Why would we be surprised that the tiniest little irrelevant thought can hugely influence our emotions when we consider that the action of the mind is the most powerful thing we will ever come across in this chaotic world that we believe we live in.

It's been an interesting week at the Mind and Body Yoga Studio in Bury with a lot of contrast and interaction in classes.

The studio starts off the week with a Yin Yoga class on Monday evening at 7.30pm and this week the "quiet practice" was more repeated postures with shorter duration stretch. This is a contrast to Fiday's Yin and the repeated short duration theme can be very anatomically nourishing in that you get to more of the body and the stretches are briefer albeit just as satisfying.

Many student new to Yin appreciate this kind of flow as it introduces them to Yin in a more gentle way. Long stretches are not necessarily just for "intermediate" or more experienced students but some Yin novices can sometimes throw themselsves into yin with more gusto than is needed and this can end up making them tired nd over challenged - it's a good way of discovering that Yin Yoga is not a restorative style despite its potential to be releasing and closing down and hence relaxing.

Tuesday evening saw the Gentle Hatha class indulging in a soothing and relaxing flow using a collection of postures that could have been energizing if practiced more intently but in this flow we sank more into the poses and tried and absorb ourselves into them. It usually ends up with everyone feeling well nourished and having an experience that is a great prelude to a good nights sleep!

Wednesdays Beginners Group is a very popular class at the moment and I spend a lot of the time working with the group  on classic yoga postures so they can grow with them as their practice evolves. We always include some elements of Wartrior Postures and The Salutations to the Sun and variations of these forms of pose as they are a great all round practice. The session is more instructional for obvious reasons and we exploded some of the poses in the Salutations this week especially the transition from Down Dog to Chatarunga and Down Dog to Lunge. Both of these can be challenging and sometimes disheartening when students struggle. The key to progress is not simply doing more Salutations but working with the body in a well rounded practice to open the hips and improve flexibility of the hip flexors and back muscles.

Thursday's Remedial Yoga Group at 2pm is now in its 4th week. I originally set this up because there were several students on classes with health and anatomocal challenges that seemed to call for a more considered class. The conditions are varied from scoliosis to fibromyalgia but the flows we adopt attempt to accommodate everyone and it seems to be working well.

This week we spent some time on quality breathing which is of benefit to everyone what ever their condition. If you think your breathing is erratic and ouit of step with your posturing it's sometimes a good idea to spend a little time each day quietly watching your ordinary passive breath without trying to control it. This as it suggests is passive and sometime students think it boring but with practice you come to realize that it can be quite rewarding. You quieten your mind and get to know a lot about your breathing! Having said that another way to improve your breathing capability is to cultivate synchronizing your breath with some simple yoga poses - I am a firm believer that breath with movement teaches you a lot about good breathing.

The Thursday evening Energizing Class at 7.30 was a bit different this week. Usually, we get a bit warm in this class with some energizing flow work - we work a bit harder but don't run ourselves ragged and always finish with relaxation! - this week we looked at energy differently, by working with a progressive backbending flow to open us up more both physically and mentally. A good hour of careful backbending can leave you feeling physically and mentally stimulated and can even lift your confidence.

I always think that every yoga pose has a psycholoical as well as a physical component to it. If you are hyper and stressed the closing down benefits of forward bends can help close this feeling down remarkably while if you are too "closed" and retiring and even a bit depressed a series of back bending can open you to the world and lift your spirits. It worked well on Thursday Night!

Finally, on Friday we finished the week with a Chill Out Yin Yoga class at 6.30 as usual - this spot on Friday's has been running for over a decade now at the Mind and Body Studio and we will be running a Yin Workshop 10.30 till 5pm on Saturday the 4th of October with a buffet lunch in the Zen Veggie Cafe on the ground floor after popular demand.

On Friday we added some elements to the Yin Flow that included the upper body and upper spine that can sometimes be left out in Yin as the style focuses mainly on that part of the anatomy between the knees and the chest and while the extremities of the hands, arms, lower legs and feet are mindfully protected they are not regarded as so important. This sounds uncaring but this is not really a true conclusion to take as all skeleton is important in Yin and as the style has evolved it allows for the inclusion of all the body parts.

So we practiced some seated forward bends with Gomukasana and Garundasana Arms and this can feel truly wonderful. We also added the Hatha Puppy Dog Pose sometimes called Salaam Pose and this is great for stimulating the thoracic spine.

So ends the round up of yoga classes at the Mind and Body Studio in Bury for another week.

