Join Sylvia Ferguson and Dr. Eva Orsmond for a supportive 6-week programme.

The Mindful Eating Solution is an online or in-person expert-led programme created by Dr. Eva Orsmond, a specialist in weight management and diabetes reversal, and Sylvia Ferguson, who has 25 years experience as a yoga teacher and holds a Masters of Science in Mindfulness Based Interventions.

What is included:

• Lifestyle assessment with a nutritionist from Dr. Eva’s team to evaluate your current habits and needs

• Personalised diet plan tailored to your goals and lifestyle

• Five additional in-person or online follow-up consultations with a nutritionist for guidance and support

• Six weekly Zoom sessions consecutive Tuesdays, 7.30pm-8.15pm, beginning March 18th. A recording will be available of the main practice and some of the discussion, however real-time attendance is a highly beneficial aspect of attending the course. 

• Practical exercised and resources to implement mindful eating techniques into your daily routine

• Guided mindfulness meditations  

"Losing weight is hard. 

Being overweight is hard. 

Choose your hard."

Cost: 

€420 payable to Dr. Eva’s Clinics

 01 2827500 info@drevasclinics.ie www.drevasclinics.ie

Sylvia Ferguson is a yoga teacher of 25 years and has a Masters of Science in Mindfulness Based Interventions. She has worked with Dr. Eva Orsmond for the last two years creating and running health retreats in The Algarve and is a co-host on Eva’s radio show, Dr. Eva’s Life in Balance. 

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Dear Yoga Friends,

Don’t you love it when science catches up and confirms what we intuitively know, Yoga Nidra is a game changer!

Dr. Andrew Huberman is my favourite scientist, maybe not the world’s, but pretty close as he is host of the Huberman Lab Podcast, frequently ranked the #1 Health Podcast in the world. In 2022 he coined the phrase, NSDR or non-sleep deep rest and when you hear him talk about it you will also hear him mention Yoga Nidra in the same sentence. He is a huge proponent of both.

Non-sleep deep rest, or NSDR, is an umbrella term for a variety of practices that guide your brain and body into a state of deep relaxation without falling asleep completely.

Practicing NSDR for 10-30 minutes offers many advantages to your mind and body. Scientifically proven benefits of NSDR include:

Enhanced memory retention

Boosted neuroplasticity, aiding learning

Stress relief

Improved cognitive function, focus, and mental clarity

Enhanced sleep quality

Potential assistance in pain management

In week 4 of all courses we explore Yoga Nidra for half the class after having moved and stretched the body through a full range of motion yoga flow. You can also practice it any time at home.

Yoga Nidra is the powerful technique from the Tantra Yoga tradition. In yoga language it allows you to relax and heal your entire being, expand your imagination, enter the realm of subconscious and superconscious being, and assist in reaching a state, called by some, of enlightenment, Samadhi or Nirvana. 

No wonder the ancient yogic practice was kept secret by the Indian Yogis, potentially for centuries, until the 1960’s when it was introduced to western students by Parmahansa Satyanada Sarawasti.

The ability to remain fully awake and aware is not only accessible to advanced practitioners, but it can occur spontaneously the first time. Referred to by some as a state of trance, lucid dreaming or an altered state of consciousness, Yoga Nidra is an extremely safe practice, yet may evoke some deep seated emotions. It is quite possibly the easiest of yogic practices to follow with the minimum of effort. There is no way to do the practice ‘wrong’; you simply listen without trying too hard.  

It’s perfect for beginners, even the very restless ones. It’s an ideal practice for someone who is fairly new to yoga as it adds a whole new dimension to savasana (corpse pose for relaxation); experienced yogis tend to love it!

