Archives for 2017

Surya Namaskara

This term we have been practicing the sun sequence, Surya Namaskara, and as I have been reading more about this ancient, time-honoured sequence, I want to share some of the information I have found with you.

Surya Namaskara is a practice that has been handed down from the sages of Vedic times. In many cultures throughout history the sun has been worshipped as a daily ritual because it is a powerful symbol of spiritual consciousness.

This sequence is very complete within itself as it works on all our levels of being:

It stretches, massages, tones and stimulates all the muscles and vital organs in the variety of movements from backward and forward bends, to lunges and inversions. When performed regularly it can stimulate the endocrine system, bringing it into balance.
The solar energy within you is enhanced and therefore dynamic creativity, resourcefulness and enthusiasm may be expressed in your thoughts and actions.
The sequence revitalises the entire system and recharges the pranic body.

When we become familiar with the sequence we can then start to work with it in a deeper way, adding intention and visualisation, specific breathing practices and mantra, as I recently taught on the Spring retreat.

Surya Namaskara is a great way to warm up for the day. When we start to work with it on a daily basis, we add a new factor to our lives. The ordered, sequential, and energising series of postures become like a tonic taken each morning to set us up for a balanced, energised day. Developing these practices is a wonderful way to bring us back into alignment with nature and the patterns and rhythms that support holistic wellness. We align with the cycle of the sun, honouring the light and letting that light raise our awareness of what is going on for us physically, emotionally and mentally.

When you start the day in this way over a period of time you may find that you become more attuned to your body, mind, heart and soul. Life is more meaningful and rich as you let a new rhythm of ease into your being, become more responsive and less reactive, and let yourself flow with life instead of against it.

Give it a go! Become a beacon of light to shine the way towards peace and harmony in your community.

Whoops! Please excuse the test emails

A quick message to apologise for the test emails you received yesterday.

The good news is that we are setting up a platform for our creativity challenge so that we can all participate easily in a safe and easy to use way.

I will be in touch again soon to let you know more details of how to take part and I am so looking forward to this project and connecting with you creatively.

I am also working on an exciting program of classes, courses and events that will run in 2018 from the new studio here in Australind. It will cater for small groups of around eight and some of things you can look forward to will be:

Meditation and chai evenings
Sound journeys
Specialised back care programs
Trauma sensitive yoga programs
Yoga and creative writing workshops
One-on-one yoga therapy services

Stay tuned as we refine the program and get ready for the creativity challenge coming very soon.

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

Cultivating Creativity

This week I thought I would mention an idea that has come about from this year’s Spring Retreat.

We were blessed to have Kelly Fox on retreat this year who very kindly agreed to come along and not only nourish us with beautiful food but also share a session on creative writing. I like to include a creative session on my retreats as we are all born with creativity within us but often as we get older it isn’t expressed or we lose the ability to express ourselves creatively in the belief that we are not able or that it wouldn’t be good enough. “I can’t draw” or “I can’t write” are common excuses for not engaging.

Kelly’s session was on”Ekphrasis”, which is about harnessing the power of images put into words. We had a selection of the free postcards that you often find in local cafes and Kelly demonstrated how to look at an image and start to express what you see using all your senses. So you look at the card and jot down how it makes you feel, what you see, what you might hear, smell, taste and so on. Put these words onto a piece of paper and let your pen start writing with no expectations at all. It is a great way to start expressing that suits any level of writing experience you may or may not have. It is also a great practice to lead into journal writing, letting anything at all roll out onto the page.

As a result of that session we are about to start a project that you may like to join us for. We are challenging ourselves to write once a week about the photo of the week and the photo will be taken by one of the participants of the group. We will all take a turn at sharing a photo via our mobile phones then have a week to pen our response. We will all be writing about the same photo each week and I am excited to see the individual expressions that will emerge as we share via an email group.

If this is something you might like to join us in please email me with your intention and I will include you in the challenge which we are hoping to start within the next ten days.

We all have an innate artist within us that is really just waiting for the opportunity to express so come on, give this a go and join us for some fun and free expression as we create a space to share that is safe, non-judgemental, caring and compassionate.

Namaste from my inner artist who is excited about this creative project. I leave you with this quote to contemplate your participation.

“Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience.” Masaru Ibuka

Sarah

Can you feel it? (and the Fourth Key revealed)

The thing about committing to slow living and being more present is that you tune in more, feel more, and that can be very challenging! The more time and space you create the more there is to discover in ever-increasing layers, like peeling an onion and wondering how many layers you need to remove before you throw the rest in the pan or salad.

