According to the ‘Physical activity and exercise guidelines’ older Australians should do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days. The health benefits are numerous: it reduces the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, heart disease and some cancers. It also helps to maintain a healthy weight, reduces the risk of falls and injury, improves sleep.
Yoga unites the body, breath and mind and it is the perfect vehicle to assist with the above.
The Tuesday class will start on 22 Feb 2022 – 10:00 -11:15 am
The Saturday class will start on 5 March 2022 – 10:00 -11:15 am
Booking is required as it is a small hall. Please have your Covid-19 vaccination certificate with you.
Beginners or experienced students are welcome. If you are recovering form injury or operation you are also welcome to practice chair yoga in the class.
Please contact me via email: tranquability@yogateachermary
According to the ‘Physical activity and exercise guidelines’ older Australians should do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days. The health benefits are numerous: it reduces the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, heart disease and some cancers. It also helps to maintain a healthy weight, reduces the risk of falls and injury, improves sleep.
Yoga is the perfect vehicle to help with the above.
To cater for those yogis who are available during the week we are starting a new class in the leafy suburb of Clovelly (Sydney’s East).
Day and time: Weekly, from Tue 22 Feb 2022, 10:00 to 11:15 am
Price: Casual $30, $27 for pensioners or prepaid classes of 5
Small classes, booking is required, please email, or call me.
Please be fully vaccinated, thank you for your understanding.
Please bring your own mat, a blanket or towel, yoga blocks and a strap.
I have been teaching yoga to over 50’s, seniors and the not so supple for over eleven years. I am looking forward to seeing you on a mat or chair near me!
A few years ago I spent New Years Eve at Mangrove Yoga, which was a working ashram at the time. Their teachings followed the Satyananda tradition. The wisdom from the night has stayed with me and I would like to share.
I was looking forward to the the fire ceremony, chanting, yoga classes, yoga nidra and good vegetarian food – and all my wishes were fulfilled.
We were sitting on mats under the stars on a beautiful summer night. One of the senior swamis asked the question: Why do New Year’s resolution fail?
What is the difference between gratitude and positive attitude?
Gratitude dissolves the sense of lack which helps us overcome greed and lust. It is being thankful for what we have. The gifts in our lives become precious and we rejoice in what once seemed mundane. This is more than a ‘glass half-full’ attitude; this is grateful for having a glass no matter how much is in it.
What to be grateful for?
Be grateful for your childhood, for your young years and adulthood and if appropriate for your incarnation.
Be grateful for this breath, not the last or the next one. Prana (lifeforce) moves around the body.
Let’s all be grateful for yoga, this path of love, wisdom and to our fellow yogis, teachers and their teachers before us – going back to over 4,000 years.
Reflection
With the end of another year effected by Covid-19 it is time to reflect on what we have learnt , what challenges allowed us to grow and what we are grateful for.
It is also a time to look forward to the future, with acceptance that uncertainty will also play a part and none of us has full control. Understanding what give us joy (do more of it), what values do we want to integrate to our lives and how will we take care of ourselves. Unless we are well, we are not able to service others in our community.
Consider spending five minutes a day to be thankful for what is good in your life and practice gratitude.
If you can breathe you can do yoga – and how lucky we are to practice!
The Western definition of breath is the air taken into or expelled from the lungs.
In yoga we have the term ‘prana’ which means lifeforce. Prana is much more than breath, it is energy. The ancient yogis advocated the practice of pranayama (sometimes translated as breath control) is to unite the breath with the mind.
Pranayama is the 4th limb or stage or the 8 limbs of yoga which was first written down over 2,000 years ago. It covers the journey of the student (we are all students) from beginner to experienced.
The importance of working with the breath in yoga cannot be overemphasized. Avoid holding your breath in poses, something that can happen in when you are in an unfamiliar or new situation. Just keep regulating your breathing throughout your practice. Unless your nose is blocked, inhale and exhale through your nostrils. You might notice that one nostril is more prominent, and it changes during the day
How to use the breath?
The effective way to breathe is to follow your instinct to inhale when you open the chest and to exhale when you compress your chest and abdomen. For instance, when you stretch your arms above your head, inhale. When you bend forward, exhale. While staying in a pose, just breathe normally.
Simple breathing techniques (Pranayama)
Pranayama can practiced laying down or sitting in a comfortable pose where the spine is upright. You might sit on a chair or roll up a blanket and place it under the spine and have a pillow under your head, so the head is higher than the chest and the chest is higher than the abdominal. If you are using a folded blanket the tailbone is on the floor not on the blanket.
At the beginning of your yoga practice / class it is a good idea to connect with yourself and with your breath.
Lie down and place your hands on your abdominal with the thumbs touching each other above the naval and the other four fingers below the naval. Observe the rhythmical rise and fall of your abdominal.
Then take your hands higher up to the sides of your ribcage, above your floating ribs. The ribcage expands sideways and upwards.
Experiment with moving your hands towards your shoulders. Allow the fingers to touch your collarbones. As you inhale allow the breath to travel from your abdominal to your thoracic area and then towards your shoulders. The inhalation expands the frontal torso. Exhale softly, from the top, and allow the breath to touch your back body.
Below are a couple of pranayama practices.
If you get dizzy at any time, please return to your normal breath.
4:4
Inhale for the count of 4 and exhale for the count of 4. Once you established this pattern try to lengthen your exhalation, try for the count of 5 or 6 or even longer. Extending the exhalation helps to calm the mind.
Square breathing technique 4:4:4:4
Pranayama recognizes the state of ‘no breath’ or holding the breath between inhalation and exhalation and vice versa. Try the following 4-square breathing technique.
Visualize a square in front of you. Inhale for the count of 4 on the left vertical side of the square. Hold your breath as you ‘move’ across the top side of the square. Exhale for 4 on the right side of the square. Hold your breath as ‘move’ across the bottom side of the square. Repeat this process 3+ times and return to your normal breathing.
Tranquability 