 My seedlings haven't sprouted. Some did, they are in the garden magically growing into little lettuces. However, I have 4 egg boxes on my window sill that are showing no signs of life. I still water them in hope. But I think I'm going to have to admit defeat. More than half of what I planted didn't sprout.
You create a wonderfully fertile environment, plant some seeds, maintain light, moist and warm conditions, and hope for the best. There is nothing more to be done. Hope for magic to happen, participate in the possibility of magic, and enjoy the pleasure of gardening along the way. We might not call it magic. We might call it luck, or lifeforce or alchemy. Whatever your term for it, we all need 'it' more than we'd like to think. Rational? We like to think we are in control. That good compost and conditions = seedlings. Well half of the seeds got that memo, the other half... Plenty in our lives, like my seedlings & non-seedlings, is frankly quite mysterious. Our rational heads like things to be logical and rational. I bet some of you are thinking up reasons why my seedlings didn't sprout, and would have good advice for me. We like to feel in control and in charge, and think that the world makes sense. 3 intelligences But our intelligence is only partly in our heads. Our bodies have their own innate intelligence. They are doing a million things right now that we don't even know about, are not controlling, and don't understand. And beyond just the functioning of our bodies, our gut has its own intelligence. We feel things in our gut, perhaps we notice a reaction or an instinct that is worth following, even though our head might rationally think otherwise. Likewise our hearts also have a profound intelligence that we all know and feel, but don't perhaps give enough space for. We weren't always like this. As a little kid, before anything else we are usually asked - are you hungry? are you tired? do you need the loo? Beyond that, we were considered pretty much fine. But as grownups we don't ask our bodies how they are, we ask our minds. Our bodies, our hearts and guts have intelligence worth listening to. Our heads can't sort out how we feel much of the time. We overthink things. In fact we might just be thirsty - take a drink and feel better. Cultivate whole body-mind connectedness Our yoga practice is one of the places where we attend to and cultivate this wholeness, this whole body-mind connectedness. We invite our attention out of our heads, and attend to the body, to the heart, to the gut, and listen. At first we might find this hard. The mind throws up much more interesting stories and problems to solve, lists to make, distractions to offer us. But with practice our focus is able to be sustained elsewhere. We start to breathe from deeper in the body, we notice subtle sensations that are often overlooked. Our movements feel fuller and more satisfying. And we nourish something that we can't quite rationalise but we know is important. Stretching and strengthening is great Our heads rationalise what we are doing, and sensibly value the stretching and strengthening. We think that the stability in our back is the reason we keep up our daily or weekly yoga practice. And of course the physical benefits and better mood are reasons enough to keep doing it. But our body knows more. It knows that we have just attended to something vital, essential, and necessary. We have reconnected to something deeper within us, that when nurtured brings us back into harmony with ourselves and those around us. It's hard to verbalise By very definition it is beyond words, because it isn't from our heads. But just because you can't write it down, don't be tempted to underestimate it. You'll know it when you touch it, and you'll miss it if you don't. It is vital and essential. Prioritise your yoga Prioritise your yoga practice, above many other things in life. Let your mind think it is because it keeps you stronger and healthier. And allow space for the possibility that it offers you much more than your mind will ever know. UPCOMING EVENTS | Late-Summer Retreat Day in Bristol with Clara| Relax, pause and revitalise your whole self right here in our beautiful Bishopston studio. Sunday 15th September 2024 10:30am - 4:00pm Find out more > | Book Talk on "Yoga as Pilgrimage" with Ranju Roy, 7th July | Book here >
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 What does it mean to be tolerant?