Yoga Nidra, sleep of the Yogi, ideally takes place in savasana, lying comfortably on a yoga mat on the floor or on a couch or a bed. Getting very comfortable in savasana is one of the key benefits of the practice. For absolute beginners to yoga this may be the most profound experience, the ability to relax at will, the ability to surrender the physical body and allow it to be fully supported and held by the earth beneath. Often beginners find, despite never reaching a state of ‘switching off’ from the busy thoughts of the mind, they cultivate the ability to be still, to be comfortable with whatever arises in thoughts, feelings and sensations. Yoga Nidra is often, for this reason, hailed as an aid to falling asleep. Falling asleep during the practice, particularly in the beginning, is very common. Even if you do fall asleep you will receive peripheral benefits as your subconscious mind remains aware of everything that you take in. In the ultimate Yoga Nidra experience, however, the mind is fully awake and aware and yet fully asleep (even while snoring audibly!)

In the stillness of savasana my voice guides your consciousness on a tour of the whole body in a structured fashion, the rotation of awareness. During the rotation of awareness you visualise the body part mentioned without moving it, you are literally shifting awareness. This stage of the practice is conducive to detachment from the external world, pratyahara. Concentrating on a single body part focuses the attention rigorously on one point. Prolonged concentration, dhyana, saturates the mind until it permeates to the source of existence, then the intellectual and conscious energy dissolve into the seat of the soul. It is then that samadhi, when you lose the sense of your separate existence, is attained. Awareness of nothing else remains except the core of one’s being, the soul.

After rotation of the consciousness focusing the attention on the act of breathing completes physical relaxation. My voice guides you through breath awareness techniques. Often at this stage of the practice practitioners report they drift in and out of conscious hearing, some are well and truly asleep. 

The final state of Yoga Nidra relates to mental relaxation. You will try to visualise a series of objects as described by me This aspect of the practice helps to develop self-awareness, faculties of imagination, and instinctual reactions to concepts within the deepest part of the psyche. The experience can be quieting and calming, yet fascinating and exhilarating.

Towards the end of the practice you will be guided back to awareness of the breath, awareness of the floor beneath you and will gradually guide your attention back to the present moment. 

For all practitioners there is a sense that Yoga Nidra is place on an ongoing journey towards the liberation of the self, a journey of observing the experience of releasing, of expansion, of resting in stillness, quietness and peace. In other words, as you drop through all the layers of your outer self, seeing everything on the way down, you become aware of all those layers themselves. This awareness can be brought back on returning to normal waking consciousness. You are gifted a sense of space within yourself, a sense of time and a consciousness needed to help choose what to say, how to respond, what direction to go in, in each moment. Witnessing and sensing physical release as the body sheds layer after layer of tension and holding is one of the most blissful yet practical aspects of the practice.

You can follow Sylvia’s guided Yoga Nidra by purchasing the audio download here. For those who use Yoga Nidra as an aid to sleeping you can access my audio recording, which just switches off when it's over. €10 for 45 minutes of bliss, you can listen to this audio recording multiple times on any device, it is yours forever!  

Sylvia teaches weekly yoga classes and events and workshops in Dublin, you can sign up for her newsletter on her home page. Pre-recorded classes are available to you any time, you purchase once and own forever. If you’re new to Sylvia or back to yoga after a break we suggest Hatha Yoga to start. Bundles include the Zen Collection, a variety of classes for every mood, and the Daily Collection, five half-hour daily practices.

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You’ll notice how much time and attention we spend in yoga noticing the places the body is touching the earth and allowing ourselves to feel grounded in those places. 

This benefits your body (a lot) and your thinking mind (an awful lot!) 

For the body we relax muscles, release tension, slow the heart beat, lower blood pressure and decrease nervous system activation. 

For the mind the practice teaches us to:

• focus attention (sensations where the body touches down)

• let go (of physical tension or holding and of unhelpful thinking patterns)

• disengage attention (from the natural wandering mind)

• start over (releasing with each exhale)

• begin again (noticing afresh with each inhale)

• patience (staying with the practice and not day dreaming, planning or reminiscing)

• perseverance (noticing boredom or resistance and letting it be there but not dwelling on it)

• gratitude (for whatever comes up to be grateful for, warm blanket, nice music, a loved one in your life, a coffee after with a pal)

These are all qualities of mindfulness. Isn’t it so interesting that what we aspire to for the mind is a mirror of what is wholesome for the body and vice versa. 

