Email sent to students on 6th February:

Dear Yoga Friends, 

In our MBSR course this week we looked at what happens at stressful moments in life. The whole big catastrophe of reactions that can hit us like a ton of bricks in the face of a stressful event, something that happens that's just not our fault! We learnt the reaction isn't our fault either, our hard-wiring as humans can cause us to overreact at times. And, of course, we're all a little more fragile than usual at the moment. We learnt how to pause and take a moment to notice the whirlwind of thoughts, energy, emotions and all the physical reactions. Noticing in this way, with a sense of kindness and curiosity, turns the big messy ball of reaction into sometime a little more manageable. Maybe we can begin to see the thought as just a thought (it might not be as true as our immediate reaction thought it was!) and the stuff going on in the body as bundles of sensations. 

We practice this on the mat in yoga. Feeling our feet on the ground, feeling the sensations of breathing, holding all of that in a spacious container. We practice this in our workshops, on our days out. The space to be in nature, the beautiful locations with the vastness of the sky, the hugeness of the trees, the freshness of the breeze. In that space the tight messy ball of stress and troubled thoughts gets to loosen just a bit. In that little bit of space there's a bit of wiggle-room, a chance for something to change, some stubborn thought to move on, some gripping muscle to release and let go. 

Do you need a little breathing space? Do you need time out to just be? Would it be supportive to immerse yourself in a day of hiking in the mountains, nutritious food in a luxurious dining room overlooking the city, yoga and mindfulness in a converted chapel amid long corridors and endless rooms with open fires and cosy armchairs. Lose yourself for a while with us. 

We are celebrating early Spring in Orlagh House on Wednesday 23rd February with a day of Mindfulness, Yoga and Connection. From 10am to 5pm you will be supported, nurtured, indulged, maybe challenged. We also have Saturday morning workshops and Full Moon Meditations comings up. Orlagh House has spaces, other events in February are waitlist only, however, please make use of Eventbrite's excellent waiting list system as we can get last-minute cancellations. 

Local yogis, our regular weekly classes are back next week after I've spent a week isolating at home. 
Morning classes in Ballyroan will be on week three of courses next week, Tuesdays at 10.45am and Thursdays at 9.30am. I have very limited space in both, if you are new to these classes please check with me before booking a space, regulars thanks so much for your confirmations. 

Monday night’s 8.15pm class in The Park Community Centre will be back next Monday 7th, thanks to everyone confirming the new course starting on 14th. Thanks to all of you coming on Thursdays and joining us online. Thursday night’s 7pm class has a limited number of free spaces (week 3 next week), please check with me as we have a waiting list for evening classes. Regulars, thanks so much to those who have confirmed, if you haven't already done so please book as usual.

In our online classes we are sequentially making our way through the foundational attitudes of mindful living, qualities we can cultivate on and off the yoga mat to encourage a rich, full, meaningful life. Next week we explore 'non-striving'. You are welcome to jump on board and join us in these classes any time.

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees 

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.                         

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.


Thanks so much to all of you joining me in this harsh and exciting one life we get to live. 

Kindest regards, 

Sylvia. 

sylviayoga.com
Join me for online yoga in your home any time, on-demand classes here.