DANCING AND SINGING OUR HEARTS OUT

Never have the neighbours of St Peter's community hall been so intrigued by the activity within the hall at 11am on a Sunday morning as 14 women crazily danced together, legs and arms flying, music blaring from the stereo and not a drop of alcohol in sight.

Yoga?

Oh yes very much so.

Led by Sue Pendlebury of www.yogaonashoetring.com we spent Saturday and Sunday morning being led quite literally beyond the asana. As Sue quite rightly explained, asana is only one of the eight limbs of Yoga, and Hatha Yoga (the type of Yoga that incorporates asana, and of which there are many different styles) is only one path of Yoga. This weekend we practised a combination of Hatha Yoga(asana, pranayama and meditation in particular) and Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion or divine love, to help us to open our hearts and feel the love within.

So how does the dancing fit in?

Well the idea being that through the dancing we can help to express our selves, let the spirit shine, release suppressed emotions and trapped energy, raise Prana, embrace the inner goddess and let go...

Did it work?

Oh yes.

In fact I have this one resounding memory imprinted on my mind of Hayley, a good friend and fellow Yoga teacher, leaping and dancing around the room, arms outstretched, fingers spread, kicking a leg in the air with a look of sheer joy and ecstasy on her face. It was fantastic.

In fact the whole dancing experience was enlightening as Sue cranked up the volume and encouraged us to let go, to shake out our bodies, to stomp, to kick, to dance on our toes, to move our hips, to sway and swing and dance in and out of each other, to spin each other and spin ourselves, to well and truly enjoy the moment and let our bodies do what they do best...move in their own unique way.



Coupled with some powerful pranayama exercises, a guided chakra balancing meditation, asana to loosen the spine and to challenge the body and more so the mind (e.g hold warrior 2 for minutes at a time, feel the burn on those arms and either give in and drop or embrace the pain to discover the calmness that lies beyond), we also embraced the Bhajans and kirtan and sang our little hearts out and I for one certainly felt the joy and the presence of the Divine and could have carried on singing all afternoon.

You see Yoga is so much more than what we do on the mat. And yet here in the West we get so caught up on form, on how good we look, on how far we can get into postures, of whether we have completed this series or the next...none of it matters really, just another reflection of our Western emphasis on the external. What matters is the conscious breath and the experience, what we feel inside, how we live our lives, our relationship with ourself, with the Divine and with each other. Love. Essentially it is all about love.

It was so wonderful to be able to practice beyond the asana here in Guernsey, with my friends, to be taken to a place that I have found difficult to experience in my own practice recently, the mind often too easily distracted by the forthcoming day, emails, things to do, people to see, places to be - and without my usual six monthly Nepal influence this last year. Two days on and my faith feels stronger than ever, that regardless of what is going on, everything is as it is meant to be, there is a Divine Order to life, and a calmness and inner peace which comes with accepting things exactly as they are.

So a huge thank you to Sue and a huge thank you to all of you who joined us this weekend. I hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did and the muscles have stopped aching from all the dancing!

Love and peace

xx

GIFTS FROM THE UNIVERSE

It has to be said that I am totally blown away by the beauty of Spring this year. I have not been on Guernsey at this time of year for a number of years so it is rather novel, but that aside, I don't ever remember being so incredibly aware of the plethora of colours on the hedgerows and the blossom on the trees. It is a little like a fairy land and yet it is so real.

Walking through the lanes in St Andrews near where I live I frequently pass a house with the most spectacular garden, so many primroses and other flowers I cannot name and I often find myself standing in awe - one of the many riches in life that money simply cannot buy. The bluebells are out in force too, time to wander through bluebell woods and perhaps over to Herm and through their new nature trail.

The moon is pretty impressive in the late afternoon too, building to a full moon on the 28th. See if you can feel the energy, I have a feeling it will be a powerful one and a motivator for letting go of those things that no longer serve our higher purpose to make room for the new. Perhaps go and walk around the fairy ring and make a wish;-)

Enjoy. The Universe is truly abundant with its gifts without any monetary value - reminds us of the essence of life.

x

The magic of nature

Another beautiful day. The sky is full of jet streams. Ewan and I were quite in awe this morning, all in one direction, or so it seemed, and a little saddened too that we are increasing the speed of life again - not that I can talk, I have done my fair share of carbon footprinting and travelling quickly, but it has been lovely and still these last few days. I hope those who have been stuck around the world make it home safely, I suspect the last few days have been a touch challenging for all concerned.

