There are certain qualities we can bring to life that are really helpful in living a full, rich, life of our choosing. Non-judgemental curiosity, patience, and a willingness to begin again can reduce the negative through processes that often arise when we meet a situation in life we wouldn't necessarily choose. How do we bring those qualities to our yoga practice and how do they help us, on the mat and in life?

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Mindfulness is everywhere now, we read and hear about it everywhere we go. No wonder, the benefits of mindfulness can include decreased stress, enhanced ability to deal with illness, facilitation of recovery, decreased depressive symptoms, improved general health and well-being, improved communication, the list goes on. However, there are instances where Mindfulness might not suit someone. Are you interested in exploring the possibility that mindfulness might be a helpful practice to incorporate into your life?

The 8-week MBSR course is an immersive deep-dive into the foundations and applications of mindfulness, and it’s role in stress reduction and in living a rich, full, meaningful life.

The MBSR course began in a University Hospital in Massachusetts in the early 80’s led by Jon Kabat Zinn. Positive changes could be seen in patients having done the course, this first one was to assist with pain relief. These changes could be proven by science which lead to an explosion in both the study and the application of mindfulness; continued growth in this field is ongoing.

To discover and experience mindfulness an intense immersion over 8 weeks is recommended. One class, once a week, of 2.5 hours, and home practice of 35-45 minutes a day, six days out of seven. One day-long retreat in the middle. Studies show this can enduring change on the brain and the brain’s patterns. These changes can persist beyond the 8-week course for those who continue with their practice.

The sessions are interesting, rich with practices and discussion, mostly done seated in chairs. There is a lot of emphasis on actually practicing together… seated meditations, lying down guided body scans and mindful movement (similar to gentle yoga). Home practice is a key part. Together with the teacher, before you sign up for the course, you decide if it is a good fit for you and the right time in your life to undertake such a commitment.

It’s a good idea to find a time, a location and a teacher that suits you. A google search should bring up options in your area. Typically an 8-week course costs in the region of €350.

Sylvia will be teaching the next MBSR in January 2023 in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio, Tibradden, Dublin 16. 9.30am - 12.30pm for 8 weeks from Wednesday 18th January. A €50 deposit secures your place. Balance of €300 is payable by December 1st. The last course booked out with a waiting list, places are extremely limited, please enquire early by sending an email sylviayoga@gmail.com or text 0876822362.

Some comments from previous course participants:

“I really enjoyed the whole course, Sylvia is a really engaging teacher. I learnt so much about myself.”

“I feel so much more aware of my mood and my energy levels since doing the course.”

“Highly recommend for stress reduction, my sleep has also improved”.

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Morning yoga classes are running in Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. The centre is a recently built, spotlessly clean, warm, bright, spacious place brilliantly run by South Dublin County Council; we are very lucky to be supported by an incredible team!

Most people who come to yoga find it is something they happily incorporate into life on an ongoing basis and many come to two, or three, classes in the week. Below is everything you need to know, please don’t make a payment until your place in a class has been confirmed by Sylvia.

Tuesday’s class is 10.45-11.45m; Thursday’s is 9.30-10.30am.

A four week course is €40. Drop-ins, when available, are €12. Please don’t make a payment until your place is confirmed.

Discounted student rates are available (€30/€10) and I will always work with you in times of financial hardship, please just ask.

The policy for Ballyroan Community Centre is everyone has to be fully vaccinated. I am obliged to check you Covid Cert please. We will operate a mask-to-mat policy. No mask required while doing yoga but masks are required while walking around the centre.

Please enter and exit the Community Centre via the fire exit doors directly entering the hall, not through reception as we used to.

The room is ventilated with fresh air so please bring warm layers. I always recommend a small folded blanket or towel (to sit on or for warmth for relaxation), warm socks and a warm hoodie or jumper. *Dress warmer than you think you might normally need to.*

What to expect in class:

I strive to deliver you a yoga practice that is balanced and healthy… strength, balance, posture, muscle tone, flexibility and range of motion. I always add in a good dose of breath-work, mindfulness, meditation and guided relaxation practices. As I enter my second year in a Masters of Mindfulness in UCD you can expect some references to psychology, neuroscience and buddhism as I continue to share my fascination with the human mind!

