May 2013 - Yoga Scotland

Yoga
ISSUE 41
May 2013
SCOTLAND
PUBLISHED BY YOGA SCOTLAND
M A G A Z I N Ee
Yoga Paths
• Outer Travels, Inner Discovery • The Lightness of Being • The Fifth Path
www.yogascotland.org.uk
Scottish Charity Number SCO20590
sportscotland
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Yoga SCOTLAND
Editorial
As I travelled to New Zealand
towards the end of last year, I
found myself with plenty of time
to reflect once again on the
pointlessness of projecting into
the future and wondering every
five minutes ‘are we nearly
there? How much longer to go?’
So much more helpful just to go
with the flow and accept that it
would take the time it took;
stressing and fretting and
looking at the watch would not
make the journey go any faster,
in fact quite the opposite. So just
be in the present and enjoy it!
This simple conclusion also emerges from this issue, where
several contributors explore from their own particular perspective
the theme of ‘Yoga Paths’, demonstrating that whichever route
you find yourself on and however long it takes, you have to
relinquish control, accept what arises and let the journey unfold
in its own way. Thus Veronica Muir finds in yoga the ease and
lightness lacking in her early life; Eileen Auld recalls coming to
yoga through a distressing accident; Ann Hunter has some
fortuitous encounters which help her to develop her practice;
Jignasu Jayanti (Jane Russell) discovers over many decades the
form of yoga that works for her; Elaine Ormiston explains how,
despite her initial reluctance, she is now exploring a nonteaching yoga practice and Hayley Price reflects on the way in
which her yoga path has unfolded from surprising beginnings.
Jim Fraser, meanwhile, discusses from a more theoretical
perspective the very notion of the ‘path’ in Yoga. All in different
ways show how we so often stumble across (some of us more
literally than others) the ‘path’ that is right for us.
Other contributions link neatly into this central theme: Carol
Godridge explores the path of the chakras in the body, Jim
Fraser kicks off a new column entitled ‘Prasnam’ that will aim to
inform and enlighten us on our journey, and as usual we have a
range of news and reviews and upcoming seminars, illustrating
the many varied highways and byways of the yoga world.
The celebration of the many paths that are all yoga is central
to the broad church that Yoga Scotland has always been and
this open, inclusive character will once again be on display at
Saint Andrews in June, where we will welcome Swami
Krishnapremananda, Hayley Price and ten Yoga Scotland
teachers (see the booking form in this issue and Hayley’s article).
We hope to see some of you there, either for the whole weekend
or just for a day, to help us celebrate our fortieth birthday.
Looking forward towards the summer, you will perhaps be
travelling further afield, to a retreat, for a yoga holiday or simply
to lie on a beach or climb some mountains, and I hope very
much that you will enjoy not just your ‘final’ destination but the
journey towards it too. With that in mind I would like to leave you
with this Maori saying, which crossed my path whilst I was in the
Antipodes:
May the calm be widespread
May the ocean glimmer like smoothed jade
May the mirage of summer’s promise shimmer before you
And your travelling companion shall be peace itself
Joy Charnley, Editor
Yoga Scotland General Enquiries
Telephone number 07954 283966
Kirsty Davidson
52 Edderston Road, Peebles EH45 9DT
Email: yogascotland@yahoo.co.uk
For more detailed information on Yoga Scotland
membership, regional events, classes, training courses and
more, visit our website: www.yogascotland.org.uk
Cover photo
Front cover photo by Kate Renton, Yoga weekend on Holy
Island, Northumberland. Please send us any photos you have
which depict any aspect of yoga.
Yoga Scotland Magazine Contacts Scotland
Deadlines for advertising and editorial copy:
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(publication May 1st)
July 14th
(publication 1st September)
November 14th
(publication 1st January)
Editorial Address: Advertising address:
Joy Charnley
34 Cromarty Avenue
Glasgow
G43 2HG
editor@yogascotland.org.uk
Kirsty Davidson
52 Edderston Road
Peebles
EH45 9DT
Tel: 07954 283966
yogascotland@yahoo.co.uk
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inclusion on the Yoga Scotland website.
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Guidelines for contributors: in general please keep articles to no
more than 500 words. If you are covering a seminar, please give
details of interesting new things you learned and that you can
share with the readers, rather than describing the programme of
the day in general. Please send articles, letters, photos,
advertisements, information or ideas to the editor by post or email
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© 2013 Yoga Scotland (Incorporating the Scottish Yoga Teachers
Association). All original articles in Yoga Scotland Magazine may be
reproduced and circulated without prior permission being
sought, provided acknowledgement is given to the author and
Yoga Scotland.
Printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper.
Disclaimer The views expressed in Yoga Scotland magazine do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of Yoga Scotland. We reserve the right to encourage the
expression of a variety of views on subjects of interest to our members. No item
should be taken as Yoga Scotland policy unless so stated.
Design/artwork by Sue Grant 01848 200331
3
Yoga SCOTLAND
View from the Chair
I’m writing this on a cold damp day in
March – my helpful mobile phone
weather chart describes it as ‘freezing
drizzle’, which feels exactly right. By the
time you read this at the beginning of
May though, let’s hope that Spring will
be upon us and we can enjoy the sights
and sounds of summer approaching. It’s
important for hope to ‘spring’ eternal!
When you read this, Yoga Scotland will have held its AGM and
(hopefully) will have a refreshed committee. The current crop of
Glasgow trainees will be scarily close to their final observed
teaching practices and will, I’m sure, become more fabulous
Yoga Scotland teachers. We’ll be eagerly anticipating our 40th
anniversary celebrations at St Andrews in June; Foundation and
Living Yoga courses will be drawing to a close for this year; and
we’ll hopefully be interviewing for the next Teacher Training
Course. Thus the Yoga Scotland ship sails on, sometimes
serenely and sometimes buffeted by winds, but all hands on
deck are very useful!
I see that our Editor Joy has compiled stories from established
teachers of their yoga paths and I’m sure you’ll find them
fascinating. Of course Yoga Scotland too is on its own yoga
journey: starting 40 years ago as a small group of enthusiastic
practitioners keen to spread the joy of yoga to the position we
are now in – still enthusiastic, still volunteers, but with an
ambitious programme of training courses and other events to
manage. Sometimes it may feel as if we’ve overreached
ourselves but we always seem to get by. However please do
remember that Yoga Scotland can’t run itself. It’s your
organisation so we need volunteers to keep on coming, giving
willing service to our yoga community in Scotland.
Recently when I opened an email newsletter to which I
subscribe, I had a déjà vu moment that reinforced the power of
our yoga pathway. It was a summary of a research project about
mindfulness that will come as no surprise to students of yoga. In
Contents
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4
15
16
8
19
11
13
14/15
16
18
19
20
21
23
26
4
Editorial
View from the Chair
News and Views
Outer Travel, Inner Discovery
The Lightness of Being
Living It – My Yoga Story
Journey to Satyananda Toga
My Yoga Journey
St Andrews
The Fifth Path
Peace pilgimage 2013
ELYA – A Local Association
Learning Through Life
Making Energy Move
Finding the Guru Within/Review
Reviews
it, mindfulness is defined as paying attention to your current
experiences (thoughts and feelings) and observing them in a
non-judgemental manner. How many times do you hear or say
that in a yoga class? Although as yogis we are more likely to use
‘awareness’ than ‘mindfulness’, I believe they are the same skill.
The article goes on to say that, drawing from cognitive, clinical
and social psychology, the researcher has suggested a
theoretical link between mindfulness and self-knowledge – or
seeing yourself as you really are. Research has shown that
mindfulness training is associated with greater bodily awareness
too, so mindful people may also be more self-aware about their
body language such as unconscious mannerisms, a more
challenging aspect of self-knowledge.
I suspect most yoga practitioners would feel they’ve come
across much more ancient insights like this from our rich sources
in yoga philosophy. And they might even turn the argument on
its head – the yoga journey often begins from the body, precisely
because the body can only be in the present moment and has a
vital role in stabilising the mind. Then practitioners rapidly realise
that there is no distinction between body and mind. The gross
form of the mind is the body and the subtle form of the body is
the mind. But isn’t it wonderful that modern science is catching
up with yoga philosophy (Yoga Sutras chapter 1 verse 3 ring a
bell?). It reminds me of the story about the group of scientists
toiling up a high mountain who, on reaching the summit, were
confronted by a Yogi asking smilingly ‘what took you so long?’
But let us not mock, even gently – for the scientific acceptance
of yoga and meditation skills is enabling it to penetrate parts,
such as the NHS, it did not reach easily when it was seen as
‘New Age’.
My journey as Chair of Yoga Scotland is drawing towards its
end. May I wish you all peace and love on all your yoga
pathways.
Bijam
Yoga Scotland Executive Committee
Chairman: Bijam (Jenni Connaughton)
Tel: 0131 441 2631
Email: chairperson@yogascotland.org.uk
Secretary: Kath McDonald
Tel: 01896 820034
Email: secretary@yogascotland.org.uk
Treasurer: Leah Lyon
Tel: 07886 181335
Email: treasurer@yogascotland.org.uk
Magazine Editor: Joy Charnley
Email: editor@yogascotland.org.uk
Training Co-ordinator: Gill Gibbens
Tel: 01890 840347
Email: training@yogascotland.org.uk
Minutes Secretary : Kate Reilly
Tel: 01899 220624
Email: kate@yogascotland.org.uk
Communication Co-ordinator: Joy Charnley
Email: joy@yogascotland.org.uk
Strategic Development Co-ordinator: Karen Nimmo
Email: karen@yogascotland.org.uk
Events Co-ordinator: Claire Thom
Tel: 01337 842228 Email: claire@yogascotland.org.uk
Yoga SCOTLAND
News and Views
Ongoing training weekend with Peter
Angelucci and Melanie Cook: Yoga and
Disability, Yoga and MS
The training events I most value do two things: they reassure me
as a yoga teacher, but they also wake up my ‘beginner’s mind’:
however experienced we are in our own practice and teaching,
there is so much to learn. Reassurance came through informal
chats with other teachers and the event facilitators, Peter and
Melanie, as well as the more formal discussions and
experimental sessions. The two days provided just the right mix
of these elements — talk, ponder, activity.
There was plenty of time and space on Saturday to explore
what ‘disability awareness’ means. How inclusive is my teaching
practice? What can the Yoga Sutras teach us about inclusivity?
How do students with long-term conditions and disabilities ‘do’
yoga? The discussion touched on issues and subjects that I
have some experience of in other areas of my working life, so I
felt encouraged that ‘disability and yoga’ was not a medical,
specialised or ‘experts-only’ topic.
