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The big and the ugly

I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt recently, or in all honesty, had thrust upon me is that I’m a big girl and I’m strong enough to do this myself. Sure, I have unbelievable support at the touch of a button and every day I’m grateful for this. However, the fact is that once you know what’s in your heart, what your Dharma or path is it’s really only down to one person to make it happen. You. I read a quote today which I know is going to help me “don’t give up the beginning is always the hardest”. I think it’s the hardest because we never know where it’s going to end.

It’s our natural reaction to want to know how everything turns out so that we know we’re on the right road. However, as it says in the Bhaghavad Gita that’s not our business (yes, I am paraphrasing). Our business is to put in our best effort, to stay steady to our truth and then let it go. It’s really hard. Then again, what other choice do we have? If we don’t enjoy the journey then we miss it. I’m determined to enjoy my journey, and that includes, the fear, disappointment, nervousness, elation, joy, bliss. All of it, it’s all my experience.

Yoga Gives Back event!

Email me at adelescassidy@gmail.com to book your place!

Martin Kirk is coming to London!

 Very excited.com, click here for details.

The Biomechanics of Anusara Yoga
Asana, anatomy & therapy
21-23rd October
London
Join Martin Kirk, one of Anusara Yoga's most highly trained certified teachers, as he weaves a full weekend of anatomy, therapeutics, asana and fun.

Martin Kirk , MSBME, is a certified Anusara teacher since 2001 and has a masters degree in Biomedical Engineering. Martin's understanding of the body is extensive. Now legendary, his anatomy and therapy trainings are in great demand worldwide.

This training is ESSENTIAL for all Hatha yoga teachers and for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the body and expand their practice. This is Martin's first workshop of this kind in the UK.

Fall in love with the majesty of the human body through artful presentations, hands-on therapeutic adjustments and practices designed to deepen your awareness of how your body optimally aligns itself for greater health.

Martin has a gift of being able to educate total beginners while engaging the sustained interest of yoga specialists, bodywork professionals and medical students/professionals. Take your practice to a whole new level of mastery!

Friday
1-4pm 'From the Core' - Anatomy of the amazing Spine and Pelvis
6-9pm Therapeutics for a Healthy Back

Saturday
9am-12pm Yoga Class - Mastering Back Bends (all levels welcome)
2-5pm 'Within Reach' - Anatomy of the Expressive Shoulders and Arms

Sunday
9am-12pm Therapeutics for Open and Pain Free Shoulders/Elbows
Martin Kirk is the author of the highly successful book Hatha Yoga Illustrated and co-author (along with J Ellen Saltonstall and Jordan Kirk) of the upcoming Yoga Anatomy: The Biomechanics of Anusara Yoga. Martin lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA with his wife and son.

http://www.kirkyoga.com/
To book your place on this amazing weekend training please email bwkyoga@gmail.com

Layers are in!

The cool thing about Anusara yoga, the thing of many of course, is how we layer refinements on refinements to further enhance the beauty of each pose. It’s amazing to me that the poses I do every day are never boring, there’s always another place to go with them, another level of refinement to add. It’s tough, definitely but so worth it. My practice is an ever evolving process of self discovery and the very cool thing is that I get to practice with anyone because yoga will always meet us where we are.

This isn’t something I ever want to lose, I don’t think that would even be possible at this stage, it’s just too fascinating to delve deep, draw in more, expand that one last step. Most days I just can’t wait to get on my mat and explore this, to figure out what’s important to me in that moment and put my whole heart and soul there. And it works. I recently was studying with some Danish teachers, it was towards the end of the day and we were all a bit tired, they defaulted back to teaching in Danish. It was such a fascinating experience how instructions linked with heart qualities really did expand the experience. I came out of the pose way sooner than the Danes. It was a real lesson as to how powerful this stuff is, I always want to practice and teach by offering it up to something higher. It just works.

Silence please!

