Some of you may know that I run occasional herb walks in Amsterdam, to teach people what’s around them and how some people collect and use the herbs.
There’s a walk coming up on May 21st so if any of my Yoga students or others are interested please get in touch with me. as I write this there are just a few spaces left.
I have a herb related blog called urbanherbology and details of the walk are posted there.
My clear out continues…
Safety First rear facing car seat, suitable from birth to about 1 year old or 13Kg. It has hardly been used and is in excellent condition. The seat itself is unmarked, very clean, no accidents & no stains. It has a newborn support pillow, sun shade cover, pads for shoulders & and side protection system. The cover, sunshade and shoulder pads are washable. The sun shade cover has a few small faint paint marks which aren’t obvious unless you closely inspect. The protection bar can swing around as shown so it can stand nicely on the floor when needed.
Also selling with the adapters needed to fit this seat onto a bugaboo frame. The adapters are also suitable for maxicosy attachment to a Bugaboo. The adapters alone are worth €40. Grey and black. The car seat is secured in position using a seatbelt. Looking for €45 ono for the seat and adapters together.
Two important messages this week…
A reminder that there will be no mama baby yoga lessons on 21st February 2012. It is my half term holiday.
Also for those of you who missed last week, you need to know that I am terminating lessons at Zensaz on 13th March 2012. Due to my school teaching commitments, I have decided it is best to stop lessons on that date. Those wishing to take private lessons with me afterwards are most welcome to contact me. There should be time beforehand for all classcards to be used up, if this is not possible for you please contact me so that alternative arrangements can be made.
I have loved teaching mama baby yoga at Zensaz and will be sad to stop but it is simply not possible to keep the lessons going. I hope to offer occasional dates for very small groups at my home. Please contact me if you would like to be on my mailing list.
Love and Light,
Lynn
In Yoga, links are often made to the Sun and Moon.
For instance, a common Yoga style is known as Hatha Yoga. In Sanskrit, the word hatha (pronounced “ha ta”) means Sun (Ha) and Moon (Tha). Hatha Yoga is often said to aim at balancing the Sun and Moon energies of the body,
Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation) and Chandra Namaskara (Moon Salutation) are two commonly practiced Yoga asana routines, which can impart the qualities of the Sun and Moon into the body and mind of the Yogi.
But the analogy which I think of most often was taught to me many moons ago by Ranju Roy. Here’s my simple interpretation of the idea which may help your yoga practice in some way…
Imagine a fire in your belly. A burning, bright, hot, all consuming fire. This is the fire we need to fully digest food and impurities (ama). It needs to be well contained in the belly. It needs to be fed appropriate amounts of quality fuel. It’s flames should be fanned by well cont,rolled breath and by movements of the abdomen. This fire is Surya – the Sun. It is your ally and should be treated with greatrespect.
Imagine a silver moon in your head. A cool, calm, all seeing, shimmering moon. This moon (Chandra) is a store of the ambrosial nectar (Amrita). Amrita drips coherently into your body. Amrita is your life force, we all lose it at different rates. When allowed to drip unchecked from Chandra, it travels downward into the belly where it cools Surya’s fire as it is transformed and lost.
Yoga aims to keep Chandra and Surya at a respectful distance from each other. To keep fire in your belly, where it can help to purify, vitalise, stimulate and cleanse. To keep amrita in your mind, where it nourishes, calms and stabilises. When the two energies mix we can’t function effectively; Surya’s fire becomes weak so digestion suffers and illness creeps in, Chandra becomes heated causing hot headed decisions and our mind to be foggy.
One way to keep the qualities of Surya and Chandra in there appropriate places, is to practice Kechari Mudra whenever you think about it. It is said to prevent amrita from dripping into the fire and is essentially very simple. I’ll write about it again but it basically involves curling the tongue so the underside presses against the palate of the mouth
Surya Namaskara is a powerful vinyasa (flow of yoga poses) which can impart the qualities of the Sun in to our being. I enjoy practising it every morning, it provides a great start to day. There are several versions of Surya Namaskara to choose from. I prefer the Ashtanga Vinyasa Surya Namaskara A and B. Here’s a link to David Swenson, beautifully and skillfully demonstrating the two sequences (from You Tube)…
Here’s another of my after-yoga-treat recipes. It is basically my favourite bread recipe with a heap of chopped fruit and some warming spices thrown in. Contrary to popular belief, bread making is very easy and there is no need to add sugar to make a great tasting and nourishing Continue reading
Here is the recipe for the sugar free muffins I served after today’s mama baby yoga. The sweet taste is from grated apple, raisins and a little cinnamon. The recipe is adapted from one in River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook by Nikki Duffy. Continue reading
I often enjoy listening to traditional Indian Ragas and and modern music played on traditional instruments. I still think it is better to practice yoga in silence but sometimes it is useful to play beautiful instrumental music Continue reading
Here are a couple of photos of the chakra sculpture in the children’s playground area of Oosterpark, Amsterdam.
It was a lovely surprise to find this peice of art in the park. The symbols for each chakra are traditional and Continue reading
There will be no Mama Baby Yoga classes on the following dates:
20th December 2011
27th December 2011
3rd January 2012
1:1 Lessons will also be unavailable during this period, when I’ll be Continue reading
Here is a video from Youtube which clearly shows the movements for Wind the Bobbin Continue reading