Tolerant of what? We all have individual tolerance levels for a wide range of things. It could be for physical challenge, annoying teenagers, joint mobility, stress or quiet pauses, you get the idea. Finding your tolerance level is very individual, but also very adaptable. Our range of tolerance can increase in all directions. Our yoga practice is in part, building up our range of tolerance. Taking us out of our comfort zone into new areas or exploration and development. Being comfortable with discomfort We can build our tolerance of discomfort. We invite the body, breath and focusing capacity to stretch beyond their current range. Being able to tolerate discomfort is worth developing a familiarity with. We can't always be comfortable. Our lives can be designed to be as comfortable as possible, and this can make us complacent and we may lose resilience, and perhaps not feel as vibrant and confident. Feeling comfortable might be hard We may also need to build our ability to tolerate comfort and ease. Some of us are so used to being busy, rushing around, feeling tense and active, that actually relaxing is a very uncomfortable place to find ourselves. It might feel pointless, and we experience great aversion to stopping and relaxing - even though it might be exactly what we need. Our usual drive wants to keep us going all the time. Savasana (lying rest) and the more restorative postures invite us to tolerate slowing down, stopping, becoming still, noticing things that we perhaps might rather not. Building up our tolerance to this gradually can have enormous benefit and offer great potential to then experience the more subtle aspects of yoga practice. Feel resistance and do it anyway Don't worry if it feels uncomfortable going to either end of your range. Encountering resistance is how you will build your range of tolerance. That is the zone you need to hang out in to get used to it. Our yoga practice can be a place to build tolerance in all directions. The highs, the lows and the comfortable middles. If you are a busy person with lots of physical demands on you, the challenge might be to do less, take a softer approach to your asana and breathwork, take on the challenge of prioritising a different mode of being. If you are pretty chilled out and relaxed, you might try invigorating things a little and take on an extra challenge. Extend your breath in your postures, add in 10% more extension through your limbs. Find a new layer of practice to keep you actively engaged and not drifting through it going through the same motions as last time. Choose wisely, in a way that might feel counterintuitive as it isn't your usual mode, so that your tolerance range is as broad and resilient as possible in all directions. See below for a couple of home practice suggestions to take you out of your comfort zone. ___ Read on: | Book Talk on "Yoga as Pilgrimage" with Ranju Roy, 7th July 2024 | Join Ranju as he talks about his new book and brings it to life in person. There will also be time for questions too and he is happy to sign books :-) Books available to collect from the studio in advance of the talk, or on the day and costs £20. BOOK YOUR SPACE > | FREE home practice videos to build your tolerance | Practice challenge A) For busy people who like a strong practice Take the more gentle practice. It won't feel like your usual choice, it might feel too gentle. Do it anyway, do it every day for a week. See the effect of relaxing and doing less. It might surprise you. B) For those who like to practice gently As long as it feels safe, do the 20 minute practice, use a slower breath length, and perhaps hold the poses for an extra breath to create extra challenge. Do it every day for a week. Notice the difference. Step outside your usual mode and increase your ability to tolerate a wider range of challenge. FREE VIDEOS > | Upcoming Summer Retreat Day in Bristol with Clara | Take a pause from the busy-ness of life with a day of mindful yoga, breathwork, stillness, and relaxation. Discover fresh approaches to postures using breathwork, mantra and intention. Relax, pause and revitalise your whole self right here in our beautiful Bishopston studio. Suitable for everyone. A great toe in the water if your considering a retreat weekend with me. Refreshments and treats provided, bring along lunch. Sunday 15th September 2024 10:30am - 4:00pm *EARLY-BIRD OFFER* >  A weekly yoga class feels great and makes a huge difference. Getting into the rhythm of a weekly class is a wonderful thing and your body, mind and nervous system will enjoy the regularity that this offers.
