"Remember to use your body as a way to awareness. Just patiently practice feeling what is here until it becomes second nature to know even the small movements you make. This basic effort, which paradoxically is a relaxing back into the moment, gives us the key to expanding our awareness from times of formal practice to living mindfully in the world. Do not underestimate the power that comes to you from feeling the simple movements of your body."

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Newsletter sent by Sylva to students on 16th January 2022.

In mindfulness we have this ongoing invitation to begin again, each new moment a brand new fresh opportunity. Often this is taught with breath-awareness practices. The mind wanders off in our practice, this is not a mistake. It’s just what minds do. When we notice we simply come back to the breath. We begin again.

Your yoga mat, as your refuge, offers you this same generosity. Your yoga mat is that kind, forgiving friend, always welcoming. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone, it’s always possible to pick right back up where you left off, entering this space of allowing, allowing you to land just as you are.

This week I began teaching my first MBSR course to an amazing group of curious, committed yogis. As our homework for this week we do a guided body scan daily, as well as some small mindfulness practices peppered in the day, and we record what we notice in a journal. Our journey is a shared learning journey, as the guide I am by no means the expert, I simply present the teachings, supported by the expertise I have acquired through study and practice, and off we go together to explore, and experience, and awaken. Another invitation in life to begin again, how exciting!

For those of you interested in learning more about mindfulness and MBSR I have a colleague starting an 8-week course in February with a limited amount of spaces. Please let me know if I can pass your details on to Catriona for further discussion with her if this course might suit you at this time. After my graduation I intend running an MBSR course, maybe you park this thought for the future.

In our online classes we are beginning a new 4-week block this week. 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. This week we explore patience.

Patience… anyone else sense a little resistance to this straight away? There's so much to do, there's so little time, rushing is just what I do!! How will we respond to the invitation to move slowly at times, to pause, to feel what is there? Let's see!

I’ll weave the same theme and poses into all of our classes this week so those of you joining me on the mat have the choice and the freedom to attend class from home with the live online class recording. It’s never a problem if you have to isolate at home for whatever reason, your place in class will be there for you when you are ready to return.

Morning classes in Ballyroan are beginning new courses this coming 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 please go ahead and book in as usual.

Monday night’s 8.15pm class in The Park Community Centre is on pause for now, your places are all secure and it’s looking very likely we’ll be back on the mat soon, thanks to all of you coming on Thursdays and joining us online in the meantime. Thursday night’s 7pm class has a limited number of free spaces, please check with me as we have a waiting list for evening classes. Regulars please book as usual.

I’m really excited to be back in Mutton Lane Yoga Studio tonight for our Full Moon Meditation. We are outdoors in nature wearing our coats and shoes and wooly layers for the start of this practice unless it’s lashing rain. Then we make our way into the cosy fire-lit studio to get quiet. Typically we explore moving meditation outdoors, a quieter moving meditation indoors and a meditation in stillness, lying or seated. The practice is designed to be interesting, explorative, calming and grounding.

The coming weeks and months we have events in Mutton Lane and Orlagh House with some free spaces. My emphasis is getting us out into the beautiful nature that surrounds these venues as much as we can, breathing in our gorgeous, fresh, green, sea-scented Irish air and immersing our senses in present-moment awareness. I’m here to help your notice your nervous system quietening, your breath slowing, the small knots of tension releasing, and any and all sensations, the whole big bundle of all of you is always welcomed! You always have an opportunity to come exactly as you are and simply begin again.

I’m closing this email today with a little story below about patience and progress. It might prompt a little sadness. Maybe just hold whatever comes up for you in a spacious body as you let the story land. Maybe a bit of patience is required for this. Maybe a bit of courage. Maybe not today, and that’s ok too. We always have choices, we always have the choice to begin again.

Really looking forward to seeing you on the mat soon,

Kindest regards,

Sylvia.

The Butterfly

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small shrivelled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the main in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly. So have a nice day and struggle a little.

Author Unknown

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Dear Yoga Friends,

In this beautiful space between Christmas and New Year I invite you to roll out your mat for a daily ten minute savasana (lying down Corpse Pose) with an inquiry. Those of you who have experienced my classes will have received this same guidance into savasana many times. This guidance also contains a structured exploration of where you might focus your thoughts during the practice to experience wakefulness, compassion, curiosity, not-knowing and acceptance.

What is this, what is here?

This is a ten minute savasana with an inquiry practice. This could be something you do on it’s own, any time during the day, or it could form part of a structured, daily, disciplined practice. It might be nice after yoga, or a stretch, or a morning walk/run, whatever you fancy. The body becomes a little more interesting when it is more ‘awake’, however, any time is a good time for you to ask yourself, with kindness and curiosity, what is this, what is here? The intention for this practice is to cultivate a sense of allowing.

