSIONS: a workshop
Sunday, 4th March 1-4pm
with Lizzie Reumont
As the late, great James Brown said, you gotta get down to get up!
This yoga workshop focusing on inversions will put the funk in your trunk as we work together to root into the earth first through our feet, then through our hands, to expand ourselves in all directions.
Inverted postures of yoga can be some of the most challenging, but also the most rewarding. This open level workshop invites the practitioner to take on the challenge of seeing things from a different vantage point and diminish the fear associated with turning our bodies (and minds) upside down. Becoming aware of the challenges, concepts and emotions that arise during the practice, we will work independently, with partners and in small groups to instil confidence and technical knowledge needed to practice inversions safely.
Reversing the aging process! Stimulate intuition and clarity! Become enlightened (or boogie down trying). But seriously, get over yourself (your ego, that is) and explore what happens when roots expand into wings…and you take flight.
This workshop is appropriate for those who have a fear of inversions as well as those who practice inversions regularly but could benefit in building a more stable foundation and proper alignment. We will focus on headstand (sirsasana), handstand (adho mukha vrksasana), forearm stand (pinchamayurasana), crow(bakasana), side crow(parsvabakasana) and flying pigeon (galavasana)
£30 for 3 hours
£25 earlybird before February 28th
Lizzie’s Class Schedule February 2012
CLASS SCHEDULE(see below for restorative class dates at Indaba)
PREBOOK: WORKSHOP MARCH 4
Aversion to Inversions at Indaba Yoga Studio 1-4pm (postponed from February 5th due to snow)
FEBRUARY 2012
Monday:
6:30-7:45pm Life Centre, Islington
Tuesday:
12:45-2:00pm Life Centre, Notting Hill
Wednesday:
9:30-11am Indaba Yoga Studio, Marylebone
8:15-9:30pm Life Centre, Notting Hill
Thursday:
6-7:15pm Indaba Yoga Studio, Marylebone
Friday:
9:30-11:00 Indaba Yoga Studio, Marylebone
4-5:30pm Indaba Yoga Studio, Marylebone
Saturday:
9:30-11:00am Indaba Yoga Studio, Marylebone
Restorative Sundays at Indaba (covering for Netta Imber):
10:00-11:30am
Sunday, February 26
Sunday, March 11
Day 28, Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
For the forth time this week, I’ve been denied engaging actively with my body. The universe is nothing short of blatant in telling me to back off asana practice for now, as much as my preferentially attached mind wants to hit the mat and engage with the physical. Taking from Pema Chōdron’s analogy, I have had an itch (to practice asana), and my mindfulness practice has been becoming aware of that, acknowledging it, and staying with it without scratching. Instead, I’ve surrendered to letting this path unfold.
Today I attended Zhenja’s 4 hour workshop for teachers with the theme of Puja, assuming for there would be an aspect of asana practice as I heard the previous weekends’ workshops with Zhenja were quite asana intensive. Instead, it was a four hour exploration of the concept of puja and the Anusara method for creating puja in a class. It was quite interesting to gain insight into this style of yoga with such a structured framework and language of its own, and valuable as an exercise for creating focus, rationale and sequencing relevant to a class’ esoteric focus.
The best part of the workshop was Zhenja herself. Intelligent, down to earth, authentic and energetic, Zhenja was present throughout the entire workshop as an approachable, passionate, inquisitive yogi, ambassador to the Anusara method and disciple of Jon Friend. There was no posturing, just respect and palpable love. Even towards the end when energy began to drop, Zhenja made her way around to the smaller groups to help regain the focus.
Meanwhile, my experience of Anusara yoga continues to unfold. I’m challenged by the shiny, contemporary packaging of the ancient teachings and practicing reserving judgement…after all, these newer methods are devised in part to articulate the vastness of the history and teachings of yoga in a more approachable way. Watch this space….and tomorrow, the 29the Day of the Yoga Challenge, holds a wild card; let’s see where the practice and the challenge lead me…
Day 27, Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
The universe has been sending me signals this week, and I’m receiving them…maybe unable to interpret them fully, but receiving them nonetheless.
First, the two classes earlier in the week that focused heavily on pranayama. Then yesterday at my regular Rolfing appointment when I showed up very eager for deep bodywork, and my rolfer decided it was the time to instead have a somatic experience session that left my body largely untouched. The idea behind somatic experiencing is that trauma that isn’t fully dealt with emotionally gets left behind in the body, building up over time, even being the catalyst for illness and other physical, mental or emotional problems. Through somatic experiencing one becomes more aware of the physical sensations in the body, ultimately aiding in the letting go of the held traumas.
