Happy September times on Guernsey

Friday evening Ewan and I decided to make a spontaneous visit to the Bella Luce to listen to the live music - David Fuller - and ended up staying for dinner. It has such a lovely ambiance up there, they have this chill out lounge at the back of the bar which is really comfortable and cosy. We had a great night - thank you JKT for the tip, spontaneous evenings tend to be the best!

Saturday morning I taught Yoga before meeting Ewan's sister and brother-in-law for hot drinks at Costa, followed by shopping, picking blackberries from the brambles in the lanes down the road and cleaning the house. I guess it must have been one of those Autumnal days, it was certainly colder, as I ended up baking a banana and walnut loaf too. Well done me, it is not everyday I turn my hand to baking but I do rather enjoy it. I even made a tofu and vegetable Thai curry for dinner while Ewan and Chris popped out for a drink.

We then chilled out with a DVD and managed to get to bed at an early hour, only that we were just falling asleep when we could hear the cat crying at the front door. Being that I am becoming increasingly attached to the cat (which is the next door neighbour's and not ours, although they do know that she has been hanging out at ours and are apparently okay about the situation) I couldn't resist letting her in. She is a such a cheeky cat, within minutes of being in the house she was lying on the bed cleaning herself.

Ewan pretended to be a little unhappy about the situation and put her out on the landing but he didn't close the door and so she came straight in again...so he put her out again and I guess she got the message as she went and slept on the spare bed instead! As we don't have a capflap (obviously, being that this is not our cat, well technically) we have to leave a window open for her and Ewan seems to think she leaves about 5am every day as she is not usually around when we wake...but does re-appear a couple of hours later.

Anyhow Sunday dawned crisp and bright. Ewan went and bought the Sunday papers and breakfast from M&S and the three of us (Chris included) sat and chatted and read the papers rather sedately. I do love Sundays when they start like this! I drove down to my parents' house and spent 30 minutes picking beans and tomatoes in the greenhouse and collecting cooking apples from the tree outside. Mum and Dad have an industrial sized greenhouse and grow an incredible range of fruits and vegetables. They also have quite a few abundant apple trees outside. We really are spoilt.

I stopped at the beach on the way home, the tide was going down, not a all tempting me for a swim, and I ended up sitting in the steam room in the Grande mare instead and enjoying a warm swim in the pool, it was quiet too, clearly Sunday lunchtime is the best time to attend! Back at home I managed a restorative Yoga practice, I have done something to my neck and I am trying to breathe it out...or rest it out, honour it, rather than trying to push through it as I would have done in the past.

Ewan collected his Mum, Val, and we met Ross and Star for a walk over to Lihou Island. I love it! I feel the light at this time of year makes everything look clearer somehow, and almost brighter, I am not sure what it is, perhaps the combination of colours of Autumn, all those reds and oranges and browns, very stunning at times. It was busy on Lihou, the house was open and we stopped for a cup of tea and sat on the decking in the sun, very warming for a Sunday afternoon. We passed some great daisies growing in a field on the way back to the car.

The McInnes family came around for dinner on Sunday night to celebrate Ewan's sister's birthday. Ewan's brother-in-law prepared the meat and fish and I roasted some root vegetables with fresh Rosemary from the garden and made an apple and blackberry crumble with an oat topping. It was a good evening, Ewan's younger brother and sister-in-law brought their 18 month old son with them who entertained us all. Needless to say the cat stayed well away!



Monday morning and I helped Ewan with some gardening work, not only the usual clearing up but I also got to prune this time too! I was rather intrigued by the rotting cherry tree base and the compartmentalisation which had taken place further up the trunk - this is a concept Ewan has talked about many times in the past and now here I get to see it in action. Another lovely Autumnal day, a joy to be working outside, doesn't feel like your normal Monday morning!



