New Beginnings and The Sensation of Freedom......

Sat outside the Shak, in 'lockdown' it strikes me that the gate is still metaphorically wide open. That now, more than ever is the time to cultivate the sensation of freedom - inner freedom. Now is the time for all of us to step into our own practice and cultivate the skills we have been learning; the ability to sit with our sensations of fear, of uncertainty or whatever else we are experiencing and to trust that this too shall pass.

Those of you who have practiced with me for a long time do not need my instruction in asana, you know the poses and if you don't invest in a copy of B.K.S's Light on Yoga it will give you all you need to find the pose. Here we will work inwardly, we will explore deeply, we will let the asana create something within us to connect us through these curious times. This is new for all of us, but I want to share some of the processes I go through to share Yoga with you each week in the hope that we can keep adding to your toolbox as Yoga practitioners. Let's share this time deepening a home practice which will make us all so much richer when we find each other again on the other side.

Who knows where this journey will take us but I look forward to some company on the way.

​There is no need to do more than you feel able, if you only want to pick one or two poses from a sequence that is fine. Focus more on allowing yourself to be in the pose for sometime and see where you might find the space to cultivate the sensation of freedom whilst you are there. Please remember to take whatever props you need to support you - bricks, blocks, chairs, straps or whatever you can find at home that would be a good substitute. I am not there to keep my eye on you so now more than ever heed the words I always say to new starters "listen to your body before you listen to me"

Notice what arises for you before, during or after practicing - do you struggle to get on the mat? Do you rush through the poses? Do you struggle to trust that you know what you are doing? Do you fight against taking support? All of this is normal, noticing is part of the practice, if you feel moved to do so start a practice journal so you can remember where you have been, I would love for some of you to share your stories along the way.

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Finally I leave you with the words of David Whyte:

Start Close Inby David Whyte 
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way to begin
the conversation.
Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.
To hear
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes an
intimate
private ear
that can
really listen
to another.
Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.
Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

​

A David Whyte poem from
River Flow: New & Selected Poems
Many Rivers Press
​