November Theme of the Month

We hope you enjoyed last months theme of working with practices to support the change of season into Autumn. Lots of poses that helped to support the digestion system, feeling grounded and allowing ourselves to release and let go.

This month will be all about bringing a theme of simplicity into our practice. There is often so much noise and activity around our daily lives that setting time aside for our own yoga practice is an ideal opportunity to draw our connection back to the body and breath as we invite our awareness to move back to simply being present.

In the yoga class we are able to give more focus to ourselves rather then dividing our attention to various people in our lives and multi tasking which many of us do on a daily basis. Through yoga we can experience the stillness and peacefulness of a pose and moving the body mindfully with our breath.

We can experience simplicity when we slow down or take a break from our phone, tablet or computer. Simplicity can help us reduce stress. When we are distracted and overly busy this can lead to stress and anxiety. Yoga helps us simply to slow down and be in the moment. Simplicity can help us generate feelings of gratitude and contentment. Our practice can allow us to appreciate the small things in life such as moving our body, slowing down our breath, having time for ourselves and relaxing.

Yoga For Simplicity

Week 1 - Breathe With Awareness
Our breath anchors us to earth and simply by slowing down with our breath we help to slow down the busyness of the mind. When we take slow, deep breaths we allow ourselves to drop into the relaxation response which is great for reducing stress.

Week 2 - Focus Your Attention
For most of us we would like more focus in our lives to do the activities and jobs that we meet on a daily basis. There are so many daily distractions that we’re faced with. Yoga can help to boost your brain power, bring you into the present moment and leave you with more clarity of mind.

Week 3 - Be Present
The mind likes to take us back into the past and jumps to the future and often it is challenging to simply be present. Our yoga practice can just allow us to be present by connecting to the changing sensations in the body as we move in various ways and staying grounded with our breath. Our physical body allows us to experience the present moment. It’s easy to be distracted but it takes focus and awareness to be present.

Week 4 - Find Balance
Our yoga allows us to experience balance on the mat through effort and ease in poses. Through experiencing balance on the mat we can invite more balance to move into our life. Yoga can help to harness that blissful sense of equilibrium.

Week 5 - Unexpected Joy
Learning to appreciate the smaller things in life can help us to slow down so that we are able to look for those things that bring us joy. We might find a certain pose that allows us to release tension and tightness in a place that we didn’t even know was tight. We may discover how stillness and being with our breath can be such a powerful place.

This Month’s Music

Here’s the usual selection of music that Vicky has been listening to this month.