In fact it dawned on me how lucky I am. Abundance comes in so many different forms and it is easy to get hung up on it manifesting itself financially when actually you can't put a price on time and freedom. As I got rather depressed when I was sick with glandular fever I was put on a computer based cognitive behavioural therapy course and I have to say that while I am only 2 weeks into it I am beginning to realise how much time I have spent in the past forcing myself to do things I don't want to do (and often don't need to do but feel I should do) rather than doing things I enjoy. So now I am enjoying doing things I enjoy and not feeling guilty for enjoying myself!!

In the evening we went around to my parents for a Despres meal. I was meant to be helping Ross but he had done most of it by the time I arrived and actually carried on creating this wonderful Thai dinner all on his own, he is particularly gifted at cooking, thank you Ross, it was lovely! We managed to catch a wonderful sunset too, really bright oranges, pinks and purple too, all very exciting, perfect Autumnal evening.



Ewan and I did not sleep at all last night, it was the weirdest thing, Ewan is not sleeping great at the moment in any event, he is off travelling for about 3.5 months and I guess he is constantly running through it in his head. I have been sleeping much better recently, all that Yin Yoga, but not last night. We wonder if it was something we ate, or perhaps too much fresh air and branch shifting! 3.5 months without Ewan on the Island is going to be a touch testing. I am seeking clarity of what is next for me. Trouble is, I really should be focusing on living in the present, everything happens for a reason and the clarity does appear eventually...here is hoping!

So another beautiful day today. Teaching for me and catching up on administration, Ross and Star leave on Thursday so we are building up to yet more change.

Hope you are enjoying the week too.

xxxx

This and that

Well we managed a swim at Petit Bot yesterday morning in the rain and the wind, we felt rather proud of ourselves as it was not easy!! By the afternoon the weather had eased, a few showers, but the sun was shining so we headed out to the fairy ring, it was full moon day after all, and did the usual circuit and made a few wishes (I have decided it is okay to make a few wishes without appearing too greedy!.

In the evening the full moon was shining brightly and I left all my crystals outside over night to absorb the moon's energy...this morning they were really shining, it is quite incredible. I stood and honoured the Goddess and also did my own little letting go burning bowl ceremony - it never ceases to amaze me how much there is to let go.

Today I managed another swim, down at Richmond this time, before joining Jenny KT on BBC Radio Guernsey for a 30 minute slot on her morning radio show. This was fun, Jenny is great, she had some dowsing rods in the studio that someone had given her and she was completely blown away by them. I was on the show to promote the Be inspired Yoga and Wellbeing retreat in November and she got me chanting on live radio with her colleague, "Om" and "Om Mani Padme Hum", which was a touch embarrassing and I do wonder what the listeners must have thought! Not sure whether that will have encouraged them to attend the retreat or stay far away!

I have so many dreams for Yoga on this Island yet there is so many other activities on offer over here and people are so stressed and busy that I do wonder if there will ever be enough interest to establish a dedicated Yoga and Holistic centre as much I know it would benefit the local population and visitors too. It just seems at the moment as if the spiritual bods are starting to leave, maybe this is all in preparation for 2012 and getting people where they need to be, but it does make me wonder what will happen to the Island if it is depleted of its spiritually-orientated population, the whole vibration will become even more material perhaps.

Who knows. All i do know is there is major change in the air, for many people, s much as there is for the world itself, what with the weakening of the Earth's magnetic field - scientists have surmised that this is a sign that the magnetic poles are likely to reverse in the near future, as they have done many times before. Just imagine the influence that is having on how we feel!!

Also it is said that the Earth's speed of vibration, its resonance is meant to be increasing too so the planet is literally speeding up - I must admit I often feel as if time is speeding up, especially over here, what with all the cars and the planes moving so fast around us.

And then we are apparently seeing an increase in photon activity and we are about to enter what is called the "photon belt", a ring of photons. This is the first time our solar system will enter it for 11,000 years. Evidently entering the photon belt marks the dawn of a new era lasting approximately 2,100 years when we are bathed in a greater number of photons - in the past such times of high photon activity have coincided with great leaps forward in our thinking and development and we are already living in another time of dramatic progress and development, spiritually and intellectually.