I’ve been experimenting over the last couple of days with silence. It’s pretty hard for me as I’m pretty verbose at the best of times. However, what I’ve found is that by turning in and listening I actually do a lot more. Weird huh? So for me, here’s how that works. Wherever I am I try and tune into the silence. I’ve really noticed how much inner dialogue is going on and when I switch it off for a bit, how much more clarity I get, how I’m not bombarded with my own thoughts, judgments, preconceptions on the matter. It’s not like I’m trying to stop my thoughts, that would be pretty impossible. Rather, I’m looking at getting better at discriminating them: which are simply based on a preconceived set of notions and past experience and which are there as guidance for growth?

I’ve found that I can only really do this by being quiet inside. By being honest with myself. By allowing the stuff which I’m trying to mask with all of the bombardment of thoughts bubble up to the surface. And some days it’s not very nice. For me though, what’s the alternative? I don’t want to feel like I’m ever done, a complete package of spiritual enlightenment. How boring would that be and how on earth would I teach it if I didn’t remember the route back? It’s true, once we get on this roller coaster ride, there ain’t no getting off!

Bringing the inside out

Most days I feel like I’m a pretty lucky girl. However, today, I feel even more fortunate. I’ve been studying with my teacher in Copenhagen for a week. There are so many things that I’ve learnt that it’s going to take a substantial amount of time for me to process them, probably a lifetime. I guess that’s why they call it a process. I suspect that each time someone asks me what I’ve learnt I’ll come up with something different. I’ve received so much that I want to share, it really is my Dharma to share it. That’s why today especially I feel like the world’s luckiest lady.

We talked a lot about the transformative power of yoga. Every person in that room has felt it, the sense of tapping into something far greater than ourselves, then being uplifted by those currents. We were all on the same page, it was honestly beautiful. However, the idea of how to express that to those around us is somehow more tricky. That’s where the work comes in, on our mats, cushions and in life. How do we take what we’ve felt and make this real for someone else. I’ve felt it, so I know it’s there, I’ve felt created it in my own practice, now my challenge is start to express it to others with authenticity, from my heart. It’s practice, a work in progress and I hope I’ll never be done with it. I’m pretty excited about it :)

Unpacking the Sutras

It’s been a hectic few weeks for me what with one thing or another, I’ve definitely been having a whale of a time! I’ve decided to take this approaching autumn time to begin to turn in and reconnect with the roots of yoga. For me right now this means the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Sutras for me are what draws all lineages back to their source. We talk a lot about different styles, philosophies or practices of yoga. However, at its source it’s all one and through the sutras we can return again and again to the essence of yoga.

There are many stories about who Patanjali was and even whether he existed at all. What we do know is that we’re left with 196 pithy sentences which reveal to us the practice of yoga. Suture, the medical word for stitching, is derived from Sutra and in it gives us some idea of the meaning. The ability to pack meaning into few words so that the Sutras could be memorised by heart and their full meaning revealed over time.

That’s why I return again and again to the Sutras. Because there’s always something new to find, I’ve changed and my circumstances have changed. That’s why each time I return I get something new and I get to reconnect with yogis of old and express this yoga in my own unique way.

Resting in what is

I’ve been so lucky this week to teach a wide variety of people, new and old students, to reconnect with lots of friends and really just have a blast in life. There is something completely freeing about aligning yourself with something higher, placing your whole heart there and then letting it go. Living in the moment is something we talk a lot about and it’s pretty difficult to get your head around unless you have some kind of practice. I’m really enjoying Christina Sell’s new book, My Body is a Temple which (amongst many other things and since I haven’t got to the end yet I can’t tell you what they are!) discusses the idea of practice as a necessary part of spiritual practice.

She describes Carlos Pomeda’s view that spirituality when it’s focused solely on academia is like being able to read a recipe without knowing how to cook it or being able to enjoy the food. The academic side of spirituality is fantastic and we definitely need a thorough grounding there, however, it feels a bit like you’re short changing yourself to not engage in some kind of practice. And why would you want do that? The answer is that we get cloaked, we get cloaked by all kinds of things and we lose our sense intrinsic goodness. The good news is that it’s always there, whether you choose to notice it or not. Then once you re-find it and the cloaks start to peel away, it’s like magic and you get to live in what is, what is now and then you get to enjoy each moment so much more.

