Ys51final by Yoga Scotland Magazine

Yoga

Issue 51 â&#x20AC;¢ September 2016

SCOTLAND

MAGAZINE

Theme: Yoga and Ayurveda PUBLISHED BY

YOGA SCOTLAND

www.yogascotland.org.uk Scottish Charity Number SCO20590

sportscotland

Governing Body for Yoga in Scotland

w www.balance.co.uk ww.balance.co.uk

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balance b alance

Yoga Y oga at balance balance Workshops Workshops

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Editorial This issue of the magazine will be my last one as Editor. From January 2017 Carol Godridge (who did a stint as Editor from 2004 to 2008), will return to the post, leaving me more time to devote to the duties of the Chair, and I am grateful to Carol for offering her services. Please do send in to the editor’s address any feedback, articles, photos or reviews you may have for the next issue; they will be very welcome. Our cover features the winning photo from our recent competition, so many thanks to all those who took part. I have very much enjoyed doing this job since August 2012 and have been pleased with the various changes introduced, including the move to full colour, the revamped cover, increased content, the introduction (to mixed reviews) of themes, increased opening-up to members of all traditions and to non-YS contributors. Like all editors, Carol will do the job in her own way and have her own ideas, but the important thing is that the baton is passed on, as it has been since the Scottish Yoga Association’s very first newsletter in Autumn 1975. Since those early days, means of communication with members have increased in ways that could not then have been imagined (or at least not outside the pages of a science fiction novel), and we now have emails, enewsletters and the website, not to mention Facebook and Twitter. But the magazine remains an important source of information and connection, whether in its paper or electronic format, providing YS with a key forum for reaching out both within and beyond the yoga community, sharing its ideas and diffusing its values. This issue focuses on Ayurveda, Yoga’s ‘sister science’, with personal experiences from Lindsey Porter, Sue Jenkins, Marj Smillie, Elaine Bingham and Susan McManus, the perspective of a teacher from the Krishnamacharya Tradition (Ann Hunter) and reflection from Nikki Biddiss on our need for categorisation. As usual we also have our regular features – ‘Meet the Chair’ with Iyengar teacher Margaret Blythe, ‘From the Archives’ taking us back to 1988 and ‘Desert Island Yoga’ with Edinburgh teacher Peter Angelucci – along with articles on a range of other topics such as ‘Living Deliberately’, which is sure to resonate with yoga practitioners. This issue also features many photos of assorted yoga days over the last few months, demonstrating once again just how active and varied our community is: the final days of YS courses, the June Weekend in Galashiels and International Day of Yoga across Scotland. As I sign off for the last time as Editor, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed articles, photos, reviews and feedback over the last four years and helped to make my task so rewarding and enjoyable. Thanks also to Kirsty, succeeded by Maria, who have done such efficient work on adverts, to Sue our designer who has brought her many talents to the lay-out of the magazine, to our printers in Stranraer and to Val who for the last two years has done sterling work posting out hundreds of magazines three times a year. Wishing you all happy and fruitful reading of both this issue and many more to come. Joy Charnley, Editor

Guidelines for Contributors Articles and reviews are welcome from everyone, whether a teacher, student teacher or ordinary member, and members and non-members alike are encouraged to contribute. Yoga Scotland is keen that all schools and traditions within yoga should be well represented in the magazine. Good quality photos of events are also very welcome. Please check word length with the editor, as both shorter (300-500 words or so) and longer pieces are published. Specific issues may be focused on a theme, but articles on any yoga-related topic will be considered. Please send articles, letters, emails, photos, information, news or ideas to the editor.

Cover photo Derek Doyle, a YS Teacher, taken on a heli deck of an oil rig located 100 miles from Aberdeen. Please send us any photos you have which depict any aspect of yoga.

Upcoming Themes Future issues will focus on the following themes. Your contributions (and suggestions of other themes you would like to see covered) are very welcome. January 2017 (deadline 15 Nov): ‘Yoga and Medical Research’

Yoga Scotland Magazine Contacts Scotland Deadlines for advertising and editorial copy: 15 March (publication 1 May) 15 July (publication 1 September) 15 November (publication 1 January)

Editorial Address: Advertising address: Joy Charnley 34 Cromarty Avenue Glasgow G43 2HG

Maria Rawlings 6 Southwick Road Dalbeattie DG5 4BS

editor@yogascotland.org.uk

Tel: 07954 283966 maria@yogascotland.org.uk

Yoga Scotland magazine advertising rates also cover automatic inclusion on the Yoga Scotland website. Position Back Cover Inside front cover Inside back cover Full page Half page Quarter page Eighth page

