Yoga

I grew up in Scotland as a little girl who loved to move and dance. I’ve felt a connection between my body and mind as long as I can remember. When I was travelling in 2010 I first discovered a way of systematically exploring this connection by taking a yoga class with an orange haired, mostly naked yogi in a small studio in Kathmandu. On and off for the following years I dabbled in different kinds of yoga, movement, dance and pilates but could never quite commit.

I then worked in a fast paced, large organisation for a number of years and placed a lot of my self worth on how busy I was. This caught up and I was finding myself running on adrenaline all day and barely recognising myself in the mirror at night. Over the last couple of years, yoga has been a loyal companion and by getting on my mat regularly and confronting myself, I am getting closer everyday to understanding who I am and better connecting to those around me.

I like to practice dynamically, building up a rhythm of breath and movement. This alignment- based vinyasa style allows one to focus inward and be present in the here and now. I trained with Heather Elton and Mahalaya Yoga Nepal, spending a month in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery just outside Kathmandu seven years after first discovering this practice in the valley. This experience enhanced my understanding of the yogic traditions here in Nepal and I like to honour that by grounding my practice and teaching in yoga philosophy and context. I feel this adds depth to the physical practice of yoga.

Yoga class with me is somewhere you can be yourself, experiment, be vulnerable and have fun. You don’t need to be able to do a handstand or touch your toes. Through breathing and making shapes with the body you will explore the mind, a little bit at a time. You will practice awareness of how you’re feeling in any given moment and pay attention to areas of discomfort or ease. This awareness can bring a sense of stability and softness to your yoga practice and most importantly, your life in general.

Stuff

It’s everywhere.

My relationship with stuff was very unhealthy. For most of my 20s if I felt vulnerable in any way I would grab my credit card and hit the shops. Thinking back, I looked possessed as I raked through clothes rails and rushed frantically from shop to shop. I tried to get it done as quickly as possible. Like a binge. I would also make neurotic lists of things I ‘wanted’ after spending hours researching online. All of the spending was outside my means and as a result it’s taken me years to start to decrease my debt. The most regretful part of all this was that when I would get home all the purchases would be cast aside and I would go back to feeling empty.

The Yamas and Niyamas reflect the Vedic idea that one must have a dharmic foundation in daily life in order to truly approach the spiritual path. Aparigraha is one of the more subtle of Patanjali’s yamas to master yet in our western society it’s one of the most important. In short, it depicts the ethical discipline of not coveting, or non-possessiveness both at a gross and mental level. We are overrun by ‘things’ in our lives. It’s unescapable. We place consciousness into these things and find places in our hearts for inanimate objects. They define us, measure our success, comfort us when we’re feeling blue. This attachment doesn’t feel healthy nor will it help us advance on a spiritual path of non attachment. It’s extremely hard to detach from possessiveness as it’s everywhere in society. It’s so built into our lives we don’t even notice. It’s a veil.

Since connecting deeper to my yoga practice I have found an innate desire to buy and have less stuff. What I have I value for the benefit it can bring me and I am going through a process of getting rid of things that do not serve me. I feel happier as a result but it’s hard to pinpoint why as I feel largely equanimious to many tangible things. My life is less cluttered both physically and mentally. And on a practical level I have money to put to better use. Now the veil is lifting, I feel more abundant than ever.