In this blog we take that exploring from the soles of the feet up as we stand tall and explore posture in the region of the legs and pelvis. In blog two we explored the precise placement of the feet. Feeling that earthy, deep, even connection across all four corners of the feet, see can you slightly lift the instep and continue with that uplifted energy all the way up to the pelvic floor. Slightly lift the pelvic floor as you slightly draw back the lower belly, the place you would have a zip on your jeans. From there we lengthen the spine and rise up through the crown of the head to the sky overhead. Tall and graceful but not rigid. Checking the knees we have the two kneecaps facing directly forward like two headlamps on a car. Often we can have, sometimes unbeknownst to us!, knocked knees or wonky knees (me!) We can learn to easily use the muscles below and above the knee cap to correct this wonky-ness. There is no age limit on making subtle shifts in the physical body that support you in moving through your life with greater ease and grace. There is no age limit on making subtle shifts in the thinking patterns of the mind that support you in moving through your life with greater ease and grace. 

From the feet to the knees, taking our awareness up to the pelvis we have now reached the top of the legs, the base of the spine. We have an uplifted feeling in pelvic floor and lower tummy area, upright but not uptight. In next week’s blog we’ll take the awareness up from this strong foundation up through the graceful curves of the spine and the complexity of the muscles that support the torso. To reflect on what we have learnt so far through feet, knees and base of pelvis I’m delighted to share the wisdom and precision of Jason Crandell, Yoga Teacher. 

"By cultivating strength without rigidity, and relaxation without collapse, in your yoga poses, you are learning to creating a balanced imprint on your nervous system. You are learning to remain awake, and yet calm, regardless of the external circumstances.”

We will continue to explore this in all upcoming classes, morning classes in Ballyroan are on new courses, with spaces. Evening classes in The Park have spaces. Mutton Lane workshops have very limited space, please book early. 

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Being a yoga teacher it’s understandable I’d have a small obsession with posture. As a Master of Science in Mindfulness Based Interventions I have a massive obsession with posture! In my humble opinion, bringing your attention into the body at will is your super-power in living life mindfully.

You’ll notice in my Masters title is the “intervention”. Some find this is a loaded word. When you think of intervention, what comes to mind for you? I find it fascinating that it’s not a case of me “intervening” in your thinking patterns (or indeed your movements patterns) rather, my training is in teaching you, in empowering you, to intervene yourself. You learn how to notice, to pause, to adapt. You learn to skillfully navigate your life with increasing grace and ease. 

Despite doing ballet as a child I didn’t always have great posture myself.  As a teenager I was happy to slump around the place in sloppy jumpers hiding my big Dutch bum! At the beginning of my yoga journey in my early twenties I was not really aware of my body or my posture, in fact it took years for me to fold in an awareness of how I was holding my body into my daily movements. The awareness began when I caught my reflection in a shop window on Grafton Street and noticed how awful my posture was. Then I started noticing other people and how good posture is so influential on how one comes across in life. We can get the botox, the fillers and the fake lashes (no thank you) but nothing is as empowering and as youthful as a body moving through life with ease, good posture and a relaxed elegance. 

Good posture is good for your nervous system. If you are at ease in your body your nervous system relaxes and everything relaxes. If you have bad posture your muscles are tense and tight and you are going to be tense and rigid. The brain senses when we are at ease; good posture helps us move through life with ease. Often, in my daily morning seated meditation practice I spend the whole time vaguely aware of how I am in my body and making small shifts, or small subtle movements, to refine my posture and find ease. Each moment I sense a bit more ease is, for me, a mini-moment of bliss. You know that feeling of taking off too-tight shoes after a long day, or loosening a belt? Every time we consciously reduce the stress on the body there’s relief, a relaxing, a coming back to our true selves, our true nature and our natural relaxed bodies. In a daily seated meditation practice those little moments can feel blissful. 

