How Long Will You Live For?

When this question is asked in Kabuki Theatre the answered is signified by a hand clap.
Meaning, that you are only alive at that precise moment.
It is what you are doing at this actual point in time that counts.
The past is gone.
The future hasn't happened.
Your time is NOW.

Live it well.

The Smiles Returning To The Faces

For most of June it has been like living in Middle Earth (Not the Shire but the Mordor bit). I think we can safely say the Scottish weather has been bloody awful.
But not this morning, look...

it seems like years since it's been here

see that bright thing that is called the sun!

I hope to bring you more photographic evidence over the coming weeks that Scotland does indeed have a summer. We can finally perform our sun salutations with a sense of purpose. That little ray of light makes a big difference to the quality of your jumpbacks (spesh when you listen to a nice mix of' here comes the sun'). Thank you sun. I salute you in all your glory!

Practicing Yoga in The Take That Mosh Pit.

Meet Om. He is the giant robotic man who is taking centre stage on the Take That Progress tour.

I have been trying to find out why he is called that but can't so have made up my own explanation.
If you've never tried to get to the front of the stage at a Take That gig then let me explain.

There are women down there (not young) who have been waiting since the last tour (two years) for TT to grace Hampden again. They will have been standing outside waiting for the gates to open since eight o'clock that morning. They will have a plan. They will know exactly where to stand for the best view (as they will have used youtube for research- B stage, if you're wondering). They want to be close enough to smell Gary's aftershave.
Two words; Nae Messing
This is not like the pit at a rock gig where it's every man for themselves. There are unwritten rules. God help you if you dare get in front of one of them.
My friends and I were there last Thursday. We were a bit late into the fray ( lavvy and bar queues-nightmare!). Before we knew it though we were in the eye of the storm drawn like moths to a flame by the magnificent sight of Howard swaying to 'patience.'
I could feel myself getting punched in the back but let it slide as I thought it was just a bit of the usual argy bargy but the punching continued. It was like sitting on an aeroplane with an angry toddler kicking the back of your seat.
I turned around to see an enraged face, bad highlights and too much fake tan. First instinct,
"Eh, sorry doll, didnae realise you'd marked out yer territory with Buckfast"
But knowing in my heart of hearts that would only lead to getting my head kicked in (Oh god the shame, what if Howard saw?) I looked up at Big Om and thought yogic thoughts.
'Namaste', I said (not out loud)
I made myself recognise that she had a soul. I let the divinity in me bow to the divinity in her. After all we were both there for the same reason our love of the mighty Take That...

So yes Om, a symbol to keep us calm and as one in the midst of battle. Or if yoga's not your thing. They could just as easily have called him Jesus...

Glasgow Yogathon?

This is how they welcomed the summer solstice in New York City's Times Square.
I think we should do the same in George Square for the autumn equinox.
can you imagine?

The Hip little Lama

I came across this guy via Michelle Myre's Devil Wears Prana blog.
We are all fighting for our own space but what about other people?
I love this because he expresses the Buddhist message of COMPASSION in a very relevant and western way. It's just over two and a half minutes long. Tenzin Gyatso would be proud.
take a break from the madness and treat yourself

108 sun salutations. No wrist pain!

I have been planning my summer solstice sun salutations for a few weeks now.

The plan:
Paper and pen to tick off every nine salutations (so as not to lose count)
Nine times salutation A then nine times B, repeat till finish
Soundtrack, first half hour mellow; Anthony, Rufus, Leonard building up to a bit of Aretha, Amy and Etta then The Cast of Glee for when the going gets tough. Finally cooling down with Gaga at the piano and a bit of Nanci Griffith.

Most important of all. Wrist supports.

I have been having a spot of bother with my wrists. I think it's down to poor technique on jump backs to chaturanga and the fact that they are really puny and aren't developing their yoga muscles as fast as the rest of me.
I spent a good deal of time scouring the internet looking for a solution. I found some gloves called WAGs (wrist assured gloves) then was disappointed as no UK supplier (these would be perfect for body weight bearing exercises on the reformer too- maybe I should supply them?)
I found some supports called tiger paws which got some great reviews on you tube but same story. No UK supplier.
Eventually I found theses beauties.
Allow me to introduce the 'Panda Paw'

These are perfect. They support the outside of the wrist preventing hyper extension and the palm is pretty much free to allow you to really extend and spread the fingers in downward dog. I wouldn't use these during a normal practice as I want to build more strength into my wrists but they are ideal if you know you are going to be spending a lot of time on your hands or perfecting your arm balances. As they are not sold in any yoga online stores I am assuming they are frowned upon and not for the pure in yoga heart.
But if you feel wrist pain is holding you back I recommend them just don't use them all the time, you still need to bear weight to make gains.
I got mine from www.gymnasticexpress.co.uk for the very reasonable price of £20.95 (all the american gloves were three times that price, before postage)