So I guess this is all for the greater good. More free and expansive thought, new paradigms in the spiritual and scientific world, bringing them together as much as anything else, and then the increase in vibration and the higher states of awareness this potentially creates. It could be an exciting few years and I really do feel as if people are being called to prepare.

Anyhow back to today. I received acupuncture from Andre Sidaner, it was very relaxing, which seems a little bit weird when you think you have needles stuck in you, but really you can't feel them, and all I felt like doing was drifting into that no sleep space! I am hoping i sleep as well tonight and my chi is flowing to feel truly energised tomorrow. See, there is just so much potential in this world, just got to be open to it and sit still.

A poem:-

A Poem

Sweep Out The Stable

Be Watchful – the grace of God appears suddenly.
It comes without warning to an open heart.

Sweep out the stable of your existence
And the King will gladly enter.

Rumi

Have a great weekend.

xx

September sunsets and swimming

On Monday evening Ewan and I sat down on this little beach near Richmond corner to watch the sun set to the right of Lihou. It is a great spot, aside from the odd dog walker on the top of the peninsula, it is generally really quiet, aside from the bird life, which is in abundance here...in fact it was ducks that night, lots of ducks bobbing around on the sea!

Tuesday morning and Ewan was awake really early and he managed to talk me into an early morning swim at Petit Bot. We were rather amazed to find two people already swimming although they were coming out as we were going in so we didn't feel too embarrassed only staying in for a short while! I do love this swimming in the sea, I am sure it is good for you, healing, all that salt, I tend to do neti in there too, you know the whole snorting sea water to clear the nasal passages and the third eye centre, seems much more natural than using a neti pot somehow.

I went for Reiki with Sylvia yesterday. This was fab, I do so love receiving Reiki especially when my energy is depleted. It seems I have still not learnt how to protect myself, what with all the different energies we encounter, especially when we work with energy. So this is clearly an ongoing process for me as I am sure it is for others too - should really be part of our daily routine, like cleaning your teeth and taking a shower, just taking a few moments to visualise yourself surrounded by a protective light or shield, or simply asking for protection from the Universe.

I have had quite a few enquiries for the Yoga & Wellbeing weekend and am looking forward to that very much indeed. Herm is such an incredible place to get away from it all and re-charge one's batteries, plus it is always lovely to spend time with like minded souls. On that note it is great to be teaching again, my style has changed and it is great to share that with some familiar and also new faces. It was particularly lovely to have both Ross and Star in class yesterday and for the moon to be rising as we ended.

And what an incredible moon. It is full moon tomorrow night so time to start considering all the things you want to let go of...ready to let them go under the light and indeed energy of the moon. Time to cleanse those crystals too. the weather isn't meant to be that great, which is a shame, as I fancied a bit of a dance around the fairy ring!


Love and light

xxx

Autumn outings

Well Autumn is now upon us, there is no doubt, and while it has taken a little while to adjust, it is not so bad. Admittedly the darker evenings are a touch on the testing side, but this just means I get to bed earlier and awake earlier in the mornings - Ewan and I even managed to catch the tail end of sunrise from Jerbourg one morning last week, lovely to be the only people up and about, watching the fishermen going out to sea.

There is also the decreasing air temperature to consider, I mean you could probably still get sunburned in the midday sun, but going swimming in the sea has been a touch testing. Not that we haven't managed it, admittedly I am far more disciplined than Ewan, but the two of us went in down by Fort Grey yesterday, which was a first for both of us at that part of the Island and a rather lovely experience, just what we needed to clear away the weekend cobwebs! The sea certainly isn't getting any warmer however!

I am certain the blackberries are ripening later than normal this year. Ewan, Val and I went for a long walk out at Pleinmont yesterday afternoon and I was armed with a plastic container to pick lots of blackberries, but many of them weren't ready for picking and indeed many of those that were, did not taste so nice either - lack of rain you see, they are not as juicy as they should be, well not all of them anyway! Still we shared a bowl last night with apples and plums from Val's garden - you have to love Autumn fruits.

