Hello everyone,
Just to let you know that I will be teaching classes all through the summer holiday. I look forward to seeing you:
MONDAYS 7.30pm to 8.30pm
Onneley House, 109 Court Oak Road, Harborne, B17 9AA
TUESDAYS 7.00pm to 8.00pm
The Bear Tavern, 500 Bearwood Road, B66 4BX
WEDNESDAYS 7.00pm to 8.00pm
Quinborne Community Centre, Ridgacre Road, B32 2TW
And for those of you that fancy a bit of challenge, please try the advanced class at 8.15pm-9.15pm on Wednesdays at the Quinborne Community Centre, address above.
Lots of love,
Lulu
x
Classes are on all over summer!! July 27, 2011
Yoga mat bags June 29, 2011
Hello everyone,
If you need a handy bag to carry your Pilates/yoga mat in please come and have a look at the bags I have by the sign in sheets. They are handmade and embroidered with the ‘om’ sign (the sound of the creation of the universe!!). A very talented lady known as BooBoo Craft makes all kinds of bags, cosmetics bags, embroidered postcards and some stunning embroidered paintings. BooBoo Craft also specialises in recycled fabric bags, which are a favourite of mine. Please have a look at her blog and craft website and please have a look at the yoga bags I have at class.
BooBooCraft: Designer, Maker
http://www.folksy.com/shops/BoobooBags
www.booboocraft.wordpress.com/about/
Thank you for reading,
See you in class,
Lulu
x
India 2010 part 4 of 4 June 29, 2011
10/12/10
I am very much inspired by the notion that all beings and in fact all things (plants etc.) are our teachers, all we need to do is watch and listen to them!
Contemplating equality and that we are all equal I enjoy meditating on this quote:
“By virtue of the air that we breathe we all share life” Gabrielle Roth
Today I have a feeling of knowing that it is easy for me to practice yoga here in India because I have silence, I have peace, I have contentment and happiness. Sometimes in daily life in Birmingham these factors are not present and this is where the challenge lies to keep practicing even when the circumstances don’t feel conducive, as Patabi Jois says “99% practice, 1% theory!”
16/12/10
Grateful for my legs, arms, hands, feet, body, spine……………grateful for my strength, my flexibility, grateful that when I ask my body to do something it does it, grateful that my soul chose this machine to live in, grateful for my health. Grateful that my yoga teacher has enabled me to work with back bends more, I am feeling the emotions that have been trapped in these muscles being released, it’s been physically challenging and emotionally interesting as these thoughts and feelings that have been hiding in my body get squeezed out!
At the start of the practice we place our hands together in prayer position in front of our heart and bow our heads to our heart. Our teacher says: “Bow your head to your heart, your true teacher”. I have carried this with me every day, my heart-my true teacher! I bow my head to my heart and ask it what it has to say………..and sometimes it really surprises me!
I wrote this after spending some time with my good friends that live here in India:
We came together from the four corners
We met in this place
Our intentions are shared
Laughter vibrates the energy around us
Drums beat, bells ring and the rattle shakes
A recipe for happiness
Children trapped in adults bodies
Light beings from afar in touch with the source
Together on this small round planet in these bodies
But today the weight of these bodies is lifted
Lifted with our spirits
High energy
Togetherness, Love, Fun, Games, Laughs and shared joy
The moon is our witness
She is so bright – the night sun
She looks so fresh, if I could lick her she would taste of yogurt! Clean and fresh to my pallet
If she could fit inside my mouth she would be as cool as an ice cube, melting and salivating my taste buds
The night sun shines
Spreading her rays across the ocean
Each wave is like liquid silver, molten and oozing across the shore
A sparkling metallic glint in my eye
The stars in the sky like light bulbs suspended on long cords
I wonder just how long those cords must be!
God pulls the cables like a puppet on string as he teases me with these far away blinking suns
He is like a grandfather teasing his grandchild
It seems Grandfather God is the eternal child as well, just a light hearted playful soul encased in an ancient ideal
I look at my shadow
How strange that it should be there
I remember a time when a shadow was not a possession of mine
Still……….I’m intrigued by it now, looking at it there, following my every move
Its feet matching my feet!
The child in me half hoping it will do something different like skip and dance when I stop still!
Grandmother Earth gives me a gift – one perfectly formed shell
This gift is to remind me of my promise to Great Spirit.
Thank you for reading my blogs about my trip to India, I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them, lots of love, Lulu xxx
Paper Flowers June 29, 2011
Hello everyone,
As most of you know I am a painter in my spare time and having this artistic flair I appreciate anything creative, or beautiful for that matter!! My friend has been making and selling paper flowers for a while now but I only saw them for the first time a few weeks ago………..they are amazing!! I asked if I could take some to show at my classes and so he has made some especially for us at a discount price as detailed below.
You can’t miss the flowers they are by the sign in sheets, hope you like them as much as I do!!