So that was me. Sorted. Everything in place for the 4:31am (dawn) alarm and my 108 sun salutations. Fail to plan, plan to fail etc.
So yesterday I thought I'll save my arm muscles for today and instead of doing yoga I'll do an hour on my rebounder (mini trampoline). I'm not sure exactly when it happened (maybe during the kicks to don't stop believing?) but something in my left sacro illiac joint went into spasm and slowly but surely throughout the day siezed up. This resulted in me not only being unable to perform the 108 salutations but unable to actually bend forward.
There are some things you can plan for and some you cant.
Anyway how long until the autumn equinox?

F**k It

The Barefoot Doctor in his foreword to' F**K it' writes,

"The keys to liberation are universal and essentially simple; disengage from all the stories you've been telling yourself about life and who you are or should be as you negotiate your way through, and all at once you know yourself as divine, all-powerful, unstoppable and magnificent, as any divine, all-powerful, unstoppable being would"

Read it over a few times and it kind of starts to make sense.

The basic premise of this book is STOP CARING SO MUCH!!!

Or as buddhists would say, practice non-attachment. (it's all samsara to me...)

This book is a a light hearted take on a powerful message (perfect for the western mind.)

Get all the good bits of Eastern philosophy that you can't be bothered to read about, study, meditate on etc and package it neatly into two well known words that we've probably all said a hundred thousand times and voila!

It's quite clever really. I think the idea is that you stop caring about things that don't matter before you realise you never really gave a shizzle about them in the first place.

Or...it's all small stuff!

You are doing okay, you are perfect as you are, right here, right now (just imagine that was true... well it is , lucky you!)

I like this book.

If you feel in any way burdened, unsatisfied and bogged down then this little book and those two little words could be your first step in feeling a big bit better.

I know this post is probably a bit rushed and a bit simplified but as the book says, f**k it!

The Sweary Yogi

I stole this from yoga dawgs blog. Click on the link it is very, very funny.

The last scene is the best!


http://yogadawg.blogspot.com/2011/05/yoga-makes-me-calm.html

First thing you MUST do (apart from yoga) to look and feel younger.

I am obsessed with sleep. This obsession started when I was a personal trainer in London. I would have morning clients at six thirty then work on and off throughout the day in various locations usually till nine at night. For two years I never felt quite right. There wasn't time to get a full nights sleep in. I would plan sleep breaks around my schedule. I avoided mirrors (difficult in a gym) as I looked hacket-very scottish word meaning done in. If I couldn't get home for an afternoon nap then I would book out a sunbed in the gym for twenty minutes and get inside it fully clothed (if you do this remember not to turn it on-bad).

It was my plan yesterday to blog about ways to stay young but I am afraid my sleep obsession took over. I had my two morning classes, sat down with my computer then realised I was absolutely shattered (had not slept well the night before) so instead went back to bed for two hours of quality Z's.

Which brings me nicely back to an excellent way of staying young.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP!!!

If you choose to do just one thing that will help you age well this should be it.

It is a known fact that the lack of sleep accelerates the aging process and we should strive for 7-8 hours a night.
Sleeping gives our bodies the chance to recover and repair but most importantly this is when we produce

forever young

HGH, human growth hormone.
Too little HGH as an adult leads to, excess body fat, muscle atrophy, osteoporosis and thinner, wrinkle -prone skin. Let me repeat that loudly.
TOO LITTLE HGH LEADS TO EXCESS BODY FAT, MUSCLE ATROPHY, OSTEOPOROSIS AND WRINKLES!
Yikes.
So in a nutshell, get plenty of kip (8 hours max) and you will be slimmer, leaner,smoother and wont have to avoid the mirrors in the studio.
ps, Maybe even richer? We don't need Clarins when our body knows what to do for itself.

You think you are old but you're not!

Every now and then we are reminded that we are getting older. This can sometimes strike like a bolt of lightning out of nowhere. A surprise slap in the face when you least expect it.

One of those times for me recently was when V and I went to see  Lloyd Cole playing. The last time I saw Lloyd Cole was at the Barrowland Ballroom. Sometime in the eighties. I was sixteen.

As I looked around his balding following that had gathered in the Fruitmarket I thought,
"Crikey, this is an old crowd"
Then it dawned on me with a sickening lurch. I was part of it! I was part of that 'old' crowd.

I sat down in my chair as they had kindly provided seating (probably to take the weight off our ageing joints).