But what is good posture, how do we know, what do we do? 

Posture can be a little controversial. In yoga we might call it “alignment” and in the yoga space alignment can be very controversial. You see, we all have completely unique bodies. Like our fingerprint, the precise shape and size of each bone and joint in each human body differs. And good posture is a felt-sense, who am I to tell you what your good posture in your body should look like?

My job as a yoga teacher is to empower you to sense into, and to observe, what good alignment in your body feels like. Although we are all completely unique we have commonalities as humans as well. So often the small ways we can mis-align (or have bad posture) are similar for a lot of us. Leaning too far forward, slumping or being too tense. We learn to correct our posture in ways that bring less tension rather than more. In this process, initially we might need to strengthen muscles that have become lazy and therefore stiff and weak. This can feel uncomfortable, initially strength-training muscles can feel a bit like too much like hard work! We might have to soften muscles that are tight or stiff and initially stretching a stiff muscles can feel somewhat unpleasant. With time, patience and practice, we begin to enjoy the feeling of muscles getting stronger and we learn to love stretching and the relief and release it brings. But yes, the start of this journey can be hard, that’s why the support of a yoga class and a teacher that invites you to take it easy, and rest in child’s pose when you need to, can be invaluable. 

Your own good posture is not something new you have to learn. Rather you are un-learning the patterns that keep you stuck. Slumping as a teen, or rushing around with your shoulders hunched up, rounding your shoulders to hide a big bust or trying to make yourself smaller as a tall person, we all have our thing! We were all born with a soft relaxed body and as babies we had to learn how to align the spine in order to get up from crawling to walking. At that stage in life we all had excellent posture, we wouldn’t have balanced ourselves without stacking the head over the rib cage over the pelvis over the legs. It’s nuanced and it’s subtle and it’s rewarding when we ‘get it’ … just like mindfulness practice itself. So noticing your posture is a perfect mindfulness practice! 

In evaluating your posture you can use a mirror (or a shop window) or a pal. First observe and adjust. Maybe you’re slumping a little, maybe your shoulders are tensed up close to your ears. Internally we might sense if we could stack the head directly over the centre of the rib cage directly over the centre of the pelvic floor. Let’s call this the mid-line or central axis through the body. Turn to one side and see can you line up your ear over your shoulder over your hip over your ankle. 

It’s one thing taking to our awareness to the body when we are standing still and focusing our full attention on it. What happens on the move? How can we both engage with life (rich, full and busy for many) and remain attentive to our posture? This is the skill we can develop in yoga. How is my posture in warrior, in plank, as I lower from plank to the floor, as I wobble in tree pose? We learn to notice how we are in all of these different shapes and planes; we learn to notice how we are as we move from one pose to the next. 

In next week’s blog I will introduce some specific cues I might give you in a yoga class to see can we develop our curiosity and our intuition. I’ll teach you the terminology, or phrases you might hear in a class, and explain them. It gets interesting and rich when we can we notice small specific parts of the body, and the subtle shifts we might make. Can you find ease, centeredness and receptivity in the body, in stillness and on the move, maybe even just for now?  

Sylvia. 

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Dear Yoga Friends,

They say people who are attuned to the weather are naturally more mindful as they are more “awake” to the inevitable ups and downs of living with unpredictable, changeable weather. Lucky us, eh!

We know only too well that a sunny winter day is to be treasured and an awful winter day could be well used with a deep dive under the duvet. We know only too well that each will pass in their own time and clinging on, or resisting, is futile, we might as well just roll with it. How could we cultivate that attutitude of acceptance to the rest of lie’s ups and downs? We can practice coming back to a neutral nervous system by planning in time in our lives for conscious rest.