I have been feeling like a few layers have come off and I’ve been tossed into the salad spinner for a few rounds then doused in dressing and served up! Served up for what, I would like to know. Just when you think you have a plan and a few things sorted so that you can make life a bit easier for yourself, whoosh, things change and you are challenged and tested as to how you will act.

In this year of slow living I have noticed that, when things go awry, the first wave of reactivity and blame and “why me” feelings get me nowhere and serve no one. When I observe that primal reaction and open to the absurdity of it, space flows in and it softens. In that softening I can respond and explore options. When I start exploring options and allow a bigger picture to emerge, when I let go of trying to control the outcome, amazing new opportunities open up.

This is like a micro version of the macro version of what is happening in our world, on our planet Earth. What we are being challenged with on a personal level is a reflection of what is happening on a global level. Our world is changing and it’s happening fast; this is what I can feel and when I stop long enough to explore that I can let go of needing a reason for things to not be the way I like them to be. It is not about us. It is about the greater good, the bigger picture, and when we can make space for that, let go of needing a reason for “why did this happen to me?”, we can take the personal out of the equation and get on with the next step.

This has led me to discovering another key to slow living, adaptability. When we can choose to adapt and be adaptable opportunities present themselves and we start to flow more easily with life and the challenges we face. We stop wasting energy on the why and what ifs and instead open up to the curious expansive world of creative opportunities.

When have you been adaptable? Or when have you dug your heels in and refused to change? If you recall an example for both of these questions I invite you to feel into your body. How does your body feel when you resist and refuse? How does it feel when you open to the option of adaptability? I encourage you to explore this key, adaptability, in relation to where you are right now, in your attitudes and thoughts, beliefs and habits, in the way you express yourself internally and externally in conversation with others.

Keep letting the layers come off and be adaptable to the occasional spin-out because the most useful thing we can do to contribute to the process our planet is going through is to become the best version of our true authentic self possible. The more peaceful, adaptable people we have in the world the better place it will become.

Namaste

Sarah

Great to be home!

Week one of classes done and dusted after being away for five weeks!

Thank you to all of you who expressed your gratitude for me being back and classes running again. I am also very grateful to all of you for your continued and loyal support as I am really happy to be home!

Travelling does many things to people and for me it really highlighted what a beautiful part of the world I live in. As beautiful as Hawaii is, in my opinion we in WA have the most beautiful clean and safe beaches where we can swim pretty safely and our sunsets are magnificent. I have returned with a resolve to get out and enjoy nature much more this summer.

Cats on the beach!

There were a few very special and memorable experiences, one being an eight mile hike that Nic and I did whilst in Kauai. The fact that I could hardly move for a few days afterwards is now a distant memory! The hike started at Ke’e Beach on the North Shore of the island where you set off on the Kalalau Trail and hike for two miles over rocks, up and down steep paths with stunning views of the Nepali coast to the beach. We had a brief rest at the beach stop where two cats joined us; cats kept popping up everywhere we went!

We then continued on and at one point I did say to Nic that it was a bit too scary – steep drop offs, slippery muddy paths – and that I would be happy to turn back. He encouraged me on though so we walked, climbed, crossed the river a few times and scrambled over boulders for another two miles to the waterfall. We caught glimpses of the falls along the way, which kept us going. It was like a never ending trail but so very worth the effort. We swam in the pool underneath the falling water then enjoyed our packed lunch and rested as we contemplated the return four mile hike out!

This was the most challenging hike I have undertaken but as you can see by the photos it was magnificent. We were really glad we took our walking poles as I don’t think I would have made it without them.

There were some lovely moments along the way where I took in the lushness of the environment and tried to feel into the trees and plants and capture their essence in some photos. I hope you can get a feel for the beauty of this lovely island, it was my favorite place over there.

Made it!

How to register for a High Aspirations yoga class (by Kel)

This is for anyone who has ever tried to sign up online and rage-quit in frustration. Or anyone who wants a giggle. I’ve tried to make it entertaining. It’s a pdf, so the images and layout are preserved and it doesn’t turn into a jumble of nonsense. Of course, much of it is still nonsense.

How to register for a High Aspirations yoga class

Enjoy your Saturday afternoon.
Kel

P.S. Ever spread out your mat, all ready to start an EBR, and then a cat comes and joins in? Winifred the Ratbag waits until I’m in Tadasana, then messes up my yoga mat.

Slow Living in the Blue Mountains

How grateful I am to be going slow in the Blue Mountains. My dear yoga friend Shakti and I are staying in a log cabin just out of Blackheath. It is a lovely opportunity to slow down after completing another six-day yoga therapy module in Canberra and before going to Sydney for the 50^th IYTA (International Yoga Teachers’ Association) conference later this week.