This is the first time for a few years that I have been here on Guernsey during Spring and for me it is mind blowing how beautiful the gardens and hedgerows with their bright flowers and some so small. Nature. Just doing its thing. Just being. A wonderfully magical world.

It is all too easy to lose the flow, to try and push time, the constant doing rather than being. It is all too easy to do too much. The body tries to tell us of course, the tensions and pains, the aches and the tiredness. I know this only too well, confronted with a sense of over tiredness that has my throat and ears calling for my attention. It is a challenge to be still enough to listen and still enough not to get caught up in the energy of "doing". Nature helps, in terms of being, if we have the time to get out there and literally smell the roses and let go of any sense of guilt for simply doing exactly that.

Seriously though, do you notice the messages your body is trying to tell you. Does it ache in the same place when you are tired? Do your knees cause you problems when you are feeling financially insecure, do your calf muscles feel tight when you are stressed and in that fight or flight mode? What about your back, does it play up when you feel the pressure of life, or your shoulders when you feel you are carrying the weight of the world, how about your neck, are you thinking too much? Knowing is one thing, changing behaviour patterns and lifestyle to release the tension is another thing.

It is a constant leaning process. A Yoga practice can help. If we stay with the breathe, constantly stay with the breathe, and go in, then perhaps we can find the stillness to really hear...and the opportunity to release through our increased awareness and the extended exhalation. Reiki helps too as we are presented with the opportunity to relax, enter that alpha state of being and thus restore, re-balance, heal and energise.



Never underestimate the power of prayer either, of surrendering to and honouring the Divine, of lighting candles, burning incense and sitting quietly. Nor the power or positive thought, and of creative expression through writing, singing, art, dance or any other medium, which helps you to feel alive. And then there is diet too, and fresh air, water and uplifting company, be that friends, work colleagues or family.

I re-discovered this poem by the wonderfully inspiring Rumi this morning:-

Hundreds of Ways

Today, like every day,
we are ruined and lonely.

Don't retreat,
fleeing your emptiness
through the doorway
of thinking.

Try making some music instead.

There are hundreds of ways
to kneel in prayer -
hundreds of ways to open
toward the heart
of the Friend's beauty.

Enjoy the day, I am off to practice and try and enjoy the stillness of being.

xx

Beautiful days on Lihou

What a beautiful day. Stunning in fact. I was fortunate to finally have the whole day off so was able to make the most of it, increasing my Vitamin D levels by lying in the sun for a few hours, with the seagulls chattering around the quarry, how blissful!

This afternoon Ewan, Val and I walked over to Lihou Island to measure up the house for the forthcoming Yoga and Wellbeing retreat over there the night of Friday 13th August. There is an incredible wooden platform over there, which will be wonderful for an outdoor practice, so I will be praying for warm and dry conditions to make full use of this wonderful vantage point, a lovely opportunity to connect with nature and breathe the fresh sea air as we practice.

Lihou has to be one of my favourite places over here, even though it is a mere 800 metre walk from the mainland you do really feel like you are getting away from it all, the light is brighter somehow and nature abounds, there are so many birds and at the moment the landscape is awash with small beautiful yellow, purple and pink flowers. Richard Curtis, the manager, was as fascinating as ever, he really knows how to live life in touch with the elements, and it is great listening to stories of his experiences on the Island and eating some of the greens growing on the Island.

The sunset tonight was pretty incredible. I am sorry for all the people who have been disrupted by the volcanic ash, it cannot be easy. However whata joy to have clear and peaceful skies, no jet trails and no noisy planes, there is a strange and yet calming energy. I can't help thinking that this year in particular nature is really trying to slow us down and remind us how to live, and also to make it quite clear that try as we might, it is in control of things and perhaps we have to start respecting that a little more, and living with it rather than against it all the time. It would certainly reduce every one's stress levels if we did this a little more.