What is conscious rest? It’s anything at all to do with the process of finding, planning and making time for activities that relax your nervous system while your mind stays present and awake as best you can. So it is not sleep, not scrolling endlessly on your phone, and not getting lost in Netflix. Conscious rest incorporates practices like Yoga Nidra, massage, yoga, journalling, mindful walking, sauna and/or cold water immersion, slowly sipping a morning cup of coffee, gentle walks in nature, guided body scans, compression therapy, exploring aromatherapy, art, guided breathing practice, lymphatic drainage, body brushing, gua-sha, shakti mat, a long bath, reflexology, reading a book, guided meditation, acupuncture, getting a pedicure. The thing that makes yoga unique to other forms of exercise is that the practice is designed to be done with a calm nervous system but of course, other forms of exercise can be deeply relaxing for people so these suggestions are all very individual. What’s on your list? What practice could come in to your life for 20 minutes in your day here and there in your week? What could come into your life for an extra hour or two in the week? Can you plan something longer/more meaningful for yourself?

Think of conscious rest as one of the pillars of heath. A calm nervous system benefits every single system in your body. Think of the other pillars: sleep, food, exercise, relationships, community, work/purpose, fun, and see can you start to build time in to support this pillar. For many of us there’s an element of catching to to do too, I often remind myself I am recovering from years of chronic stress (we all are!)

Classes, workshops and mini-meditations are all designed to support you in supporting this pillar of your health. We’re back with week one in Ballyroan, spaces in each class, all the details are here. Evening classes in The Park are on week 4, yoga nidra week, spaces in each class, more info is here. All upcoming events are here, please consider taking a Wednesday morning out soon to join us for Mutton Lane mini-retreats, we have one next Wednesday! We have one final 5-night retreat in Solar Alvura Hotel with a very special offer for last-minute bookings, please enquire, we’ll be beginning Saturday 16th.

I’m here for any questions at all. I’m heading off in the drizzle to Mutton Lane Yoga Studio to light the wood-burning stove and count my blessings! So happy to be joining many of you there, we still have spaces for next Saturday’s one. I’m here for any questions at all as we all continue to find our way,

Kindest regards,

Sylvia.

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Dear Yoga Friends,

After 25 years of teaching yoga it's really interesting to see the same patterns emerge amongst those of us who love to practice yoga regularly. With time, and a sense of curiosity, it seems almost inevitable people are drawn more and more to the yoga mat. 

Typically we first come to yoga and notice subtle changes in the body, a bit stronger and steadier overall. Maybe a bit softer in areas as we realise on the yoga mat we might have a tendency to clench our jaw at times, or the shoulders hunch up slightly, maybe we carry the remnants of a frown as we puzzle our way through life! Usually participants report sleeping really well on yoga night, or feeling more relaxed in general overall in the body. Typically after a few weeks of this we realise we would extend these benefits for longer during the week if we could attend a second class. After 6 months of regular practice 80% of yogis are practicing twice a week. With the second class comes new revelations. 

With time and patience we begin to notice the patterns of the thinking mind. Our tendency to worry, or plan. Our tendency to ruminate or catastrophize. We notice those thinking patterns and learn to choose a different thought for the mind - usually our yoga training helps us connect with the grounded feeling of being in a strong, calm, body or we learn to tune into the smooth rhythm of the breath. Invariably this leads us to be curious about discovering more! 

In our longer, quieter workshops in the tranquil space of Mutton Lane Yoga Studio, or on our 5-night retreats in Portugal, we take the time out for ourselves to discover a deeper stillness, a deeper wisdom. We notice sooner when the mind inevitably wanders, the 'coming back' happens with greater ease as sensations in the body and the breath are now more familiar to us. We learn more about who we are, we make peace with who we are. 

Do yoga once a week, change your body. Do yoga twice a week, change your mind. Do yoga daily, change your life! 

We have just a few last deep dives into mini-retreats in Mutton Lane before the end of the year; Wednesdays 6th November and 4th December. Mini-retreats involve a little academic learning as I introduce you to some interesting snippets of psychology or neuroscience or buddhism to help deepen our understanding of the human condition. On Saturday morning workshops we move at a slow pace through yoga, meditation and relaxation practices. All workshops emphasize a quietening of the nervous system and a curious open mind for a refreshing approach with lasting benefits. Bookings are on Eventbrite for Mutton Lane events please, I'm here for any questions at all.