On Sunday, after learning about the particular effects of MS,
we were asked to brainstorm how it might feel to get a diagnosis
of MS. Of all the ideas that came up, ‘grief’ was the one that has
stuck in my mind. So have Peter’s comments about the freedom
and privacy that yoga offers a student with MS. Depending on
others for personal care, and in many other ways, is a crowded
way to live. The true value of breath awareness, meditation and
relaxation – the open spaces that yoga invites us to inhabit –
suddenly seemed brand new to me, even though these are
elements of every class I teach.
The experimental sessions were inspiring. On Saturday we
worked in small groups, each assigned a challenging yoga
posture to discuss (in my group, sarvangasana). How would we
deliver the posture’s benefits to a student in a wheelchair? Or to
a student who can stand but needs plenty of support? On
Sunday, Melanie guided us through a class that would help
students with MS ‘unlearn’ the common habit of knee
hyperextension, explaining why we were doing various
movements and adapted postures. Beginner’s mind wide
awake!
The spaciousness that marked both days was in part due to
learning from Peter and Melanie. They know how to organise
and run a training event, and their expertise comes from years of
practice and experimentation. But spaciousness came about for
another reason too. Both days included mindfulness work —
guided meditations reflecting Melanie and Peter’s long
commitment to the Forest Sangha tradition of Theravada
Buddhism, the cornerstone of their teaching. This felt reassuring
– like common ground – an approach to meditation, as it
happens, that’s increasingly important to my personal practice
and teaching.
Remedial Yoga Training Course
I so valued these two training days that I am planning to enrol on
the ‘Remedial Yoga Training Course’ (further information from
angelink@blueyonder.co.uk). The course, comprising six days of
study, is organised over a number of months, and is based in
Edinburgh. It includes a variety of teaching practice elements,
study of long-term conditions, one-to-one case-study work and
written assignments. I want to build on the common ground I
discovered at these training days… and keep my beginner’s
mind awake.
Polly Rewt
Yoga on Holy Island
I shall always be grateful to Glynis Rose for organising a most
rejuvenating and inspiring September weekend on Holy Island off
the coast of Northumberland. Everyone shared their practice and
their thoughts in a most open way.
After a very wet and miserable summer, we were blessed with
two gloriously sunny days. We did yoga with Elaine, meditated
and chanted with Jackie, painted with Glynis and with Brigitte we
experienced some delightful practices imported from a native
people of South America. My offering was Qigong – Eight Pieces
of Brocade. There was a very warm welcome from our hosts and
Margaret House in the village was a lovely place to stay.
There is a special feeling about the island - very busy with
visitors during the day, but in the evening when the tide has
turned it is very peaceful. I was surprised by the long, beautiful,
sandy beach and even managed a paddle in the freezing cold
North Sea. It was delightful walking the labyrinth and doing sand
sculptures.
I shall remember the island, but most of all I shall remember
the things we all shared and the company of like-minded women
who are all searching for peace and tranquillity in their own ways.
Glynis is an unassuming but inspiring leader and you can find
out more about the workshops she runs, including Vedic Art on
facebook (http://www.facebook.com/www.vedicarthere) and
www.glynisrose.com.
Susan Neal
5
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Paths: Outer Travels, Inner Discovery
by Elaine Ormiston
The author at the Tiger's Nest Monastery, Bhutan.
It’s now more than three years since I left my post as Hatha tutor
on the Glasgow-based YS teacher training course and
prepared to move to Singapore. I lived in Singapore for just over
two years before recently moving to South Korea. This move to
Asia coincided with a decision to strengthen my commitment to
my own Yoga practice and to train more intensively with my
teachers Zhander Remete, the founder of the Shadow Yoga
School, and his wife, Emma Balnaves. After fourteen years of
teaching Yoga, almost nine years of tutoring on the YS teacher
training course and eighteen years of caring for my lovely
daughter, it felt right to be shifting the focus from teaching to
personal practice and devoting myself to the challenge of
working more deeply on myself.
Traditional Hatha Yoga is a method of self-cultivation. This
self-cultivation necessarily involves the whole of our being, from
the gross physical level, through the subtle to the layer of the
soul. The ancients tell us that practice bears fruit if performed
regularly and continuously over a period of time and with the
correct mental attitude. Zhander frequently observes that we
need a different kind of mind to practise Yoga, a mind that is
different from the one we use to deal with the everyday world.
What is more, whilst certain tools are suited to some stages of
6
Yoga practice, they no longer serve us at other stages. So to
use his analogy, whilst the shovel and pick are useful for
removing gross physical blockages through practices such as
chalanas (sukshma vyayama) and asana, we need more refined
tools for our connection with the subtle body to be strong
enough for us to benefit from the more internal practices of
pranayama, mudra etc. In the past few years I have experienced
a shift from conceptual understanding of these words to living
embodiment of the truths which they express. This process has
been facilitated by continuing to study twice a year under the
guidance of a living Yoga Master and personal commitment to
regular and sustained practice of a method which remains true
to the purpose and principles of traditional Hatha Yoga.
For this shift to occur, I have found it helpful to gradually let
go of Yoga teaching. Earlier this year, under the wise and
compassionate guidance of my teacher, I made a decision to let
go of the scant teaching I was still doing in Singapore. Initially
resistant to the advice to ‘leave the teaching for a while’, I
subsequently experienced a sense of liberation and discovered
that by letting go of something I loved, space was created for
new learning and growth. Teaching, whilst rewarding, naturally
involves directing the focus of the mind outwards. As we often
Yoga SCOTLAND
discussed on training weekends, as Yoga teachers we need to
develop our observational skills. In personal practice, in
contrast, the challenge is to turn the spotlight of the mind
inwards, developing our capacity to sense the movement of the
inner winds (vayu) and establishing a connection between the
external, physical body and the internal, energetic, intuitive side.
This is not an easy path and the unruly mind will find many
distractions to resist the inward focus. For example, when
teaching, I often noticed that the discovery of something in my
practice would be interrupted by a small but persistent voice
asking ‘now, how can I teach this?’ The impulse to find words
and other methods to instruct would pull the mind outwards,
away from feeling. Moreover, there was a tendency to remain
focused at the level of work designed to remove gross physical
blockages, as this is the stage where the vast majority of Yoga
students operate. Looking back, I can see that the effect on
personal practice was to keep me in surface shallow waters,
where it was only possible to catch occasional glimpses of the
depths below.
On the other hand, I have to admit that teaching can
complement personal practice. When I finally stopped teaching
altogether last year, I was to become acutely aware of this.
When teaching regular classes, our practice can and should
feed into the teaching. This is quite straightforward – ‘I am
teaching today and so my choice of what to practise is to some
extent shaped by the needs of the students’. In fact, the
imperative to teach can reinforce our motivation to practise at
all, especially on our more tamasic days! We also find that by
watching students in class, we get useful feedback on our own
patterns, strengths and limitations. Since giving up teaching, I
have been forced to face questions about my purpose in doing
Yoga and the strength of my commitment to persevere with a
regular, dedicated practice. Doubts have also arisen concerning
choices for a practice that is exclusively for me, tailored to suit
my personal needs on any given day. Without the opportunity to
instruct and get external feedback through observing students,
I find that I also have to develop greater sensitivity through
feeling, in order to recognise what is and is not working for me.
Those familiar with Shadow Yoga will know that little
technical instruction is given and that there is no instruction
manual for much of the material that is taught. Instead, through
repetition and subtle clues from the teacher, one comes to
discover the obstructions in the body and their corresponding
mental blockages. In no longer teaching or attending any
regular classes, I have necessarily been thrown back on my
own resources. Whilst this has frequently been difficult and
sometimes even painful, the insights gained go deeper, since
inner experience is after all the essence of Yoga. I have found
that the impetus to focus more internally has facilitated the
development of intuition (buddhi). Learning to trust and be
guided by that intuition has been (and continues to be) one of
my greatest challenges and lessons. This has involved letting go
of many old concepts of how to ‘do’ Yoga and opening up to
the joy and freshness of beginner’s mind.
Today I endeavour to stay firm and steady in my commitment
to the Hatha Yoga path and to be honest and responsive to
what best serves my needs on a daily basis. And through the
process of taking up the mat each day with the clear intention
to come to centre, I find that I am slowly becoming a more skilful
Yoga practitioner. I am grateful for each step of this Yoga
journey. One day I may return to teaching others, but for now I
am content to enjoy the freedom and challenge of self-discovery
on the mat and the inner changes that are unfolding.
Remedial Yoga Training
Course – October 2013
“Making yoga accessible for all”
with Melanie Cook and Peter Angelucci
Now being offered for the third consecutive year, a Training Course for qualified yoga teachers from any
yoga tradition. The course will provide teachers with the knowledge, skills, ability and confidence to set-up
classes for, and offer one-to-one tuition to those living with long-term conditions and disabilities.
The course will be seven days spread over approximately eleven months. The content will include medical
and social models of disability. The aetiology and symptomatology of a range of long-term conditions, and
side effects of their treatment. Adapting asana for chair and wheelchair use. Pain and energy management
techniques. Psychological and emotional effects of long-term conditions. The specific relevance of the
Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Patanjali’s Sutras to teaching students with long-term conditions and
disabilities.
(Bursaries may be available for some or all of course the fees for teachers in the Lothian area)
For further details and application:
24 Southhouse Avenue, Edinburgh. EH17 8ED. Tel: 0131 664 0756
info@satiyoga.co.uk www.satiyoga.co.uk
7
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Paths: The Lightness of Being
by Veronica Muir
Perhaps I should explain that when I was born I had a
condition which meant having surgery immediately and this
resulted in being unable to move as a baby would at the early
stages of life. I was an awkward and clumsy child, holding a
great deal of tension and unable to let go.
It was in my late twenties that I realised how unfit and
inflexible I had become but I did nothing about this until a
‘hatha’ yoga class started up locally in 1981 and I joined up.
Everything I tried to do was demanding and challenging and
downright painful and most of all my ego got in the way, that
is to say I was pretty unhappy at being the only person in the
room who could not sit without four or five yoga blocks
underneath my bottom. Being unable to breathe correctly was
a drawback and it took me a very long time to eventually find
it.