I love the crispness of Autumn too and the changing colours of the leaves on the trees, and all the berries everywhere and then all the leaves falling onto the roads, the light is different somehow, clearer, and then the moon is waxing at the moment and it looks pretty cool, I believe it is the full moon later this week so a time to let go of the old, welcome the new (remember can only have new when made space by letting go of old) and re-charge one's crystals in the moonlight.

In the Wicca calendar (known as the wheel of the year, because time is always moving like a wheel) we are now nearing the end of the Pagan year and are gearing up to celebrate the penultimate Sabbat - the Autumn Equinox or Mabon as it is also known. Mabon marks the end of the growing season and the world is getting ready to renew itself and go to sleep for a while.

Traditionally, this is the time of year when we would start to see Corn Dollies. You see when the Harvest was gathered, stalks of the best corn were set aside to be woven into a Corn Dollie and this is where the spirit of the fields would dwell during the Winter, when the land was dormant and at rest. The Corn Dollie would be presented to the landlord who owned many acres of land, and families who lived close by would rent the land from him and grow crops on it.

The Corn Dollie would be accepted and in return a feast would be given. Today, we know this as a harvest festival. Such festivals were held not only to show thanks to the Earth and enjoy her bounty, but as an act of faith that the fields would bloom again. When the fields were plowed for the next Spring's planting, the Corn Dollie would be returned to the Earth.

Clever huh!

This kind of thing is fairly huge for me this year. I believe the seed was planted when I lived with my cousin Yo in Devon last year...the whole connection with the movement of nature. Sounds silly I know but it is very easy to be totally disconnected from the subtleties of the changing seasons, focusing on changing fashion and temperatures in offices and houses, but not really appreciating what is going on out there, in the fields and trees, with the birds and the sea. I don't know, I guess I just feel more connected to the macrocosm than I have done in a long time and that makes me feel more alive somehow.

It is great to be back teaching again. I feel so much better than I have done in a long time. I guess a combination of resting, nutrition, homeopathy, dancing, swimming in the sea and changing my own practice so that it is more pranyama, kundalini and indeed restorative based have all helped considerably. Of course it helps to have a focus too and a direction to move in...not that we always know exactly where we are headed, but just to have a vague idea of what kind of life you want to live, rather than simply what you want from life. We'll see.

Talking of dancing, Ewan and I attended one of his friend's birthday meals at La Fregart on Saturday evening (very civilised these days!) and managed to fit in some post meal dancing in Laskas with Alice...you have to love the liberation of dancing, it is all about embracing that goddess within, kind of Tantric really, plus it is incredibly healing...although I was wearing very high heels, which I never normally wear, and there were a few occasions where I felt I was at risk of breaking an ankle, probably better to dance bare foot!

Last week Chris and Ewan were doing some work on Ewan's shed and it was really noisy and dusty around here and not restful in the slightest. Today they are both out of the house and it is wonderful to have peace and quiet to write, potter around and catch up on life! Did I mention the cat? A fluffy black and white cat from next door has adopted us. She (we think she is a she) has been in and out all the time as the boys have had the back door open and we find her sleeping upstairs on the bed or in the lounge. She is really very cheeky and yet I am rather besotted by her - probably because of her cheekiness!

xx

Autumn weekends

Sam and I walked out to the fairy ring on Friday afternoon. We went out there together for the first time last new year's eve to do a letting go burning bowl ceremony with my cousin Yo. So this is the first time we have been back since and it was as lovely as it always is.

You just have to love Pleinmont, it has this special energy, what with its Wicca past (and present, lots of white witches living in the area) and of course the presence of fairies. It is a perfect place to make a wish and ask advice from the pendulumn. Wishes always come true out there.