We have one last retreat in Solar Aluvra Health Hotel in the Algarve, sunrise meditations, twice daily yoga, ocean swims and island excursions all combine with incredible, healthy delicious food. More information here or enquire directly with the hotel. 

Yoga classes in the community have a handful of spaces in each class, please enquire. We have a one-week break coming up for mid-term and we're back early November for a six week run to take us to Christmas. 

Morning classes in Ballyroan Community Centre: 
Each class has just a few spaces: Monday noon, Tuesday 10.45am and Thursday 9.30am. Classes are ongoing in Ballyroan Community Centre and will continue busy now for a while. We will break for the October Bank Holiday / Halloween week, 28th-31st. More information here. 

Evening classes in The Park Community Centre: 
Monday's class is full, Thursday has spaces. 
Mondays 7.45-8.45pm. Thursdays 6.45-7.45pm. We will break for the October Bank Holiday / Halloween week, 28th-31st. More information here. 

Our Mini-retreats in Mutton Lane are two and a half hour immersions in a purpose built outdoor / indoor yoga studio surrounded by trees. Sessions include yoga, mindfulness, an education piece with discussion, tea/coffee and a deep guided relaxation. Each session is different. Tickets on Eventbrite. Price €45 per session. It's also fine to book directly with me, €40 via Revolut or cash; please just let me know so I can keep a space for you. Wednesdays 6th November and December 4th are currently on sale, thanks so much to everyone booking.

Yoga workshops and full moon workshops run in Mutton Lane all year round, please book early. Last few spaces on Saturday November 2nd and Wednesdays 6th (10am) and 13th (7pm). 

Winter is the most gorgeous time of the year to experience the Algarve. Some of you have already booked for November, thank you, treasured repeat guests. Yoga retreats in Portugal are in Solar Alvura Health Hotel in the Algarve and run almost all year round.

You can see all of this at a glance on my website, sylviayoga.com. Most classes are booked directly with me and most events are booked through Eventbrite - just drop me a quick text or Whatsapp (0876822362) if you need any help in booking, I can hold a space for you.

If you didn't catch it live on air the radio show I co-hosted with Dr. Orsmond is now available as a Podcast on Mixcloud here. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, it's great to hear the information has made an impact on decisions around medication. 

I'm here for any questions at all. Thanks so much to Trish doing a wonderful job, as always, of teaching the community centre classes this week and I'll look forward very much to seeing you all back on the mat in November. 

Kindest regards, 

Sylvia. 

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Dear Yoga Friends,

They say times of change and transition are the best times to explore our practice. After a period of emotional turmoil I am immersed my own practice more than ever and am really enjoying sharing this "advanced" practice with all of you. As a Masters of Science in Mindfulness Based Interventions I would be doing you a dis-service to simply bring you to the mat to stretch and relax. I am very grateful when you cultivate the patience, curiosity and self-compassion to explore with me the shadow side of getting to know ourselves better and be at peace with that. See below for Jason Crandall's take on this shadow side; I always love sharing other teacher's wisdom with you all.

I am more excited than ever to have Autumn and Winter to look forward to in our beautiful venue in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio in the Dublin Mountains. We have our outdoor deck, surrounded by trees, our cosy inside studio with the wood burning stove and our heated terrace for teas, coffee, chats and reflections. Many of you have attended 8-week MBSR courses with me there and in our mini retreats I dip into this course curriculum to explore psychology, neuroscience and the nuances of the human condition as we live our best lives! Next Wednesday we take a deep dive into values: this is one we explore with a massive dose of compassion, for ourselves and others. As always, yoga, mindfulness, relaxation leave you feeling brand new! 

Morning classes in Ballyroan Community Centre: 
Each class has just a few spaces: Monday noon, Tuesday 10.45am and Thursday 9.30am. Classes are ongoing in Ballyroan Community Centre and will continue busy now for a while. We will break for the October Bank Holiday / Halloween week, 28th-31st. More information here. 