Another opportunity to slow down and get up when my body says it feels like getting up, no alarm clocks! I have the time to do some yoga practice before enjoying breakfast. For the past two mornings I’ve been coming into the reception area and enjoying this amazing fire, check out the photo, as I can sit in here where there is WiFi connection and connect with you all whilst enjoying herb tea and lovely music, looking out on the natural bush land.

Yesterday morning at 8.30am was bird feeding time. Rosellas and king parrots come and eat out of your hand, beautiful birds enjoying their natural habitat. It was amazing to see how efficiently they crack open the seed and eat the inside, discarding the husks in a second.

After our morning admin tasks are complete, Shakti and I set off to find a place for lunch and exploring. Yesterday we enjoyed the delights of Loura, a beautiful mountain town with stunning gardens, intriguing shops and delicious food. We also fitted in some pampering as I was fortunate to walk into a massage therapy business and get a divine 90-minute hot stone massage. I am now all set for some more bush walking experiences in this beautiful part of our amazing country.

The mountain country allows me to go deeper into one of the three keys of slow living: presence. Yesterday, as I stood and looked out over the mountains, I experienced a sense of deep presence as I connected with the ancientness of this area, hundreds of millions of years old. There is a stillness and quietness in connecting into the depths of the land. As the sun set and I absorbed the yellow, orange and magenta tones, my whole being was here, every cell resonating with the vibration of presence as I breathed in and out, right in the moment.

How present are you right now? Can you find a place in nature today and connect into the earth, feel every breath and let nature into your cells? Feel free to share your experience in this space.

Till next week
Namaste

Slow living in Kapaa

Aloha!

I’m writing from the verandah of our cottage in Kapaa on the island of Kauai, one of the Hawaiian islands. Kauai is known as the ‘garden island’ for its lushness and beautiful flowers.

It is slow living at its best as Nic and I enjoy almost a week here. We start our day wandering out into the four acre property we have to ourselves for morning yoga and meditation: blissful peace in tropical paradise.

I’ve made this ten minute video to share our holiday paradise with you for this week’s blog. As you’ll see we are blessed to be able to wander outside and gather fresh bananas, guavas and passion fruit whilst taking in the sound of the river running, the views of the mountains and the lush surroundings of plant life.

As time is irrelevant for us right now we’ve been spending a minimum of an hour, sometimes ninety minutes, enjoying our personal yoga and meditation practice each morning. In case you’re wondering what my practice looks like, here it is:

I always start with activating by shaking, twisting, gentle figure eight movements then stretching top to toe.
EBR 1 has been my favorite but sometimes I’ll do EBR 2.
Then I do the prana kriyas, which you’ll know if you’ve done my meditation courses or been on retreat with me. These are so potent and ensure you are taking good care of yourself on many levels.
I follow the prana kriyas with Surya Namaskara, salutations to the sun. I love this sequence which uses specific breathing and mantra and sets me up for the day! (Come on my Spring retreat if you’d like to learn it.)
I finish with meditation where I do some spinal breathing, then go into my heart, connect to gratitude and let that take me into meditation paradise.

How’s your personal practice going? Remember you don’t need ninety minutes. Ten minutes twice a day will see you on track and on purpose.

Commitment: commit to showing up for your practice

Presence: be fully present and in the moment; connect to your breath

Gratitude: go into your heart and feel gratitude

It’s never too late to start – start now!

Namaste

Sarah

Recipe: Orange Almond Cake

Orange almond is a gluten free favourite, and if you’ve tried the High Aspirations offering before you know it’s moist and delicious! Something to whip up for a Sunday afternoon, perhaps…

Orange Almond Cake

Photo shows Kel’s version made with coconut sugar and served with passion fruit, strawberries and hazelnut ice cream 😉

Meditation Challenge

Once we get the hang of yoga for shaking out the body and releasing stress, we start to talk about going ‘deep’ into the self and layers of being. If you’re looking for a way to do this on a daily basis, here you go!

You know we have 1440 minutes in every day. If you can spare two lots of 10 minutes to connect a little deeper first thing in the morning and last thing at night you will feel a difference.

If you are not already making time to sit in stillness and honour the highest part of you, give this a go. Here’s the challenge:

Get up 10 minutes earlier so that you can sit before you do anything else (maybe visit the bathroom first!).
In the evening, sit for another 10 minutes before you retire to bed.

Keep a journal and give this a go for one month. A great app that I use is iSamadhi, which allows you to set a timer with a nice tone and also has a journal function where after your meditation you can type a couple of words, or more if you wish, to record your experience. (If you’re an Android user, tell us what your favourite meditation app is!)

I would love to hear how you get on and how this impacts your day.

Namaste

Sarah