Serendipity played a part when I participated in a few
weekend workshops with Chrissie Tucker. I loved the way she
moved so freely and was almost dance-like. I discovered she
had completed a second teacher training course with The
Inner Yoga Trust which had changed her thinking and way of
moving. I confided in Chrissie my ambition to teach and she
gave me encouragement without which I would not have
begun my own yoga practice. Over the years I began to evolve
along the lines of Vanda Scaravelli's teaching, although I was
unaware of her teachings at the time. I suppose this had to do
with me beginning to allow my body to unfold naturally and
freely, an instinct which is echoed in all the teachers from
whom I love learning.
I worked tirelessly on my damaged feet and very gradually
began to unwind in very small increments; however the
immense tension in my hips and shoulders was ever-present.
With the help of Yoga Thai Massage Master Iain Davison, I
gradually began to understand how to make myself lighter,
thus enabling him to assist me in untangling the tension.
I continue to work on my feet, keeping everything small,
waiting and listening to my body; when I pay enough attention
something is given to me and I gradually unfold. For some this
may take a very short time; for me this has been a lifetime of
pleasure as well as frustration; learning to leave my ego behind
and enjoy being where I am, without any expectations. I have
been extremely lucky to meet and work with Pauline Sawyer
who presided over my teacher training and who continues to
be an inspiration, along with Sophy Hoare, Gary Carter, Pete
Blackaby and Diane Long.
I currently teach small classes and workshops in my studio
in Glasgow. My yoga path is to continue to unwind and try to
be lighter and move effortlessly; be more aware of my feet and
enjoy this meditation. I always remember reading in one of
Donna Farhi’s books that we want to move as elegantly as
possible and I guess this stays with me throughout.
http://www.outeredgebigtoeyoga.com
Yoga Relaxations
CD
Preliminary meeting to assess interest in
Yoga Journey
Jackie Le Brocq
An advanced teacher training course
to be held in Scotland
A diploma course for qualified yoga teachers who
wish to study, practice and teach in the tradition of
the great yogi, Professor Krishnamacharya and his
son, TKV Desikachar. This unique approach
integrates practical teachings about asana,
pranayama, use of sound and meditative techniques,
with the teachings of the Yoga Sutra and other
texts. Above all, it emphasises the importance of
adapting yoga to the individual. A large part of the
course will be about the art of teaching individuals,
and the yoga of healing.
Saturday 22 June 2013
10.00 – 16.00
Synergy Yoga & Therapy Centre, Glenrothes
More information
Karen Adamson 01383 823040
karenadamson2@aol.com
8
4 x 15 min relaxations
1 Basic systematic relaxation
2 Shavayatra – 61 point relaxation
3 Systematic relaxation using chakras
4 Point to point (Deep state relaxation)
Also
Mantra CD
Designed initially for students on
YS TT course but useful for
anyone interested in learning
some of yoga’s most important
mantra - Includes the Sanskrit alphabet and
universal mantras: Maha Mrityunjaya and
Gayatri
Each CD £10 (P&P free) from:
Jackie.lebrocq1@btinternet.com
(01683 220981)
Gardenholm, Annan Water
Moffat DG10 9LS
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Paths: Living It – My Yoga Story
by Eileen Auld
Routes to yoga can be through attending classes, experiencing
the sub-continent of India’s powerful miasmic history or even
becoming enraptured with the effect that meditation practices
have on one’s life.
Not me… oh no. I had to do it the hard way! One of my friends
says that careering into brick walls is my favourite way to change!
So the brick wall that I careered into when I was fourteen and a
pupil at Oban High School… many, many moons ago…
consisted of concrete steps on the way into school from hockey.
Result was a broken nose and other facial fractures, front teeth
in smithereens and two glorious black eyes. Needless to say I
also felt heart-broken! I was fourteen, vain and on the cusp of
discovering that boys also inhabited the planet! Can you imagine
how I viewed my world and my future?
Recovery from the trauma involved drinking soup through a
straw, as I couldn’t move my face and obviously I had loads of
dental work and various cosmetic interventions. However the
most important aspect of my recovery were two books: one was
on the Himalayas, including the history of Tibet and Nepal and
the other was a hatha book by Richard Hittleman. As an avid
reader, I would escape from my broken world into the world of
books. These two books healed my world. I practised the hatha
postures – the body still worked – meditated – the mind still
worked – studied Patanjali – the student still worked. I became
immersed in an ancient civilisation that focused on the inner
world of being, rather than the outer façade I was more familiar
with.
Six weeks after my ‘accident’ (is there really such a thing?) I
was fully cognisant of the fact that yoga as a way of living was
one that I wished to embrace. Not only as a class to attend once
a week (just as well, as there weren’t any classes in Oban at that
time) but as a format, a formula that would bring out the best in
me.
Now don’t get me wrong, as a yoga tutor I firmly believe in the
importance of yoga classes; however as a student I also know
that nothing compares to the power of personal practice, which
is what I was fortunate to discover nearly fifty years ago. In my
teens I not only worked with my mind and my body, I ‘taught’ my
friends and family the system I was becoming familiar with. I look
back and think, ‘how could you!’ However I was so full of
enthusiasm for yoga that nothing was going to curb me. A
tendency I still have today…
I consider my trauma to have been one of the luckiest days of
my life, as I became aware of the power of the mind to heal and
the power of the physical body to teach. This is still the essence
of my personal and teaching practice today (see
www.livingityoga.com or write to eileen@well-connected.biz) and
I recognise that being spiritual is an everyday occurrence,
careering into brick walls included!
Yoga Sutra Study Group
with Lynne Scott
Saturdays 3.30 – 5:00pm
monthly
We study, discuss and chant the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
We are about to start Chapter 4. We look at how these
teachings are relevant to our lives. The conversation is
good and you are welcome to drop in and see if you enjoy
it too.
Details from Lynne 0131 669 0407
LScott888@hotmail.com
www.yogaforyou-edinburgh.co.uk
9
Yoga Paths: Journey to Satyananda Yoga
by Jignasu Jayanti
Having just received the January 2013 edition of Yoga Scotland
Magazine and having had the opportunity to read it all with tea and
cake, I’m now inspired to complete what I agreed to write about my path in yoga.
My introduction to yoga was in the gym at Craigie College of
Education in 1972. I’ve no idea who the teacher was or why she
was teaching a group of trainee teachers, but I’m grateful because
I discovered in that one class something I could do and I enjoyed.
I made a decision then to join a yoga class wherever I lived.
I was qualified and teaching in Clackmannanshire before I found
a yoga class, a Community Education class taught at a local
college by Sylvia Hollingsworth. What joy, fun and learning. Sylvia
did inspire me to keep learning and exploring the world of yoga.
No disrespect to Dumfries and Galloway, but during two years
working in Newton Stewart there was no local yoga class and I
struggled on my own. But the move to Jedburgh brought an
explosion of opportunities and growth and two significant events
occurred. A colleague and I went to Otterburn Hall in April 1982,
where I was introduced to Satyananda Yoga in the presence of
Swami Satyananda. Who were these people in orange? I know
better now. At the same event, I was introduced to Jane Thomson
who became my yoga teacher.
In the evening and at weekends I attended Jane’s weekly
classes at Hassendeanburn, took part in Borders Yoga Circle
events and travelled to the Satyananda Yoga Centre in Newcastle
for input from Arundhati. I bought yoga books and tapes, read
everything I could get my hands on and practised. I was
encouraged by Jane Thomson at this point to apply for yoga
teacher training with the Scottish Yoga Association. I was accepted
and spent 1984 and 1985 driving to Glenrothes. I think I ate, drank
and lived yoga at this stage. The long-term intention was set then
– I wanted to be a Satyananda Yoga teacher. This was not a rational
decision but a deep desire, even though I had no idea how to fulfil
it or how long it would take me. All I did know and continue to
experience is that every time I practise, study a Bihar publication or
study with one of the Swamis, I am enlivened and inspired and
want to share the knowledge through my own classes. In truth the
Satyananda Tradition suits my nature, widening my experience of
self and life through the different yogas of head, heart and hand.
Arundhati and her husband left Newcastle for North America in
the mid-1980s and I felt adrift until I made a link with the London
Satyananda Centre and Swami Vedantananda Saraswati. I had
attended a couple of Yoga for Children days with Swami
Vedantananda in London so I was on a mailing list, which meant I
received information about a week with Swami Shankardevananda
from Australia. A week of being immersed in asana, pranayama,
yoga nidra, meditation, karma yoga and Ayurveda talks was exactly
what I needed to make good decisions about my health, work and
life.
After years of teaching children during the day and yoga classes
in the evening, I took time off from the evening classes in 2000/1 to
do something for me – the Study and Sadhana course in
Birmingham with Swami Vedantananda, then the Teacher Training
Course in London in 2002/3, again with Swami Vedantananda.
Two years of travelling by British Rail was probably the hardest part
of the entire course. We completed our training in the ashrams at
Munger and Rikhia and I was now a Satyananda Yoga teacher,
about twenty years after my initial training with SYA and I’d sat again
in the presence of Swami Satyananda. What bliss at having finally
achieved the goal set so long ago.
The journey continues, as I received initiation from Swami
Niranjanananda in Majorca in 2004 and am now Jignasu Jayanti.
The future beckons, with the Golden Jubilee World Yoga
Convention being held in Munger in October 2013. I intend being
there.
Yoga and Meditation
Yuva, Turkey
16-23 September 2013
With Jackie Le Brocq
Only 5 places left
Cost: £450
See www.yuvaholidays.com
for more details
Bookings to
jackie.lebrocq1@btinternet.com
01683 220981
£100 deposit
Yoga Workshops
with Ann Hunter
Saturday 10.00 – 13.00
18 May, 15 June, 21 September 2013
United Reformed Church, Rutherglen G73 2QA
An opportunity for teachers and advanced students to deepen
their knowledge and explore aspects of yoga not normally
covered in weekly classes
£10
Small group so booking essential
Email ann@athunter.plus.com
Tel 0141 647 1817
11
Yoga SCOTLAND
EDINBURGH AND LOTHIANS YOGA
ASSOCIATION
THEME FOR 2013 – “CREATING SPACE AND OPENNESS”
One Day Seminar Events
SATURDAY 1st JUNE AYURVEDA with ELIZABETH ROBERTS
TIME: 10.00am to 4.00pm
VENUE: Wester Hailes Education Centre, 5 Murrayburn Drive, Edinburgh, EH14 2SU
COST: £33 (ELYA members) £36 (all others) Delicious vegetarian lunch included
SUNDAY 1st SEPTEMBER with WENDY TEASDILL
TIME: 10.00am to 4.00pm
VENUE: Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh EH9 1BB
COST: £25 (ELYA members) £28 (all others) Lunch: BYO and a mug
SATURDAY 2nd NOVEMBER with SCOTT RENNIE
TIME: 10.00am to 4.00pm
VENUE: Wester Hailes Education Centre, 5 Murrayburn Drive, Edinburgh, EH14 2SU
COST: £32 (ELYA members) £35 (all others) Delicious vegetarian lunch included
Our seminars are suitable for ALL levels of experience.