Unchanging change

There’s lots of contemplation happening with me at the moment and I find myself drawn into some really deep hip opening poses, repeating them over and over to see what new things will be reveled. This is odd since we’d usually associate this class of pose with the spring and autumn, when change is naturally occurring. That’s because hip openers can really affect significant change and growth in our lives, aligning beautifully with those tumultuous periods between summer and winter.

That being said, there’s always change happening, as the joke goes it’s the only thing which is consistent. There are big shifts happening in my own life and practice. It’s exciting but it’s also a delicate balancing act. When we have responsibilities and relationships we need to grow and expand within the boundaries that exist.

This is why I’m challenging myself with ever deeper hip openers at the moment. There’s stuff I’m ready to deal with now, stuff which I want to face and my practice has lead to. I know it’s not going to be an easy ride but the path of the heart isn’t always easy. It’s just that at some point we get so far there is no turning back. Something changed which can’t be unchanged.

Listen, tweak, refine

I’ve been all caught up with the 3As of Anusara yoga for the last week. It always makes me so happy how simple it is and yet how deep you can go with them. It’s been something I’ve been playing with in my own practice this week as I try to pull all the As into a wonderful triad and figure out in my head how each interplays with the other.

I reckon self practice is the perfect place to demo the 3As. It’s like that rectangle of rubber is a little laboratory where you get to test out your Attitude and Alignment with a little bit of Action. Thing is, you can’t really tell whether you’re Attitude or Alignments on unless you test it, that’s where Action comes in. You kind of just have to do it and see how it feels. It’s in the listening, tweaking and refining comes the inner wisdom to “just know” what feels right, to be able to turn off that inner voice for just a moment and listen to your heart. That’s where the yoga is, turning inside and listening to your intuition, you know when you’ve got it, that’s when life suddenly aligns with you and all is clear.

For a bit, but we’re on our mat so we get to listen, tweak and refine all over again J

A comedy of As

I caught a documentary about Eddie Izzard, one of my favourite comedians the other day. Not only is he very funny but also seriously inspirational for me. A very short bio, he spent 10 years doing all kinds of stuff from street performance to appearing the Edinburgh Festival to comparing. He was doing all this whilst the world told him he wasn’t a performer and he should go do something else.

That got me thinking about the 3As of Anusara yoga. How strong must your Attitude be to know yourself so strongly that you can follow your heart when the rest of the world is telling you not to? How many times must you have to re-find centre with 10 years of getting knocked back time and again? Then just to keep on doing no matter what. That’s what I mean, love him or loathe him, it’s pretty motivating stuff.

I love the way the 3As flow into each other, none of them work without the others to balance, so your path becomes not too soft, not too hard but just right! And bless Eddie, he keeps redefining his own boundaries, keeps pushing beyond what anyone thought possible. Who doesn’t want a bit more of that self belief in their life?

There is a light and it never goes out

Yoga offers us the opportunity to stand strong in our own light every day, no matter what. When we come to the mat to celebrate or to seek refuge, we are building our bodies into strong vessels. We are building the Prana Shakti within us so that we can shine light into those places of darkness. So no matter how much our muscles shake or how much we sweat, we stand firm and breathe.

This is Opening to Grace in its most, primal, Kali form. Sometimes that’s all we have to cling on to, to dig in and hold firm. This is when the yoga gets interesting, when there is nothing else. I’ve been here a few times before and it feels turbulent but as all things must pass, so must this. Then, when we are at our most powerful selves we are there to shine our light brightly where it is needed most.

I am caught thinking of the last line of the Anusara invocation: Niralambaya Tejase – the light within us sparkles with a divine luster. Or a Morrissey would have it - there is a light and it never goes out.

