Spring is springing early?!

It is the 8th of January today and there has been a surprising "Spring" feel to the air this last few days.  In fact not only are the daffodils already blooming, but we have seen primroses and cherry blossom too.  It is so mild for this time of year that I am not surprised nature has been thrown off track a little.  Mind you, hoorah that we have had no rain these last few days, although I do believe a little may be on its way, clearing in time for the New Moon on Friday.

Evidently things are a little unsettled out there at the moment, relationships strained as people find their new footing in the new year.  I do not feel it so much myself, I am attempting to begin the year as I intend to continue, taking as much time out as possible to be quiet, to converse with nature (!), to write and, top priority, immerse myself in my Yoga practice both on and off the mat.

I do love intentions, they have so much power.  I am hoping that the New Year's class I taught last week encouraged those who attended to set their own intentions for the year ahead and let go of the willful nature of New Year's resolutions, which often just add to the "failure" mentality of our ego.  For more on this I have posted two articles on my website, one is a general article on the power of intention and another about the power of intention in action in my own life.

It has been refreshing to see so many people at Yoga over the last week, a lot of students practicing more than once a week, which is pretty huge in terms of the transformative capacity and also in terms of enhancing one's sense of general wellbeing and outlook on life.  E has been getting back into the flow of his Yoga practice, to help him heal his injured back again.  He was inspired a little by a teacher who taught a class we attended in TriYoga's Chelsea studio a few weeks ago.  This teacher has begun Yoga due to severe knee and back injuries and was blown away by his healing to the extent that he immersed himself in Yoga around the world and trained as a teacher, a good one too.

I must admit that it is rather special to be able to immerse oneself in Yoga for a dedicated period of time.  There was a 6 year period of my life where I was doing this rather regularly, a few months on Guernsey working and saving money and a few months off travelling and practicing Yoga every day.  Not so now, life changes and what we want from it changes too.  I shall always remember sitting beside another British traveller on a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu and her commenting on the anchor tattoo she had on her arm, saying she had had this done because it was time to anchor down, but now she was going to get a kite, as it was time to lift up and be free again.  I have loved that analogy ever since.  Sometimes we need to anchor and sometimes we need to fly.  The challenge is knowing when one should move on from one to the other.  The wind is coming, should you anchor, or fly with it?!

The heart knows all.  The key is to be quiet enough to hear.  that is where Yoga helps, gets us out of the thinking mind, and if we are lucky, creates space between the thoughts for the light of the divine to shine.

Om shanti, shanti, shanti,

Emma x

Happy New Year, shine into the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope this year brings you much inner peace and happiness, no stories, no suffering, just a lovely open heart and compassion for the self and for the world as a whole.

It has been a lovely festive break for E and I, retreating down at Vazon on the West Coast house sitting for the folks while they bask in the sun in Australia with Ross.

We are enjoying our time hugely, lots of quiet times, lots of practice, lots of walking and swimming, although in the pool rather than the sea!  We did manage a Christmas Day swim but gosh it was pretty challenging as the tide was low, the winds were high and the sea really choppy and uninviting.  Consequently we decided to give the Boxing Day swim a miss and were a bit lazy about getting to the beach on New Year's Day.

So finally it has stopped raining, quite strange that this should coincide with the New Year so that we actually got some dry spells and sunshine yesterday- hoorah to walk in the sun yesterday!!  What a joy after weeks of relentless rain showers.  2012 was really a very challenging year for so many and was renowned in the spiritual circles as being the year of change.  I believe this was true for so many, change on many levels.  We could see this in the world as a whole what with all the strange weather patterns and all this rain - a kind of flooding, destruction, the end of the world as we know it, perhaps even an indication of healing - only that often you have to let go for a healing to happen, tears being a good representation of this letting go, weeping it out, to make space for the new.

And now here we are 2013.  I have a feeling that now we have had the destruction and the letting go, we now have the space to make this the year of creation and transformation.  Time to manifest all the changes of 2012.  Exciting times in my opinion, a lighter world with more conscious choices and maybe, just maybe a little more peace.  I feel we often forget that peace has to begin within ourselves to have any impact in the world as a whole.  If we are not peaceful inside then how can we expect the world to be peaceful...so as always we must start with ourselves, take responsibility for ourselves, learn to love ourselves a little more, be compassionate to the self, find and experience a sense of inner peace and accept that it is what it is, no need to keep battling to change things.