Evening classes in The Park Community Centre: 
Monday's class is full, Thursday has spaces. 
Mondays 7.45-8.45pm. Thursdays 6.45-7.45pm. We will break for the October Bank Holiday / Halloween week, 28th-31st. More information here. 

Our Mini-retreats in Mutton Lane are two and a half hour immersions in a purpose built outdoor / indoor yoga studio surrounded by trees. Sessions include yoga, mindfulness, an education piece with discussion, tea/coffee and a deep guided relaxation. Each session is different. Tickets on Eventbrite. Price €45 per session. It's also fine to book directly with me, €40 via Revolut or cash; please just let me know so I can keep a space for you. Wednesdays 9th October and 6th November and December 4th are currently on sale, thanks so much to everyone booking.

Yoga workshops and full moon workshops run in Mutton Lane all year round, please book early. Our upcoming one in October on Saturday 5th is full, last few spaces on Saturday October 12th. 

We have Autumn retreats coming up in Portugal in October and November, the most gorgeous time of the year to experience the Algarve. Some of you have already booked for these, thank you, treasured repeat guests. Yoga retreats in Portugal are in Solar Alvura Health Hotel in the Algarve and run almost all year round.

You can see all of this at a glance on my website, sylviayoga.com. Most classes are booked directly with me and most events are booked through Eventbrite - just drop me a quick text or Whatsapp (0876822362) if you need any help in booking, I can hold a space for you.

I'll be back in touch with a link for you to tune into the recording of the radio show I had the pleasure of co-hosting with Dr. Eva Orsmond on Scarrif Bay Community Radio at the weekend, it will go up on Spotify in the coming days. We chatted to the inspiring Michelle and to Professor Sherif Sultan from Galway University Hospital who spoke passionately about the over-prescribing of Statins and how we can all take more control of our good health to avoid the harmful side effects of medication. Hint, yoga is recommended! 

"The most beneficial aspect of "advancing" your practice isn't the acquisition of new postures or tricks. Rather, it is the process of putting yourself into a difficult, confusing scenario where you confront your habits and limitations." Jason Crandell. 

I'm here for any questions at all. Looking forward to seeing you all on the mat this week, 

Kindest regards, 

Sylvia. 

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Dear Yoga Friends,

I am writing to you from Solar Alvura Health Hotel in Portugal where I have the terrace to myself and an Atlantic Breeze soothing me. I've just read through messages from many of you and had a lovely cry, I haven't cried much since my beloved Dad died. He was my favourite person in the world, my bestie, and my rock. Your kind words have given me solace and food for thought; it's humbling to be the teacher and know I have so much to learn from all of you. 

I'm no longer a daughter, no longer a carer. I am something brand new. I am in the space of the unknown. I don't know how much grieving is left, I don't know what to expect, | don't know what to do. I am taking the advice of all of you and minding myself and taking it easy. Teaching yoga is a nourishing support for me so you will all see me on the mat in the coming weeks. Being in nature with all of you is my refuge, we have lots of Marlay Park and Mutton Lane classes and workshops coming up. I've booked a trip to see family towards the end of summer and Trish will be looking after classes in my absence. Please know your kind words have meaningful impact and you are my precious, supportive community. I am very grateful. 

Below is a quick summary of what's going on in the coming weeks. Morning classes run as usual, everyone welcome! Evening classes are just on Mondays for now, everyone welcome. Marlay Park Friday mornings for the rest of the summer (it never rains on Fridays ;-)) Trish will be there this week. Mutton Lane events coming up are busy except for our Wednesday mornings - we have spaces next Wednesday and the following, join us. I'm hoping to keep these Wednesday sessions up into the Autumn as they are so well received and we all love them! 

We have Autumn retreats coming up in Portugal September, October and November, the most gorgeous time of the year to experience the Algarve, some of you are already booked for these, thank you, treasured repeat guests (miss you all here!) 