Making Magic

Relationships are hard. All relationships. What I find particularly difficult is when someone is suffering and you want to help them but know there’s nothing you can do. It’s their stuff and they need to work through it. All you can really do is create space for them to open up and confide in you.

I think mostly this is where the idea of being a magician rather than a tyrant comes from. In this context the definition of magician is someone who creates alchemy within themselves to change. They’re into changing their rubbish into gold, to work on new Samskaras (grooves of patterned behaviour we hold onto). On the other hand a tyrant is someone who wants to change and control everyone else. It’s a sweet theme started on www.yogaglo.com by Marc Holzman, who got it from Elena Brower.

For me this all adds up to looking inside first and seeing perhaps that what we reflect out has an impact on the relationships we’re cultivating with others. If we’re sending out magic, magic will be all around. Someone once said to me that when she walked out of the door in the morning thinking “wow, I wonder what amazing this is going to happen to me today” something magical did happen.

And really, who doesn’t want more magic in their life.

Super Kula!

My mum always used to say that one of the best things about going on holiday is that you get to come home again. I completely get that, yet I feel a little twinge as lots of people fly off on their summer holidays and I’m left holding a few yoga babies. I always enjoy covering my friends classes, it’s Kula support in action, besides which, I love meeting my colleagues students. Doing cover isn’t easy, it’s very much about doing your best and letting go. You’re not going to be able to build up a rapport as you do with people you’ve worked with for a long time. Ultimately however, it’s fun to see the Anusara community growing in London and to be a part of keeping it tight.

It’s also good to whizz around London, discovering new places, new nooks and crannies I didn’t know existed before. From a student perspective I like studying with new teachers who I don’t generally get to in the course of the year so summer’s a bit like visiting colleges to check out which I want to go to J I will of course be glad when it’s my turn for a bit of R&R, gathering new inspiration for the new term! It’s pretty special that we have such a great Kula to support this.

Seeing the good

Twice in the last day I’ve been asked to give people feedback, it’s really interesting. I’m not someone for whom getting feedback is particularly easy, ok, full disclosure: I really don’t like it. I’m totally working on it, I know it’s not personal, I know these are the lessons which will help me grow, it’s just I don’t like it, I don’t find it easy and a bit part of me wants to go: “la la la, I’m not listening”. However, on the plus side, I think it makes me really good at giving feedback and what’s more, I’ve done an Anusara teaching training so seeing the good goes with the territory.

Seeing the good isn’t blindly saying something nice just because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. It’s looking really hard and finding something good. It’s simple but it’s not easy. It takes practice and I think it starts with you: if you can’t see your own goodness how are you going to see anyone else’s?

What’s cool is that the more you practice the better you get at it, it’s like your mind does a little check off against the five principals:

• Pause, what’s the complete picture? (Open to Grace)
• What am I seeing, make a mental list (Muscular Energy)
• Refining from that list is the most important aspect to communicate right now (Spirals)
• Where’s the positive (Organic Energy)

Apart from anything else, starting with the positive frames your comments in something constructive. It’s like you’re saying, everything’s fine, now you get to shine eeeeeven brighter, this is me caring enough to consider this and here’s how I want to support you.

Again, another thing I love about Anusara.

Anusara in a very small nutshell

I totally love yoga in all its forms and have deep honour and respect for the lineages which have brought and continue to the mat every day. However, I can’t see myself being a teacher in any other style. The other day my friend and colleague said “I don’t think you are capable of not teaching Anusara. It’s too much a part of you and your yoga”.

I remember the first time I read the word, it might sound crazy but it was a response to a survey on a website “which is your favourite style of yoga”, someone posted “Anusara rocks!” as a response and it literally jumped of the screen at me. I’ve been in the merry band as we’re known ever since.

This isn’t a treatise on Anusara, I’m not out to convert everyone. I fully believe that each person’s path is their own but as a style which isn’t that well known I’d like to give a very summary overview.