So another weekend over and plenty more ahead, there is so much to do over here we are rather spoilt. Flights dependant, Sue is over next weekend for the Yoga workshop and I am really hoping that the bluebells will be in full blossom in bluebell woods and we can get out an explore this lovely Island and perhaps take a trip over to Herm if the weather permits.

I hope everyone has been able to make the most of the weather and is in good spirits.

Enjoy the peace while it lasts and take the time to notice the small flowers, the waxing moon in the later afternoon and post dusk and the movement of the tides.

Love and peace

Em x

LOVE...

Today I led a Reiki Level 2 attunement session with 4 new Reiki practitioners. It was such an uplifting, enlightening and fun day sharing my knowledge of 3 of the 4 Reiki symbols and playing with the energy, also pendulum dowsing and crystals. Thank you to those of you who attended, I hope that Reiki both continues to inspire and empower you as much as it does me.

Essentially Reiki is all about love. In fact life is all about love. Love for the self, for others and for life its very self.

Michelle Johansen sent me this fabulous quote from a book she has been reading called “Happiness Now” by Robert Holden:-

“In real life love comes first, happiness is an attribute of love. If your current plan for happiness does not put love first, do not think for a second that you will be truly happy. To be happy you cannot get around love, you can only go through it.” “One acid test for checking to see if you are being true to love is – if you are being genuinely loving you will feel happy.”

We can enhance our sense of love by balancing, healing and opening the heart chakra (energy centre). Not only can Reiki help us to do this - both through the attunement process and by both giving and receiving the energy but also through a heart opening Yoga practice.

While I try and ensure that every class incorporates a few potential heart opening poses (asana), I do love teaching a class where the intention for the whole class is exactly that...heart opening. For me one of the most intense heart opening postures is Urdhva Dhanurasana, also known as upside down bow pose....this is a strong pose and not only requires a degree of strength to both enter and exit but also a degree of flexibility and "openness" in the shoulders, chest, thighs and hips, and of course the spine itself. The effects are rather incredible - coming out of the pose and lying supine on your mat you can often feel the intense release of energy around the heart centre, plus its effect on the central nervous system really wakes you up and truly enlivens the spirit, let alone massaging the physical heart itself. Great stuff.

Of course there are many other postures, which will help to open this centre. We spend a lot of our waking day compressing this area of the body - working on computers, driving, eating or slouching on the couch watching TV - so it is important to counteract this somehow. Merely bringing your hands together behind the back and opening the chest will have some effects...so too poses like Bhujangasana (cobra) Dhanurasana (bow pose, Setu Bandha (bridge pose)and Matsayasana (fish pose. Simply lying over a bolster will also help to open the chest.

So there we go, love, love, love, that is what clearly makes the world go around. So open your hearts and chests, spread the joy and have a happy week ahead.

Lots of love

Em x

WEDDING FUN IN THE SUN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAY

Well I am delighted to report that the wedding was fabulous. Laura, Claire and I had so much fun in the morning having our hair and make-up done together and helping Claire to get into her wedding dress – she looked so beautiful and radiant.

We passed ostriches - they are so funny - as we drove through the National Park where the wedding was taking place. Laura and I sat on the beach and waited for Claire as she was rowed ashore with her Dad before we all walked up the steps to the little white church above where everyone was waiting for us. Father Joseph led a very entertaining ceremony as GH and Claire’s marriage was blessed.



We had photos on the beach before we went to the reception, which was held in a marquee at a lodge in another part of the National Park. The format was very different to weddings I have attended in the UK. We sat down to eat and as the entree was being served the Master of Service introduced the various speakers - first Claire’s Dad and then the Best Man – who all had to stand at the front of the room. We then had a break where most of the guys headed to the bar for beer (only wine and sparkles on the table) or outside for cigarettes before reconvening to hear GH’s speech. All his friends, about 20 of them, grabbed their chairs and sat in front of him, heckling him as he tried to speak, apparently he got away quite lightly!