Enjoy a day of yoga with like minded people; laughter, fun and enjoyment guaranteed!
FOR ENQUIRIES, OR TO RESERVE A PLACE: Dedicated ELYA mobile phone/text 07852 576433, or
e-mail alisonfhirst@gmail.com
For further information visit our website www.elya.org.uk
From Toronto, Monica Voss teaches in
Edinburgh, June 2013
Wednesday 26th & Thursday 27th June
From 6:30 to 9:30pm
Portobello, Edinburgh
Contact : Nicola MacKenzie at nikmac@care4free.net
Workshop will be limited to 10 participants
Cost for each evening is £40
Monica is also available for 1-2-1’s during the daytime
Monica Voss began her yoga studies in 1978 with Esther Myers, trained to teach
with Esther, and has been teaching at the Studio in Toronto since 1981.
Monica studied with Vanda Scaravelli from 1986-1998. Moving into the poses
using the rhythm of the breath and the support of the ground resonates deeply
for her and she continues to draw inspiration from Vanda’s and Esther’s teaching,
from the natural world, from complementary modalities, from study, and from
interaction and dialogue with students and colleagues.
12
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Paths: My Yoga Journey
by Ann T. Hunter
My yoga path started in 1979. I went along to a yoga class with
a neighbour and I was hooked. I enjoyed the classes but found it
difficult to let go during relaxation and was surprised to find that
the asanas exercised muscles as well as improving suppleness
and aiding relaxation. Fewer aches and pains demonstrated this
after an occasional game of badminton and I also noticed that I
coped better with the ups and downs of daily life. I moved house
a short time later and one of my new neighbours told me about a
class she attended run by Sarah Mulvanny. I continued to attend
weekly classes for many years with no interest in yoga philosophy
and other than doing a few sun salutations first thing in the
morning, I only practised asanas at my weekly class.
In 1987, Sarah became involved with setting up Lendrick
Lodge and this gave me the opportunity to attend more day
seminars. In July 1992 I attended my first yoga week there. The
week was wonderful. The day started with meditation at 7.00 in
the morning and finished with satsang after dinner in the evening.
There was a combination of asana classes, lectures on
philosophy, pranayama and general discussions. I am not sure
whether it was the twice-daily meditation sessions, the intensive
asana classes or the combination, which kindled a small flame of
spirituality. The week was a tonic and I returned home renewed
and refreshed. My visit to Lendrick had set me up for the year
ahead. The following summer I attended Lendrick for another
yoga week. The flame grew stronger. I resolved to start each day
trying to meditate. I continued to attend Lendrick for a variety of
day, weekend and weekly courses. I was happy to experience
teachings from different schools and styles, but had a leaning
towards Scaravelli-inspired teachers. I also started to have a short
daily asana practice in addition to my meditation practice.
Around 1997 I decide to train to teach yoga as I wanted to
pass on the knowledge and help others experience the benefits
of yoga. At that time, SYTA ran a course every two years and I
didn’t want to wait until the next course started so I elected to
take BWY’s Distance Learning course. Training in this way
allowed me to fit my study around my demanding job and family
commitments. I then appreciated how much information I had
absorbed from all the seminars I had attended at Lendrick. As
part of the training, I had to attend the BWY summer school, and
this is where I first experienced teachings from Desikachar. It was
called Viniyoga in those days. One year Sarah Ryan was one of
the tutors and another year it was Gill Lloyd. I loved the way they
taught asana, the combination of dynamic movement and
working with directional breathing kept my mind more focused. I
also liked the way they brought philosophy alive and made it
relevant to us today.
Sarah ran a Viniyoga Stage I course in Ayr in 2002. I attended
this whilst finishing off my Diploma Training with BWY and
received my teaching Diploma in June 2002. I then undertook a
Stage II course in Edinburgh with Gill. I studied with Viniyoga
teachers whenever they came to Scotland and was drawn to
study more in this tradition. I started individual lessons with Lynne
Scott, the only Viniyoga teacher in Scotland at that time and also
heard that Sarah and Gill were setting up ‘Yoga Journey’ - a 2year conversion course for existing teachers to teach in the
tradition of Krishnamacharya. I was accepted on the course and
received my KHYF Teaching Diploma in June 2008. This has
transformed the way I practise and teach. The training was firstclass and included two weeks of study at the Krishnamacharya
Yoga Mandiram in India, where we had sessions with TKV
Desikachar and other senior teachers. The wealth of knowledge
on all aspects of yoga and its therapeutic application to individual
students was mind-blowing. I continue to study with senior
teachers from the tradition in the UK and abroad.
An important part of the tradition is the relationship and
continued support from a mentor. My mentor guides my personal
practice and supports me with my teaching of group classes,
workshops or with one-to-one students. The backbone of the
tradition is the development of a personal practice tailored to the
individual’s needs. This guidance and support has helped me to
cope with major life changes and has transformed my life. I am
fitter and healthier than I was ten years ago.
I now enjoy sharing my knowledge of all aspects of yoga
through my monthly workshops. Preparing for these helps me to
analyse and understand the teachings more deeply and I am
looking forward to supporting Karen Adamson in running a ‘Yoga
Journey’ course in Scotland.
Yin/Hatha Yoga Retreats 2014
with Jill Paget & Gill Cawte
(both trained by Paul Grilley)
Aquitaine, France 28 June - 5 July 2014
Lesvos, Greece 20 - 27 September 2014
For further details contact:
gilliancawte@hotmail.com or
jillymp@yahoo.co.uk
Aerial Yoga Edinburgh
Still to try yoga in a hammock? Then join one
of these Workshops in May.
Cost per workshop £25/20 YS members
11th May 10.15-12.15pm
Introduction to Aerial Yoga
18th May 1.30-3.30pm All about the spine
25th May 1.30-3.30pm All about the hips
To book a place contact Gillian Watt
07971605433
Email gillian@newday.sol.co.uk
Website www.aerialyogaedinburgh.co.uk
13
Yoga SCOTLAND
Alternative Therapies at St Andrews
This year we’re delighted to
welcome Gordon Edward to
our seminar for the first time
offering reflexology. Gordon is
a qualified reflexologist (a
member of the Association of
Reflexologists),
a
Yoga
Scotland registered teacher
and a Lay Buddhist Member
of The Order of Buddhist
Contemplatives, a Soto Zen
tradition. Married with three children, six grandchildren and three
dogs, he is a retired Chartered Accountant and lives in
Aberdeenshire.
Gordon describes reflexology as a non-intrusive
complementary health therapy, based on the theory that different
points on the feet, lower leg, hands, face or ears correspond with
different areas of the body. As a reflexologist, Gordon works
holistically with his clients to promote better health, helping the
body to restore its balance naturally. Usually, after a treatment,
tension may be reduced and the feeling of relaxation increased.
Sleep may improve as well as mood and wellbeing. There may be
improvement in other areas also.
Gordon is looking forward to meeting new people and working
on as many feet as possible! He will be offering reflexology
sessions on both Saturday and Sunday from lunchtime onwards
- both taster sessions and partial or full treatments.
Shopping at St Andrews
This year we have had a wee think about our in-house shop and
have decided to include a range of smaller retailers.
We are really happy to be collaborating with Yoga Mad this
year to offer a mail order service.
Yoga-Mad offer high-quality yoga equipment used by leading
studios, clubs and teachers across Europe. So, whether you’re
looking for yoga equipment for home or your classes Yoga Mad
can accommodate your needs. You can find a comprehensive
selection of yoga mats, Iyengar yoga props, yoga equipment,
yoga blocks, yoga clothing and more. www.yogamad.com
At St Andrews, Yoga Mad will be offering 10% off normal
teacher prices online with free delivery.
We also have Susan Neal coming along to sell the lovely
Asquith range of organic cotton and bamboo clothing.
We have another few surprises in store but are keeping them
under our hat until June!
Scottish Satyananda Yoga Network
weekend residential retreat with
Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati
Friday 28th – Sunday 30th June 2013
Trossachs Tryst Hostel near Callendar
“Tattwa Shuddhi”
(The Tantric Practice of Inner Purification)
The retreat will comprise asana, pranayama,
yoga nidra, meditation, shatkarmas and karma yoga, with periods
of mouna (silence).
Limited to 20 places for practitioners with a minimum of two
years experience. A few places left.
Cost: £160 (£60 deposit and two instalments of £50)
Application forms from: Carol Godridge
yoga@cgodridge.plus.com or Tel. 01848 200681.
14
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Scotland
Annual Seminar 2013
University Hall, St. Andrews University, Kennedy Gardens, St Andrews, KY16 9DL, Fife
From dinner at 7pm on Friday 14th June to afternoon tea at 4.15pm on Sunday 16th June 2013
Name .…………........................……………………………………………………………………………..
Address .……………………………………………………………………………………..........................
…………………………………………..........................…………………………………………………….
Postcode .……………………………………. Tel. No .………....................………………………………
Membership number .……………….……… Email ……....................……………………………………
Weekend Residential
! Members
! Non-Members
£210
£225
Full payment is required at the time of booking. Accommodation is a single room with shared bathroom
facilities. All linens and towels are provided
A small number of twin and single rooms with en-suite facilities are available on a first come first served basis
at an additional cost of £45 per person. Please send a second cheque for £45 if you require this option.
Please tick your choice !
Day Delegate Cost
!
!
Saturday
Sunday
Single room with en-suite !
Twin Room en-suite
£65
£65
Please make cheques payable to ‘Yoga Scotland’
Confirmation of booking will be issued only if you enclose a SAE or provide an email address.
If you have dietary needs (other than vegetarian), please give details here .………………................……………
..........................................................................................................................................................................
If you need any mobility, visual or hearing adjustments, please give details here and we will try to meet your
needs: ……………………………………………………………...............................………………………………..
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Please complete and return with your cheque to:
Kirsty Davidson,
52 Edderston Road, Peebles, EH45 9DT.
Email yogascotland@yahoo.co.uk
15
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga Paths: The Fifth Path
by Jim Fraser
There are four paths in yoga: Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti
Yoga and Raja Yoga. Sometimes Raja Yoga is said to comprise
the teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and at other times it is
described as the total expression of yoga. In this second sense
Raja Yoga includes Vedanta, as the acme of understanding, the
Yoga Sutras and Sankhya, Tantra and the other paths mentioned
above (Jnana Yoga being the same as Vedanta). In other words
it is a synthesis of various yogas which are helpful in the
accomplishment of samadhi.
