Lizzie for Free : a yogi's blog
The Free State of LizArchive for teaching
Sublime Sunday with Joo Teoh
After a much needed 2 hour nap with Louis, I had a rare opportunity to practice in Joo’s class at the Life Centre in Notting Hill. With 16 of us squeezed into the loft studio, I was surprised how easily Joo, at well over 6′, navigatbottle space and led the group through a lovely gentle dynamic flow that seemed to make the most of the room.
There were plenty of options for all levels of practice, and enabled the whole body, first piece by piece, then as an integrated unit, to expand and release overworked muscles. Joo himself has a gentle, calm mannerism that enables the practitioner to explore their own practice in the confines of the class.
If you are looking for a softer dynamic practice on a Sunday afternoon, make sure to check out Joo’s class. He’s limiting his teaching at the moment due to his other profession in branding ( where he’s currently involved with the Olympics 2012), so get there early as the room does fill up.
Thanks for the warmth, Joo!
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
Learnings from Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
With the 30 Day Yoga Challenge over, there is a lot to contemplate. Originally planned rather haphazardly to extend outwards into the wider London yoga community and to break myself out of my preferences for certain yoga classes and teachers, far more came up than I imagined. As a result I have learned both personally and professionally, and even made a couple of new friends along the way. Most valuable for me have been the themes that revealed themselves in my practice as well as my personal life during this past month.
SANTOSHA
The word in sanskrit for contentment, or satisfaction is santosha. One of the niyamas, santosha is about being satisfied with things exactly as they are; not requiring any more or any less, instead, maintaining that everything is exactly as it should be. I’ve spent a lot of time speculating on this idea this month, as a yoga teacher and student, as a mother, as a human being. It’s so easy to find fault in ourselves and others, and often much more challenging to accept wholeheartedly what is. This is true whether contemplating the asana practice, assessing how well one has done one’s job, accepting the opportunities available at any given time, or one’s limitations. We are all doing the best we can given our current life situations, and, try as we may, it is impossible and debilitating to compare ourselves to anyone else. We are all unique.
VAIRAGYA
The concept of santosha has a direct relationship with the word vairagya, meaning dispassionate or non attachment. When we are content with what is, it is far easier to practice non-judgement, to remain impartial. When engaged in a critique of a movie, a piece of art, a book, or a yoga studio, there are always aspects that are primarily subjective, based on our own preferences and aversions, but there are also aspects that are more objective. One of the challenges in this month has been discerning the difference between the two and trying to be as objective as possible. As time permits me to read back on these posts, I may well have to glue my jaw back on as I discover just how opinionated I actually was in my writings.
SAMSAYA
The feeling of doubt is one of the nine obstacles to the practice of yoga as set forth in sutra 1.30 of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Samsaya means doubt, or indecision in Sanskrit. When we are uncertain about our path, who our teacher is, what we want to focus on in our lives, things become fuzzy, and we may end up floundering. For example, if you practice with two different yoga teachers and they each tell you how to practice a pose differently, this may lead to indecision and doubt about how to practice. This has come up often for me as a Jivamukti teacher and practitioner of several different styles of yoga. Lately I have had many doubts about my teaching and bodywork style, and have been indecisive about which way to evolve. This challenge has highlighted some of these doubts as I have practiced with such a variety of teachers and styles of yoga. One thing does seem to be clear, and that is which teachers and styles don’t appeal to me (or is that simply my preferences and aversions rearing their ugly head?).
SHRADDHA
The antedote to samsaya, shraddha means faith; knowing without a shred of doubt that there is something bigger, more supreme than yourself behind the wheel. This is the ultimate form of surrender, enabling the doer to come back to contentment and joy at whatever presents itself. Raised agnostic, I never had any faith until I began practicing yoga regularly, and because of this, my faith is very much tied to my practice. When I have doubts, when I feel I’m slipping into the role of ‘victim’, I use my time on the mat or on the cushion to bring myself back to the many choices available. Knowing there is always a choice is empowering, and working through negative mental subtexts with the optin of letting go is perhaps the most powerful choice there is. This month I have felt frustrated, at times even disconnected from my faith due to the change in practice mode. I have spent more time ‘doing’ yoga than practicing yoga, and it’s time for me to reconnect to my personal guiding light.