You'll be pleased to know that daily yoga is in many ways much easier than the weekly class - once the rhythm and habit are established. A group class is typically longer, probably more demanding physically (you have days to recover from any intensity or challenge), and the approach is more group-centred so there may be things not as well suited to you so will need adapting. Home yoga feels quite different. It offers an intimacy with yourself, in the sanctuary of your own home. It is important time where you put aside other demands and distractions, turn attention fully inwards and move and breath well with care and curiosity. The invitation in home practice is to discover your yoga, which will be as unique as you are, based on your needs and interests. The only pre-requisite is a willingness to try. Daily yoga, like daily anything, is accumulative. The benefits grow, sometimes in surprising ways, based on consistently showing up, even if only for 15 minutes. Consider learning to play the guitar. Which would be better, a solid hour once a week practicing your chords and working on a few pieces. Or 15 minutes every day, building on what you did yesterday. Getting your muscle memory and coordination more refined, working on one piece until you have it in your musical vocabulary. We are doing this in yoga. We are learning to play an instrument, except the instrument we are playing is body, breath and mind. We are learning to play the most precious, complex, beautiful instrument we will ever have. We learn how to play it well, with the subtleties of breath and nuance, discovering a lot along the way. It isn't overly complex or hard - it just requires a good starting point that is realistic and will fit in with all the other demands of your day. And a commitment to prioritising it and scheduling it in. I love that many of you have still continued your home practice many months after the January challenge! Well done for those who have managed to keep it going. And for those who haven't, let's give it another go. I'll be launching a new daily yoga challenge soon to help jumpstart your home practice or re-ignite it if your finding things becoming mechanical. See below if you want to jumpstart your practice sooner, otherwise watch this space for the next challenge designed to get you on your mat regularly. ___ Current Announcements | Afternoon of Yoga with Ranju Roy | There are only a couple of spaces left for the workshop, but don't worry, the book talk will have more spaces available so if you miss out on the workshop, book a space for the book talk at 4:15pm - it'll be a wonderful afternoon! Sunday 7th July 2024 1:30pm workshop 4:15pm book talk ~ | 1:1 Yoga Home Practice Coaching | Yoga is ideally taught in a way that is realistically tailored to individual needs. Expert guidance is invaluable at avoiding the pitfalls of home yoga. Selecting the most effective posture set, starting at the right point, staying accountable and motivated, and ensuring the right balance and progression. Traditionally yoga was taught 1:1 and my 4-year teacher training was rooted in this. I've been supporting home practice for nearly 20 years. If your interested in establishing your own tailored home yoga practice, let's schedule a free 20 minute chat to discuss your needs. Either in person, on the phone, or on Zoom. It would be great to help you start your own home yoga practice. ~ | Upcoming Summer Retreat Day in Bristol with Clara | *Early-Bird Offer* Take a pause from the busy-ness of life with a day of mindful yoga, breathwork, stillness, and relaxation. Discover fresh approaches to postures using breathwork, mantra and intention. Relax, pause and revitalise your whole self right here in our beautiful Bishopston studio. Suitable for everyone. A great toe in the water if your considering a retreat weekend with me. Refreshments and treats provided, bring along lunch. Sunday 15th September 2024 10:30am - 4:00pm  Someone rang me once to ask if I could stand in and teach a 'Puppy Yoga' class. I love yoga, and I love puppies, and of course I was tempted as it just seemed so curious (and fun!). Who wouldn't want to see the hilarious antics of puppies messing around. The basic idea is that you go to a yoga class in a room with a bunch of free-roaming puppies. They lighten the mood, warm your heart, and give you a much needed fuzzy glow. Puppies do that everytime. Yoga does that every time. Mix them both and Bingo! - right? My dog was a puppy a few years ago, so as I thought through this premise, I remembered something key about puppies that wasn't as cute. They aren't toilet-trained. My puppy was 5-months old before she finally twigged. So I have fond memories of this. Not only do they 'go' a lot, they usually like to go on something. They prefer not to just do it on the plain floor, they head for something. A piece of newspaper, a puppy pad, a clump of grass - anything. And in a yoga studio, all there would be is your yoga mat. You could teach a good yoga class here with these materials. But perhaps not in the warm and fuzzy way that was expected... Yes, having fun in downward facing dog with a puppy beneath you, forgetting to breathe and laughing out loud would be great. Puppies remind you to rediscover joy - they