A synthesis or blending of the paths is indeed how the paths
are commonly understood and practised. Though there may be
categorical differences, the actual awareness created by the
practices is not dissimilar. It is said that there are many paths but
only one mountain, which suggests that the paths are ultimately
comparable. Hatha Yoga, despite its popularity, does not
constitute a path.
How the paths are effectively synthesised and how they are
taught depends on the strength and authenticity of the yoga
tradition expressing a specific understanding and teaching. The
tradition’s authority depends on the recognition that it extends on
one side genealogically to the tradition’s continuation from the
original rishis and on the other side to the competence of the
self-realised masters who maintain the actuality of the tradition.
It is said as well that there is a disposition of the student for
one path over another or at one time one path can mean more
to the student than at another time, but without guidance it is not
possible to get far on any path. The importance of a competent
teacher cannot be over-emphasised. In respect of this article the
disposition of the writer is within Raja Yoga.
It is worth being aware that how one is taught will colour how
the paths are regarded and not all paths will share so easily with
others. In Advaita Vedanta the end is union with Brahman, as
taught in Jnana Yoga, the yoga of the ultimate knowledge. Some
say in Advaita Vedanta there is no God, which makes devotion
in Bhakti difficult. But in Visistadvaita Vedanta there is a God and
Bhakti is regarded as higher than Jnana. Who is right? Shankara,
some of his commentators or Ramanuja? Coming up against
what seem like contradictions, there is confusion which can only
be diminished by the fullness of understanding provided by a
yoga tradition. The standard Western method is to try and
conceptualise the problem but conceptual thinking, as we see
below, can’t reach to the depth of yogic understanding.
So what starts as a simple categorical statement, ‘there are
four paths in yoga’, becomes less simple. The Ramakrishna
Vedanta Society maintains that Swami Vivekananda was the first
to classify the four principal paths. If that is the case then the
teaching of the Four Paths is quite recent, about a hundred years
old. Vivekananda was a great populariser of yoga in the West
and he described yoga in a way which made it simpler for
Westerners to assimilate. Yoga changed in the course of the
20th century as it came to the West, so new categories could
well have come into play. Once something gets written in a few
books it is taken for gospel. So it is important to be sceptical,
especially since yoga teaching can be very dogmatic at times.
This is because its doctrines are merely the statements of
realised ones’ personal experiences. In yoga there is one state of
mind which knows the truth and for that you need to have
16
experienced samadhi. So with that in mind let’s look at the idea
of the paths.
Is the notion of the path in itself reliable? There is a tendency
to be Encyclopaedist about yoga as we are about other
subjects. It is the way we are taught in school and university: if
we know the definition then we know the subject. So we know
the names of the path and what they mean. Are we any wiser
for that? Not really.
The idea of path itself is problematic. It is a topographical term
used metaphorically. Topographically the term indicates a
sequence of points in time and space. Time and space are
measured through the senses but yoga transcends such
knowledge and evidence of the senses. The idea of the ‘path’
crumbles halfway up the mountain. It is a metaphor you are
trying to walk up.
The common sense notion of time and space which is
assumed by the topographical metaphor quietly extends its
metaphorical assumption to the metaphorical individual walking
the path. One includes the other implicitly. We have a deep sense
of individuality but yoga tells us that that is a false sense. Yoga
asks us to transcend identification with our sense of individuality
in time and space. Really the path doesn’t exist nor the individual
walking the path. Now if we can just continue thinking in this way
then we can get beyond concepts and begin to approach yogic
thinking which goes beyond concepts, metaphors and
language. ‘Paths’ is a metaphor, a tool of language coming to
the aid of our conceptual thinking.
What yoga asks us to do is reach to the greater self which is
hidden in the lesser self. It is an approach to the interior: the mind
quietens and learns not to attach through habit or intention to the
world of the senses, thus achieving an awareness of the nature
of consciousness in itself. This requires a willingness to change
habits and attitudes, which isn’t easy. The groove you are in suits
you just fine. It’s so difficult to change grooves. Each time you
want to change yourself there is conflict between how you are,
your personal criticism and the improved state you would prefer
if your will were strong enough. The grand vista of the four paths
is not so clear when you are up against yourself.
Recently I was in touch with a teacher regarding a problem I
was having with the seated posture. He replied thus: ‘The most
valuable information is dynamic. To me that means taking in
information and then practising with it. It is not the cues or
opinions or strategies that we use – it is our response to them
and the never-ending listening and re-evaluating and revising
those that seems to have the greatest learning.’ In other words
you meet a difficulty and you have to find a way to get over it.
You can’t be sure of the result until you do and it is only to meet
with further difficulties. The difficulties are personal, the ones you
carry about not just with yourself but as yourself.
Another teacher from the same tradition, Swami Veda Bharati,
talking about enlightenment, describes a similar approach: ‘Each
time you have come to a conflict, if you draw back, you have
drawn back from enlightenment. You have turned away from a
situation of conflict; you have drawn away from enlightenment.
You go into that conflict and when you have come out of it
triumphant you have attained a small degree of enlightenment, a
tiny burst, a little spark of enlightenment.’ The same teacher
Yoga SCOTLAND
continues: ‘Enlightenment is not a great big huge torch
somebody will hand to you – here ENLIGHTENMENT. It is a
process of seeing the conflict between your sattvic, rajasic and
tamasic nature. Knowing the difference between harmony and
stagnation, restlessness and energy, stability and stagnation …’
The idea or metaphor of a path is a useful way of describing
the different teachings in yoga but the actual process of learning
is not so simple. It is more like going on one path and then finding
it peters out and another has to be found. In his later years the
German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) retired to a
hut in the Black Forest and took inspiration from the paths he
found there. A collection of his essays is entitled Holzwege,
which means ‘paths in the forest’. These paths, Heidegger tells
us, do not go from A to B but meander amongst the trees and
peter out, a bit like the sheep paths on the Scottish hills. He
thought of Holzwege as a metaphor which he used to criticise
the limitations of Western thinking, which arranges thought and
the world together to serve particular ends, as if going from A to
B is the only possibility. The dominance of such A to B thinking
is so prevalent that it is difficult to consider other ways of thinking.
Heidegger criticised Western philosophy for coming to rely on
conceptual thinking as the means and end of thinking. Thus,
according to Heidegger, the West has lost the sense of authentic
Being, which was the thinking at the origins of philosophy.
Philosophy today, Heidegger maintains, is expressed by
technology and the sense of Being eludes our thinking. By
‘Being’ he means that which lightens the mind and illuminates
the origin of all things. This approach to the depths of awareness
deserves to be compared with what is found in Indian thought as
Satchitananda – Being, Consciousness, Bliss. Satchitananda
suggests a sense of the whole which includes consciousness of
what allows consciousness to be. Such a state of
consciousness or awareness is not available in current Western
thought according to Heidegger. It was recognised by the
ancient Greeks and then got lost in the development of Western
civilisation. This development, according to Heidegger,
denatured the way of thinking the Greeks were aware of, into the
identification of thought with the manufacture and use of
equipment, tools and machines and we in our lives have become
an interface with machines. Thought in the West has become a
tool fastened to the external. Many people experience a deep
sense of meaninglessness gazing out at our dependence on
technology and its dubious fruits of armaments, pollution and the
magnification of greed. As usefulness technology can’t be
criticised, but the criticism goes deeper than the issue of
convenience, for the ultimate nature of technology as a way of
thinking is not taken into account by technological thinking.
Heidegger says that we have to learn to lay aside thought as a
tool and learn to be unbound by reference to the material world.
This accords with yogic teaching.
When we Europeans go to yoga we carry this baggage of
conceptual thinking: the contemporary white man’s burden.
Yoga is another way of thinking which cannot be identified by the
way we think normally. So in going to yoga it is necessary to
recognise that we do carry this burden of assuming that all
thought is conceptual and it is our task, not that of the Indians,
to relieve ourselves of this burden.
Language and concepts require metaphors to make
communication possible. The alternative is that we speak in
mathematics if indeed mathematics is really a pure language of
concepts. When we talk we use metaphors such as the ‘Four
paths’ but ignore both the fact they are metaphors and that
these metaphors mask our habitual conceptual thinking which
assumes we can get from A to B along one of these paths. Yoga
isn’t like that. It is one wee path after another as we face and
conquer our conflicts, as in Heidegger’s Holzwege. So if we must
have a metaphor and I don’t think we can do without one, then
I suggest the Fifth path which is both a path and not a path and
it is one on which we can recognise the shortcomings of our
habitual way of thinking, put that aside and set out humbly into
the unknown with the wisdom of another culture to teach us. In
that way perhaps, in due course, the modern human of East and
West will learn to think otherwise, more broadly, more deeply and
more compassionately.
Five Satyananda Yoga CDs for home practice
• Yoga Nidra: 3 practices for first and second year students
• Yoga Nidra: 2 practices for more experienced students, with chakra
awareness visualisations
• Meditation: 3 different practices: Kaya Stairyam (body stillness), Ajapa Japa
(mantra) and Antar Mouna (inner stillness)
These are £7 + £1 p&p each.
• Asana and Pranayama 1: pawanmuktasana and asana sequence for
beginners
• Asana and Pranayama 2: surya namaskar (sun salute) with chants and
asana sequence for first year students (later first year students)
These are £3 + £1 p&p each
From: Carol Godridge, Ben Doran, Ayr Street, Moniaive,
Dumfriesshire DG3 4HW.
Tel. 01848 200681 yoga@cgodridge.plus.com
BWY$In'Service$Training
Open%to%teachers%and%student%teachers%of%all
traditions.7.5%CPD%points%for%BWY%and%Yoga
Scotland%teachers.
Paul$Fox$•$Creative$Teaching$–$Working$with$Themes$and
Intentions
Saturday%18th%May%2013,%10%am%–%4%pm
Greenpark%Community%Centre,%Polmont%FK2%0PZ
Contact:%Nicola%Bourke,%nicola_bourke@hotmail.com%%%%
Tel:%07766%174462
Paul$Fox$•$Teaching$Yoga$for$Athletes$and$Sportspeople
Sunday%19th%May%2013,%10%am%–%4%pm
Moment%Studio,%72%Berkely%Street,%Glasgow%G3%7DS
Contact:%Nicola%Bourke,%nicola_bourke@hotmail.com%%%%
Tel:%07766%174462
Wendy$Teasdill$•$The$Eagle$and$the$Serpent
Saturday%31st%August%2013,%10%am%–%4%pm
The%Gillis%Centre,%Edinburgh%EH9%1BB
Contact:%Fiona%Britee,%fionabritee@hotmail.com
Tel:%01224%487712
Zoë$Knott$•$Exploring$Forward$Bends
Saturday%26th%October%2013,%10%am%–%4%pm
Murtle%Hall,%Bieldside,%Aberdeen%AB15%9EP
Contact:%Fiona%Britee,%fionabritee@hotmail.com
Tel:%01224%487712
Cost:$£25$(BWY$members)$or$£30$(non'members)$per$day.
