ॐAugust Beginnings ॐ

Dear friend,

I hope you are finding balance during these fun-filled, warm days of summer. Hope you’ve been up a mountain, rejoiced in the humid warm air around you and had some wind in your hair, spent some time in the sea or a river...have you connected with the natural world?

And maybe you’ve been practicing with another wonderful teacher (so many great teachers out there, like Hannah who covered the Mysore programme at Little Bird (thank you Hannah!!), or you took some time off…I hope your mat-time (on or off), has been thoughtful and healing - as it has for me. I missed you in July, and I am looking forward to seeing you in August (online or in person) and beyond.

Practicing in Portugal with Dena and Jack was extravagant; this is because for a while now I have been practicing an hour and a half at most. Being able to practice a full series without time restrictions - it was magic! I arrived at 7 am and didn’t leave till 10 am. I am feeling re-set, re-focused and in a finer form.

Post-Portugal practices, my days continued to shine: I had full days with my boys at the beach and in the pool. Dash caught an octopus in the low-tide with his net! We put her in our small bucket for a short while and when we let her go, this was beyond exciting: the group of fifteen children or more from the beach all clapped and cheered and everyone was jumping up and down with excitement to watch this intelligent sea-being swim to freedom. When we shared the event with our Portugal family, we learned more about the octopus from our friend Daniel and he shared this great film with us - “My Octopus Teacher”. I highly recommend a watch on Netflix.

Cathy Moran - Ashtanga Yoga Glasgow - housed and hosted us, and in Edinburgh, Emma Isokivi with Meadowlark Yoga hosted us; none of these events could have happened without my friend Laura Grace who flew in from Cornwall to watch the boys while I taught; Nick and Rachel of EcoYoga housed us as well as my dear friend Jodie; thank you to all my friends who made this trip happen! Massive thanks to Annette and Daniel for organising our babysitter in Portugal and bringing Dena to us all. And of course thank you to Dena K for inviting us to Portugal: I am forever grateful for your continued friendship and guidance on this road of yoga.

With the final heat wave of July having us all outside, it drew us camping in the Wicklow mountains here in Ireland - it is safe to share that our summer month of July was beyond full - all healthy and happy, exciting days for all of us - myself trying to master my jump roping skills (how in the world do you to do the mamba?) and Calvin learning how to ride a bike with pedals; Dashiel mastering the cannon ball in the pool, Calvin learning how to cook pasta. These small victories have been memorable and unique.

Check out the sneak bits below for events coming up for next year: one to note is the retreat in Tenerife in March! I am so looking forward to many events ahead with you, yogi!

Without your participation online, via email or in-shala, I wouldn’t be able to continue to teach, so thank you for joining me…

Much love,

Sarah Elizabeth

August Practice Schedule

Please message me on WhatsApp or email me if you have any questions about the online login or class schedule, please feel free to contact me in these ways:

(Email and WhatsApp)

Mysore Class online and in-studio from 7-9 am
Monday-Thursday

Led Class online and in studio from 7-8:30 am
Fridays

Mysore Class online and in-studio from 8-10 am
Sundays

Moon Day Class online and in-studio 7-8:30 am
12 August

Weekly Chanting Class online 4 pm
Mondays - starts back up 1 August

Cancellations/Schedule Modifications:
No In-studio class 1 August - online class only 7-9 am

Zoom Link for all classes is: HERE
Passcode: Practice

To book:
10-class pass
Monthly online pass
Drop-in

Save the Date for Yoga in Tenerife:
March 18-25: 2023

I am delighted to share I’ll be teaching in Tenerife 18-25 March for a delightful yoga retreat with Purple Valley! You can book this retreat in the next coming weeks - watch the Yoga Purple Valley Space and book soon if you’d like to come!

Thank you to Karolina for inviting me - and I am delighted to share disciplined and focused practice with you all for this retreat. Message me directly about details.

9-10 September Weekend Workshop

Join me for a two-day workshop at Little Bird Yoga studio:

9-10 of September.

There are four three hour classes offered so this is a full immersion weekend; two morning classes Saturday and Sunday and two afternoon classes.

More details and to book, click HERE

Online Practice with Lydia Zamorano

Looking for a specific online class for a niggly shoulder, or a tricky stuck hip? A short guided practice where you can isolate something specific going on in your practice? Maybe even a supportive flow that could complement your ashtanga practice?

I have just the teacher for you: Lydia Zamorano. You can practice with her here.

I met Lydia in Mysore in 2008 after the led primary class with Sharath; at the end of class, we started chatting and we found out we had much in common: we were both climbers! I hadn’t spoken to Lydia in a long time, and this winter I reached out to her about my tricky hip, and it was wonderful to hear that she has two young children, climbs more now than before, and has moved away from the ashtanga method, however it has forever influenced her teachings and current practice.

Lydia’s thorough, intelligent and mindful teachings show how committed she is to helping others gain self awareness in their bodies and in their lives. She selflessly shares her twenty-plus years of practice with joy and humility.

Her unwavering commitment to soulful transformation is clear: she offers multiple opportunities for students to modify what she is sharing and also gives the advanced yogi a challenge.

She always asks the student to follow their own breath and body. Her classes are often short and sweet with specific instruction or slow and meditative with endless ways to try this or that.

Lydia’s thoughtful delivery combined with her personalised sequences complement the practices of the most serious Ashtanga or Iyengar student as well as those just beginning their yogic journey.

Highly recommend practicing yoga with Lydia!

Mt Tom: Bishop, California

When I sit in stillness, I focus my attention upon the great mountains of the Sierra Nevada Range. With this focus on an image that is clear and close to my heart, it is easy to settle my unsettled mind.

Patañjali suggests that this is a fine way to still the mind - meditate upon an object that is dear to the heart: in the yoga sūtra 1.39, the great yogi suggests that one should concentrate on anything that is familiar, agreeable or of one’s predisposition:

1.39 yathā  abhimata dhyānāt  vā
yathābhimata-dhyānād vā

Patañjali directs us towards stability and freedom in ourselves in the yoga sūtras; and in this sūtra, Patañjali suggests there is an intelligence and clarity through meditation upon one’s chosen object. For it is at this place where we arrive in samādhi. This place of success is an easy place to start when learning how to sit still and quiet yourself. And when you arrive, you don’t look back: keep breathing, focusing, centering, being you, and with all this work - you will find yourself sitting in stillness for a long time; maybe even find yourself more comfortable with the company of yourself. (Thank you Dena).

Take a moment to look back at a time where YOU were living in a special or sacred place: what comes up? A deliverance of consciousness, clarity? Does it still beg your attention when you think of it and invite you to sit still and observe?

Go there yogi, try starting your next seated meditation focusing on this image and notice how still and quiet you become. Witness how this meditation invites you to observe that self that may have been hiding.