Emma Lovell Yoga

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Monthly Archives October 2015

The gut

‘In the West we tend to be more attentive to the superficial muscular layer of the body, a prejudicial awareness that leaves us largely “internally illiterate.”  We don’t usually notice what’s happening inside us until we have a serious health problem or disease.’  Judith Lasater, The Breathing Book

This is next on my reading list: ‘The key to living a happier, healthier life is inside us. Our gut is almost as important to us as our brain or our heart, yet we know very little about how it works. In Gut, Giulia Enders shows that rather than the utilitarian and let’s be honest somewhat embarrassing body part we imagine it to be, it is one of the most complex, important, and even miraculous parts of our anatomy.’ From here.  

The gut and squatting

‘…sitting, rather than crouching while doing your business unnecessarily prolongs the process and may explain why haemorrhoids and bowel diseases like diverticulitis are more common in Europe than in Asia. Placing a little stool in front of the toilet could help us all pass our stool, says Enders – and we’d no longer need that pile of books in the bathroom.’ From here.

This video is also pretty good and giving an overview on the benefits of making squatting a regular part of your day:

And here’s Katy Bowman’s article again on prepping the body for squatting.

Also this, just this…




Centering

‘Like a balancing pose in yoga, ceramics provides a perfect feedback loop: exit your body and enter your busy mind, and you will likely teeter and fall. Or, in this case, try to bully the clay with strength, not stillness, and it turns into a guided missile rather than a bowl.’ I’m currently on week 7 of a pottery course with the amazing Stonehenge Potterythis article strikes a chord!

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Autumn news

“The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It’s a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you’ve got in as many supplies as you can. It’s nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst. They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won’t find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth and your solitude, for you have had foresight.”  Tove Jansson, Moominvalley in November

 Dear All,

 Here are a few things you need to know about during the next few months.

 Restorative Yoga

Change is in the air: the leaves are turning, the temperature’s dropping- what better time to come along to a restorative yoga class!   The next classes are on:

 Thursday 29th October at All Saints Church Hall, North Baddesley 7-8.15pm

Wednesday 4th November at St George’s Hall, Harham, Salisbury 6.30-7.45pm

 Classes cost £12 and involve fully supported passive stretching, breath exercises, and guided deep relaxation.  Poses are usually supine or seated with lots of props (blankets, bolsters) and adjustments.

 Please make payment in advance by bank transfer or cash/cheque to reserve your spot.  If you are unable to make the class please give me at least 48 hours notice, any later than this then I’m afraid I’m unable to offer a refund.

 Tuesday classes

Tuesdays classes in Salisbury will be moving location from 26th October to The Therapy Centre, 57 Winchester St, Salisbury SP1 1HL.  There is free parking after 3pm nearby at Culver Street.  If you’d like to come along to either the 6-7pm or 7.15-8.15pm class, just let me know.  

Isaac Watts class

Sadly I’ll be stopping my yoga class at Isaac Watts Church on Friday evenings.  As I’ve moved to Salisbury, it was getting a bit much for me to travel there each week.  Last class will be Friday 23rd October.  I’m looking to start a new daytime yoga class on Fridays in Salisbury, so do let me know if you’d potentially be interested in this.

 

Leonardo da Vinci ‘A Copse of Trees’

 

 




The long body

‘The long body is a Native American term which refers to the individual body plus the life support systems around it. It is a much bigger conception of the human body than we have in western culture, and considers the body continuous with the larger environment.’

I’ve been working my way through the excellent Liberated Body podcasts.  This is one of my favourites so far- Frank Forencich talks about the importance of slowing down, getting outside, and putting down the phone.  Here’s the podcast and here’s Frank’s article Habitat is Tissue.




Tracks

Robyn Davidson—the so-called “camel-lady” who undertook a 1,700-mile trek from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean on foot with four camels and a dog as her companions.




Book recommendation

‘Touch is a reciprocal action, a gesture of exchange with the world.  To make an impression is also to receive one, and the soles of our feet, shaped by the surfaces they press upon, are landscapes themselves with their own worn channels and roving lines.  They perhaps most closely resemble the patterns of ridge and swirl revealed when a tide has ebbed over flat sand.’  Robert Macfarlane The Old Ways

Such a beautifully written book meditating on, among many things, the landscapes, tracks, and paths we hold within the body and mind, and those that the body physically travels by foot.




‘Since to follow a trail is to remember how it goes, making one’s way in the present is itself a recollection of the past…onward movement is itself a return.’  Tim Ingold and Jo Lee Vergunst, Ways of Walking




Restorative Yoga

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A monthly treat for the mind and body

First Wednesday of every month 6.30-7.45pm

Meeting Room, St George’s, Lower Street, Harnham, SP2 8EZ

£12

A small class involving fully supported passive stretching, breath exercises, and guided deep relaxation. Spaces limited so please contact me to reserve a spot. All levels welcome.

For more information please visit:

www.emmalovellyoga.co.uk

or contact Emma at emma.lovell10@googlemail.com or 07773157223