Hi lovely you,
Do you have 6 minutes to spend with me today? I can almost guarantee you will feel calmer, more focused and grounded for it.
Find an easy comfortable seat, turn off any distractions, press play then close your eyes & enjoy!
xxx
This week in class we’re going to examine what we bring to the mat (and daily life!) with us, in terms of expectations, desires and attachments and look at if they are helpful or not. Do we need them? Or can we let them go and be present in what actually is? Can we be curious about our practice and about our lives and how they actually are rather than just living how we think they are? Can we do things just for the joy of being rather than for the outcomes or expectations of doing them?
This weeks theme was inspired by Eckhart Tolle’s poem “Be the Buddha”:
Look forward to exploring this theme on the mat with you this week, if you want to join me you can at Little Peace, Altromondo & Yoga Shakti . Also check out bookretreats.com for self-discovery retreats.
After a long absence from my “blog” (it’s hardly a blog though seeing as I haven’t written since 2017!! oh dear!) I have decided to start writing short weekly posts about aspects of yoga that I am sharing in my classes but also want to share with you here, little thought offerings. Some weeks they will be based on the physical alignment, maybe particular poses, some weeks they will look at yoga philosophy, other weeks the breath, and probably everything in between too. They will be short, easy to read and digest snippets that I hope you enjoy reading and learning about :) so here goes….!
This week I wanted to talk a little bit about how we should practice yoga asana, which is a pretty big question to answer in a short snippet, but there is a surprisingly simple answer from the ‘Yoga Sutras’ written by the sage Patanjali over 2000 years ago (although we have no exact date of writing). The ‘Yoga Sutras’ is a collection of 196 aphorisms (An aphorism is a brief sentence or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom) on the theory & practice of yoga. Of these 196 sutras, just 3 sutras relate to the physical practice of yoga.
Just 3!! That is less than 2% of the whole text.
Of those 3, one in particular strikes me, which is sutra 2.46 :
What does steadiness & ease mean? I like to think of it as being rooted & steady in whatever physical shape we might be in, as well as finding a sense of ease in this shape, in the breath, and in the mind. Ease through the breath, the body and the mind. This sounds easy right? But finding steadiness in some of the shapes we go into can already be a challenge, so ease on top of this can feel very far away. However, we can think of the mind as a muscle too and with our practice we can slowly start to train this muscle.
Each time we come back to this awareness, we strengthen this muscle so that the sense of ease becomes more natural both on the mat, and then also off the mat too.
Next time you step onto your mat, see if you can find this sense of steadiness in your practice. Good ways that help me notice if I am steady and at ease are to ask myself the following questions:
Hope you enjoyed this little snippet from my world of yoga, please feel free to comment with any thoughts this might have brought up for you!
I will be returning to hosting classes at my home, although now home is in Siggiewi, and I will also be starting prenatal classes! The classes will be very intimate, a maximum of 4 yogis per class which means you will get lots of personal attention and we can really focus on what YOU need.
The last classes I will be teaching at Sanya will be on the 11th & 13th December. Following this, I will be offering a few complimentary classes at my new home studio (which is located here) to give you a taste of what is to come.
Book your complimentary class now - booking is essential
Following the complimentary classes, I will officially launch the classes in January 2018, with classes as follows:
Of course I hope you will join me in Siggiewi, but if this is not a convenient location for you there are still many other wonderful teachers at Sanya.
Every once in a while, in the middle of work, family, lover, dinners, parties, picnics, studies and gym time your body might begin to feel a little run down, a sure sign that you need some good old rest!
If we can learn to listen to our bodies messages with respect and love, your body will tell you when you need rest. Our bodies are much smarter than we think we are! Feeling exhausted, un-inspired, run-down, fluey, achey, headachey are all signs from your body to tell you to REST. A lot of the time in our modern lifestyles we push through these messages from our body, leading us to become more fatigued and for the symptoms to spread deeper into our body perhaps causing even more harm.
We need to change our attitude to rest, and realise that it is OK to rest when we need it! Listening to your body's messages with love and respect is one of the most important parts of yoga - never mind doing a headstand. There is no need to feel guilty about needing to rest when your body needs it.
Not only is it important to take a day once in a while to rest (I promise you the world will not stop just because you are taking this rest) and I know any mothers out there are probably thinking "as if I could ever take a day of rest! but even take an hour, or half an hour or 5 minutes whatever you can, and whenever you can! Not only is it important to rest, but it is also important to use this time of rest wisely.
What is rest? A lot of the time you might think woohoo a day of rest, I'm going to stay in bed sleep all day and watch my favourite series in between sleep. Although this might be physically resting your body, it has been proven that modern technology (think ipads, phones, laptops - anything emitting an electromagnetic field (EMFs)) can cause the following side effects include headaches, dizziness, sleep disorders, benign tumours, dementia and Alzheimer's (this article has a lot more info on EMF's and the damage they cause us and how we can reduce this potential damage). So the sleep that you are getting in between watching the latest 'House of Cards' episode might not be the truly restful sleep that your body needs.