Sam and I are still looking forward to dancing around the fairy ring under the full moon one evening...trouble is last time I danced outside under the energy of the full moon (naked too I'll have you know, adds to the hol experinece, and yes Ewan thought me totally crazy, what with the crystals cleansing and everything!) I was totally wired for days, in fact I wonder if that is the reason I got sick, shot my nervous system! Anyhow Sam is returning to India on Thursday before the next full moon so all that kind of stuff will have to wait until she is next on the Island.

Anyhow autumn is now upon us and many of the leaves are changing colour and there are berries all over the place, not that the blackberries are ready just yet (at Pleinmont at least). There is just that feel to the air, of change and new beginnings. I believe I mourned the loss of summer last week and now I am finally focused into this new season, hoorah.



The one highlight of autumn is the warm (!) sea temperature. Ewan and I managed a swim at Port Soif on Saturday morning. It was high tide and while it was damp and windy, we were the only people on the beach and it felt good to be swimming, just us and nature, lots of birds and sand hoppers. We warmed up over tea at Victor Hugo's feeling that we had already achieved at least one thing that day!

We managed a swim on Sunday too. Still high tide but the sun was shining and we ended up at Petit Bot where we were certainly not the only people on the beach - it never ceases to amaze me how busy that beach gets and until I met Ewan I have probably only been there a handful of times in my life. Now I love it. Although the sea always feels colder swimming there than on the West coast.



In the afternoon I went along to the Weighbridge to support Sam's adult sport's day to raise funds for a Tibetan charity she supports. The weather was perfect and the whole experience was so much fun...I wish I had entered a team, especially as the first prize was return flights to Jersey for each team member, amongst other things there was an egg and spoon race, a sack race and three-legged race! Those who were participating really seemed to enjoy themselves and I do believe this could become an annual event - as always just need to rally up some support. Well done Sam, you can return to Dharamasala knowing you have tried to do your bit.

xxx

Red arrows up high!

We went to watch the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain on Thursday from Ewan's Mum's rooftop. We have decided it is one of the best and indeed highest points in St Peter Port to watch such a display. And it while it is scary up there it is great!

I am of course totally ungrateful, not intentional as such, more so that I am rather bored by the whole experience, I have seen it so many times before - but I do respect the whole point of it of coure; my grandfather was one of the military police who stood on the Normandy beaches with a white arm band (how much of a bait was that, and indeed how brave) directing the troops onto the beach (thank you Papa).

For two days the skies over Guernsey (and we live near the airport) were rather heavy with the sound of aeroplanes and then finally the display, which was loud and drawn out. The red arrows were the highlight. Although actually the highlight was just being up high.



I have lived a strange week. That workshop last weekend ws profound in its effect and while Bo says not to analyse one's releases, I can't help but do that as I am fascinated by it all.

I admit it. I am my own research centre as are my students from time to time. I am fascinated by the relationship between body, mind and soul and the ability of people (on all levels) to heal.

Still, after a few turbulent days, the clarity has returned and I cannot wait to get back to Nepal in December to pick up where I left off over 18 months ago.




As for the red arrows, how incredible the speed of our modern life.

Thank you to all my friend's who have listened to me this week, I know it is hard work, but we all get there one day - and without you, it would be a whole lot moe complicated!!

xxx

Yoga workshop in London and more fun with H!

I just spent the weekend in London on a Yoga course with the inspiring Bo Forbes at Tri Yoga entitled "Yoga as mind-body medicine; a weekend of integrative Yoga therapeutics".

Bo is a clinical psychologist as well as a Yoga teacher and integrative Yoga therapist in the Boston area, and it was great to hear her sharing her wisdom and experience of working with people through Yoga on a therapeutic level, plus a little of her clinical background.

Essentially Bo confirmed a little of what I already know - namely that memories, emotions and experiences are stored in the physical body's tissues, written onto the nervous system, and encoded in the mental, emotional and deep visceral bodies. These 5 bodies form a nexus through which we can assess the nature of dis-ease, they also act as channels for intervention and healing.