Namaste and Best Wishes

Barry Todd

Tuesday night at the Mind and Body Yoga Studio Bury is Gentle Hatha Night.

Gentle Hatha means that you wont end the evening in a pool of sweat! So if you are looking for a "physical yoga workout" the Tuesday night is not the session for you. However, it is can be a workout for the mind.

We start the session in a ten minute Savasana or corpse pose allowing the students to relax and settle the musculature. During this time the students are invited to make a sankalpa or resolve for the session - in other words what they would like the outcome of the session to be for them. This can be physical, psychological or emotional or a mixture of the three. They are invited to come up with a sentence making this resolve and to say it to themselves several times with meaning, and even emotion so it stays with their thinking. They do this without knowing what the postures will be so they can get an emotional spring cleaning if they resolve while at the same time getting a gentle hatha experience.

Once out of the Savasana students spend a little time warming up with a variety of standing movements that gently coach the energies of the body to come alive ready for the ensuing posture practice.

In this gentle session the students practice a number of classic poses but often chunking the intensity down allowing for milder bodily sensations that still command their attention.

In the midst of a gentle pose using the breath in a slow and comfortable way students have a greater opportunity to become more absorbed in their practice leading to a more soothing experience. Yet with this stroking and caressing of the body there comes a greater sense of focus and concentration that makes for a session that is not necessarily passive and pedestrian.

In many ways the challenge becomes more of a mental than a physical one but can be equally satisfying leaving you feeling that you have definitely had a yoga experience.

This kind of session is good to adopt occasionally through the week. In contrast when we have stacks of energy we can practice our yoga with more zest going more deeply into the postures and surfing our working edge even going into unknown territory albeit with care.

On the other hand it is not always a good thing to practice with this intensity all the time. Some students can get addicted to this kind of powerful work and it can lead to a build up of unwanted tensions - the very thing that yoga is trying to eliminate.

Strong practice can be good but in balance.

Remember that gentle deliberate posturing can bring many benefits and has that kind of mental caressing effect on the mind which is what most of us want in the end anyway: peace.

Namaste

Barry Todd (HathaYoagMan)

A lot of the yoga we practice in the West is associated with "asana classes" or classes for posturing and this makes it all too easy to slip into the belief that yoga is really a physical thing. On further nvestiagtion we then come to see that yoga is really about the mind and that asana practice is really working with the minds outer reaches or outer cicuitry. In other words the body is quite tuned into the mind and visa versa whether we like it or not. So even if we only spend time working with the body in asana and breathing we will still influence the mind.

What's amazing is that most postures or asanas while they have a physical form and feeling are almost certain to have a psychological component to them. So for example if you fold or bend forward you are more than likely to close down psychologically and emotionally Alternately, if you practice a string of backbends for a while you are more likely to feel open and energized.

One of the most neglected groups of yoga asanas are those aimed at core strength largely because they sound like hard work! To be fair they can sometimes feel like hard work if we over do them. Like all asanas however, we would do better to approach them with the same mind set that we apply to all asana. They still need to feel comfortable, almost as comfortable as sitting down.

Core strength asanas are worth cultivating for a number of reasons.

If you believe you have strong arms you may think that core strength can be put off but in reality even if your arms are strong a weak core can let you down. A strong and tomed core can act as a useful lever or support mechanism for the upper and lower body. In other words it is a great help when manoeuvring the upper body or the legs. This is bourne out when we look at the two most simple core strength poses: Simple Sit Ups (the core lifting the upper body) and Simple Leg Lifts (core lifts legs). If you practcie these the condition of your core will improve.

Furthermore, as we have said above there is a psychological component to most asana and a strong core is no exception. When you are stonger on the inside you are stronger on the outside. Your psych and personality is likely to be stronger at the surface because you are stronger inside.

What's amazing though is that simply crunching the gut will not necessarily lead to this outcome. There is a need to work psychosomatically. Releasing and absorbing into core asanas as you would with any other. Cultivating this by evolving to core asana with a greater degree of difficulty can make that all important psycholgical link - albeit you may require a teachers guidance with this. We can allow the experience of deep sensitivity that focused asana brings to translate psychosomatically into the deeper recesses of the mind. This can often only be experienced with prolonged meaningful practice. Core asanas in particular can bring a deeper sense of absorption as to maintain them we are required to bring together additional mental focus and physical strength.