Lloyd came on looking more like Kenny Rodgers than the young idealist. I was crestfallen. I felt ancient. I could feel myself being pulled down into a black hole of depression.

Then the music started.

Everything changed.

The faces of the two women sitting in front of me lit up with a look of pure unrequited love, an expression I recognised immediately from the girl's faces in The Barrowland all those years ago.
Slowly we began to sway gently in our seats singing quietly along. We may not have been pressed up against the railings screaming the lyrics at the top of our voices like the old days (there was no railings, we were able to hold ourselves back) but we still knew the words.

Yes Lloyd we are here and we're still ready to be heartbroken.

After the encore Lloyd announced he would be signing photos and copies of his new cd at the table up the back. We were invited to form an orderly queue. I didn't need to be told twice. I was out my seat before V had even registered what had been said,
"keep up man, keep up"
Made it to the back, second in the queue (even though was seated near the front). get in!
A couple of test shots with the camera just to make sure it was still working...and...

I may not be sixteen anymore on the outside but there's still part of me that will always be sixteen on the inside.

Your spirit is your spirit. Your soul is your soul.

Right am away to listen to 'Rattlesnakes' and dance.
Are you coming?

Tomorrows blog is 'Five ways to stay young'...

Radical Detox

Beatrice has been on a radical detox.
If you don't know Beatrice, here she is.

don't tell V I was on the sofa

About six weeks ago she was violently sick (exorcist sick). Unusual for her as she is known for her iron like constitution and ability to digest the indigestable.

The sickness stopped but her appetite did not return. Unusual again as she is known for her insatiable hunger.

A trip to the vet revealed a foreign object was stuck in her intestine. She needed to be cut open and have it removed or die. (sorry to be so dramatic but that is how it happened)

The vet said there was a possibility she may not make it but this was her best chance. Beatrice gave me a sad sorry look as she was carried away to the operating theatre (goodbye my dear mama- goodbye my beloved half-pug).

The call to prayer was put out over face book. Malas were clutched, candles were lit, rosary beads were rotated. Scotland was on it's knees.

I sobbed and waited for the phone to ring.

Good news. She was alive! A large piece of red rubber had been removed (part of an 'indestructible' kong) and her intestine was healing nicely. A further phone call to the nurse in the evening revealed that she was making a 'remarkable recovery' and was having a spot of dinner!

She came home the next afternoon (not on the bus by herself- I went and got her)

working the gaga look.

She was put on a special recovery diet for a week and as soon as the collar was off she was pretty much back to normal.

After having had the equivalent of a months worth of colonic irrigation I thought I'd put her on a high end (crap free) dog food. Her system was as pure as a puppy's so why not keep it that way.

She was five this week but it's as if she has revisited her puppyhood. She is springing about all over the place like a little lamb. Her radical detox has given her an amazing new lust for life. Good nutrition in a pure system is a powerful medicine.

They say dogs are like their owners or is it the other way around? Anyway I am envious of Bea's incredible energy. My five day radical detox starts today. Not sure about the colonic part though (I haven't eaten any plastic recently...)

My Left Hip

I really really needed my left hip to open. Having a tight left hip has been holding me back, stagnating my life, putting up barriers, a massive red light.
Why?
If I have a tight left hip I cant do full lotus.
If I cant do full lotus then how can I possibly have the brass neck to enrol on yoga teacher training. The shame!

Gravity to the rescue. I call this the hip hang.

Half lotus on the left side and hang there (bandhas on) for as long as you like. The longer the better. Come up nice and slow and lift your foot out.

Depending on the severity of your situation you may need to do this from anything from days to months to years. Every body responds differently.

I've been doing it on and off for  about two months and Joy! This week I got into full lotus (I'm not saying it was comfortable mind).

Does this mean I can allow myself to sign up for teacher training or should I wait until I've mastered this?...

Let Glasgwegians Flourish

One of the most beautiful places in Glasgow is the Botanic Gardens.

One of the most beautiful ways of moving is Tai Chi.

Combine them and this is what happens...

And yes that is Aileen from the wednesday lunchtime class!

If you would like to join in, class runs from 11:00 am till 1:00pm. Bring a lunch to share afterwards. Full details are here.
And for you lovely southsiders there are open air classes in Pollock Park too.

NEW! Maths For Yogis

I was helping V's daughter with her maths revision at the weekend (when I say 'helping' I mean showing her the wrong way to do it, so she could learn from my mistakes)

As her father shook his head and took yet another sharp intake of breath at my answer I came up with an idea. Maths for yogis!

Here are some questions. (answers at the bottom)

1:  After a hectic week at work Holly enjoys three large (Hendricks) gins  but finds her Saturday morning vinyasa class suffers as a result. What percentage could Holly improve her performance if:

a: She didn't have any gin at all?
b: Instead of having gin she drank three large glasses of water?