There is so much more to write, but I’m not publishing a book, it’s just a little blog post. Having said this, its about to get a few words longer still because I wanted to also briefly mention ASMITA, the ego. We all have one, and more than once I felt mine flair in judgement mode about a teacher’s style or particular yoga studio. I have also spent time questioning ‘who am I’ to judge or critique another teacher’s class. I never intended this to be a critique, but it’s simply a natural progression when taking a yoga class a day at different studios with different teachers to have an opinion about them. Some will resonate, some won’t. Some will be inspiring and safe for the body, some won’t. I guess I feel ok in having published my experiences because I wasn’t doing anything out of ill intention, and at the end of the day we all entitled to our opinions and to have a voice.
I chose the classes For the challenge primarily due to my schedule and proximity, and for this reason I wanted to point out that there are a number of great teachers whose classes I really wanted to attend, but was simply unable to in the course of this month. As a result, I took a number of mediocre classes with teachers I had never heard of. I will continue to take as many classes with different teachers as I can manage, but perhaps I will go about choosing the teachers in a more strategic way, for example, visiting teachers I know and love a little more frequently, and finding new teachers based on recommendations rather than choosing names out of a hat. I would also like to return to the classes I didn’t love, knowing that we all have off days.
Signing off for now, thanks for following my little yoga adventure.
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…
Teaching Yoga and Meditation to Doctors
On Wednesday afternoon I found myself at St. Mary’s hospital in the presence of 35 GPs teaching them a class on yoga, meditation and relaxation. Having grown up in a medical family and very often in the role of ‘patient’, it was refreshing to, for once, share some of my knowledge with the physicians. I observed the group without the stethoscopes and dangling name tags; they behaved as any other social group in a position of exposinga new aspect of themselves to their peers. Not unlike a high school class, at first there was nervous laughter, joking around and ambivalence during the warm up. Eventually the whole group relaxed and embraced the movement as well as the breathing exercises, even in the middle of their busy day. The relaxation at the end crescendo’d into an orchestra of snores.
I know there are many critics of the NHS, but I was impressed at the initiative to offer alternative methods for the physicians to stay healthy in mind and body; this was one of a series of ‘lectures’ offering alternate perspectives on ‘medical’ subject matter. I can’t imagine this happening in the US at a free hospital. I would love to be told otherwise!
I so appreciated having the opportunity to take the yoga practice outside the studio and into the world. Om shanti.
Learnings from Week 2: Lizzie’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge
This week was dramatically different for me compared to the first week of the challenge. Taking some of my learnings from the first week into consideration, I chose classes that were generally longer in length (2, 2-hour classes, 2, 3-hour workshops), and had one day for self practice which was very meaningful from a more meditative and reflective standpoint. At the end of the second week I feel more fulfilled, more grounded and at the same time expansive. Thanks to all the great teachers who were so generous with their energy and teachings.
I have stuck with studios I know so far, which is partly due to the schedules and proximity and yoga methods I know and enjoy. I’m going to do my best to break out of that habit this week (Evolve is on the schedule for Thursday, and I’m slated to go to a pilates and dance class tomorrow at Tri Chelsea for something totally different!) I have questioned whether or not I should try a Bikram class or a Yotopia class in heat with weights, but I’m not sure what the point would be. I can’t imagine enjoying it, but maybe that’s one of the evolving themes of the challenge, to give new things, and things I have a misconception of, a chance. Stay tuned….