Cheques$should$be$made$payable$to$“BWY$Scotland”.
Further$information$and$a$booking$form$may$be$found
on$the$website,$www.bwyscotland.co.uk,$under$IST.
17
Yoga SCOTLAND
Peace Pilgrimage 2013
By Kath McDonald
A magazine article in 2007 inspired me to join my first longdistance walk for peace. I had been on demos and protests,
camped at Torness and visited Greenham Common but the
idea of a 90-day walk from Dublin to London to draw attention
to the link between uranium mining, nuclear power, nuclear
weapons and nuclear waste was much more of a challenge.
Could I walk 16 miles a day, day after day? Could I sleep on the
floor of a cold hall with 20 other assorted bodies? How would
I get on with a bunch of fanatics?
The walk was organised by Footprints for Peace; I joined
them for four days and fell in love with long-distance walking.
Unable to commit to longer, I caught up with the walkers in
Yorkshire and we walked through rain and shine, over hills and
dales, on roads and muddy tracks, by canals and across ankledeep marshland. The walking was fine. The sleeping, on a floor,
after a hearty meal supplied by local friends was fine. The
fanatics were lovely people and no more fanatic than me (Less
so?)
In the following years I have joined parts of Footprints for
Peace Walks as they continued from London to Geneva in 2008
and from Geneva to Brussels in 2009. Footprints planned to
walk in the USA in 2010, so a group of Scottish walkers decided
to walk in solidarity, at home here in Scotland. Scotland’s Peace
Walk took place in August 2010. We walked the routes of the
convoys which carry nuclear warheads on the public roads to
and from Faslane, drawing the attention of local people to the
dangerous cargoes which are being carried near to their homes.
through Scotland via Faslane, Glasgow, Edinburgh and the
Borders, continuing on to Holy Island and then through England
to London, arriving 19 July. Keen to become involved and join
the Pilgrims for as much of the walk as possible, I offered to find
accommodation in the Borders where I live and have local
contacts. We have offers of Church Halls, village halls and a
conference room. Hospitality has been offered too and the
Pilgrims will be given an evening meal.
You can find out about the Pilgrimage on
www.justpeacepilgrimage.com. You can become involved by
joining the Pilgrimage to walk for as long as you like – a few
miles, a day, a week… You can offer to help find
accommodation for the Pilgrims or help with hospitality at the
overnight resting places. You can offer support along the route
by being available to pick up tired or injured walkers as they
pass through your area. You can tell everyone you know about
the Pilgrimage; it is open to all.
I hope to walk with you in peace.
“Scaravelli inspired” Yoga
in the Greenpark Centre, Polmont, Central Scotland
Easy walking distance from Polmont station or a short
drive from J4 off the M9
Day of yoga with John Stirk
On Sunday 9th June 2013 10am - 4pm
Bring your own lunch/teas and coffees available
To book tel June on 01324 711832
or 07835835919
email june@junesyoga.com
Cheque for £68 to June Mercer
9 Ingram Place, Maddiston, Falkirk, FK2 0FT
YIN YOGA WORKSHOP
CHANGE OF DATE
July 2011 found me walking in the Loire Valley with the
French anti-nuclear group and 2012 was a mini peace walk,
walking the St Cuthbert’s Way in three days (with help of a bus
on the final day).
I was delighted to find out about the Pilgrimage for Peace
and Economic Justice planned for this summer. It is being
organised by Andrew and Sarah Greaves of Hexham Quakers.
The main theme of the Pilgrimage is to focus national public
attention on the Government’s proposal to spend up to £100
billion renewing the Trident nuclear missile system, while
continuing to slash NHS, education and social welfare budgets,
including vital financial support for some of our most vulnerable
and disadvantaged people and communities across the UK.
The Pilgrimage starts on Iona on 19 May, makes its way
18
Jill Paget
Changed from 4th May to
Saturday 14th September 2013
10am – 4pm
Masonic Lodge, Main Street
(Opposite Grant Park) Forres
£25.00 – Drinks provided – please bring
own lunch – there are also plenty of cafes
in the town
Cheques should be made out to:
Connie McCreath, 31 Drumduan Park,
Forres, Morayshire IV36 1GF
connie.mccreath@btinternet.com
Tel: 07840956394
Yoga SCOTLAND
ELYA: A Local Association Hanging On
By Emma Giles
Edinburgh and Lothians Yoga Association (ELYA) began life in about
1975 as a local branch of what was then called The Scottish Yoga
Association (now Yoga Scotland). In 1989, the Association became
an independent body and adopted a formal Constitution. ELYA is a
registered Scottish charity run by volunteers (Trustees) who make
up the Committee. Its purpose is to encourage members of all
levels of experience to deepen their knowledge, practice and
enjoyment of yoga. We do this by arranging affordable seminars
around four times a year. Over the years, we have had wonderful
guest tutors, both local to Scotland and from further afield. For
2013 we are proud to have booked Gill Gibbens, Yvonne Austen,
Karen Adamson, Hayley Price, Elizabeth Roberts, Wendy Teasdill
and Scott Rennie as guest tutors.
Our philosophy is to promote the practice of yoga in the widest
sense – postures (asana), breathing (pranayama), relaxation and
meditation practices. In more recent years, we have taken to
suggesting a theme for the year, which usually has an aspect of
yoga philosophy at its heart, and which we invite our guest tutors
to illuminate from their own perspective. The theme for ELYA 2013
is Creating Space and Openness.
Membership of ELYA is open to all who pay an annual
subscription of £6. Members represent a wide range of experience
of yoga practice, from yoga teachers of long standing to people
who have comparatively recently started to go to regular classes.
All members receive the Chair’s newsletters with advance notice of
forthcoming events and a reduced price for seminars.
More recently, ELYA hasn’t been immune from the effects of
increasing numbers of private yoga centres and teachers offering
events such as ours. One example is that for six years from 2003
we ran a summer course of weekly classes, the teaching often
donated by our teacher members. This ended in 2009 because
numbers dropped as local teachers continued to run classes over
the summer. More recently, the recession may have contributed to
a decrease in members as well as lower attendance at events. The
Association reached a critical point in 2012 when for the first time a
seminar had to be cancelled due to low numbers; in addition, our
website was down for months and then effectively lost due to
problems with our then provider. The Committee had a difficult
discussion about the future of the Association, given that our Chair
and Secretary were both due to stand down in 2013 after many
years of dedicated service. Was this the end of ELYA?
No we said! The Committee decided to take the optimistic view
and pushed ahead with the remainder of the programme for 2012,
running two successful events towards the end of that year. Nicola
Bourke joined the Committee in 2012 and we hope other
volunteers will come forward at our AGM to help continue the
legacy. Enthusiasm and a desire to help out are all that is required.
The full programme of events for 2013 can be found on our website
(www.elya.org.uk).
Prasnam: a question, demand, interrogation, query, inquiry
What is a swami?
By Jim Fraser
A swami is a man or woman who has taken the vow of
sannyasa and wears saffron robes as a symbol of purification
by fire. A distinction is made between householders who live by
the fire, both domestic and ritual, and thus are tied by
preference to society, and swamis who have renounced social
ties and the comforts of the fire.
A swami is a monk who traditionally belongs to one of the
ten orders of monks initiated by Adi Shankara in the 8th century
CE. The swami practises vairagya to perfect the vow of
sannyasa and thus establish detachment from all aspects of
material life.
Swami Rama explains: ‘There was a man who asked a
swami: “Sir, what is the difference between you and me? I eat,
you eat; you go to the bathroom, I also go to the bathroom; you
sleep, I sleep. I don’t find any difference. Your requirements are
exactly like my requirements. You are called swami, and I am
not.” He said, “Son, there is a difference. Any thought that
comes into your mind, you cling to it. I don’t allow it to be in my
mind. That is the difference. That’s why I am called swami, and
that’s why you are not called swami.”
Please contact the Editor with any other Yoga-related questions
to which you would like a concise answer.
19
Yoga SCOTLAND
Learning through Life
By Hayley Price
My yoga path is ongoing. At the moment, I am inwardly exploring
what it means to be human and here on this earth as a human
being. I’m not really trying to transcend or go somewhere
‘beyond’, but, rather, to be fully here. There are occasions when
that is easier than others and, despite my intention, I don’t
always meet every challenge with grace. I’m ever learning so
many things and life offers ample opportunities to practise
coming back to myself, tuning in and consciously responding!
I’m not entirely sure I can point to a clear moment in time
when my personal yoga path began. I remember questioning life
and religion from a young age. My Oma, grandmother, was a
meditator and healer who taught both myself and my sister
techniques to help us relax and feel energy within our bodies.
She had a room in her house devoted to meditation and we used
to go in there, light incense and sit silently on the cushions on the
floor. I loved the feeling in that room. Oma taught me a relaxation
technique to help me sleep that, when living in an ashram in India
some fifteen years later, I discovered was Yoga Nidra.
The yoga practices Oma taught me gave me a sense of
ground and space that I didn’t have in my external life. Through
the challenges I faced growing up, I became aware of all sorts of
pockets of myself that I did not know existed and from them
came a lust for further enquiry. I learned that part of being human
is how we relate to all the experiences life can face us with; to
appreciate, celebrate and enjoy the good times and ride the
waves of challenge when they arise. Further than that, to
somehow come to also appreciate the wisdom the challenging
times can bring.
I started reading books on yoga philosophy in my early teens
and found them such a relief! I remember asking my brother if he
knew of any other books than the babysitters’ club, which I was
thoroughly bored with. I found Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, a
book on Chakras and The Celestine Prophecy on the bookshelf
at home and I gobbled them up!