Born in 1997 and formulated by John Friend, Anusara is an alignment based methodology based on five Universal Principals of Alignment. That means that as we move into each new pose we apply specific actions to bring us back into our most optimal alignment. Truth be told, it makes it simple and elegant. However one of my teacher’s would say out of the corner of his mouth “it’s not easy, or we wouldn’t have a job!“

Philosophically, Anusara is rooted in Tantra, so in all aspects of our life we attempt to reconnect to our own goodness and see that in everything around us. A practice in itself but you’ll notice it in class with an experienced teacher; they’ll always say something positive about a student’s posture first. It sounds pretty obvious but it absolutely changes the way people feel about themselves.

Finally, and by no means least is Kula or community. This is a theme I come back to again and again in my classes and it never fails to make me go goosepimply as I recount one story or another about how someone has been lifted up by the power of this community.

That’s it in a very small nutshell.  

Peeling away the layers

This last month has been a real eye opener in terms of understanding the importance of my own practice to my teaching. I really can’t underestimate how important my practice is to me and that’s just amplified when I come to verbalise it. Sure, you can say “now, scoop your tailbone” but how does that feel, what are you going to get from that. I know because when I get a good Outer Spiral going on my backbends go through the roof. I guess what I’m saying is that the better I know the principals in my own body the better I can see and articulate what’s going on in others.

What’s really exciting is that there are layers and layers and layers. I’m assuming this goes on infinitely but haven’t got their yet! I think it was Tara Judelle I once heard say that learning the principals is like going to school, you learn them, and then you get to learn them all over again at a new level. It just keeps on refining itself. This feels nothing like a burden, more an ever inspiring, ever expanding view of body, mind and soul. It’s really beautiful and I can’t wait for the next layer.

#365yoga

I’m pretty excited because I’m over halfway through the challenge I set myself at the beginning of the year to practice yoga every day, #365yoga as it’s known on Twitter. I felt the need to deeply commit to an asana practice as a way of moving more deeply into a meditation practice. My meditation commitment has been sketchy at best so I figured going via this tried and test might help me out.

It’s been interesting.

The thing is that I’m much more drawn to the asana. It keeps my mind busy and my body moving which I love the feeling of. All in all, sitting on a cushion kind of feels a bit less glam. But here’s what I’ve found recently: there are moments when my brain just floats on the mantra and I’m buoyed by the feeling of my breath. They’re brief and they might not even happen during a sitting but they keep me going back. I’m also finding that, must like after asana, I feel better and I’m not willing the timer to ring. I’m just staying with what is. All good things for practice and for life.

The research continues…

Shakti surfing

After all the excitement of Sianna’s workshop I’ve continued in that vein and been hit by a huge wave of Shakti directly from across the channel, it’s been somewhat overwhelming. A load of my friends and colleagues were in Geneva to study with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga. I was pretty glum I wasn’t going but felt my place was in London at this time. So I begged my friends to keep me in touch with what was happening so I got a little drop of whatever they were getting in Switzerland. I totally got that and some, so much love coming in waves at me all week I was feeling lifted aloft by the Kula I could barely keep it in.

I haven’t extracted every last ounce from my friends about that training but whatever they got I definitely got a hit of it too. So I talk about Kula a lot, it’s my big thing at the moment I guess. To be around people who just get you is pretty incredible, no questions, no judgment, just it is what it is. Pretty much you don’t even need to tell your story, it doesn’t matter you get the love anyway. I’m a very lucky and happy girl :)

This idea of connection always leads me back to the beautiful concept of Indra's net. This Buddhist theory posits that we are all interlinked across the earth, each person a node linked to all others through all of our relationships. Where the stronger each node is, the stronger the net is:
"Imagine a multidimensional spider's web in the early morning covered with dew drops. And every dew drop contains the reflection of all the other dew drops. And, in each reflected dew drop, the reflections of all the other dew drops in that reflection. And so ad infinitum. That is the Buddhist conception of the universe in an image." -Alan Watts