You can see all of this at a glance on the events and workshops page. Most classes are booked directly with me and most events are booked through Eventbrite - just drop me a quick text or Whatsapp (0876822362) if you need any help in booking, I can hold a space for you.

Signing off in appreciation of all of you, and for the space to discover something brand new. 

Kindest regards, 

Sylvia. 

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Does anyone else sometimes find themselves either thinking obsessively or not thinking enough, zoning out as such. How do we best reflect, what is skillful thinking? 

In our Mindfulness Practices we take a curious, compassionate approach to investigating the thinking mind while keeping our perspective open and adaptable by connecting with the body. You might hear this called expanded awareness or vipasanna meditation (which translates to insight meditation). The idea is to take the awareness into the body to wake up the more expansive areas of the brain, it can also be called meta awareness or dual awareness. A participant in a recent practice described it as being aware of the whole package, aware of the body as well as also being aware of all other processes going on, the emotions, sensations, changing thinking patterns. She said it felt very calm and comforting and complete, as if all the pieces of her had come together. 

Like any art, reflection can be explored, practiced and developed. We sometimes do this in small groups in Mutton Lane yoga studio with a blank page and a pen to help us clarify thoughts and sometimes categorize them. We take an open, light-hearted approach to putting language on our experience in chosen moments, breaking them down into thinking (thoughts or narrative), emotional tone, and body senses and sensations. Learning like this, in a welcoming, safe group, keeps things interesting for us, it keeps our learning rich and alive. We discover how much we all have in common as humans, our shared human condition. We also discover how unique we all are, each one of us having a brand new discovery and awakening each time we practice. Each one of us changing, moment by moment as we simply rest in the moment and thrive. 

Reflection leads us to a deeper understanding of life and to the fullness of wisdom. All too often we are pulled by the whim of the thinking mind, it’s unfounded fear and unnecessary repetitive patterns. With contemplation and insight we notice what we are thinking and we broaden the frame of how we think about it. In opening our awareness like this, including in our field of awareness the sensations of the body, we are opening up with our highest executive functions in the brain, the pre-frontal cortex.

Collectively called ‘Contemplative practices’, derived from the word ‘to contemplate’, practices like yoga, meditation, mindfulness and tai chi invite us to hold a spacious container in the physical body while we take ourselves to places of quiet reflection. In Mutton Lane Yoga Studio mini-retreats, in our beautiful supportive environment, I guide you through reflective practices to lead you to deeper insight. 

Join us for our last one in the current series of four:

Wednesday July 10th: Half-day Retreat for learning, immersion and practice. 

Similar to a yoga workshop, we will start with movement, hopefully on the sunny deck. The intention for the movement is to move mindfully to bring the attention to the body - we will flow through a full range of motion yoga practice so everyone gets a good stretch throughout the whole body and a feeling of vitality and connection. We will sit outside sipping our tea and coffee for a short education piece supported by handouts, discussion, and journaling. Please bring a pen and a notebook (I’ll have spares!) The latter part of the class includes mindfulness practices designed to be quieter and more relaxing so you leave feeling completely rejuvenated. 

Tickets via Eventbrite: https://sylviafergusonevents.eventbrite.ie *Please note the Eircode and the gate code in your booking confirmation. 

Please bring: The code for the gate (in your Eventbrite booking confirmation). A warm coat you can move in for outdoor standing poses. Layers for inside the studio (a hoodie or sweatshirt, cosy socks, an eye pillow or scarf for over the eyes if you like darkness for relaxation).

Sylvia is teaching regular weekly yoga classes in Community Centres in Rathfarnham and Firhouse. Monthly Saturday morning workshops are usually 10am-12noon, Full Moon Meditations are are 7-8pm. All events are listed on the events and workshops page of the website and booked via Eventbrite. Outdoor yoga in Marlay Park in summertime. 

Bookings are via Eventbrite please. 

For updates please sign up for the newsletter on the homepage of sylviayoga.com. 

Sylvia has a range of online classes if you'd like to explore her style of teaching from home.

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