We did it! I can now confidently say that we have established a dream as a reality, three successful workshops with each building upon the success of the last. Different teachers & different charities every month so that we can share the love to a wider audience. Raising over ££1250 so far in 3 months and this is just the beginning…
I got wet eyes looking out at the faces of students, fellow teachers & friends who shared this experience with me. The energy is incredible. We are learning that by giving to ourselves & having fun we can also give to others…yoga with a heart rather than some of the more commercial yoga that is being offered by marketing people.
Yoga changed my world, my inner and my outer world and I wish to share that joy with as many people as possible. I dream, and being me I dream big! I want people who would never walk into a yoga class to be inspired to try it. I want the hippy, bendy view of yoga to be opened to include everyone.
Ok so I realise that, practically, things are not going to move fast and that people will be cynical. However if you know me then you realise that i’m not really that practical and that isn’t going to stop me trying! For without trying how will I know if I could have succeeded. To try and fail just means trying in a slightly different direction next time!
So expect some more ideas, some more instances of yoga where you least expect it. Expect more charity workshops in more venues too (well I need a social life and they are great fun as well as raising money!).
Basically expect me to stir things up so that we all expand our potential and the potential of yoga in the community and for the community. Let’s allow the heart of yoga to throb with love.
Yoga in Cheshire Blog
Find out all the latest news and views from Tabitha and the other practitioners at Yoga in Cheshire.
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Yoga is about learning to change and to accept change?
Yoga is a journey, and an opportunity to learn. Those that merely focus on the physical achievements are missing out on so much potential peace. Those that find the physicality easy are maybe facing a longer struggle in learning to control the breath. Whereas those of us who aren’t so naturally blessed with flexibility or strength will utilize the breath to work with the body from the start, learning to integrate the two from the beginning.
For me part of the joy of my practice is the continual struggle to refocus, the need to re relax muscles as they sneak tension in when I take my awareness momentarily elsewhere.. I enjoy the constant reminders of physical checks, the soothing sound of my Ujjayi breath flowing as I try to get my limbs to do the same. I revel in the struggle because it allows the achievements to be even more special!! So don’t look at the physically able with envy, don’t see those students who attend every week without fail for years as more yogic.They may find it hard to accept change or variety in routine. Instead be thankful for your own opportunuities to learn. Be grateful that you get to appreciate the small things that they may take for granted. Understand that a yoga practice is personal, and in some ways more transformational for the ability to accept change and focus on the present moment of the journey.
expectations
Myself, I am aiming to have less expectation! Of myself as I tend to expect a lot of myself & often need to learn to let go of that & just ‘go with the flow’. I also intend to mind less what others expect of me. I know I am not ‘your typical yoga teacher’, to be honest I’m not sure that I am your typical anything!! However I am learning to be happy with who I am, to love myself for who I am, and to care less that I don’t fit neatly into any of the boxes that society likes to slide us into.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi
With this in mind I intend to believe in myself more, and to appreciate more rather than expect more!! The unexpected is often greatly appreciated. Maybe this will lead to a destiny of appreciation, for myself and for others!! If not, at least I will stop being so hard on myself and give myself more time for play, for fun and for friends and family!!
And if I do ever manage to get that foot behind my head I will appreciate if so much as I certainly don’t expect I ever will 😉
Have an amazing 2012 & I hope it brings you many things to appreciate; good health, happiness, love and the kind of experiences that bring a twinkle to the eye and a glow to the soul.
other peoples’ expectations
I teach yoga because I feel that if it can allow my mind to still and my body to be more at ease, then it is possible to bring that possibility of ease to other’s lives. I teach because it feels as though it allows me to share my inner smile with the world around me, and maybe allow it to be infectious! My students continue to teach me as I teach them. I hope that I can continue to be me and for my students to enjoy my differences rather than expect me to fit into other people’s expectation
which yoga class or practice should I choose?
I’m continually having to remind myself there is a life outside yoga, that the present is as important as the future, & that moving outside my comfort zone is often what I need to do even if it may not be what I want to do! Without change how are we to discover new paths or find more doors to open. If we continue to follow our initial tendencies, be it for a yoga practice we think we prefer, a food choice or how we spend our evenings, how can we expect to grow, to nurture our soul with variety & expand our mind with new experiences.
aging…not quite gracefully!!
Time…sometimes it seems so much faster than at other times…. When we are bored, lonely or impatient time can seem so slow, but when we are having fun it can seem to pass so quickly. This is my excuse I suppose for my neglect of my blog….time has passed so fast as I’ve been having […]
moving from fear to love with yoga
Backbends are about trust, in yourself and others. Being willing to open to possibility, to love and to life Backbending doesn’t just open our pelvis, where we hold emotion, our throat allowing us to communicate and our heart opening us to give and receive love…it opens us to possibility, to accepting fear as a challenge not a restriction. I now feel the spontaneous urge to open into a backbend more often! Personally in opening my heart I have been open to the possibility of being vulnerable in love. I’ve observed old ingrained defences and barriers come down. I’ve noticed myself change and explore a new spaciousness at my heart and in my soul! I am learning that another side of fear can be fun, and that accepting that fear exists and I will never totally remove it has allowed me to expand my potential, emotionally, physically and psychologically. I love yoga cos yoga has helped me to love!! We all get scared. You can but recognize it as a part of our ego; accept it’s there but don’t allow it to restrict your potential. Releasing the resistance to being vulnerable. Accepting that fun and love counteract fear is all part of the joy of yoga practice. It’s not about achieving the final posture..but more about how the physical representation of that posture tells you how far you have come on your personal journey.
the mirror of yoga
I’m learning that the people I react negatively to as well as those I naturally warm to may be acting as mirrors to something in myself. Any experience that brings attention inward is important, for in being true to ourselves we are able to live from a more congruent place.
Moment by moment through the day, try to note your reaction to people, and question why. What it is in them that highlights something in yourself. Is that a positive experience, and if barriers are found to this self exploration then ask why. If somebody takes rather than adds to your life, why are they in it? We will never be perfect, we are here to learn. However we are all basically love, a good energy, so if we are recognizing something else but love when we meet a person then ask why. Could it be a lesson you need to learn?
people watching & posture
We can work on postural and emotional issues together with yoga practice, both in class & during our day to day lives. Awareness, of tendencies in ourselves and in others, is our first stage in change. Hence people watching may be the first step to learning about ourselves..especially if it involves a long coffee and sitting in the sunshine watching the world go by!
intimacy
So somehow, by being less intimate with the world..by keeping up our barriers and not allowing people to ‘into me see’ then we encourage ourselves to be judged on our inperfections rather than our perfection. For by allowing intimacy, by allowing others to connect with our energy, our inner perfection and love, we are actually reducing our vulnerability!!! Isn’t being human a weird learning curve..that often that which scares us the most is what we need to do in order not to be fearful!!
“The release from fear is what finally precipitates the full flowering of love. In this state you will love what you see in others, and others will love you for having been seen. This is the softened perception of the world that yoga promotes.” Eric Shiffmann