Today when I was late for the class I planned to take at Triyoga, Leila Sadahee’s class was right under my nose at Indaba – lucky me! Leila, fresh from her trip to Peru, spoke about her time with a shaman in the jungle who sees the human form as a series of shapes based on energetic flow and blockage rather than at face value (no pun intended). The class was focused on yoga as a healing medicine, with the theory that when engaging specific areas of the body this can lead to a shape of health rather than disease. Billed as a hip opening class, it was not immensely challenging physically and not obviously hip-opening, but certainly strengthening with great alignment instruction. To add to this, Leila is a passionate and compassionate teacher who is captivating and charismatic. If you love Anusara but haven’t been to Leila’s class, make the time – this is a special and gifted teacher.
Having said this, of my handful of Anusara classes and workshops I’ve attended so far, none has resonated with me on a deep personal level, despite enjoying the practice. I am planning to go to Zhenja De Rosa’s workshop tomorrow and have heard wonderful things about her, so maybe tomorrow my world will get rocked by Anusara. At the very least, I expect another hint from Ms. Universe soon…
Day 26, Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
The universe is trying to tell me to breathe. Returning to Richard Agar Ward’s class today as a little treat to myself to help me through the last week of the challenge, we spent a half hour practicing viloma pranayama with an image of a embedded circles to represent the expansion of the breath. To prepare for pranayama, we spent an hour practicing downward dog with and without ropes (while on ropes Richard pulled my arms a foot longer forward); sirsasana, supported sarvangasana and halasana. By the time we came to sit, I felt more open in the back thoracic and alert in my mind.
This juxtaposed with Mark’s class on Tuesday, also heavy on pranayama, was an entirely different experience. The simplicity and repetition of the Iyengar class enabled me to focus more easily on the sensations in the body and the breath itself because I felt grounded. While after Mark’s class i felt spacey bordering on unwell, after Today’s class I felt grounded and relaxed. So often in a yoga class, less is more.
Day 22, Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
After an afternoon on Hampstead Heath with family, by 4:45pm I found myself back at Indaba Yoga Studio where Bryony Bird was teaching on behalf of Amanda Denton (who normally teaches the 5-6:30 Sunday class).
Given my depleted energy levels and based on the renowned rigorous style of Yogasana classes, I was a little intimidated of what to expect from the class. Nevertheless, I vowed to listen to my body, and by 5pm with the energy of 15 or so other students in the room and Bryony’s calm voice, I settled in to the breath and it felt good. Surprisingly, the pace of the class was very accessible, and while a challenging vinyasa class, Bryony suggested options and reminded the students to listen to their own rhythm and not to feel obligated to push oneself into the full variation of every posture. I really appreciated hearing that given my energy, and especially valued it given other Yogasana classes I have taken where the teacher has had the tendency to come off aggressive, pushing students into poses verbally and/or through adjustments for perhaps the wrong reasons.
There was music throughout the class primarily to maintain the rhythm of the breath, and Bryony presented a nice combination of vinyasa, balancing and seated postures. Amoung the postures, we took parivrtti utkatasana to on legged parivrtti utkatasana to parivrtti parsvakonasana (sidenote: why do some teachers start twist sequences on the left? I was taught twists always are initiated from right to left due to digestive movements – ascending to descending colon, but half of the classes I’ve gone to haven’t followed this general rule…any thoughts?). Other asanas included uttitha hasta padangusthasana to virabhadrasana 3, plenty of crescent moon-variation namaskar, ustrasana, 2 urhdva dhanurasana, janursirsasana, ardha matsyendrasaa, tarasana, paschimottanasana…and a truly lovely savasana complete with neck rub.
Bryony was even-keeled throughout and gave good basic instruction into the postures, even if she seemed slightly reserved (it was her third class of the day after all). She gave me a couple of nice adjustments and, even though I’m still definitely not firing with all cylinders, I felt a whole lot better after the class than before. I will be back for more Bryony in February.
Tomorrow, my long awaited return to Anoushka’s class, at the Life Centre, 12:30-2pm. Yoga inspired Pilates….
Schedule for Week 4, Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga challenge
Below is my unofficial schedule for the last full week of my yoga challenge! Please let me know if you can join me, its always more fun to practice together.
MONDAY Anoushka Boone, 12:30-2pm, the Life Centre Notting Hill
TUESDAY Mark Hill, 15:45-5:15pm, the Life Centre Notting Hill
WEDNESDAY Sally Parkes, 12:30-1:30, Indaba Yoga Studio
THURSDAY Huma Jalil, 4:00-5:30, Jivamukti Yoga Studio
FRIDAY Helen Shepherd, 12:45-2:15, Triyoga Chelsea
SATURDAY Amanda Denton, 5-6:30, Indaba Yoga Studio