After GH’s speech the main course was served and then as soon as that was finished the men were at the bar again. Within about 10 minutes and after the cupcakes were cut, the first dance was called and GH and Claire took to the dance floor closely followed by the best man and me and one of the ushers and Laura...all I remember the best man saying to me was to slide my feet along the dance floor so that he could try and lead me, bad as I am at being lead!!

That was it for me and my dancing, the relief of getting to that stage of the ceremony and making sure that Claire was enjoying herself was all too much for me and I spent the next few hours drinking tea and sitting and chatting to those from Guernsey before joining a couple of GH’s “partied out friends” in the first convoy to drive out of the National Park (we had to go in convoy to make sure no one drove into any potentially straying ostriches or other wild animals) and back to the beach house. After the wedding Claire, Laura, GH, Stella and some of GH’s friends managed to find a local nightclub to keep them going until 3am – much to Claire’s disdain!




Everyone headed off to a christening today while I enjoyed the peace and quiet of a day on my own a combination of massage, sunbathing, reading and practicing – bliss. I am now feeling re-energised and re-invigorated for my return to Guernsey and the Spring and Summer ahead.

Thank you so much to GH and Claire for your incredible generosity, love and friendship and for giving me a reason to visit South Africa – you have shown us so much in such a short period of time, it has been fabulous. Thank you also to all GH’s lovely South African friends and family for being so welcoming and for educating me a little about your culture and way of life out here, it has been both fascinating, eye opening and incredibly entertaining – you guys certainly know how to party and it was great fun to watch!

Love Em x

EXPERIENCING A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIFE...SOUTH AFRICA

Well it has been non-stop since I arrived in South Africa last Saturday evening – thankfully no jetlag, what a novel experience - and luckily for me the sun came too.

My first morning and I managed a Yoga practice with Laura to stretch out my crumpled body from all the travelling before we ventured out from Blauberg, where we were staying. First stop Table Top mountain where we met GH and his friends for the obligatory hour or so of queuing – mind you the views were pretty cool in between the mist, and we stayed for a few hours to make the most of the whole experience. From there and late afternoon us girlies, Claire and Laura and our ten year old friend Alendri, took to Camps Bay, one of the most expensive parts of the city – typical – for a short spot of sunbathing but it was far too windy, so we headed to one of the many kerb side bars for a glass of bubbles instead.

Oh how lovely, bubbles in the sun until a car decided to park in front of us and spoil our sunset vista, but no need to worry we were entertained by a small group of local girls dancing to the drum. Post sunset and the boys finally joined us so we could eat together, lovely food, fresh salads and fish. All day I felt like I was in Australia, it just has that similar vibe somehow and the food simply enhanced this feeling.

Monday and we were still on the go. This time Claire took us on a road trip along a small stretch of the coast towards Cape Hope to see some of the beaches and get away from the city – very beautiful reminding me of all great road trips especially down the Pacific Highway in US and also South Island in New Zealand – no seals, or indeed whales to be seen (much to Laura’s disappointment the “whale” was actually a rock) but lots of beautiful vegetation and stunning sea vistas. Back to Camps Bay for more sunbathing on the beach until the mid-afternoon wind started to pick up.



That night we were joined by more of GH’s friends who organised a Braai (bbq) at the motel we were staying – they love their Braais and meat over here; just as well I am happy to eat a little fish because vegetarianism is not so huge, unless you love cheese, yuck. It was an interesting evening – a small insight into what was to come in terms of GH’s culture – their main language is Afrikans, which they tend to speak the majority of the time and the men and women all segregate at social events so that us girls were one side of the bbq area and the boys the other – plus they love to drink big glasses of whisky and water, the girls too.

Six of us in a motel room that night, thankfully Claire and I managed an early one as it was another early morning start the next day, a boat trip to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned all those years. That was my second Island Prison within a year, the other being Alcatraz back in May. Fascinating though they are, I am not a fan, strange dead energy, too much pain, too much wasted lives in vain. Amazingly one of the guides was a political prisoner for 6 years in the Prison and now lives on the Island with his family. There was an incredible number of birds and wildlife, and these cute little penguins too, but still that strange energy.

