Midnight in Paris and yoga????

I recently went to see the Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris.  I’m not generally a Woody Allen fan but went anyway.  Quite a good movie, few laughs and light hearted moments.  Although the end was what struck me.  The lead character played by Owen Wilson, was a writer, he was in Paris with his fiance and her parents.  He somehow got transported back into time at midnight one night as he was strolling the streets of Paris – he was back in the 20’s hanging out with the likes of writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Scott F Fitzgerald – this was like a dream come true for him.  So every night following he went to the same location as that first night and was transported back in time.  I wont go into the rest of the movie and spoil it for you.

At the end of the movie Owen Wilson’s character realises that he cannot continue to do this, that he needs to live in the present.  He has a moment where he reflects that most people want to live in the past (or future), in a different era, when times were better, although we can’t.  We are here now and we must live for today.

So true Owen.  I wonder if Woody Allen is a yoga student or if he has even heard of Patanjali?  The first yoga sutra of Patanjali’s yoga sutras is “1.1 atha yoganusasanam”.  It has been translated as “now is the time for yoga”.  We can only practice yoga in the present moment – not always easy.  For me, I strive each day to remain present- even if I can only achieve it for a short time.

xo

 

Ganesh in Melbourne

I have recently discovered this piece of outdoor art in Hosier Lane Melbourne.  I love that it came to life in 2010 and in August 2011 it remains as it was.

x

http://streetsofmelbourne.blogspot.com/2010/09/please-do-not-feed-my-ganesh.html

It’s been a while

since I last wrote anything.  I’ve been pretty quite for over a year, although I’m getting the urge to write more regularly.  The more blogs I read the more I want to write.  The days are getting longer, the mornings lighter and the sun isn’t setting quite so early.  We are on the way to the warmer months, the sun is trying to get through it just doesn’t have enough strength as yet.

Taught two classes this week.  I was filling in for another teacher which is always a challenge as the students have expectations about what the class will be like.  It was good see some of the same students from when I filled in last time, they have improved and were more confident in their own bodies and what they could and couldn’t do.  More importantly it was good to see some of the same faces, they have maintained a regular yoga practice throughout a cold winter – which is sometimes hard to do.  Well done.

I sometimes struggle with winter and having the motivation to leave the warmth of the indoors to get to class.  My routine is working better these days, early morning classes seem to work for me.  Attending a yoga class is similar to having the strength to hold the posses once you are there – it’s all in the mind.  We all need strength over the mind to do what we truly desire to do.  The mind at times can be our worst enemy until we learn how to harness it so it becomes our best friend.

It’s a continual push – pull struggle.  Little wins over the mind are sometimes our greatest triumphs.

xo

 

 

Winter is here

The third day of winter and I can feel the cold in my bones.  Winter is a nice time to get rugged up and stay in doors with the heater on.

When the season changes everything around us changes and I’ve really noticed how my practice has had to change from the nicer weather of summer and autumn to the very cold months in the middle of the year.

Instead of coming into class and spending time relaxing and dropping into my ujjayi breath before class, I am spending time in a seated position doing some pranayama such as Nadi Shodna.  I feel this helps to prepare the body in these cooler months.  By the end of a few round of Surya Namaskar A & B to open the class I have totally left the cold behind.  I am warm from the inside out.

Winter is a time, I believe, that tests us.  It’s much easier to get home from work and settle into the couch with the heater on, instead of going to class or if you practice in the morning, much easier to stay in bed.  I always find that as hard as it is to sometimes drag myself out of bed or the house, once I’m in class and when it’s finished and I’m on the way home I always feel so much better and so grateful that I made the effort to go.

Tonight will be one of these tests, today has reached a max temp of 13 degrees – I’ll need to harness the Tapas within to get to class tonight….

First yoga class

This morning was a big step, I took the first step into sharing yoga with strangers.  They were standing at the top of their mats looking to me to tell them which foot to put where and what to do with their arms.  I took my first yoga class today as the teacher.  It was nerve-racking, exciting, daunting but once you step onto the mat as the teacher you have to keep going, and present as best a class as you can.

I tried to calm the nerves at the start of the class when everyone was lying back with their eyes closed focussing on their breath.  I spent this time tapping into my own breath.

It’s funny, in your head you can easily explain a pose, how to get into it, the contraindications, the benefits, but the minute you’re on the mat – all of that knowledge ‘conveniently’ escapes you.

After svasasana I thanked the class, told them that I had just graduated as a teacher and if there was any feedback I’d really appreciate it.  The feedback was all positive, lots of encouragement, everyone was very lovely.

So to those 8 or so people who were in the class this morning, I don’t know your names, but thank you for sharing an hour of your time with me this morning.  That hour for you was probably just another yoga class, for me it was an experience that I wont forget in a hurry.

Onto the next challenge – class number two.

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