Gratitude and the gunas
One of the most challenging aspects of true gratitude is accepting all things in life as precious; without judgement, without control. It’s so easy to fall into the habit of perceiving things in our life as good and bad, extending appreciation only to those things we deem as beneficial to our small, ego-driven selves. When we begin to look at all of life’s manifestations as part of something bigger of which we are interconnected, something we only begin to skim the surface from the vantage point of the “I”, the ego, we develop an understanding for events happening according to a larger plan.
According to the ancient yoga philosophy, all of creation can be boiled down to consciousness and the life force. In the same way that the big bang theory thrust the material world into existence or a sperm and ovum create a new life by merging together, purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (life force) attract to each other and intertwine, spawning all of animate life.
All that is manifest is subject to the three gunas; qualities of the world we can see, feel and sense. These gunas are tamas, ragas and sattva. While each can be understood in a variety of ways, the basic nature of each can be understood as:
Tamas – the mode of destruction. Physical inertia with a tendency towards the past. Tamas is dark, heavy, and stubborn; cool in temperature, pungent in taste. Examples of tamas are expressed in a dead animal; someone who is manipulative, procrastinates or is stuck in the past; food that is starting to rot.
Ragas – the mode of creation. Physical activity tending towards thoughts about the future. Dim, needy and aggressive, ragas is hot in temperature and spicy in taste. Examples of ragas are a spicy curry; someone in need of constant affirmation, with excessive energy or frustrated by the world around them; an angry skin rash.
Sattva – the mode of preservation. Calm and alert, sattva exists in the present, bright and luminous. Sattva is pure and sweet in taste. Examples include a ripe fruit; a compassionate, karma yogi meditating in the present; a flower having just opened into it’s full foliage.
The gunas are woven together like a braid; intertwined into our physical reality, present in all things at all times. As a braid has one strand on top of the other two at any given time, one guna reigns over the others and the dominant guna is constantly changing.
Each guna has a natural lifecycle, not unlike the cyclical nature of seasons or a life that begins as a seed, developing into its full potential before it’s decay and ultimate death. Moment by moment, the evolution in the cycle of life transforms continuously.
As yogis, the paradox is that the sattvic state appears to be desirable, as a goal to attain. However, as soon as the mind attaches to its preferences seeking out one thing while trying to avoid another, we become ragasic with our expectations for the future and tamasic in our tendency towards manipulation. The true sattvic nature desires nothing, becoming sattvic through the process of staying present and detatching from our preferences and aversions, self-serving intentions, expectations and fears. Even the sattvic state morphs into something else as the peaceful body and mind inevitably seek new sources of stimulation.
We so often use these official times of year as superficial points to stop, reflect, and reset our expectations. It can be easy to forget that each day, each hour, each moment is a chance to begin anew. By practicing patience and cultivating awareness of whatever our present state of mind and body, we can begin to live more dynamically, as we listen and respond to our changing needs. Living becomes a practice acknowledging that all phenomena is subject to the gunas – to impermanence and constant change.
True gratitude lies within the knowledge (bhuti) that all of the sensual world is temporary. Rather than forcing ourselves to change at a pace that is self-controlled, we cultivate an appreciation for the knowledge that there is actually very little in life we have control over. The more we can accept all the aspects of our life as transformative, as gifts that we can choose to use as empowerment, the more the gunas can evolve fluidly and the more we can truly be present and grace-filled.
(caveat: of course, consuming products, services and media mindfully, including eating a vegetarian diet will naturally enhance the sattvic state, not that we are seeking that out;-))
The Origins of the Chakra System Part 2: Hatha Yoga and the Nadis
In Part 1 of this post, the ancient story of the Churning of Milk was paraphrased as a mythological explanation from where physical form and movement stem. The chakras exist because of, and give rise to movement, and in doing so embody the elemental forms in the physical anatomical/skeletal structure. To give context and structure to the chakra system, it is helpful to have an understanding of Hatha yoga and the subtle energy channels, or Nadis.