I really believe that mental stress and exhaustion also has a very physical effect on our bodies, and is much of the reason why we do feel so run down. So when we do rest, why do we neglect to rest our minds too? Remember that your body and mind are intrinsically connected. Watching a series or movie is hardly resting for our minds, and as mentioned above it means the sleep we do have may not be the healing sleep that we need.
Take care of yourself
xx
Have you ever thought about how perfectly skiing & yoga complement each other? Skiing is fast, adrenaline-pumping & risky. Yoga is calming, meditative & mindful. Combining the two creates a perfect balance of mindful fun.
The biggest benefit that yoga can bring to your skiing is injury prevention. Out on the slopes it is cold and we use our cold muscles in ways or in an intensity that we generally aren't used to. Yoga can help reduce stress, strain and possible injury.
If you're planning a skiing holiday I would highly suggest attending as many yoga classes as you can before you head into the snow. Balance, concentration, flexibility & strength form the basis of most yoga classes and these are also the most important skills to get you down the mountain with a big smile on your face!
Here are a few tips to help you find alignment on your skis:
Here are a few poses which will help strengthen, lengthen and balance you prior to skiing:
Pause // Play // Ski
16th- 23rd March 2016
Morillon, French Alps
Daily morning yoga with a mountain view, afternoons to ski/board to your hearts content, a full body massage, meditation techniques for the curious, a B-EA-U-TIFUL chalet complete with a sauna and right next to the ski lifts. Oh, and of course stinky french cheese and wine are also included!
I hope you've had a wonderful break and are ready to start this new year with a spring in your step! It can be easy to fall into the trap of New year = New me, but really we don't need to make any crazy resolutions about how we are going to move mountains (either literally because we will be so strong from working out SO much (!), or figuratively at work or in our personal lives) and become amazing at XY or Z. What we really need to do is learn to love and accept who we already are.
Anita Krizzan
If we could all learn to love and accept ourselves as we are, the world would be a much happier, peaceful place so my challenge to you this year is to stay you and to love you.
x
On this note, I am not making any crazy resolutions but I am feeling very dull and heavy after the last few weeks of overindulgence so I will be doing a Cold Pressed Juicery 3 day juice cleanse this week to help me get back to feeling energetic and light again. If you're thinking about doing a cleanse too it's important to prep a few days before - here is a yummy, easy peasy recipe I made yesterday as a pre cleanse meal, enjoy!
A BIG, beautiful, warm & cozy wrap or cape to snuggle up in post exercise (and at any time of the day!). I love this Carla Grima wrap, which also ticks the box of being locally made and supporting a small Maltese business! Zara also have some beautiful, big & cozy wraps.
- Amelia Freer's book "Eat, Nourish, Glow", an easy-to-understand guide to nutrition with some great recipes.
-Ella Woodward's "Deliciously Ella" cookbook
- A spiralizer (so they can make my Zucchini Phad Thai ;-) )
- A nutribullet, I use mine to make my own almond milk every morning and it is SO simple and has absolutely no chemicals added unlike many store bought almond milks. Also great for making smoothies.
- A bottle of exquisite olive oil such as Barbuto.
- a good quality yoga mat (available from LahLah Yoga for €30)
- treat your loved yogi to a membership for unlimited yoga classes (LahLah Yoga has 1 month, 3 month & 6 month options available) email lisa@lahlahyoga.com for more details.
- some beautiful yoga wear, I currently LOVE the upside, Teeki & LuluLemon. If you're on a budget TK MAXX normally have some good bargains :-)
- a massage or reiki session with Butterfly Therapies, every time I leave a session with Cat I am floating! Treat yourself or get a voucher for a friend.
- some wonderful, home-made, natural and sustainably made in Malta beauty products from the Soap Cafe.
-a luxurious scented candle (secret: although they can be considered a 'boring' gift, most girls love receiving a luxurious scented candle - it's the sort of thing you wouldn't splash out for on yourself but a great gift to receive!)
- a voucher for a private yoga consultation & class, for someone who would prefer to try yoga in the comfort and privacy of their own home. This is perfect for anyone, young or old, flexible or stiff so why not introduce or encourage someone you love to start a healthier lifestyle.
- A beautiful, locally made Carla Grima headband €15
- A voucher for one LahLah Yoga Class €10
- A super duper personalised MAKK creation (price dependent on product!) supporting another small Maltese company too.
- A picture of a fun memory framed with a quote
- Not On The Highstreet has great gift inspiration too, and has a section just for secret santa/stocking fillers too!
-why not send him for an old fashioned shave and facial at Antonio's Barber Shop & Gentleman's Quarters
-the Soap Cafe also have a great old fashioned shaving kit.
xx
I've had a slight injury to my wrist recently which has made sun salutations and vinyasas a no-go for a while. After a week of a very, very gentle practice my body was raring to step it up a bit again, but my wrist not so much, so I came up with this 'Kind for your wrists & shoulders' sun salutation.
