I am a mental health nurse, yoga teacher, homeopath and meditator.
I qualified as a yoga teacher through the Brisish Wheel of Yoga. The longer I do and teach yoga, the simpler my postures become, especially after I discovered Vanda Scaravelli- yoga or yoga of ‘non-effort’.
For 15 years I have been teaching yoga in various settings: health clubs, mental health groups and private classes.
I am interested in physical, mental and spiritual well being, encouraging people to become again human beings rather than human doings.
YOGA means union; not only union within body, mind and spirit, but also union with the Universal Consciousness.
Yoga is as old as civilisation and is still applicable today. Pilates and Body balance have incorporated yoga postures into their programme.
Hatha yoga (or physiological yoga) is one of the systems of yoga that leads to union. It involves purification of the body through postures and cleansing rituals.
The type of hatha yoga I teach is called ‘awakening the spine yoga’ or ‘yoga of non-effort’. Vanda Scaravelli, who developed this yoga said: ‘when pushing and pulling of the body stops, then yoga can begin’. When the mind stops grasping outwards, dictating the body to perform strenuous postures, then the body can give its burden of weight to gravity and together with the outbreath the spine can release and awaken. So when one part of the body (e.g. the feet in standing postures) is connected with the earth, the part of the body that is away from the earth (the trunk) can open up into the boundless universe of space. The spine is literally pulled apart at the vertebrae enabling the body to release its tension. Rather than pushing the body into a certain posture, we see where the body takes us and so becoming aware of the natural intelligence inherent in the body. In this way the journey into a posture is more important than the attainment of the posture. Once we have learned to go with the body we can then learn to go with the flow of Life. We learn to connect ourselves to the Universal Consciousness and so be guided by this Consciousness, leading to confidence and peace of mind. Although the goal of yoga is spiritual, the body benefits greatly: improves muscles, glands, circulation, digestion; can lower blood pressure, energize the body and lift the mood.
Other spiritual practices like meditation and chanting are also part of a yoga session. Likewise breathing. Our negative as well as our positive emotions have interfered with our breath, causing it to become shallow and quick. We learn to take control of the breath to energize the body; at times we learn to let the body breath itself and so relax us. The out breath helps us to move deeper into a posture and releases toxins.
A yoga session consists of 10 min. of relaxation and breathing; 50 min. of asanas or postures and 15 min. of relaxation and spiritual practice.