Hatha yoga comes from the words Ha, meaning sun, and Tha, meaning moon, and concerns two important and vital aspects of the physical body – the solar and lunar forces. In sanskrit these are known as ida and pingala; ida representing the moon, and pingala, the sun. Also referred to as Shakti and Shiva, these opposing forces interact with each other, guiding and directing our actions and knowledge base. It is in accordance with these forces that we live, move, think and know.
Ida and pingala are a part of an intricate network of energy channels in the body called Nadis which are not unlike our nervous system. One difference between these two systems is that the nervous system exists in the physical body and can be seen to the naked eye, while the Nadis exist in the subtle body, unseen to the naked eye and based on energy currents, vibration and psychic energy.
It is said there are 72,000 Nadis in the body, but for the purposes of better understanding the chakras, three are of primary importance: the ida, the pingala and the sushumna, the central channel.
Ida is associated with the left side of the body, and linked to the mind, cold, passivity, femininity and the moon. Pingala is on the right side, associated with prana, heat, activity, masculinity and the sun. The sushumna is poised in the middle between ida and pingala. The sushumna plays an important role in the final stages of purification on the path to enlightenment because by purifying the Nadis, mental and pranic forces are able to move up through sushumna aided by the chakras. This may ultimately result in enlightenment.
It is thought that there is a dormant potential energy in all humans referred to as Kundalini, the sleeping serpent coiled up at the base of the spine. Through meditation and other yogic practices, kundalini is awakened, and rises up through the sushumna to the crown chakra, where it resides in utero. In childbirth it is pushed down the sushumna to the muladhara chakra, or root chakra. Through various yoga practices including meditation, chanting, pranayama and asana, various levels of awakening are attained, until the kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, Sahasrara chakra, producing an extremely profound awakening that is referred to by terms such as enlightenment, samadhi and nirvana.
Chakra means wheel and implies movement. Like a wheel spins to bring motion to a vehicle, the chakras are responsible for moving energy through the body to maintain vitality and aid in the purification process. Chakras manifest at the intersections of two or more nadis. Because there are so many nadis, there are literally uncounted numbers of chakras in the subtle body; however, there are seven primary chakras which exist based on the number of times ida and pingala criss-cross at sushumna. Impurities in the nadis, or energy flow, cause blockages of the prana leading to disease in the physical body; a free-flowing body of energy is synonymous with wellbeing, freedom and liberation.
The Hatha yoga practice is focused on balancing the solar and lunar channels in the body to facilite this state arising, and the chakras play an integral role in maintaining the balance of forces due to their wheel-like structure and ability to move energy through the nadis.
What is Chakra Balancing?
Sanskrit word “chakra” means “wheel”. A wheel rolls, turns and, by means of circular movement takes one on a journey. You may find it interesting, as I do, that the word also refers to cyclical phenomenae, such as:
-a circular flight pattern of birds
-a cycle of years
-a winding of a river
-an astronomical circle
This circular, cyclical movement is happening throughout the body and at different speeds; however, we can think of the chakras divided into seven primary energetic centres. These centres are analogous with many things, including: the anatomy of the body; the elements of the earth; emotions; colours; animals; and sound.
When these energy centres are open and wellness flows throughout the body, we are at ease – physically, emotionally and in our relationships. However, when they are blocked through injury, illness or disconnection with others, we are prevented from being our best selves. The chakra system is in place from an early age, so the imbalance can begin within the earliest years of development when our earliest needs for food, shelter and warmth are not met. Imbalances can be formed at anytime and within any of the chakras when energy becomes static and inert.
The goal for a yogi is to keep the energy fluid and balanced, which can be done most directly through diet, energetic movement (such as vinyasa and deeply held asanas), pranayama, sound vibration and meditation.
Sourced from ancient teachings, chakra yoga is perhaps more relevant today than ever, at a time when so many feel disconnected from themselves and the community. By rebalancing the energetic channels in the body your heart will be more open to experiencing joy.
I will be teaching a Jivamukti Chakra Balancing Workshop at Indaba Yoga Studio in Marylebone, London on December 4, 2011. Suitable for all levels except complete beginners.