Pure intention helps.  I am teaching a class this evening which will focus on the concept of intention rather than establishing New year's resolutions, which are bound to fail because they are based on "I will" and the ego, rather than "Thy will" and the Divine within and around us.  More on this soon.

I did do myself a burning bowl ceremony on New year's Eve as I do every year.  You write down all the things you want to let go of and not take into the New year, then you bin the list or burn it or throw it in the sea.  then you write a letter to yourself for you to read on 31 December 2013 saying what has happened to you during the year, with feeling and awareness.  Then you fold it up and channel some Reiki onto it before putting it away for the year and forgetting about it.  You of course also get to read the one you wrote the year before and I must admit I was amazed by all the stuff on there that did actually manifest during 2012.  Powerful stuff.  Next year I feel I will run a group Burning Bowl Ceremony so that others can enjoy it too.

We managed to get to a class in London recently with this very inspiring teacher.  It was quite by chance and a bit of a last minute thing and I was blown away by this guy's energy.  I have not been so inspired from a Yoga class - Vinyasa Flow - since my dynamic days with Lance and John.  For me this is such a joy, to attend a class where you are pushed to your limits, able to explore your boundaries and with all the vinyasas and twists, we were both buzzing with energy and inspiration afterwards.  If there is nothing else I can share this year, then I hope to share that feeling with others.  I must admit it did make me want to go on retreat  and simply practice Yoga for a few weeks!!!

Anyhow with that in mind time to go practice and prepare myself for the day ahead.

With much love, gratitude and blessings, this is indeed a wonderful world.

xxxxxx

Happy solstice!

Happy solstice everyone!  This is indeed cause for celebration, much merriment as the light increases over the months ahead.  It is also the much talked about end of the world.  I like to think it is actually all about new beginnings.  Let us bring more love, joy, happiness and peace into the world ahead.  Let us dance with joy and encourage harmony.  Let us be true to ourselves, be ourselves, love ourselves and fulfill our true potential as light beings.

Have a good day.

xxx

Winter solstice: Yule!

Wow isn't it dark this morning.  Hardly surprising seeing as it is the winter solstice tomorrow morning, 11.12am in the northern hemisphere.  Sadly this wonderful shift in the positioning of the sun, meaning that the days get longer once again, is over shadowed a little by all the talk of the end of the world.

As I have commented time and time again, we have experienced the end of the world (as we know it) this year.  To buy in to all these tales of fear is quite incredible, but a good money spin for all those "end of the world" parties tomorrow evening.

As for the solstice.  Yule.  The two most popular Christian holidays - Easter and Christmas - are also the two most pagan.  This is a celebration of the birth of God - at Yule, the new God comes to earth, bringing hope and light.  This is of course the shortest and darkest day of the year (ideal to stay tucked up in bed or beside the fire!), but it is also the day when the shift towards light and warmth begins - hoorah!!!

In the pagan tradition, Yule is celebrated by bringing holly or evergreen boughs into the house to encourage the growth of life and return of warmth.  This may include a Christmas tree - a Yule tree I am told - decorated with symbols of the sun among other things.  Celebrations include lots of candles to emphasise the return of light.

It is an incredibly exciting time, a real  shift in energy and an increasing return of the light as slowly the days lengthen and the gardens begin changing as Spring approaches.

I shall be celebrating in my own way: a candle and meditation, giving thanks and welcoming the sun again.

As for the end of the world, well we are being washed away, it has not stopped raining for hours, cleansing, more cleaning, see the world is changing.

As for us, well today I have my last Yoga class of the year, which gives me the opportunity to study and focus on my own practice.  I came across Katy Appleton's DVDs in a charity shop recently, wow what a find, her book was the first I ever read and it truly inspired me to practice at home on my own.  her DVD is equally inspiring and is a joy for me to be led by someone else for a change.  Thank you angels for answering my prayers, another teacher has arrived in my life.

So with thanks and much gratitude.  Happy winter solstice everyone, enjoy the shift in energy and the build up to Christmas in the days ahead.

With love,

xxxxx

The end of the world as we know it.

So the end of the world is nigh, or so everyone keeps telling me.  I don't take this literally, this is the end of the world as we know it as there has been so much change this year that more will manifest in the next.  You have only to consider the recent awful, awful tragedy in America with all those poor children and adults killed at the hand of yet another confused man armed with guns. 