2: Pat is partial to a cheeseburger and eats two en route to his yoga retreat (fear of a meatless weekend). During some of the  detoxifying twists Pat experiences a terrible feeling of nausea. What percentage could Pat decrease his nausea if:

a: He abstained from cheeseburgers?
b: He had ordered two fresh detoxifying juices with extra milk thistle instead?

easy on the milk thistle fella

The answers to the a's are 50%. The answers to the b's are 100%

This is obviously a very simplified equation (I only made O grade Maths!)

We may not be striving for perfection but we all have bad habits that we would like to be free of.

Personally I don't believe in giving things up. I find replacing things a far better strategy that way there is no nagging void to fill. One little behaviour change can make a 100% difference to how you are feeling.

Simple. Yes.

Easy. Yes.

Will I ever be a mathematician? No.

Fierce Medicine

A month ago by chance I came across this video of Ana Forrest and was quite frankly in awe!

Who was she? And more to the point why had I never heard of her before?

I was straight onto google and found out that,

1. Ana is the founder of Forrest yoga. This could be a reason why I had not heard of her, a term I was unfamiliar with and if I'm honest found it a bit off putting as it conjured up images of hippies in a wood. (now I know what it means though I am at peace with it!)
2. Not only is she a master yoga practitioner and teacher she is also a world renowned healer and Native American medicine woman.
3. She has helped people overcome addictive behaviours, eating disorders and drug and alcohol abuse.
4. She herself has suffered from alcohol dependency (from age 4) drug abuse and bulimia.
5. She has helped people heal from physical and sexual abuse.
6. As a child she was physically and sexually abused
7. She has helped people recover from chronic pain and injury.
8. She was "born crippled, a funny looking kid, my feet and the left side of my body all twisted." She carried that pain throughout her childhood and early adulthood.
9. She has healed herself through truth, spirit and yoga.
10. She is 54
11. If you have $4000, a neti pot and a ticket to LA in July you can do Ana's Four week intensive teacher training.
12. If you don't have $4000 you can buy Ana's book 'Fierce Medicine' from amazon. It takes about two weeks to get to the UK.
13. If you can't wait two weeks you can get it on ibooks for £9.99
14. You could maybe borrow my copy if you promise to give it back.

On second thoughts, maybe not. I need it. It is amazing and I am reading it really, really slowly to take it all in and make it last.

"Most of us are looking for the same thing: not just healing but a connection to something greater than ourselves. I call it spirit"

Ana T Forrest

21 Things to Know Before Starting an Ashtanga Yoga Practice

The Amazing Mr Swenson

 Ashtanga yoga can seem like quite an intimidating practice (look to your left).
Most of the books and DVDs available illustrate the full primary series or even scarier the intermediate.

Ashtanga is my yoga of choice as I love the flowing dynamic sequencing.

 It is hard for me to get to a class though so I started to teach myself primary series through a Richard Freeman iphone app ( It say's intro on the marketing, not the word I would use for handstands Ritchie!) I used this along with David Swenson's Ashtanga Yoga Practice manual.

Of course it was only a matter of weeks until I was injured! Yoga butt they call it (not the high, tight kind but the damaged ligament kind).

I realised I didn't really have a clue what I was doing. i.e. How often was I meant to practice and for how long?

I scoured the internet for advice and came across Claudia's blog, Earth Yogi. A diary of one woman's own ashtanga practice and personal experience. As well as reviews on the best books and DVDs available.

I remember thinking what a brilliant resource and inspiration it was for anybody wishing to start an ashtanga practice and that she should write a book.

Well she has and here it is.

For me Claudia's advice and own yoga journey turn ashtanga from an elusive practice obtainable only by the yoga gods that are Swenson and Freeman into an achievable, every person can do this and benefit from it immensely lifestyle choice.

It is written in the style of her blog as a conversation rather than a formal lecture and is packed full of insights and benefits. She writes from the perspective of a beginner (even though she has been practicing for several years- in ashtanga philosophy you are a beginner for years- yes even if you can do crow pose!)

Claudia demystifies ashtanga and makes the impossible seem possible. The book is a celebration of all things ashtanga and the myriad benefits a dedicated and meaningful practice can bring into your life.

The book is available through amazon (soon to be released on kindle- easier for us in the UK). However if you cant wait that long and really, really want a copy now go to Claudia's blog, go to the book page, send her an email and the Earth Yogi herself will send you a PDF copy for free.

What are you waiting for, in the word's of K Pattabhi Jois, 'Do your practice and all is coming'.

Read Claudia's book and you'll start to understand what that really means.