When yoga does more than just help you touch your toes…
There’s no denying that yoga has had a surge of popularity of late. Certainly since I completed my Dru Yoga training in 2012 more and more people are regularly practicing yoga. Which is amazing.
I’m not surprised as it has the ability to considerably ease back, shoulder and neck pain, to make you feel more agile and it stretches out those tired, desk-bound muscles. It doesn’t require you to be anything other than you, so no need for expensive equipment or hours and hours of training.
But the magic of yoga is that it isn’t just another form of physical exercise, it also works on making us stronger mentally and emotionally through make us more relaxed – being less stressed means we are more able to cope with our life’s ups and downs.
Just here for the Savasana
You might think that the stress-relief comes only from the dedicated relaxation part at the end (the Savasana) but it actually happens throughout your yoga practice.
When practicing Dru Yoga you are working on a series of subtle layers of your being, known as the ‘koshas’. The one we are most familiar with is the physical kosha (our bodies), but we have four more, and we need them all to work well for us to function properly and feel good.
We know these parts of us are there, we know we think and feel and are more than just our physical selves, but how often in life do we stop to check these parts of us are doing OK?
How are you?
How is your emotional ‘you’? Your energy levels? Your intuition? When someone asks you how you are, have you noticed how much easier it is to say if you’ve got a physical ailment, maybe a cold or a broken toe, than it is to say that you feel sad, or exhausted, or confused at life?
This is one of the key aspects of Dru Yoga – working beyond the physical emphasis of many modern day exercise techniques and into the deeper, more subtle parts of our being.
Changing of the seasons
There are certain times when our emotional being is a little bit more dominant than others, and the change of a season is one of those times. In September, for example, we start to switch from the energetic, outdoor focused summer to the windy, and often too busy, autumn.
This year, instead of racing ahead into the September ‘back-to-school’ fever how about taking time to see where you are at, to reflect the tradition of autumn to be a time for celebrating the abundant harvest? For you that might mean setting or renewing goals, or it might mean acknowledging that you need more rest and hibernation over the winter months.
Take a break - big or small
Our upcoming yoga retreats - a weekend in Yorkshire, and our week away in Spain - are timed to be at the cusp of this seasonal change, and we are embracing it with yoga that will focus on ways to identify your opportunities and harvest them. Utilising the power of Dru Yoga to not just reach us physically but to nourish our mental and emotional selves too.
We’ll be focusing on grounding and immune boosting yoga poses that will set you up nicely for the autumn season, with your feet on the ground and your mind and body nicely relaxed. A great way to start this is to practice the Mountain pose daily. Have a go now with my video
Most importantly we’ll be outside as much as the weather allows, soaking up that all important Vitamin D.
Not got time for a week or weekend away?
Then come to my new class in Leeds at Duke Studios. It’s timed to be a post-work class so you can get out of the office and straight on to a yoga mat.
BOOK NOW
What people say about my yoga retreats and classes
‘a fantastic opportunity to lean more about yoga, its philosophy and how it can transition your life physically, mentally and spiritually. Lucy share her knowledge and wisdom of yoga with the utmost care and generosity.’ – attendee of the Andalucian retreat in June 2015
‘Beyond all expectations! Thank you so much. Both my body and soul feel utterly nurtured’ – attendee of the Andalucian retreat in June 2015
‘Lucy’s classes always bring a smile to my face. She creates a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere, and her supportive comments and great music choices make each class special. Her classes are so good that I have travelled across London early in the morning to take part!’ – Sophie
“I loved the class that I attended on Wednesday – the ambience that you created in that studio was wonderful and I felt very welcome! I enjoyed the class and I was so happy that I could do the majority of the moves, but I was really grateful for the modifications that you made to some of the moves so that I could do them at my own pace.” – RJ
“The yoga was fab, really nice and relaxing and so attentive to everyone. Very good for someone like me who is a beginner!” – Heather Deakin