Our courses will run in 4-week blocks with the last week of each course focused on an aspect of restorative yoga… Yoga Nidra, Yin or Guided Body Scans. I will ask you to please confirm and pre-pay your next course on the final week of each course as we have a waiting list for both courses. However, drop in spaces often come up so please enquire. Email me sylviasyoga@gmail.com or whatsapp 0876822362.

I will always work with you if you are travelling and need to do part-of a course. I will always freeze your credit if you become sick or unable to attend. I do appreciate you letting me know if you can’t make a class but I know life is busy and last minute things crop up.

Monthly workshops, two hours long, will run to allow you to go a little deeper into your practice. At the moment these are happening locally in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio and I expect I will run them locally in The Park Community Centre as we go along. Upcoming events are always listed on the Events and Workshops page of my website. I’ll be announcing new events on an ongoing basis, so please continue to stay in touch and book early if something sounds interesting!

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any queries, I’m available by email and can schedule a chat on the phone at a time that suits. We can also plan a quick chat before or after class any time you need to check anything with me.

We are incredibly lucky to have this beautiful, clean, warm spacious room to practice in, I’m so grateful you are considering joining us!

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Evening yoga classes are ongoing in The Park Community Centre, Parklands Road, Dublin 24. The centre is a recently built, spotlessly clean, warm, bright, spacious place brilliantly run by South Dublin County Council, we are very lucky to be supported by an incredible team!

Both courses are usually fully booked, please contact Sylvia to enquire about the waiting list. Most people who come to yoga find it is something they happily incorporate into life on an ongoing basis and many come to two, or three, classes in the week. Below is everything you need to know, please don’t make a payment until your place in a class has been confirmed by Sylvia.

Monday’s class is 8-9pm; Thursday’s is 6.45-7.45pm.

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Here’s a summary of what's coming up for the next little while. All outdoor yoga is booked through Eventbrite. You can read more about each event on the Events and Workshops page of my website.

Friday morning 10-11am. Yoga Flow in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio. *this class will run for the foreseeable future; we have a covered area.

Monday evening 7-8pm. Yoga Flow in Woodtown Barn. *this class will run on a week-by-week basis depending on weather. We will be back to The Park Community Centre as soon as indoor classes are back up and running safely.

Saturday morning 10am-12noon, Saturday 11th September. Two hour yoga workshop with Yoga Nidra in Mutton Lane. *monthly workshops in Mutton Lane will run all year round. This is a perfect venue for workshops, we have a covered area, a wood-burning stove, a seated area for coffee afterwards tucked up in our blankets! Please book early as workshops usually sell out.

Monday evening 20th September 7-8pm Full Moon Meditation. Mindful movement, meditation and mindfulness in Mutton Lane in the twilight. This first event sold out within minutes. I intend running this again and again, new dates will launch after the first event. As we go into the Winter these events will be in the dark; you'll need a flashlight, we'll be in candle-light, and we'll have the wood burning stove going (can you tell I'm a little excited about this one!!)

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As you read this piece can you become aware of the sensations of the contact with the air around you and any bare skin? In outdoor yoga in the mountains the air is inevitably moist and fragrant. Sometimes it's still and warm, like a hug. Sometimes is cool and moving, a welcoming breeze. We learn to respond, to soften the skin, and to practice the noticing and the pausing from a more spacious place, a place that encourages ease in the body.

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Join us in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio. For the rest of June and most of July yoga runs Wednesday and Friday mornings 10am-11am; our next Saturday morning workshop is July 10th. We have a venue with outdoor and indoor options, plenty of secure parking and a spotlessly clean loo!

The sun gradually creeps over the deck as we practice; so many of us feel as if we are on holidays! Our yoga has birdsong and bees as background sounds, and the fresh breeze has a hint of sea in it's fragrance. We have found paradise.

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Dear Yoga friends,

After 15 months of consistently teaching yoga online I am taking a break to focus on teaching outdoor yoga and spending time with my elderly Dad. Peter recently had a fall and although his broken bones are healing really well he now requires more care. Despite having Alzheimers he is in top form, the happiest man in the world!, and it is my absolute honour and privilege to be the person adventuring with him this summer. We share a love of nature, doggies and renovating his 200 year old cottage in Wicklow.

