Emma Lovell Yoga

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10 Signs You Are A Modern Yogi… by Brea Johnson (Hearts and Bones Yoga)

1. You find yourself using the floor and household furniture in your practice (and throughout the day) more than a yoga mat.

2. You don’t know what to call the type of yoga you are teaching/practicing.

3. You have an insatiable appetite for learning all about the body.

4. You’ve broken up with yoga at least once

5. You’ve started strength training.

6. You geek out on things like the nervous system, range of motion and mobility.

7. You post more pictures of yourself in a squat in nature than you do yoga poses.

8. Small, subtle movements have become way more exciting to you than big, showy ones.

9. You have more questions than answers about yoga and movement.

10. You have a hard time going to a regular yoga class.

 

YES to all…

From here




Nearly there!

The time is fast approaching when I must bid you all a temporary farewell as I go on maternity leave.  Thank you to everyone who has come to my classes these past couple of years-  It has been a real pleasure to teach you and to get to know you.  You have taught me a huge amount and thank you for always coming to class with open-minds and a sense of fun!

I am still planning to teach until Friday 2nd December, however if this changes I will let you all know.  If you’d like to drop-in to any of my classes before I go on leave then do let me know and I’ll do my best to fit you in.

For those of you based in Salisbury, I have some lovely cover teachers taking over some of my classes from 5th December onwards.  These classes are:

Mondays 11.30-12.30 at Neal’s Yard (covered by Alison Sheeley)

Tuesdays 6-7pm at the Therapy Centre (covered by Lisa Mullineaux)

Wednesdays 11.30-12.30 at Neal’s Yard (covered by Lisa Mullineaux)

Fridays 11.30-12.30 at Neal’s Yard (covered by Lisa Mullineaux)

Fridays 9.30-10.30 Sport Direct Fitness (covered by Lisa Mullineaux)

Here’s a bit more information on the cover teachers:

Alison Sheeley  07766 544533 alison.sheeley@hotmail.com

Alison is a physiotherapist and spends much of her time teaching Pilates and Yoga as rehabilitation tools. She works at Sarum Physiotherapy Clinic and Amesbury Physiotherapy Clinic.  As well as providing cover for local yoga teachers at Parkwood Gym, she teaches her own beginners yoga class.  With a background in Ashtanga yoga, Alison teaches a flow class that is suitable for any ability. 

 
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Lisa Mullineaux lisamxyoga@gmail.com 07528805984.  

Lisa first practiced yoga over a decade ago and is a qualified Astanga and Hatha Yoga teacher, having completed her teacher training at the Himalaya Yoga Valley Centre in India (200 Hr). 

Accommodating all levels, Lisa’s inclusive teaching style creates an environment of acceptance by offering a range of options, and the use of props – with a focus on alignment and adapting each posture to the individual – allowing students the freedom to discover their own bodies at their own pace.  

 Lisa was first drawn to the healing powers of yoga to help reduce pelvic pain caused by endometriosis but – like many others who initially come to yoga for the physical benefits – found a deeper appreciation of the practice, leaving each class with a clearer mind and a stronger sense of self.

In a chaotic world, we have the tendency to speed through life and forget about our wellbeing so Lisa encourages a meditative practice that will slow you down and help you to release the tension stored from daily life. 

 Lisa has a passion to share all that yoga has to offer with her students, and her classes are designed to build strength and improve flexibility, flowing with the breath to connect mind and body, leaving you relaxed and ready to take on the world!

www.lisamxyoga.com/

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Classes will be drop-in from w/c 5th December until Christmas to give you a chance to try out the classes, and then the 6 week courses will resume in the new year.  Prices and timings will all remain the same.  If you’d like to come along to any of the classes do let the relevant cover teacher know so they can save you a space.

All other classes will be on hold until I come back next year.

I wish you all a very (early!) happy Christmas and 2017.  Keep up the practice, keep asking questions, and keep moving!




The best way to breathe…

‘The best way to breathe is the way that supports the activity that you are doing.’  Donna Farhi, The Breathing Book.