Lulu
x
Downward Facing Dog June 5, 2011
I know a lot of people find this pose anything but easy but Downward facing dog is actually classified a resting posture! With continued practice downward dog does become easier, it is designed to achieve a stilling and balancing effect energetically.
Your eye gaze in this pose is towards the belly button so you are literally gazing in towards the core of your being. Behind the naval is a point called the ‘Kanda’, where 72,000 energy channels cross, this is why the naval to spine is the seat of the power in your body.
The arms and legs are worked in balance and the head is relaxed. Coming into downward dog is the rest in the flow of the practice, a place where you can check your alignment, your strong centre (naval to spine), empty your thoughts into steady breathing and expand into the present moment.
Benefits of performing downwards dog:
• Rejuvenates the brain cells and relieves fatigue.
• Relieves stiffness in shoulder blades and shoulder joints.
• Strengthens and stretches the legs.
How to perform:
1. From kneeling with hands shoulder width and knees hip width apart.
2. Middle finger is pointing forward, hands spread out and palms pressed fully to the mat. Tuck your toes under and lift the knees off the floor.
3. Ease the heals towards the ground at the same time as raising the tailbone towards the sky. Forming a triangle shape with your body and the mat. Place your focus on lengthening and strengthening the spine.
4. Arms are straight, but being careful not to hyperextend the elbows, if hyperextension occurs soften the elbow a little to support the joint.
5. Crown of your head is facing the floor with your neck long and relaxed, look towards your navel.
6. Draw your naval towards your spine (hollow the belly).
7. Try to avoid curving the spine (back bend), you will know if this is happening if your ribs start to poke out. A curved spine will create an arch at the sacrum and squash the space in between your shoulders, this is to be avoided because it creates imbalance in the spine. Visualise a straight diagonal line from your hands to your tailbone.
8. Roll your shoulders away from your ears, your shoulders will feel like they are drawing down the back towards your pelvis.
9. Heels stacked behind the toes.
10. Hold for 3-5 deep lateral breaths.
11. Exhale and bend knees to the mat or continue on in sun saluation.
India 2010 part 3 of 4 June 5, 2011
07/12/10
Just as I watch the crow’s feathers being ruffled by the
ocean breeze to reveal the soft white plumage that hides beneath their thick
black feathers I am reminded how I too have many layers. Practice is going well and with each day I
feel my body opening to new possibilities and as my body receives these new
possibilities it lets go of tensions and tightness. I am feeling that the freedom of my body is
cleaning my mind. As my body moves
easier into these shapes my mind slowly untangles and lets go of tensions and
tightness that it too has been holding on to.
I wrote this a couple of days ago when the sun was setting:
Tears fill my eyes, I’m not sad, it’s my heart, it’s so
full, it’s bursting at the seams – either it will explode in my chest or I
allow the overspill to role water from my eyes. It’s the red cloud at
Sunset. It’s beyond words…………The words ‘pink’ ‘orange’ ‘yellow’
‘purple’ ‘blue’ seem shameful in describing such an event. The wet sand
on the shore is fluorescent with glow, from my watch point I am quiet, still
and insignificant feeling like a grain of sand. The tiny birds seem to
skate across the flat moist sand like it is a rainbow ice rink. The ball
in the sky is disguised by dense blocks of colour, the words ‘sun’ and ‘clouds’
don’t match what my eyes are looking at – Angels hair wisps, water colour
swirls, foamy density, oily pigment, waxy shine with a matte finish!! Two
dimensional and at the same time infinitely dimensional. Watery and
solid! The shapes play hide and seek with my eyes, constantly
changing. When the fiery ball peeps below the mass of purple cotton wool
it is like pure nectar - juicy and dripping from the heavens. There
is no denying its seduction; its red hot display makes everybody stare in awe
stuck admiration. I turn and exchange a glance with a women just down the
beach; we smile and nod acknowledging the beauty of the free light show.
I feel like I can almost reach out to embrace the beautiful red cloud at
Sunset…………He is so close…………..
What is muscular fitness? June 5, 2011
1. Muscular fitness is: Muscular strength and muscular endurance.
2. Muscular strength is the ability to lift a resistance, this could be a weight or just your limbs.
3. Even walking and moving the body is resistance!
4. Muscular endurance is when the muscle is being used for longer periods of time.
5. Benefits of muscular fitness:
• Muscular fitness enables us to keep correct posture and alignment of the skeleton (weakened muscles may cause an uneven pull on the skeleton which pulls us out of line).
• Muscles work in pairs, as one contracts its opposing muscle relaxes, e.g. the Biceps and the Triceps in the arm or the Hamstrings and the Quadriceps in the leg.
• So if one of the pairs gets over worked and the other insufficiently worked imbalances can happen which pull joints out of line. This can cause injuries and postural problems. Rounded shoulders and curvatures of the spine are usually the result of muscle imbalance causing postural imbalance.
• Muscular fitness also improves the strength of our bones and joints. As muscles contract they pull against the bones to create movement, so strengthening the tendons and ligaments and thus making the joints stronger and more stable.