There has to be change, otherwise this is just going to keep on happening.  Rather ridiculous perhaps that the news reported that the number of guns purchased in America has increased significantly since the tragedy - I am guessing people are getting worried that they may have lose their rights to buy guns  legally.  Unbelievable really.  What kind of world are we living in.

So really the end of the world happened already for those parents and family members last week.  It happens every day to someone.  But for us as a society, this could indeed be the year.  Nature is certainly letting us know who is in control, many people have remarked to me how the weather has made them realise how insignificant they are in the grand scheme of things.

I have to say the weather really pushed the boundaries this weekend with all the wind and rain and thunder and lightening.  Saturday the sea was incredible down at Vazon, E and I managed a quick dip and the currents were strong enough in the shallows, would have been a bit of a challenge for the many surfers enjoying the low pressure over the weekend.

But gosh didn't it rain. It reminds me of the monsoon rain in Nepal, where the heaven's open and within a minute or two you are soaked to the bone.

Sunday we decided to venture over to Lihou with E's friend and mum.  Half way across the causeway and the wind became really gusty and the heaven's opened and the hail came and we were stuck between a rock and a hard place, go back or continue, so we trekked on the house and the prospect of warm tea and mince pies, but my gosh we got wet!  On a positive note it did make the log burning stove on Lihou all the more incredible!!  Plus the view of the lightening was pretty good!!

So the folks have flown to Australia now to visit my brother and his daughter, leaving E and I to cat sit down at Vazon.  it feels like a bit of a break for us too with work and Yoga calming down towards the Christmas break.  In fact it is all too easy to retreat down here on the west coast and never leave the house with the heating and the sound of the sea in the distance to soothe the soul and all that comes with housesitting for one's parents (the cleaner, the newspapers delivered, the freezer full of food, the satsuma tree in the greenhouse etc etc!!).

I have been studying a little recently for the Yoga therapy courses, and giving thought to how I can help those with injuries within a general class.  Not ideal as often they require one-to-one attention, and even then it can be a slow process.  Still, the opportunity for healing is always there and transformation on all levels too.  Very exciting.

So let us hope it doesn't rain today, I have chanced the washing on the line and would like to make the most of the warmer temperatures to walk into work in a few hours.

Not long to go until Christmas, exciting week ahead!

Om shanti.

xxxx

Swimming in the sea: good for the soul!

We actually swam in the sea at Belvoir on Herm on Saturday, and I have to admit that it was not as painful as I was expecting.  It was the annual E's birthday trip to Herm, where each year we make the most of the free Christmas boats to Herm and traipse around to Belvoir for the obligatory swim in the sea before heading to the Mermaid for a warming cup of tea in front of the fire.

Hayley and Mike came with us again this year and while the rest of us were swimming (only 4 this year, the rest joined us in the Mermaid instead!!) they practiced Tai Chi on the beach, made for a wonderful background while we were flapping around in the freezing cold sea.  It was refreshing to say the least - and yes, I am perhaps a little envious that Mum and Dad will soon be with Ross in Byron where the sea will feel like a bath in comparison!  Oh well, the Atlantic ocean is indeed good for the soul and left me feeling invigorated all day long!!

Herm was at its winter best, clear skies and that wonderful winter light.  We were joined at the Mermaid by a few of E's friends, while Hayley and I shopped, well had a look around the shops, before we all headed back to Guernsey for a quick wander through the French markets and onwards home.  I do love spending time on Herm, slows life down a bit - I can't wait for the next Spring Yoga & Wellbeing retreat, should be lots of fun.

Sunday dawned a little grey, perhaps perfect for the Solar Flow Yoga class out at St Peter's.  It was a busy class, full capacity - good to see so many wanting to continue and enhance their practice so close to Christmas - and we certainly created some heat with a combination of sun salutations, standing, balancing, back bending, forward bending, twisting and inverted poses, I was impressed. 

The emphasis was on light and that was certainly in evidence in the room in St Peter's yesterday morning.  We are all of course a source of light, although it is so easy to forget, and to find ourselves in the darkness from time to time.  Still we should always remember that we do have that light shining inside and Yoga can really help it to shine that little brighter, especially throughout these cold and dark winter months.  I know it helps balance the ying with the yang.

I was buzzing afterwards and set to on all the household chores, more moving of furniture and preparing bedrooms for the arrival of two of E's best friends this week.  I did manage to clean the car too and walk up to the organic veggie store in the lanes near where we live, oh and a swim at the Grande Mare before an early Christmas dinner at my folks.