Our twice weekly online yoga classes on Zoom will go on pause for June, July and August and we will resume in September. It feels like the end of an era, in a way like ‘war is over’. Many of you have been meeting regularly, a smile and a wave from our bunkers, as we collectively sheltered from the war and survived it, as best we could, in whatever ways we could. I am exceptionally grateful to everyone for the times you have showed up, it has been incredibly grounding and normalising at a time of so much uncertainty and change. Distant friends, please continue to connect on social media and stay in touch with your yoga tribe until we can practice together again.

Local yogis, I have some very exciting news; I have found a great outdoor yoga location for us in the Dublin mountains in Mutton Lane. Our first outdoor yoga class is on Friday 28th May at 10am, you can read more about the event here. Outdoor yoga continues in Orlagh House Wednesday mornings, 10-11am, until June 2nd. Numbers for outdoor events are very limited so bookings are via Eventbrite. I am still awaiting clarity on whether Marlay Park will go ahead on Fridays this summer, I’ll update as soon as I know. I’m hopeful our June workshop on Saturday 19th at 10am will go ahead in Mutton Lane!

Over the summer I will be continuing with my dedication to my practice and reading required for the Masters in Mindfulness I am studying in UCD. As I have shared with you all, many times, it can be a struggle for me to keep up with my daily seated meditation practices but I always feel better afterwards and I increasingly find small changes creeping in as a result. I will continue to cheer you on silently in encouraging you to tip into a little practice regularly, maybe a morning stretch and breathe, maybe committing to your ten minute seated daily practice for the summer. My Daily Collection consists of 5 daily 30 minute yoga practices you can repeat over and over again at home. I’ll stay in touch with you all with the occasional newsletter and my social media posts, you’ll see more doggies and ice creams and beaches than yoga mats this summer.

As always, huge thanks from me and Jasper for joining our little yoga space. I'm looking forward so much to seeing some of you in the open air and some of you back on the mat on the other side of summer!

Kindest regards,

Sylvia.

sylviayoga.com

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Updated September 2022

Dear Yoga Friends,

This tells you everything you need to know about attending your yoga class in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio. The most important thing is to note the Eircode which you will receive upon booking and to note the gate code which will allow you to access the property.

Mutton Lane is in Tibradden, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16. 10 minutes from the Firhouse/Knocklyon exit of the M50, 2 minutes drive from the Merry Ploughboy Pub, it’s on the same road as Hazel House Cafe. The Eircode brings you straight to the gate.

The yoga studio is located inside a private property on Mutton Lane in the Dublin Mountains, a little haven of nature, peace and tranquillity. Mutton Lane Yoga Studio is a purpose-built studio with a stunning spacious deck. We practice both outdoors and inside. Completely separate from the houses sharing the property the studio has its own entrance, a separate brand new spotlessly clean toilet and a small heated outdoor seating area. Our studio has a wood-burning stove; we often practice in firelight. When you enter the property you following the signage for the studio, turning right to go the parking area.

We have a large, spacious deck, surrounded by nature where we often begin the class. In Winter and on colder days we remain fully dressed in shoes and coats for a standing sequence. We then make our way into the warm, cosy, well ventilated yoga studio for the rest of the practice. Please bring plenty of warm, cosy layers. Please bring your own mat and a small folded blanket to sit on or to throw over you for final relaxation. Shoes suitable for the deck, runners or flip flops are great. A raincoat you can move freely in for mindful movement can be helpful on unpredictable days (most days!)

All yoga poses are suitable for all levels, please chat to me at the beginning if you have any concerns. Every movement I suggest is optional and I give plenty of choices for all levels. It’s always fine to do your own thing on the mat.

Events in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio include monthly Saturday morning workshops, two hours from 10am to 12noon and monthly Full Moon meditations, on the day or very close to the day of the Full Moon, 7-8pm. All of these are listed on Eventbrite or on the events and workshops page of the website. Sylvia will be running an 8-week MBSR course in October/November annually in Mutton Lane.