I was particularly interested in the sessions about revitalising the lymphatic system and quietening the nervous system. Essentially the lymphatic system is part of an intricate web that has filaments reaching deep into the nervous system, emotional body and pain modulation pathways. Stagnation in any part of the lymphatic web can reinforce neuro-emotional patterns, including anxiety, insomnia, depression and chronics pain disorders. Stagnation can also leave us susceptible to emotional contagion and accelerate the aging process.

So a practice which focuses, or at least incorporates awareness of flushing the lymph will help to activate the parasympathetic channels, boost the immune system, calm the brain, improve sleep, strengthen positive emotional pathways and build resistance to negative emotions.

With regard to the nervous system, chronic hyper-arousal can lead to anxiety and insomnia (think of the term "wired") and this can compromise physical health, emotional well being and creative potential. Fortunately the neural pathways to relaxation and calm exist within everyone and we can use Yoga (asana, pranayama and restorative Yoga) to learn how to activate the neural pathways to relaxation and catalysing the emergence of inner potential.

Essentially the nervous system is the gateway to the other bodies. It is designed to maintain homeostasis but if homeostasis has become a state of anxiety then this is what it will try to attain...so we need to re-programme the nervous system to a calmer state of being. It is all about changing patterns...and there are many ways we can do this but pranayama and restorative asana seem the most powerful here.



It was a truly fascinating workshop and while we only practised a little asana and pranayama, what we did practice was incredibly powerful as I have not slept so well in ages, nor felt such a degree of clarity or inner strength since long before I got sick. Simply learning how to hold your nexck properly, let alone massaging the neck and the base of your skull, can all have such a healing impact, plus of course being present with the breath in poses and engaging root lock throughout to contain your energy. Got to love it. Thank you Bo!

Aside from attending the workshop I was also fortunate to have time to chill out with H again. It is funny, we have spent quite a lot of time together over the last year or so but we simply never run out of stuff to talk about. In fact the first night, sitting having a drink in her local pub, the wonderful Pineapple by the way, we became so engaged in our conversation that we almost missed the late showing of EastEnders...good grief, now that would have been a shame!!

On the Saturday I managed to do some brief shopping in Camden during the lunchhour and visited the wonderful Wholefoods - I know I am weird but I take such great delight in visiting this shop as it is just amazing, all those organic foods, plus of course all the fresh salads and stuff. I could spend hours just wandeirng around. And in fact I believe that that is exactly what H and I did last summer when we were driving between San Fran and LA, not only were we searching for Starbucks for morning (and indeed afternoon) tea but also Wholefoods for our dinner - makes me laugh now, I remember those places more than I do driving through Big Sur (where was that exactly?!) and Santa Monica!!!



Saturday evening and we managed a catch up drink in a beer garden near to H's house and found ourselves sitting about a metre away from a Guernsey guy who recognised H, not that she recognised him. Very weird. We got the bus to Camden that night and managed Tapas at a restaurant near Wholefoods, great stuff, but then had to go home and get to bed, clearly the workshop had affected both of us even if H had not been in attendance!

Sunday morning and H and lay around on the sofa chatting to H's housemates and watching Holly Oaks, which I must say is a strange treat for me these days as I rarely ever watch television on account of the fact I teach in the evenings, Ewan and I like different programmes and even then I have to really want to watch something to watch something, we only have terrestrial and I don't find his sofa very comfortable.

I was back on Guernsey by Sunday afternoon and then the reality of the weekend workshop as I have to face up to the clarity and the options available to me, which have become clearer as the week has progressed but it has been a muddy week, the dis-resonance between the old energy and the new...and trying to find a footing in the moment all over again. But ha, all good fun, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.

So a huge thank you to H again for shining the way, and to the angels too for making some things clear and leaving others to fate.

xxxxxx

The Guernsey cow!

I love cows, especially Guernsey cows. I must admit that I never paid much attention to cows until i first visited Nepal and was astounded to find them wandering around the middle of busy roads eating litter, or lying at the sides of the roads eating scarps left out by local people. You see out there the cow is held in high regard, if you kill a cow you end up in prison. So they just wander around. Great.

