Yes, yoga has taken over my life pretty much for the past six months since my last blog (I am ashamed). I am two thirds of the way through my yoga teacher training with The Yoga Academy and every day it is impacting my life. I am not complaining, far from it.
It has encouraged me to meditate daily, sometimes with a special breathing practice, other times just simply sitting and concentrating on my natural breath or perhaps a mantra or phrase to think about; gratitude for example.
I have spent many hours planning lessons; those of you who do classes and think the teacher just drives there and teaches… not so much. I have spent hours practising drawing pin men (little stick people in various postures with legs up, down and rotating, heads facing this way or that, arms in the weirdest positions, and don’t get me started on whether the knees are forward or backward of the feet!). Grids, curves and mirroring. These words are now so familiar but before the course I used to get on my precious mat and move, not realising there was a whole other dictionary of words available.
There has been an overwhelming amount of information trying to squeeze itself into my (autistic) brain which is already overcrowded and tired. I have read so many books (not, itself a problem as I love to read as you know), but some of the information is so new and difficult to retain.
I always say, when I am talking about my autism, that I have the wrong type. If I had a wish from a Genie (or perhaps Buddha), it would be that I could retain in my head every piece of information I read; certainly it would be useful for my exam coming up in November.
Hmm, second thoughts, those adverts which keep popping up on Facebook would stay in my mind and I would be completely penniless if I couldn’t forget the content!
I digress, but seriously I do have an exam (they call it a big quiz, like that makes a difference) looming and I have to remember so much: not only cues for postures but alignment, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, Sanskrit, mantras, ethics, meridians, breathing practice, memes, gunas, cakras, sutras… wow, I wish I’d never started on this list. I really must start revising.
Not only that I have two more observed class assessments, and a major project to complete – all by next March. I am not complaining really, I love every minute of it – perhaps not the feedback, but the rest. I have met some wonderful new friends, travelled to a couple of beautiful places, and spent a vast amount of money! I also have an interesting array of leggings, and an ever increasing pile of notebooks building.
Very soon I shall be opening my own classes, not simply cover and assist, and I can get to enjoy putting into practice all that I have learned, and help others to discover the joys of my venture Blooming Yoga which no doubt I shall tell you much more about in the coming months.
For now I wish you ‘Shanti’ (peace) and invite you to join me again soon where I shall be telling you about another project underway as I attempt to sense the simple life more and more.
Until next time…
Nine days into the New Year… how’s it going so far? I came into the New Year with a new attitude to how I live my life. I wanted to be more focused, so that whatever I did, fed into my goals for the year, for my life, but in a simple way. I wanted to do little things which mattered, whenever possible. This includes basic things including household tasks and shopping to more meaningful things: kind words, positive gestures, gifting presence and listening skills.
Sensing The Simple Life 