Kiki Smith – Ribs, 1987, terracotta, ink, and thread

It’s been all about the rib cage and breath in class this week.  Specifically focusing on how we are breathing with the thoracic cavity and aiming to create space and awareness in this area for a better quality breath.  Here’s biomechanist Katy Bowman explaining the mechanics of breathing and how the way you breathe affects the different pressure systems in the body:

Here are some movements you might want to try at home to help create space and release tension in this area:

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Side stretch

Walk hands and feet over to one side making sure pelvis and ribs don’t roll with you (they stay level).  You can cross one ankle over the other and take your wrist to make the stretch stronger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pec/chest stretch

Lay on your back and bend your right knee up roll it to the left until the knee and foot are on the floor.  Keeping the leg in place, reach your right arm up to the ceiling.  Slightly bend your elbow and then slowly lower the arm behind you.  Imagine your arm is drawing away from you as you lower.  You can move the arm up towards your ear or down towards your hip to find the best stretch for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Chest opener

Place a rolled blanket or yoga mat under the upper back.  The blanket should come out under the armpits and shoulders release to floor.  Add a blanket under the head and neck if needed.

 

 

 

Some more tips for better breathing:

Here’s a great video from Jenni Rawlings which aims to optimise rib cage breathing.

Consider your wardrobe- make sure your clothing isn’t restricting how you breathe- think tight waist bands, belts, ties, in fact any clothing that restricts your movement full stop is bad news for the breath.

Consider your belly- are you holding your belly in right now?  Contrary to what is often thought, constantly holding your belly in will actually cause the muscles to weaken rather than strengthen, and like any muscle that is never allowed to relax, will eventually cause a reduction in function.  Not only this, but constantly holding in your belly increases tension in the body and restricts your breath as the abdominal muscles are unable to move freely (among other unpleasant side-effects):

‘Most people have replaced deep, abdominal activity with “sucking their stomach in.” The belief held by most is that “sucking it in” constantly uses one’s abdominal muscles, but really, the sucking-in motion creates a pressure (like creating a vacuum) that pulls the abdomen’s contents up (not in). It doesn’t do anything for core strength (except weaken it over time) or back health (increases the loads placed on the intervertebral disks).’ Katy Bowman

Happy breathing!




‘In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded us with a living presence as intimate and pulsing as our own bodies. In that primal intimacy, which anthropologists call “participation mystique,” we were as one with our world as a child in the mother’s womb.

Then self-consciousness arose and gave us distance on our world. We needed that distance in order to make decisions and strategies, in order to measure, judge and to monitor our judgments. With the emergence of free-will, the fall out of the Garden of Eden, the second movement began — the lonely and heroic journey of the ego. Nowadays, yearning to reclaim a sense of wholeness, some of us tend to disparage that movement of separation from nature, but it brought us great gains for which we can be grateful. The distanced and observing eye brought us tools of science, and a priceless view of the vast, orderly intricacy of our world. The recognition of our individuality brought us trial by jury and the Bill of Rights.

Now, harvesting these gains, we are ready to return. The third movement begins. Having gained distance and sophistication of perception, we can turn and recognize who we have been all along. Now it can dawn on us: we are our world knowing itself. We can relinquish our separateness. We can come home again — and participate in our world in a richer, more responsible and poignantly beautiful way than before, in our infancy.’  Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self

Rose window , Erin Case via here

 

 




New classes in Salisbury

I will be starting two new yoga classes on Tuesdays at St Thomas’s House in Salisbury.  Classes will be 6-7pm and 7.15-8.15pm with the first classes on 14th July 2015.  Further details can be found on my ‘timetable’ page.

Please contact me if you would like to reserve a spot.

Image from here




Posted on by Emma

‘Unfortunately, the extensive moralizing within the ecological movement has given the public the false impression that they are being asked to make a sacrifice- to show more responsibility, more concern, and a nicer moral standard.  But all that would flow naturally and easily if the self were widened and deepened so that the protection of nature was felt and perceived as protection of our very selves.’  Arne Naess

 




Namaste

Ever wondered what ‘Namaste’ actually means and why we say it at the end of class?

This is a pretty good definition from Yoga Journal:

‘The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.

Definition of Namaste

Nama means bow, as means I, and te means you. Therefore, namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.”

Another interpretation I’ve come across is ‘the light in me recognises the light in you,’ basically meaning we are all one and the same; we are all connected.

Saying Namaste at the end of class also acknowledges and reconnects us with yoga’s roots, whatever kind of yoga you are teaching or studying.

Image from here