Over here the nearest you will come to finding a cow on the road is when they are being shepherded across one to go for milking. Instead they tend to be grazing or lying in green fields, and one of my most favourite views is driving to the Yoga centre past the little chapel with cows grazing in the valley there – you can’t help but notice the lovely contrast of the green meadow and their golden-brown and white coats.

I could spend hours staring at cows. There is something about their warmth, generosity, sense of peaceful contemplation and often dream-like state that fascinates me. I am weird. I know. My friends find it hilarious. Cows are curious creatures so the best way to get to know them is to be still and let them come to you.

They may be wary so be patient (see, they teach us patience!). Be relaxed and talk quietly (if at all). Keep all movements limited and always slow – nothing sudden. Let her sniff you. It is a great honour if she licks your hand but if you reach out your hand you will cause alarm – her eye is designed to be aware of approaching predators and an approaching hand could be mistaken for a predator.

Be especially respectful around cows with calves as the mother will be extra protective of her young. When you leave, walk, don’t run.

So go and enjoy the cow – call it cow meditation because watching them you won’t be thinking about much else and you may leaving feeling rather awe-struck and uplifted (or perhaps I really am mad?!).

Autumn approaching

Well is seems as if the season is really beginning to change, not only are the children back to school today, but my Mum has been making apple and blackberry crumble, there are red berries filling hedges and trees (the orangey-red berries on the Rowan trees are just incredible) and the sea was remarkably pleasant yesterday!

I guess - if I am honest - there is a sadness about the loss of summer, and yet, equally, a joy about the beauty and crispness of autumn. And I certainly can't complain, I have just experienced an incredible summer what with all the trips away and the adventures here on Guernsey. I feel truly grateful and blessed, sometimes it is easy to forget how privileged our lives are over here.

We spent the afternoon of bank holiday Monday down at Cobo listening to the live music and chatting with friends. It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was shining, the tide was rising and it was lovely to see familiar faces having fun.

Tuesday and I started teaching up at St Peter's again. It was lovely to see so many children in the first class and so many familiar and smiling faces in the adult class - I really appreciate the support. I believe my teaching style has changed a little. Over the last 3 months, and in an attempt to heal myself, my own practice has changed, I have been incorporating more Kundalini Yoga exercises and lots of forward bends and inversions in an effort to rest my central nervous system, take the pressure off my kidneys and enhance my immune system.

Relieving stress, depression and anxiety seem to be my main focuses right now. We live in such a fast paced, pressured and demanding world and it is incredible the effect this has on our bodies as much as our minds. Having gone through it myself (and still so to an extent), I am keen to help others to find a way to manage it. Yoga can help, there is no doubt, and Reiki too, plus a good diet, aromatherapy oils, swimming in the sea, getting out into nature, turning off the phone and email, learning to say "no", spending time and laughing with good friends and family, to say nothing of just taking a few deep breaths, lying down and resting for a good 10 minutes or so!

Teaching has given me more energy. I was actually awake for sunrise this morning. And what a joy, the first one up on the house (we have Chris staying in the wing at the moment in between his travels), so I made a cup of green tea and sat outside, over looking the quarry, appreciating the stillness to the air and that autumnal crispness.

I am off to London tomorrow for a Yoga workshop at TriYoga on Primrose Hill with Bo Forbes - "yoga as a mind-body medicine: a weekend of integrative yoga therapeutics". As luck and indeed timing would have it, this course is all about using Yoga to help to balance the nervous system, deepen the relaxation response, soothe the emotional body, reduce anxiety and stress, improve depression, stimulate restful sleep and enhance immunity. Perfect.

So on that note I shall take myself to my mat for some relaxing breathing and asana with Ylang Ylang burning in the background and Jami Sieber playing on the stereo, it doesn't get much better than that!!

Have a great weekend.

xxxx