Hope this is useful, and whenever your wrists & shoulders seem a bit tired, listen to your body, give them a break and integrate this into your practice instead for a few days :-)
Namaste!
Yoga is supposed to be a very healing, nourishing practice for our bodies, but like any activity if not done properly there is always a chance of injury.
But how do we keep our practice injury free? Here are a few tips:
When we are breathing, noticing our breath and present in our bodies we are very aware of what we are doing and can therefore feel if something does not feel good or if we are pushing too far. As soon as we start thinking about our to do list, that email we received earlier etc we stop being present, we stop being aware and we can easily injure ourselves. Generally if breathing becomes difficult in a pose it means that you may have come a little bit too far into the pose. Poses should always feel steady and comfortable. ALWAYS!
Recently in my own practice this has been coming up again & again. Just because technically you 'can' get into this particular pose, does not mean you should be doing it. When we first start practicing yoga we sometimes surprise ourselves about the things we can do with our body. It can be a boost to the ego and getting into these poses is a fun challenge that the ego pushes however as my practice has progressed I have learnt that just because I can does not mean I should. Two questions to ask yourself in any pose are: Am I in alignment? and does this feel good?
As a yoga teacher, I sometimes, probably wrongly, feel like I should be able to do everything, but the truth is I am just a normal person - I get pain in my lower back sometimes, I suffer from tight shoulders and hips when I spend too long at the computer and I am not a naturally flexible person. Yoga has helped me hugely with these issues, and continues to which is why I decided to share the gift of yoga and it's power to heal not it's power to injure. Getting to the flexibility I have today has taken dedication - it does not come naturally and I still have a long way to go. Any students of mine may have recently noticed that I no longer sit in lotus position, not because I can't but because when I am really present and listening to my body I know this pose does not feel comfortable on my knees yet. This is not healing and nourishing my body. My hips are not yet open enough for the pose so the twist is coming from my knees. So for the mean time I choose to focus on opening my hips to be able to get there eventually.
It's important to remember that just because I, or any other teacher is leading you through a sequence of poses, if one does not feel right for you then you should not do it. Even if every other person in the room is doing it, it doesn't matter. Every single body is different and only you know how it feels for you.
This is your mid-week reminder that YOU are amazing. We tend to forget this fact all too often..
Take a moment just to stop, and notice your heartbeat, your pulse, moving inside of you. This energy which keeps us alive. Where does this energy come from? Our heart pumping of course, you say. But this pulse, this energy was in our bodies even before our hearts had developed in foetus form. Where did it come from then? "I got it from my MaMa" of course, but where did "yo Mama" get this energy from to begin with? From her Mama, who got it from her Mama, who got it from her Mama and so the chain continues. Feel your heart, feel your pulse again. The heart, supporting this pulse, but it did not create this pulse or this movement.
This energy (or prana, or chi or magic, or whatever other name you may give it) inside of us has always existed long before we were here, and it will continue to exist long after we are gone, but for the moment we have inherited it, it is not ours to keep, but ours to cherish, ours to live, to love & to dance.
Sometimes we forget that we really are divine beings, made of stars with this wonderful energy inside of all of us. So here is your mid-week reminder that you are AMAZING and MAGICAL and you can do anything you put your mind to.
I do believe in magic, do you?!
LahLah xx
P.S. I would like to thank Leslie Kaminoff and his Yoga Anatomy Principles Course (which I am currently taking online) for inspiring this blog post and for reminding me that I am a divine being full of this wonderful energy too :-) !
Downward dog is probably one of the most well known yoga poses, which even if you have never been to a yoga class you have probably heard of. When you begin practicing yoga, downward dog can be a little bit like torture, but the more you practice, the more comfortable it will feel and it will become more of a resting pose than an active pose. I LOVE this pose and cannot get enough of it at the moment. It makes me body feel sooo good, that sometimes I want to spend my whole practice just breathing in downward dog.
N.B. Downward dog is contraindicated for anybody with carpal tunnel syndrome, during late stages of pregnancy and for anybody with high blood pressure.
Over the past week, this message has kept appearing to me in various different ways, and this post from Cold Pressed Juicery Malta says it so perfectly.
Be it through diet, exercise, work, fun or relationships, balance is ALWAYS key!
This past week, I have also been exploring the balance in my yoga practice, not only trying to find ease in balance poses, but more specifically the balance between stillness in movement, and the movement in stillness.
Finding the stillness & peace of the mind during movement on the mat helps me to physically focus & balance in many of the challenging balancing poses . Finding the movement within stillness: the movement of the breath through the body, the movement of your muscles in a stretch, your heartbeat, and the movement of heat & energy through the body all help me to become truly present with myself. When we actually slow down enough to really feel and listen to our bodies, it can be magical :-)
Next time you venture onto your mat, I invite you to notice this difference and try to find this balance of stillness in movement & movement in stillness.