6. Recommendations for Muscular Fitness training:
• Frequency: 2 – 3 times per week. Alternate rest days and training days.
• Intensity: To the point of near fatigue, while maintaining good technique.
• Duration: One set of 3 – 20 repartitions, Alternate rest days and training days.
• Type: 8 – 10 exercises targeting the main muscle groups :
Body weight exercises
Free weights
Exercise bands
7. Muscular fitness and Pilates;
Muscle balance is a big part of Pilates, all exercises are slow and controlled exercising the muscle both ways and exercises are performed on both sides evenly thus promoting a balancing effect. Pilates mainly works with strengthening the core stabiliser muscles.
Benefits of flexibility May 15, 2011
- Flexibility is defined as:
‘The ability of the joints and muscles to move through their full potential range of movement.’
- When a muscle is stretching it is lengthening and then relaxing in that position.
- Being able to move joints and muscles through their full potential range is needed to do daily tasks like:
1. Reaching upwards and reaching forwards
2. Raising the knees, like climbing the stairs
3. Taking long strides
4. Looking behind us and left and right
- Flexible muscles and joints help us keep correct posture and alignment. Good posture makes for a better appearance; it reduces the occurrence of lower back pain and helps the management of joint mobility conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Being flexible can also help relaxation and stress management by releasing tension in the body.
- The ACSM guidelines for training flexibility state:
- Flexibility should be practiced a minimum of 2-3 times per week
- Stretch positions should be taken to a point of mild tension, not discomfort, and held for an extended period of time once the muscle has relaxed. 2-4 repetitions can be performed for each stretch.
- Hold static for 15-30 seconds
- Static stretches are recommended for the general population
- Floor based stretches give more support to the body and can make stretching more relaxed. Using straps is fine as this can help increase the range of motion and amount of stretch achieved. Using blocks (usually to sit on) is good for helping people with less flexibility gain an effective seated posture.
Happy stretching!!
Lulu
India 2010 part 2 of 4 May 15, 2011
06/12/10
Happy in my acknowledgement that I need to be quiet. I am enjoying my Astanga self-practice as it enables me to just be. Ken, our ‘teacher’ or better suited ‘space holder’ does not speak to us; he speaks without words by giving very powerful adjustments to our postures. I am enjoying my silent space to practice this set of exercises at my rhythm, at my pace, at my peace!
Acknowledging that every time my focus wonders or I am daydreaming I am by passing the eye centre. I am only cheating myself if I allow my mind to govern my thoughts and deny my soul its purpose of leading me.
More painted words:
I watched the sea from my tranquil position at the sunset and it somehow looked two dimensional, like a veil of elaborately beaded cloth finished with velvet. Only an embroidery master could work the rays of pure white brilliance into this piece of cloth, only a skilled creator could imprint pure light into material. I look so long and so hard at this masterpiece that looking becomes irrelevant, looking becomes foolish, looking makes my brain analyse and try to create words to describe and solidify something that cannot be explained, solidified or held in my space of attention! Looking makes me let go of analysing, I decide to let the view in, let the painting in my mind out, let the analysing go, let go of letting go and just be in a perfect of state of admiration for Mother Earth.
The waves are big today, I’m petrified and yet so excited! I play ‘Granny’s Footsteps’ with Grandmother Ocean. I stand waist deep in her undulations, my back to the horizon, I close my eyes and try to feel when the waves are coming. I feel the current pull around my ankles, the sand sucks from under my feet making me sink a little deeper………..and then I hear the crash, I turn to see the first fold of the wave as the water swells – much higher than my head – the wave starts to peel like tearing paper or maybe like a roll of ice cream as it is scooped. I watch the ferocious crash unfold until it reaches me and there is nothing left to do but surrender. Fear is in my mind but my body doesn’t acknowledge it, I turn my back and jump to ride the wave……..as soon as the wave takes me it passes leaving nothing but fizzing bubbles and my surprised laughter. I have a strange relationship with Grandmother Ocean. I feel her with beauty and at the same time I am totally repulsed by her!! When I put my foot on the bottom, if I happen to stand on something or something swims past my leg I shriek with horror! Such discomfort and fear at the unknown. I am always conscious of being an alien in this environment and when the fear grasps me I irrationally forget to be respectful to Grandmother. Save for another day when I can work on this harmony!
More to come!!
Top tips on ‘Navel to Spine’ May 2, 2011
• To find the muscles you are trying to use: put your hands inside your hip bones and cough – you will feel them contract
• Ideally you want to do a 30% contraction. Try pulling in 100% first time, 50% second time and then 30% the third time
• Or, imagine a belt with ten notches. The first time you pull in tighten the belt to notch ten, the second time to notch five and the third time to notch three
• Imagine your belly button pulling backwards and upwards
• Imagine your hip bones drawing closer together like a concertina
• Imagine zipping up a tight pair of trousers
Hope this helps!!