Often, after our Saturday morning workshops, we sit outside in the heated seating area for a cuppa and delicious food catered by Jamie, a local chef with a special interest in nutrition. Please join us!

Cancellation policy: Cancellations made less than 72 hours before the workshop/event starts will not be refunded.

Directions: Mutton Lane Yoga Studio is the first property on the right as you enter Mutton Lane. Please use the Eircode D16WV10. The address is: Grasslands, Mutton Lane, Tibradden, Dublin 16. To keep informed please sign up for the newsletter on the homepage of the website.

Thank you so much for your interest in attending yoga in Mutton Lane, I can’t wait to welcome you to our little haven of nature, peace and tranquillity.

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If you are considering attending Outdoor Yoga with me in Dublin I consider you a Yoga Warrior … courageous, curious, and ready to embrace whatever unpredictable adventure Irish weather will unleash on you! Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad preparation.

Of course we all love a sunny day with clear blue skies, and it often is. However our experiences of outdoor yoga are just as rich and meaningful when it’s dull or raining. As we know only too well with Irish weather we could easily have both climates in the same hour and it’s often hard to predict. Here are some things you can do to prepare to be comfortable and well prepared for your experience.

• Prepare for all weathers. Bring warm removable layers. I suggest a vest, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a coat you can move in, a hat for sun, a hat for cold, shoes for rain, warm socks, your yoga mat, a small folded blanket (to sit on or throw over you), water and sunblock.

• I suggest arriving around 10 minutes early so you are relaxed and ready to enjoy the whole experience from the moment you enter the space where yoga is held. Of course it’s no problem if you find yourself running late, just join us when you can. The most important thing is your relaxation; it’s extra special if you can begin to experience it from the moment you arrive in your haven!

• I will adapt the class to suit the weather. My intention is to bring your body through it’s full range of motion for a big tension-releasing stretch everywhere! If it’s cold and wet we may just do this standing and then head off on our silent, mindful, tree-lined walk: forest-bathing. If it’s dry and/or sunny we’ll enjoy our movement on the mat. I feel we can all benefit from plenty of movement while soaking our senses in present-moment awareness and I have loads of creative ways to do both, whatever the weather!

• I teach classic hatha yoga with a dose of playfulness. All yoga poses are suitable for all levels, please chat to me at the beginning if you have any concerns. Every movement I suggest is options and I give plenty of options for all levels. It’s always fine to do your own thing on the mat!

• I teach mindfulness meditation as we practice. I’m currently studying a Masters of Science in Mindfulness based interventions in UCD and will teach you the skills of developing a mindfulness practice of your own.

• Please let me know if you have any feedback, any questions or any suggestions. We’ll be doing this together for some time to come, I hope! You are a valued member of our outdoor yoga community and I intend continuing to adapt and get creative as required.

• Please note the events go ahead in the case of cold weather or light rain. In the case where the event does not take place due to really bad weather conditions a full refund will be issued.

• We have a whatsapp group for each venue which has the location, the link for tickets and any relevant information for directions or parking. We also use it to communicate on the day and to share photos afterwards.

• Yoga in Orlagh House takes place on Wednesday mornings 10-11am until June 2nd. Individual event booking is via Eventbrite. You can join our Orlagh House whatsapp group here.

• Yoga in Marlay Park will resume once we have the go-ahead from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Last year we were there Wednesdays and Fridays, 10-11am, all summer long. You can join our Marlay Park whatsapp group here.
  

Hope to see you in our little slices of heaven!

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This practice can be done on-the-go, you literally stop in your tracks and gather yourself for a few breaths. It can be done as a stand-alone Mindfulness practice, a few minutes seated, or walking in nature or lying in bed. The process remains the same - we become aware of what is, we gather our awareness to one focal point, we expand the awareness back out to notice the whole body. We ground, we pause, we start again.

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“Mindfulness meditation is the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally”. Jon-Kabat Zinn. Mindfulness is an intimate witnessing. We are having an experience at the same time as we are aware of the experience we are having. During our mindfulness practices we suddenly realise we are caught up in thought. We remember we are doing a mindfulness practice of observing thought. Oops! We bring our attention back to breath and the train of thought dissipates.

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