Yoga in Cheshire Blog

Find out all the latest news and views from Tabitha and the other practitioners at Yoga in Cheshire.

Blog

loss and acceptance

Posted on by Tab

Yoga provides us with these eye-opening realizations so often. Increasing evidence of the little ways in which we have changed. How things that would previously have been more aggravating to our inner calm now no longer provide more than a fleeting observation. They lessen in importance, as they are no longer the structure around which we base our identity.

To find contentment we need to look inward and introvert rather than looking outward and basing our identity upon extroversion…how we are placed in the world relative to others and how others may view us. In this life nothing is permanent except the existence of change. Hence to reduce the insecurity and unhappiness caused by loss or change we need to recognize and accept that which is inside ourselves. That which is unchanging.

yoga helps you cope with the unexpected problems we face everyday

Posted on by Tab

So I would recommend not relying on running continually in the red. However those times when sufficient sleep, regular meals and plenty of social time with friends and family are not feasible there are alternatives. Instead to know that maintaining a regular yoga practice will give you more efficiency and more longevity in your coping skills, as well as your day-to-day life, than you could ever have imagined. So now I can look forward to a smoothly running studio and a fantastic new kitchen knowing I can cope serenely with any small glips that do arise on route.

an interesting week of yoga & self study

Posted on by Tab

I want our studio to be a physical expression of what we do in the charity workshops. A place where we all come together to enjoy yoga and ourselves. Where students from different places can experience different teaching styles from different teachers with an open mind and a body willing to try new experiences. I want each class to end with a feeling of pride in yourself and a smile from the inside out.

Included is a sample timetable…still with more classes to be added. Please give me feedback as to anything else you may want to see and ideas for class styles/ times.

pain management and yoga

Posted on by Tab

It is not easy to smile through pain; it is easier to huddle inwards into a self-protective ball with the only external communication being negative. Lack of sleep and physical comfort are not conducive to coping with the stress of chronic pain. For me a few days pain (for I tell myself that is all this will be) may be a necessary evil to make me a better person, a kinder teacher and to make my smile strong enough to emerge through the clouds of pain. Or at least I hope so; from previous experience most negative situations may be pooh at the time but build mental muscles to help us cope in life. Pain, physical, mental and emotional are lessons in improving who we are. So heres to knowing that today may hurt but it will help improve my tomorrows! Even if my toes are slightly chipped I am trying not to let my smile be.

change is as good as a rest!

Posted on by Tab

Rather than the holiday I was thinking I needed..actually what I needed to do was to change my situation at home. I think this is often the case. That we run away on holiday to escape things that aren’t running how we want them at home or work. Then we come home from holiday feeling less rested as we walk back into the same situation we needed the holiday to escape from. Is it not better to examine the reasons you need to escape, to get away. Obviously a holiday or break can allow us the space to look at what we need to change. How we want to live. Maybe teaching us new skills, removing us from responsibilities we may have at home, or just giving us the physical or mental recharge to be able to return home and make changes. Is it not better to make your home & yourself, your refuge from the world rather than a brief break from a situation that isn’t how you want it.

open to possibility with yoga

Posted on by Tab

To open to feeling, to knowing and to hoping that more is possible than what the simple explanation would have us believe. Our minds are not able to perceive all that we know is there, such as the size of the universe or the distance of the stars. Hence how can we expect to understand or comprehend other possibilities with the small capacity of our minds. All we can do is not close our mind to these possibilities. To explore with a sense of wonder and a sense of fun. To be aware of what we know is possible..intuition, coincidence, connection and to hope that somewhere over the rainbow we will find more…”The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” – Albert Einstein

make your own inner sunshine with yoga

Posted on by Tab

So when life becomes too busy to get to your weekly class or to find a few minutes of peace and alone time in each day. Ask yourself why. We are not going to be happy being alone with ourselves if we are running away from taking a risk. Do you want to live with that feeling of anxiety, of feeling disconnected, depressed and lethargic. Or do you want to feel at peace, energized and connected to a knowledge that is bigger than just you. To do so sit with fear, watch your pain and anxieties, learn from your breath and know that all will pass. Know that the solution could be found in yoga; learn to explore and get to know yourself, to turn inward and to be honest with yourself. Then you will find more happiness, more inner sunshine whatever the weather is doing outside!

feeling a bit smug about being so lucky

Posted on by Tab

I wish that everybody could be so lucky. I understand that people have different dreams. Some people want more separation between work and hobbies. Some people want to earn lots of money and live in a big house. Some people want prestige and fame. For me to be lucky enough to live my dream, to wake every day knowing that I am able to make a difference, to share my passion and call it a job makes me feel so privileged. I haven’t got the obvious trappings of success but in my eyes, the important ones, I have achieved more than I could have dreamed of!

yoga helps the clouds to clear & the sun to shine through

Posted on by Tab

Yoga practice allows us to see the world with clearer vision and more open hearts. Yoga allows the right frame of mind, focus and time to experience calm, joy and wonder at our world in this moment. It is this that allows the chinks of sunshine to peep through however thick the cloud cover may initially appear!
This weekend I have spent in the company of some wonderful people and this has also reminded me of how the quality of what we ingest from the world affects our moods. What we eat, who we spend our time with, the media that we come into contact with…all the things that we take in through our senses are ingested and processed and affect our moods and our potential for living in the moment. Yoga practice brings such rewards, such joy and such long term changes in how we live externally that it is more than worth learning to make time for. It also may provide more lessons for living off your mat than you ever expect!! So take a moment to look at what you are ingesting through your senses, not just in your food, but the company you keep and the activities you spend time on.

learning to say no thank you, maybe next year…

Posted on by Tab

I am like a girl in the first flush of love…I want to spend every hour of every day with my lover…it’s just as my lover is also my work, my hobby and something I share with many of my friends it really doesn’t give me the variety we all need in our lives. So those of you who think I do not listen…I do..it’s just I have to believe that it is me that made the decision and came to the realisation that it isn’t a healthy way to continue That balance is about more than maintaining a calm inner mind and a comfortably strong yet flexible body. That balance is about variety in more than just my practice, my learning and my teaching. That my need to play & explore has to extend off my mat. Now just because I am taking time off yoga doesn’t mean I am going to sit around indulging in wine and cake…that wouldn’t be me…but I am going to have a lot more non yogi fun too. So if you see me changing this plan please feel you have my permission to kick my yogi butt back on track and off my mat a bit more!

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