We hung around the Waterfront back on Cape Town for lunch, again I was reminded of Australia, boats and sunshine, people wandering, street entertainment, bars and cafes. More hanging around to meet more people, these weddings are an organisational nightmare trying to bring everyone together, everyone arriving at different times from different places. Finally us girls loaded our car – the Smurf mobile – with all the bags and paraphernalia and headed up the coast to Langebaan, our stop for the remainder of the trip.



What a house. Incredible. Complete decadence. Reminds me of Byron and my days spent walking past these amazingly large and spacious beachside apartments and here we are staying in one – this incredibly large kitchen and utility area and open plan lounge and dining area. Then upstairs there are a number of double ensuite rooms and another living area with an indoor bbq and a bar too. There is a loft above with more beds and the whole place surrounded by balconies and a suntrap of a patio and garden area out back. Laura and I are staying in the “maid’s quarter” out back, a much needed space from the maddening crowds, peaceful and gentle, perfect for a morning practice and a much needed early night, thank you angels.

So that first evening we enjoyed a party of sorts. Claire’s Mum and Dad and friend Stella from Guernsey arrived to meet us having spent that last two weeks touring South Africa and yet more from GH’s side. Us girls prepared salads in the massive kitchen while the boys sat around the bar and took turns at the bbq. A late feast, so many people already, the boys have not all seen each other for ages, bottles of spirits being emptied by the minute, alien to me, even by Guernsey standards, such an alien life to the one I live back home.

A nice peaceful Yoga practice the next morning and time to finally stop and read my book in the sunshine before spending 3.5 hours sitting in the hairdressers as Laura, Claire and I had our hair and make-up done as a preparation for the wedding, only to have to have the hair all taken our again before we left the salon. Another alien world and more alien worlds later that night, a party of 40 people at the house, most of GH’s family and friends are here now and his generous cousin catered for the evening – massive platters of crayfish, clams and snoek were added to the braii and eaten with salads and rice.



The main highlight for many was the alcohol, I have not seen anything quite like it since my University days, shots after shots and so much pressure to join in, I left at 11pm and could still hear the music and loud chatter at 4am. Apparently the boys ended up doing shots of vinegar, a few of them throwing up and carrying on. It was carnage in here this morning, literally. Being South Africa Claire went across the road to the Farmhouse that rent out this place and got a maid to come over and spend the best part of the day clearing up...such an alien world. No recycling either, strange how quickly we have now been conditioned to recycle at every opportunity and it feels strange when glass and bottles go in the general bin.

More pampering today, nails and toenails, so nice to have my feet massaged! Then a day of sun and even a swim in the pool at the Farmhouse with stunning views over the lagoon and then down to the beach and a swim in the sea too – it is so cold, Atlantic water so it never warms up that much and I certainly did not stay in too long, but oh so lovely to swim and ease the sunburn! The whole area reminds me of Western Australia, a similar sort of landscape and sense of space, plus the beaches are reminiscent, even the waves.



This is certainly a novel experience, life in South Africa with the locals, a very different way of living to the way I am used to living, but all good fun. Strange to know that Ross is in Nepal, the opposite side of the coin, needless to say I am homesick for the place, different lives and different times. Looking forward to the wedding on Saturday.

LIVING THE MOMENT

Well I am in London visiting my best friends Hannah and Hayley for a night before going off to meet more best friends, Clairebear and Laura, in South Africa, for Bear and GH's blessing. Lucky me, it is almost a year since my last long haul, good for the environment, but not good in fulfilling my dreams of travelling, practising Yoga and writing about it. So I am happy.

Life has been busy recently, caught up in the energy of the illusion, too busy, so that it is easy to lose perspective of what is important in life. I was talking about this with my Reiki Master the other night - how we can get far too carried away with the future and what we want to achieve, rather than focusing on the present and what we already have and then of course running the risk of forgetting what is truly precious in life, such as spending time with family and friends and taking time to relax the body and the mind...as a Yoga teacher this is still a daily challenge!

So time to slow down, get back in the flow, practice softly, open the mind, enjoy the moment, smile, relax, read, write and breathe the South African air!

xx