are fully joyful and it is contagious. (Put aside the animal welfare issues for one second, hard I know, Italy has banned Puppy Yoga for exactly this reason). But the best teaching would be... how to find the true joy of yoga, the real and lasting joy in this moment, no matter what is going on around you. Puppies, no puppies, even damp patches on your mat. It's all good - as long as you don't over-think it and your mind doesn't take over with judgements and thoughts about the inevitable clean-up. This is one of yoga's most valuable teachings and most valuable practices. It is at the very beginning of the ancient text, the Yoga Sutra. It is front and centre of yoga teaching yet often overlooked. It is as simple as breathing, as obvious as opening your eyes, yet we are oblivious to the availability of present-moment joy, because we overthink, judge and rely on the contents of our experience going our way - rather than the quality of our state of mind. Changing the contents of our life, or our choice of yoga pose, isn't what makes anyone happy. Adding puppies, finally achieving the long-sought-after 'hard' posture, easing the achey hip etc.. Whatever it is you are after from your practice is worth pursuing if it keeps you showing up each day - but it isn't what will ultimately satisfy you. What will satisfy you, now and always, is worth discovering. How to find complete contentment, peace and joy in each moment as it unfolds, whether it is objectively pleasant or unpleasant. Whether it involves a puppy or a damp patch. The teachings, practice and experience of yoga offers lasting insights into this. Initially in glimpses, perhaps at the end of our practice, or during our weekend yoga retreat. These glimpses graduallly become more reliably available, and become more and more integrated into daily life. We discover increasing equanimity, patience, peace and happiness. It sounds cheesy, because its been sung about and written about through the ages. It has lasted because it is true. Lasting happiness isn't found in circumstances, or in other people or things. It is found right here, where you are, no matter what is happening. Puppy or no puppy.   This last weekend I hosted my annual yoga retreat. We were just an hour from here, deep in the Somerset countryside in a beautiful country estate. The theme of the weekend was peace. To cultivate peace in life, body and mind. Let's pause We are always so busy 'doing' our lives. Working, shopping, fixing, supporting and caring, and then recovering from the demands of it all. At the end of each day, our energy is spent, we end the day flat out, then we sleep it off, and begin all over again the next day. Create space The space created this weekend was much-needed by everyone. The sublime location in the Somerset countryside, the sessions of yoga, the wonderful food, the inspiration and energy of the birdsong and spring bursting out in all directions. The weekly class upgraded to full immersion Cast your mind back to your last yoga class. You reached the end, and felt much better than when you arrived. Then you left and carried on with the rest of your day. When your on retreat, you don't go home and carry on with the day. Instead you are are in a beautiful location, not asked to do anything, offered nurturing practices, fed well, listened to, then you get to relax again, but more deeply in a candlelit evening relaxation / meditation. Then a night of peace, the occassional owl hoot, relaxation and sleep in a comfortable bed. Woken by the abundant morning chorus, pre-breakfast yoga to energise and revitalise. Fed more wonderful food, deepening gentle practices, and a chance to discuss and explore the wider elements of yoga that we often don't find time for. A spacious glimpse This allows us to glimpse the transformative qualities that yoga helps bring to everyday life. We stay immersed in this calm, vital spaciousness all weekend, letting it seep deeply into every aspect of ourselves. The vibrancy of nature, internal and external, is revealed and rediscovered. Through making space, practicing yoga, laughing, listening, chatting, crying, sitting, lying, eating and everything in between with new and old friends. And we bring this spaciousness home with us, and so it ripples on.  We retreat from...
Day-to-day demands Usual routines Distractions Noise Work TV and phones Traffic and city-life Stress and tension Fast pace and being constantly busy Doing life We retreat into... Tranquil countryside Sanctuary Abundant birdsong, spacious vistas of the Somerset levels Nature Slowing down and breathing Yoga practices to nurture and cultivate vitality, stability and peace Spacious time Being cared for, cooked for, encouraged, listened to Community of friends Spiritual connection Ourselves, tuning in, listening Quiet Being Peace Feedback from this year's retreat: "Thank you so very much. It was perfect and as I had hoped / needed" "Such a special time" "Really inspiring weekend. Great to reset and rethink yoga." "Loved the pace and balance of practice, breathwork, time for walks. Perfect for noticing and nourishing the whole of me" Stay in touch for info on next year's retreat which I'll start planning soon. |
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