I hadn’t quite realised until I came to write this article, but my
first yoga asana teacher was Claudia Schiffer! My brother gifted
me a work-out video for my fifteenth birthday that included a lot
of yoga sequences and I used to practise this daily. I remember
finding it really helpful when I was studying for exams. Academic
studies were never my strong point and the practices helped my
20
mind to focus. After some interesting attempts to meditate –
which to me, at that time, meant turning out all the lights in my
room, sitting on the floor and attempting to remember my past
lives – I decided I had better seek further instruction! So, when I
was seventeen, I dragged some college friends along to the
Bhrama Kumaris centre in Edinburgh to learn the basics. I visited
their centres in the UK, Thailand and Bali on my travels later on.
After a year at college, I went to live in Thailand for a few years.
This was breathing space for me, quite literally. It was there I
learnt to relax rather than just ‘keep myself together.’ I began to
develop a healthy relationship towards myself and was
introduced to Buddhism. I had kept up some of the practices
from the Claudia Schiffer video over the years (ode to Claudia
Schiffer!) and learned a few postures from a book called Yoga for
Bears (literally, as the title suggests, pictures of bears practising
yoga. Needless to say, my alignment wasn’t tiptop at this point!).
And, during one of my trips back to the UK, I started attending
Yoga classes and continued a regular practice.
At twenty-one I started my love affair with India. I sat my first
Buddhist retreat and took courses in yoga, massage and energy
work. I returned the following year and met my great spiritual
friend, Bhooma Chaitanya. I spent hours by his side every day
and he freely offered me one-to-one tuition alongside the classes
I took with him, expecting nothing in return but that I practise.
I ended up spending five years in Asia, where I sat a number
of retreats, trained in Ayurvedic, Thai and Tibetan massage, and
spent time in ashrams, mainly the Bihar School of Yoga. It was
at the Bihar school that I began to experience and embody yoga
as a holistic state of being, one that reached beyond the practice
and myself and connected me with all around. It was just what I
needed at that time as I had begun to question if all the time
spent on the mat really was what yoga was all about. I went on
to train through the Satyananda tradition in Australia and then as
a Yoga Therapist through Yoga Campus in London. I had my first
teaching experience in 2005, which planted the seeds for me to
come back to teaching later on. I have now been teaching fulltime for five years.
While I have appreciated, and continue to appreciate, the
wisdom of the yoga traditions, I personally do not consider
myself to be part of any particular tradition or belief system.
Perhaps in the future I will. Who knows? It hasn’t ‘clicked’ yet for
me, and perhaps it won’t. For now, I consider myself to be a
human being, being human, open to life as it is and all it has to
teach me. I have a few teachers from different backgrounds who
I have a strong connection with, some in Yoga, some Buddhist
and others following more psychotherapeutic approaches. I
learn a lot from each of them and they help bring into
consciousness different aspects of myself that perhaps the
others couldn’t reach. By this means, I feel more integrated,
whole, grounded and real, at the same time as empty and
receptive for what the next moment may bring.
So there’s the story so far! And I am so interested and excited
to feel and experience how it will unfold from this point on. I don’t
see the state of yoga as something that is limited to the practice
forms. For me it is a dynamic and alive awareness that is in
relationship with everything within and around and expresses
itself uniquely through each of us in each moment.
Yoga SCOTLAND
Making Energy Move
By Carol Godridge
Last year Yoga Scotland teacher Carol Godridge undertook a
project involving teaching Chakra awareness to more advanced
students, as part of her Satyananda Yoga Integration Course. In
November she presented some of these interesting results to
colleagues, at an OGT day.
Fundamental to yoga philosophy is the notion of universal energy,
or prana which comprises, and is within, everything in the known
world. We are therefore all connected by this energy to each other
and to the generality of prana around and within us.
Ancient tantric wisdom about the Chakras and the subtle
energy system has now been validated by modern scientific
thinking. Quantum physics is reintroducing ideas that were current
in yoga philosophy many thousand of years ago. Hiroshi
Motoyama’s scientific research and his measuring instruments
have now demonstrated the existence of the chakras as the
centres of the body’s energy systems and the link between the
physical, astral and casual bodies, and with the universal energy
around us.1 Deepak Chopra also describes it in modern
terminology: ‘Because your body emanates electro-magnetic
frequencies, you are yet another expression of this same field. The
pulsations of nerve signals racing along your limbs, the electric
charge emitted by your heart cells, and the faint field of current
surrounding your brain all demonstrate that you are not separate
from any form of energy in the universe. Any appearance of
separation is only the product of the limitation of your senses,
which are not attuned to these energies’2
As we humans have become more ‘civilised’, we have lost
awareness of this connection, and become isolated in life rhythms
and practices that are divorced from those of the natural
environment. We have lost the ability to ‘tune in’ to the universal
energy, to the frequencies of higher awareness that recharge our
energies and enable us to live in balance and in communication. In
most human beings the primal energy lies dormant, with the result
that we use a very small amount of our potential at any one time.
In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika it says that ‘if our perception were
finely tuned to the pranic body, we would see a light body in which
there were thousands of fine, wire-like structures conducting
shakti’.3 The text goes on to describe the first steps in purifying the
nadis and the energy channels, by increasing the flow of prana and
storing it in the chakras: ‘When the nadis are purified, there are
external symptoms. Success is definite when the body becomes
thin and glows.’ Not only will the body be radiant from the
increased flow of energy, but it will lead to greater mental and
physical capacities.
With yoga practice one can begin to re-awaken some of these
faculties by stimulating the Chakras. As a yoga teacher, I begin
with students in their second year, explaining about the subtle
energy system, and describing the chakras as the junction points,
which act like transformers, modifying the power of the universal
energy to a frequency that the human body, mind and
consciousness can cope with. Each chakra is a switch which
turns on or opens up specific levels of the mind.
Beginners can learn to feel the chakras through asanas and
simple breathing practices, and to understand how they relate to
general health and well-being. But for students who have been
practising regularly for at least a couple of years, who have
experienced moving prana around the body and have developed
a level of awareness, something more is needed.
This project was carried out in my monthly three-hour
workshops for Intermediate Level students, over a five-month
period. These workshops comprise a three-hour programme of
integrated chakra awareness through chanting, asana,
pranayama, discussion, yoga nidra and meditation. The yoga
nidra visualisations and the meditations specifically incorporated
different aspects of chakra awareness. Nine students volunteered
to commit themselves to an additional daily practice of about
twenty minutes over a period of fourteen weeks, and in each twoweek period they were given three daily practices to do, which
they monitored and recorded.
The results were very interesting indeed. All the students
experienced significant movement of energy. Each one felt the
energy in different ways. It was no surprise that the most significant
energy movements were felt in the lower chakras, where,
according to Swami Satyananda, most of us are stuck. There
were some fascinating details. With manipura chakra for example,
one student started to ‘comfort eat’ during that specific fortnight,
two had stomach problems and one said that after each morning
practice that fortnight, she was unable to eat any breakfast! None
of the students had any prior knowledge of what might happen.
The workshops were enjoyed by all those taking part and their
feedback gave me confidence in teaching subtler practices. It has
also given me a blue-print to build on in taking more advanced
students further and, hopefully, some useful information to share
with other teachers. To this end I have had copies, including six
chakra-balancing class plans, printed and bound for sale to any
interested colleagues.
The project report is available by post (£10) from:
Carol Godridge, Ben Doran, Ayr Street, Moniaive, Dumfriesshire,
DG3 4HW
1 Hiroshi Motoyama, Theories of the Chakras (New Delhi: New Age
Books, 1981).
2 Deepak Chopra, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind (London: Ebury Press,
1993) p. 27
3 Swami Muktibhodananda, Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Munger, India: Yoga
Publications Trust, 1993) p. 138.
21
Yoga and Practice
A day of yoga with Sarah Ryan
Polmont
Saturday 14 September 2013
10.00 – 16.30
Yoga is not an academic theory; it is above all practical and experiential. It is practical
because it is about how to change our lives for the better, and it offers us many simple
ways of doing this. It is about experiencing things, and often about changing how we
experience things, whether it is ourselves, or the things that happen to us.
We shall practise several of the different tools of yoga, exploring how they work for us. We
shall also spend a little time discussing the whole idea of practice and why it is considered
so important in yoga.
Sarah Ryan has been studying and teaching yoga for many years. Sarah teaches on a one
to one basis, whether people’s prime need is Yoga as a therapy, or for personal development.
She also teaches Vedic Chant and Mantra in her home in Dorset. She is co-founder of Yoga
Journey, a course for yoga teachers who want to study, practice and teach in the tradition of
TKV Desikachar and his father, Professor Krishnamacharya.
Venue
Cost
Greenpark Community Centre, Polmont FK2 0PZ
£35
Information & booking form
Karen Adamson
15 Hopeward Court, Dalgety Bay, Fife KY11 9TF
01383 823040
karenadamson2@aol.com
22
Yoga SCOTLAND
Finding the Guru Within
By Keira Reilly
From 9th to 11th November 2012, Birsay Holistics
(www.birsayholistics.co.uk) hosted a weekend of Yoga with
internationally-renowned teacher and practitioner Godfri
Devereux at The Lighthouse in Glasgow. It was Godfri’s first time
teaching in the city and the opportunity to experience his intuitive
guidance through yoga practice was embraced by both local
yogis and visitors from as far afield as Berlin.
What’s all the fuss about?
The Dynamic Yoga Training Method (www.dynamicyoga.com)
developed by Godfri uses yoga posture practice to develop a
systematic exploration of the relationship between body, mind
and consciousness. It allows anyone to access the depths and
subtleties of yoga, regardless of strength, flexibility, age or any
other external factor. While Dynamic Yoga runs seminars and
training courses across Europe, this was a rare opportunity to
explore the method with its founder in Scotland.
A weekend of reflection
Drawing upon the ethos of Dynamic Yoga, practitioners were
guided through asana sequences, with the sole focus on
listening to their own bodies. Leaving aside the preconceptions
and restrictions of aspiring to the ‘perfect’ posture and instead
opening heart and mind to the guidance of their inner teacher.
What’s the point?
Everyone comes to yoga looking for something different – a short
period of peace and quiet, a good stretch, relaxation, strength
and flexibility, spiritual enlightenment… But it can be too easy to
become distracted by external factors, pulling us from our own
practice. Instead of listening to our body, it can be tempting to
reach for the ‘ideal’ – to stretch a little too far for a straight line in
trikonasana or push a little too far for a certain angle in adho
mukha svanasana. By allowing ourselves to practise with
sensitivity to our own bodies – maintaining softness and comfort
throughout, while working with integrity rather than shapemaking – we can attain body, mind and breath working in easy
and natural harmony.