Start by lying comfortably, a yoga mat on the floor, the couch, the bed. My intentions for my practice plus the time of day determine the levels of padding I seek; if I think I might benefit from drifting off to sleep I’ll set myself up accordingly.

Allow the first little while to get settled, move around a bit as you need to. See if you can sense, or feel, the many different sensations in the body as is this happens. It’s calming and soothing to start by noticing the points of contact with the floor, starting with the feet. Sweeping your attention through and then just noticing what is the next most noticeable sensation in the body. For me I will often notice my legs feel heavy, my feet cold, my surface very soft, or hard, that kind of random awareness sweeping around. I notice how my breath is (usually fast to start), maybe noticing my heart beat, or not. Usually I’ll notice my overall tone if it’s very rushed or anxious or busy or stressed. Sometimes I might not even notice, my attention might drift to other parts of the body, the hint of a knot in my tummy, the subtle ache in my chest, a gripping in my jaw. What is this, what is here? Making space, allowing.

Pretty soon, for most of us, a thought comes and interrupts, we can even get swept away on a whole chain of thoughts. A memory, a plan, a day-dream, a longing or craving, something annoying us, we’re gone. This is not a mistake. This is exactly how the human brain functions: our patterns of mental processing repeat and take us off on habitual ways of thinking. Then, there’s the moment of realising that … an awakening … and then we have CHOICES.

1. After noticing your attention has drifted away you pull your attention right back to the breath or the body. This is often taught as a form of meditation called Focused Attention training. It’s a useful and interesting practice. This is often my ten minute seated daily meditation practice.
2. Notice what you had been thinking about, eg. planning, daydreaming, arguing, make a mental note to remember it, and then come back to what you had intended being focused on, eg, the contact points of the body on the floor, or the breath. Begin again with your practice, what is this, what is here.
3. Noticing what you had been thinking about and PAUSING. Hold that in your field of awareness and then open up to noticing if there is anywhere in the body you can feel sensations in reaction to what it was you have been thinking about, the place you got carried away to. Stay with that for a few breaths, a few moments. A few moments of curious not knowing, of gentle investigation, what is this, what is here?

What is it? Tara Brach calls it a field of sensation, John O'Donoghue a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream.

I find it helpful to have a little alarm to end my practice. A little stretch might be nice before slowly coming back. A journal might be interesting for approaches 2 or 3 above. Remember, we are not trying to change anything, or fix anything, or fix ourselves. Our practice is one of noticing, of acceptance, of allowing. Allowing things to be as they are, allowing ourselves to be as we are. From that place of acknowledgement and acceptance we then have a bit of space, a bit of wiggle room, a place where we feel held and supported and safe.

Wishing you peace in the coming days and time for you to come back to the quiet light shining in your heart. I'm closing my wishes for the season with the words of the Irish poet, John O'Donoghue.

"There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearisome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream that has long preceded us and will now enfold, nourish, and sustain us."

Kindest regards,

Sylvia.

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

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In the season of giving please remember to gift yourself with something indulgent and wholesome. Our Full Moon workshop this coming Sunday evening at 7pm in Mutton Lane has spaces left and all events and workshops in 2022 are listed on Eventbrite and are open for booking. Setting intentions to keep an eye on balanced living and healthy habits can really support us in the coming weeks and months.

For your loved ones I suggest a gift voucher for either online classes or an event. I can hand-write a voucher with a page attached for links to book or to choose an online package. Vouchers can also be sent you by email.

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For December we look to the earth for our inspiration and intentions in practice. Yoga teaches us how to be stable and calm in the present so that we can be fully aware of what is happening in us and around us. We can ask ourselves: How am I walking? How do I open doors? How am I turning on the tap? Do I feel grateful for my food?

Each week in December we will look at a foundational aspect of our yoga poses with an up-close-and-personal curious, open mind. We do this to simply wake up awareness from a place of stability and allowing, noticing our experience unfolding from moment to moment.

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While preparing for our recent all-day event in Orlagh House I requested of our lovely chef, Aaron, a healthy meal that was nourishing, plant-based, locally grown and organic when possible and if possible, gluten-free and vegan. Aaron did not disappoint! We were treated to an incredible dish, surrounded by lots of other mini-dishes just bursting in colour and flavour. Here’s a little piece about Kitchari, the main dish, and it’s incredible health benefits.

Kitchari is an Indian dish commonly used as both food and medicine in Ayurveda. This simple, yet powerful food goes much farther than a tasty meal. With a long list of health benefits, uses, and variations, this dish is undoubtedly an Ayurvedic essential!

“Let medicine be thy food and food be thy medicine.”

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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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