It is hardly surprising that this area of the anatomy sits with the Third Chakra behind the navel. This is the Chakra that is associated with power, individualism, energy, fearlessness, confidence, strength of will and intution.

Never Give Up and Always Let Go!

Barry Todd (HathaYogaMan)

As a yoga teacher at the Mind and Body Studio in Bury I teach every day and hardly ever get the chance to attend another class just for me so to speak.

You might well ask, "Why should a yoga teacher need to attend a class? Surely, if they are a yoga teacher they must be so laid back that they are nearly falling over and don't they meditate more than anyone else anyway!" Well, there may be truth in some of this but teaching yoga is not like doing your own practice where you have the opportunity to absolutely focus on absorbing yourself into every pose and allowing the body to melt down into the serenity of complete stillness!! Meditation can also be hard work or a least feel effortful.

What's good about being on the receiving end of a class teacher is that they navigate you through a journey and you simply have to let that happen and enjoy the ride.

This is what happened to me last week but it wasn't a yoga class this time although this can happen in a yoga class.

I attended one of Andrea's one hour Chill Out sessions on Thursday evening at 6.30pm and she did just what I said above. Her voice navigated me into melting down into serenity of complete stillness, complete calmness. It was just what I neeeded at the end of a full and fractous week. Even though I have practiced yoga for over thirty years I am still human and some weeks when I have perhaps neglected my personal practice I do feel like my nerves have been stretched out like a piano wire!

Andrea's session dissolved all that and I had a great feeling that lasted over the weekend.The amazing thing is that I didn't really remember much of what she was talking about in the session although I am sure it would have been meaningful. For all I know though she could have been talking gobbledygook for most of the time. All I know is that I felt amazing after that hour.

The Chill Out session is a great way to wind down your week, why not give it a try and if you book on to the 7.30 Yoga class that follows you get the Chill Out session free!

Never Give Up and Always Let Go!

Barry (HathaYogaMan)

First I'd like to thanks all those sunny people who came to our Solstice event in Zen.

For us it was certainly a night to remember .....you know ... one of those nights that you dread.  First of all the speaker we had booked, Nigel Mortimer,  cancelled on the Friday as the Solstice was on Saturday. umm so that's 1/12 hours to fill - mind you we had lots of activities to offer so we just got it together with some of those things planned in.  We should have practised with the fire !!!  We were planning to have the meal nicely served at the end of the talk but without the talk well (chaos) Then the soup kettle decided to blow a fuse or whatever soup kettles do, so each bowl of soup had to be heated individually in the micorwave  and you know ... it just went on from there.  So we didn't have a lot of time to socialise have a chat or two and get to know some lovely people who had come for the first time (aghh what must they think) or friends who we hadn't seen for ages.

So apologies for our sparce presence.

Hey but it wan't all bad, good sports that they were most people let me loose with their faces (paint) and got some flowers etc on them.

Despite it all we enjoyed ourselves and hope that all who attended had a good meal and a good socialising event.

Through the pictures on the slide show you can follow some of the activities.

Our little buddha standing duty at the front door was treated to a home made flower and leaf garland and as people stepped into our centre from the street their path was strewn with leaves to walk along.  Our fire ball was at the front door.

People were greeted with a tray of canapes (and I think they thought that was all they were getting) with a chilled lemon balm herb drink.  While we waited for everyone to arrive and some unexpected people too I started to work doing a bit of face painting on willing volunteers.

When everyone had arrived and got to know each other we honoured the solstice with an introduction by Barry and a meditation for a few moments on the heat of the summer sunshine and the power of that energy.  Meanwhile i was preparing the soup - summer garden soup.

Then we moved onto the main course and that was burgers, sausage, filled potatoes skins with curry cheese or florets & cheese.  There was mixed chargrilled vegetables and summer slaw salad, herb salad and rocket salad, pizza too but the finale was the sweet that was a representation of the sun designed by Barry (you will see the pics).

The activity you can see with petals was a mandala making exericise that could be taken home and meditated upon.  there were some brilliant designs but I have to give James the biscuit.  Rebel that he is it was no circle but it was a fantastic piece of artwork - and now he's hooked, he wants to do more.

We thought for a moment or two about our wishes and meditated on the energy of the sun helping us to acheive our objectives.  We wrote a simple sentence and then tied it around a home made wreath.  When all the wishes were on the wreath we offered it to the fire to have a reiforcement of energy to help us achieve.

We finalised with a prayer read out from a scrit that was given to everyone and a candle meditation around the candles you can see in the pics.