Emma Lovell Yoga

Please note my Wednesday class at LeSoCo will now be at 7-8pm.  See Timetable for further information.  Any questions about this or any of my other classes please let me know.

Due to half term holidays, tomorrow’s (30th October) class at LeSoCo will be cancelled.  Apologies for the short notice.  Back to normal next week.

 Image found here

Since the ribs and thoracic spine are attached it makes sense that breath will effect the movement of the thoracic spine.

Every inhalation is accompanied by a gentle forward bending of the thoracic spine, while on every exhalation the opposite happens, and the spine moves through extension… So it makes absolute sense to move into extension postures as we breathe out, if our intention is to access the thoracic spine.  Anything else would be going against the intelligence of the body.  Taken from ‘Intelligent Yoga’, Peter Blackaby.

Image from here

As well as my Wednesday class at Lewisham College (see timetable), I will also be covering the following classes this week for Eva Arnold (https://www.facebook.com/EvaYogaLondon?fref=ts):

Monday 21st 6.30-7.30pm at The Crypt, St Peter’s Church, Dalston
Tuesday 22nd 6.15-7.15pm at GoGo Yoga, Colombia Road (http://www.gogoyoga.co.uk/)

Feel free to come along and drop in…

‘The back of the body is as important as the front and it must regain its dignity.’ Vanda Scaravelli

In everyday life it can be easy ‘live in’ and be more aware of the front part of our body and forget the back, for example, the back of the lungs when we breathe, the back of the knees when we walk, back of the neck, hips, eyes…  A yoga sequence which draws our awareness to the more neglected parts of the body can help deepen poses and creates a true balance between the front and back of the body, enabling us to see the body as a whole by refocusing our attention and reliance on less dominant parts of the body.  This is turn may help change certain unhelpful patterns in the body.

It can be helpful to use visualisations to focus on these neglected areas.  My yoga teacher recommended ‘See How Yoga Feels’ by Su Sareen:

There are some great illustrations which show how poses can actually feel.  So to draw attention to the back of the knees in uttanasana (forward fold), we can imagine a sun lamp behind the knees.

http://www.susareen.com/susareen.com/See_how_yoga_feels.html

‘Exhale down through your heels as you enjoy watching the backs of your knees softening in the warmth, keeping the knee caps lifted.’ Su Sareen.

Image from here (see here also for some useful breathing exercises to help relaxation).

According to Vanda Scaravelli, ‘Breathing is the essence of yoga’.  It is the most important part of yoga and something to return to throughout your practice whether that be restorative or a strong ashtanga class.  Think about your natural breath and what is really happening; where you breath, how deeply, the quality of your breath.  When the mind wanders, return to the breath.

Do not be tense when you inhale.  Do not get

involved, receive the air in a passive, detached

way, as though you were only an observer, an

outsider…

To exhale means to empty the lungs,

expelling the air that has been used.  

   The deeper we exhale, the greater our

capacity to inhale new, fresh air.

(From Awakening the Spine, Vanda Scaravelli).

This week’s class theme will focus on the foundations of poses.  This means working with gravity from the ground up to discover the correct placement of both the hands and the feet, and so discovering a new quality and alignment to poses.

‘…as your feet ground through gravity, they stabilize you and allow freedom in the spine…’ Vanda Scaravelli

Keep in mind that poses are not destinations, nor are they strange contortions to force yourself into for some esoteric purpose.  They are part of an ongoing process of self-exploration and self-healing.  Each individual pose is a map into a specific area of yourself, and where you are in the pose is the pose for you.  Erich Schiffmann

…an unfolding process that is always different and never finished.  You don’t have to feel enthusiastic to do yoga.  You can just be you… recognise that yoga invites us to accept all the parts of ourselves-sweet, harsh…  However you are feeling, just do the yoga anyway.  Let the flavour of your experience be of interest to you…   Cyndi Lee