So with the light decreasing and the temperatures due to drop, I suspect the next few weeks will incorporate a degree of hibernation in front of the fire, or under the heaters at class!  We have 12.12.12 to celebrate on Wednesday - I look forward to joining Caroline Wickham for her 12.12.12 Yoga class.  And then the end of the world is due on 21 December, with the 22 December bringing the winter solstice and the beginning of winter.  And then Christmas and the full moon on the 28th.  Wow, what an end to the year!

With love and gratitude.

xx

All the way to Edinburgh and back again

Well it seems the Gods were indeed shining on us the last week as we have been blessed with a wonderful time in London and Edinburgh.

We left the Island last Friday, E's birthday, and spent much of the day walking around the Shoreditch area of London searching for original Banksy art work.  E is really passionate about Bansky and some of this has rubbed off on me, so I too was rather excited when we finally found some original art work, protected behind a plastic covering, unlike most of the other art, that has been rubbed off and painted over.  It was also really fascinating to walk around another area of London and really take an interest in your surroundings.

I have always been a bit of a late developer and my current love of London is perhaps indicative of this.  Admittedly nature if where it is really at, but the energy of London is amazing, let alone all the opportunity for Yoga and music and the arts.

We celebrated E's birthday with some dancing, a lot of fun and a great way of letting go, feeling the music and allowing the body to move with the flow.  It is like the Shamans and the Sufis, getting into that zone, a liberation of sorts, we should all be dancing, it is just another way to speak with the soul.

I spoke with my soul at Yoga too. I trekked up to Primrose Hill to TriYoga, which I just love, it has a wonderful energy from all the Yoga that has been practiced there over the years.  I opted for Ashtanga as it was a level 2/3 so I could challenge my boundaries, plus have a bit of a work out in the process.  I used to love Ashtanga, in fact that was my entry into Yoga, it is brilliant for "athletic" beginners as you can learn the sequence and then begin a home practice rather easily, plus it really does make you feel good as it lengthens, detoxifies, strengthens and challenges on every level.

Still, I did get rather bored of the sequence and as a girl it does over develop - in my opinion - the upper body strength.  Plus it was actually designed for 26 year old boys, to increase their sexual vitality, and it is not uncommon for girls who practice every day (say on teacher training courses) to find that their menstrual cycle is adversely affected. However that aside, everything has its place and I have full respect for the system and for Pattabhi Jois who developed it.

These days I am more inclined towards Vinyasa Flow and Anusara Yoga and if I lived near Primrose Hill then I could indulge frequently.  Well, relatively frequently, a 90 minute class costs £16 as a drop-in, we are clearly most spoilt here in Guernsey!

Needless to say, this class was good fun, challenging and physically demanding and leaving me feel a little wired, lighter, clearer and taller at the end of the 90 minutes.

The only problem was the fact I could barely move my arms and shoulders the next day after all the chattarangas and upward facing dog with all those jump backs and vinyasas!!

On Monday we travelled up to Edinburgh on the East Coast train.  It is stunning out that way, we got to see the remains of the flooding and the beginnings of the snow showers that continued throughout the week.

It was cold in Edinburgh, really cold.  Thankfully we were staying with my best friend Lou and her husband and 3 children.  She has recently had a baby and hence our visit, well plus I was treating E to a trip to Edinburgh for his birthday!

We had fun.  While I have stayed a number of times this was E's first visit so Lou showed us both around, we went to the Castle which is fairly stunning and the German Christmas Market, to the Museum which is very impressive, and then for a general wander around town.  We had lunch one day at the Mosque Cafe, which is exactly that, a little like the whole Hare Krishnas eating places, food made with love, curries and rice £5 each.

E and I spent a day on our own in the city and traipsed up Arthur's Seat wrapped in as many clothes as I could manage for it was incredibly cold at the top with snow underfoot.  The views were amazing as we had been blessed with sunshine, and could see the snow covered hills and mountains in the distance.

It really was a brilliant trip and i would just like to say a great big thank you to all our friends who made it so special.

Back here in Guernsey the wind has arrived again, yet more cobwebs being blown away in time for 12.12.12 next week and the supposed end of the world the following week....

So I guess we have to go out there and embrace life to its fullest, have fun, dance in the wind, and enjoy the festivities!

With much gratitude and love,

xxx