Xandranamaskar
Often overlooked in favour of its more popular and energetic
sister posture Surya Namaskar, Xandranamaskar formed the
foundation of a flowing and reflective practice. Broadening and
lengthening through the postures while working with integrity are
of key importance. The components of the sequence allow us to
develop full awareness of the body’s movement and be sensitive
to the action of the muscles, both fundamental factors in the
Dynamic Yoga method.
Svadhyaya (self-awareness)
This was the objective of the weekend. Building from one
session to the next, the deceptively simple posture practice
carried through a natural progression from conscious, unfamiliar
movement to unconscious and easy flow between one asana
and the next. As the actions and movements became instinctual,
the mind was freed from focus solely on instruction and opened
to complete awareness of the sensations of body and breath.
This awareness was encouraged and cultivated in both
movement and stillness, as they should each be practised with
the same sensitivity.
An experiment in thought
The final session of the weekend marked the launch of the first
ever ‘Radical Enquiry’ – an exploration into self, the possibility of
freedom and awakening to your inner wisdom. The questions
posed were met with lively interaction and discussion on the part
of those involved – an energised and promising beginning for the
latest exploration into reality.
Review
Yoga Nidra and Meditation (CDs) by Carol Godridge
Yoga Nidra
Carol describes yoga nidra as ‘a practice of deep relaxation for
the body with meditation for the mind and it can be practised
whenever required.’ This CD, narrated by Carol, contains two
practices developed for more experienced students who have
knowledge of the chakras. Track 1 (Yoga Nidra with chakra
awareness) lasts 28 minutes and Track 2 (Yoga Nidra with
chakra awareness, symbols and Bija mantras) lasts 32 minutes.
Carol recommends that time is spent becoming familiar with
Track 1 before moving onto Track 2.
Meditation
This CD contains three different guided practices created for
more experienced students to help develop a regular home
practice. They have been taken from the Satyananda tradition.
The three 15 – 20 minute practices are Kaya Sthairyam (stilling
the body); Ajapa Japa (using mantra and the breath) and Antar
Mouna (being an observer rather than a participant of your
thoughts).
On both CDs, each track begins with preparation for the
practice to ensure the body is comfortable and ready to begin.
All practices are well explained and well paced, giving time to
make adjustments before moving on to the next part. Carol’s
directions are clear, concise and easy to listen to. In particular,
her guidance through the chakras in Yoga Nidra is beautifully
carried out, incorporating visualisation with invitations to explore
and experience. She also ensures that coming out of the
practices is unhurried and done with care. I found it useful to
listen right through to both CDs a couple of times first to
familiarise myself with them, before beginning the practices.
CDs available from Carol Godridge, Ben Doran, Ayr Street,
Moniaive, Dumfriesshire. DG3 4HW yoga@cgodridge.plus.com
Claire Thom
23
Yoga SCOTLAND
Scottish School of Yoga Therapy
INTRODUCTORY WEEKEND
Saturday & Sunday 16TH & 17TH November 2013
9.30am – 5pm
Gillis Centre, Edinburgh
£145 including lunch & teas/biscuits
For a new yoga therapy training course starting in March 2014
Open to all yoga teachers with at least 2 years of teaching experience
TUTORS: Yvonne Austen and Sue McLennan
For more information and booking form contact:
info.ssyt@gmail.com
PRANAYAMA SADHANA COURSE
with
SWAMI VEDANTANANDA SARASWATI
A six day course to develop personal practice, experience and
understanding of this important aspect of Yoga Sadhana. You will be
given a daily home practice 20-30 minutes + recommended reading.
July 13th & 14th, September 7th & 8th, October 5th & 6th 2013
10.00 – 17.00 each day
Open to experienced yoga practitioners and yoga teachers
Uphall Community Education Centre, Strathbrock Place, Uphall,
West Lothian, EH52 6BN.
Cost: £420 (£120 deposit to secure place and payment of the
balance before the start of the course).
Information leaflet and booking form from:
Jayanti (Jane Russell), 9 Hall Street, Galashiels, TD1 1PJ
Email: info@janerussell.org
Tel: 01896 754278
24
Yoga SCOTLAND
Yoga with June Mercer
Yoga with June is a gentle practice to bring powerful changes to strengthen the body while stilling the mind.
June’s yoga has been guided over the last 18 years by ‘’Scaravelli inspired ‘’ teachers. Suitable for all levels of
experience.
Friday 26th – Sunday 28th April 2013 • Enjoy a yoga weekend in beautiful Arisaig, west coast of Scotland.
Accommodation, food and yoga classes included for £225.
10th – 17th June 2013 • Yoga holiday to Dalyan, Turkey... Third time to this superb hotel venue with pool
and fab food! Near the turtle beach! For details and to book the holiday go to www.freespirituk.com
Tel. 01273 564230.
17th – 24th September and 24th September – 1st October 2013 • Yoga holidays to North West Crete
Back to the lovely Hotel Peli for the third year! Come for one week or two or something in between! The venue
has a swimming pool and is just across from the beach. Two guided walks each week. Details from
www.westcreteholidays.com. To book tel Lynne on 01332833417 or email bookingwch@hotmail.co.uk
5th – 18th January 2014 Yoga holiday to Kovalam, Kerala. Fourth time to this beautiful venue near the
beach in the south of India. For details and to book the holiday go to www.freespirituk.com Tel. 01273 564230
Contact June on 07835835919 or email june@junesyoga.com for info on any of the holidays.
There will be a group flying from Scotland to each of the venues
Some photos of previous holidays on Facebook junesyoga
June runs regular weekly yoga classes in Central Scotland. Details on the website www.junesyoga.com
Sunday 9th June 2013, 10am - 4pm • June is bringing her teacher John Stirk to Greenpark Centre,
Polmont, Central Scotland. (Easy walking distance from Polmont station or a short drive from J4 off the
M9) To book please send a cheque for £68 to June Mercer to 9 Ingram Place, Maddiston, Falkirk FK2 0FT
Following her knee injury, the first time visit to the south west by
this much loved Satyananda teacher has been rescheduled.
A Day of Mantra and Sound Healing
with Swami Nirmal Saraswati
From the London Satyananda Yoga Centre
Open to all levels of experience in yoga.
University of Glasgow Crichton Campus, Dumfries
Sunday 23rd June 2013 10 am – 4 pm
Cost: £25.
Please bring a packed lunch. Tea and coffee provided.
She says: “Mantras are specific sound vibrations. They can be used to
directly influence the mind, to bring healing, alter perception,
heighten awareness and awaken the chakras. During the day we will
use mantras in asana, pranayama and meditation techniques, as well
as on their own, to promote harmony of body, mind and spirit.”
Phone or e-mail for application form: Carol Godridge
Tel. 01848 200681 or yoga@cgodridge.plus.com
Phone or e-mail for application form: Carol Godridge Tel.
01848 200681 or yoga@cgodridge.plus.com
ZOE KNOTT
General Postures
Workshop
" Moving a little deeper...
" Looking again at the postures we practice
regularly
" Understanding why we do what we do
Sunday 27 October 2013
10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Murtle Estate Hall, Aberdeen
Please book beforehand through
moira.chicometrics@gmail.com
FEE TBA Hot drinks provided, please bring light
packed lunch
GYA aims to offer yoga to all.
Individuals who are restricted financially, or in
other ways, may apply for support when booking.
www.grampianyoga.org.uk
Scottish Charity Number SC016624
25
Yoga SCOTLAND
Reviews
by Susan Neal
Yoga Relaxations (Jackie le Brocq)
Many yoga teacher trainees and Yoga students will have
experienced Jackie le Brocq’s yoga relaxations over the years.
Here is a great opportunity to have access to those lovely
teachings in your own home. This CD has 4 relaxations:
•
•
•
•
A basic systematic relaxation
Shavayatra 61-point relaxation
Systematic relaxation using chakras
Point-to-point breathing
Whilst anyone could do any of the relaxations, the chakra
relaxation and the point-to-point breathing may be better
appreciated by someone who has more experience of yoga. In
particular, the point-to-point breathing with its longer silences
and use of the breath is better for a more experienced
practitioner.
I have experienced all these relaxations in Jackie’s class, but
made a particular point of trying them at home with the CD and
paying attention to which I preferred and why. The 61-point
relaxation is still a favourite – the mind has to be so attentive to
moving around the body that it quickly lets go of the senses. I
also like the point-to-point relaxation very much.
All the relaxations work and with this CD you have enough of
a range to keep you happily stress-free. However, track one
uses the words ‘relaxation’ and relax too much for me – my
stubborn mind seems to have a resistance to being told to relax,
whilst the body-scan style works better for me. It’s a personal
preference. Jackie’s voice is clear but soothing. With such an
expert guide voicing the relaxations I can recommend this CD
to yoga students of all levels.
26
Mark Stephens, Yoga Sequences - Designing
Transformative Yoga Classes (North Atlantic
Books)
How I wish this book had
been around when I was
doing my teacher training. It
is a fairly weighty tome,
which gives an idea of the
detail that is included. It
takes a lot of reading and it
will be some time before I
have had the opportunity to
absorb all the wisdom that
has
been
gathered
together.
A first read-through
however,
makes
me
delighted to have parted
with the price of the book. Yoga as a philosophy and yoga as a
transformative process are woven into the book. This is not just
about what asana should go where, but about what works
energetically and what is best for students at different stages of
their yoga development. Mark Stephens aims to help teachers
design classes that make sense for students where they
presently are in their lives. So you will find sequencing for
beginning, intermediate and advanced students. The book is
more demanding of a beginners’ class than I would be –
chaturanga dandasana in the sun salute for beginners? Not so
sure about that. And the picture of someone with their chin on
the floor in upavista konasana (wide leg forward bend) certainly
had me smiling. I would like more books to use ‘normal people’
with a range of different anatomies as models for beginners’
sequences, as does Yoga Dummies, but the section for yoga
for seniors was better. Having said that, there are lots of
excellent sequences and many students and teachers are going
to gain inspiration from the ideas here.
The book is excellent on suggesting preparation asanas for
peak postures and good on anatomical detail. I like the
emphasis on warming up the body and preparing joints like the
wrist. What is excellent is how the book describes the ‘arc’ of a
class from the focus, to the warm-up, the peak postures and
the cool-down, not forgetting the essential work with the breath.
I love the section on giving verbal cues to students – something
we all struggle with. Getting the words right makes the
difference to students. I am also right alongside the author in
looking at what seems to be accepted wisdom, but has no
basis in fact – getting rid of the myths and the sexism in yoga
seems good to me.
Yoga teacher training students will be falling over themselves to
get hold of a copy of this book and so they should – they will
learn a lot.
yogamatters