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Payable at time of booking. 10% discount for full year’s booking (3 issues). © 2016 Yoga Scotland. All original articles in Yoga Scotland Magazine may be reproduced and circulated without prior permission being sought, provided acknowledgement is given to the author and Yoga Scotland. Printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. Disclaimer The views expressed in Yoga Scotland magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Yoga Scotland. We reserve the right to encourage the expression of a variety of views on subjects of interest to our members. No item should be taken as Yoga Scotland policy unless so stated. Design/artwork by Sue Grant 01848 200331

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View from the Chair For many people the summer is a time for travel and adventure, when we can take the opportunity to discover new places and try out new experiences, and I hope that has been the case for you this year. Increasingly though, in our twenty-first-century world, travel has become synonymous not just with excitement and exploration, but also sadly with serious safety concerns. Increased security at airports and other transport hubs and at big events makes those concerns and the reaction to them ever-present, and however keen we are to keep things in perspective, seeing and hearing so much about terrible events around the world can easily make us feel a little insecure and uncertain when we venture out. For many, the yoga mat and our practice constitute a haven of security in this troubled, stressful world and of course organisations such as YS pride themselves on producing teachers who teach well and safely. Perhaps sometimes though, we also need to reflect a little on the elements of yoga which are by their very essence ‘risky’ and cannot in fact be safely packaged and labelled ‘harmless’? Maybe yoga will never be 100% safe and if it ever became so would not in fact be yoga? That thought-provoking and slightly provocative question, ‘Is Yoga safe?’ was asked by Ellen Lee (Chair of the Independent Yoga Network) back in May, when she came to teach for us at an OGT, and she has a point. What she meant was that, although we can do much to make practice and teaching ‘safe’, particularly the physical aspects of yoga – how to come into and out of an asana, contraindications, counterposes and so on – it is very much harder (not to say impossible) to know how an individual’s mind is reacting to our teaching. We all know that even simple practices can be very powerful physically, mentally and emotionally, and what each student is discovering about themselves when they step on the mat, what their mind is making (and will continue to make) of the practices, may be completely unknown and unknowable. Each individual will have their own experience and their own response and each may well ask themselves, ‘Is this journey safe? Will I enjoy it? Where is it taking me? Is it a risk worth taking?’ Having wise, insightful, sensitive guides who can teach with integrity as they help students chart these unknown waters gives us of course some reassurance, and YS’s community of teachers provides just that. Teachers who know that yoga is so much more than a set of physical postures and who are highly aware of both benefits and risks/contraindications that go well beyond the physical realm. We cannot read our students’ minds (at least some of us can’t…) but tuning into them as individuals and keeping that focus on yoga as a holistic practice are an integral part of whatever a ‘safe’ practice looks like. As in life, our yoga practice requires a balance between staying safe and discovering, staying in the comfort zone and heading off on an adventure. Wishing you safe and happy travels this autumn on and off the mat! Joy Charnley

Yoga Scotland Executive Committee Chairperson: Joy Charnley Email: joy@yogascotland.org.uk Treasurer: Kirsty Davidson Email: treasurer@yogascotland.org.uk Secretary: Val Belk Email: secretary@yogascotland.org.uk Minutes Secretary: Kate Reilly-Andrews Email: kate@yogascotland.org.uk On-going Training Coordinator: Cathy Swan Email: ogt@yogascotland.org.uk Events Coordinator: Gill Gibbens Email: events@yogascotland.org.uk Magazine Editor: Carol Godridge Email: editor@yogascotland.org.uk

Yoga Scotland General Enquiries

Telephone number 07954 283966 For more detailed information on Yoga Scotland membership, regional events, classes, training courses and more, visit our website: www.yogascotland.org.uk

Contents 13 4

Editorial View from the Chair

15 13 15 17 19 20 21 25 26 29 30 32 34 35 36 37

News and Views What’s On Meet the Chair Yoga Teacher/Yogacarya Working with the Mohans From the Archives YS membership forms Ayurveda is what? Ayurvedic massage and Yoga in Auroville Simple stretch sequence Living Deliberately What Dosha type are you? Professor Krishnamacharya’s Yoga Therapy YS Photo competition entries Introduction to Ayurveda Yogic Cook, Thoughts for the Day and The Ayurveda lifestyle Desert Island Yoga OGT 2016-2017 Reviews

39 41 42

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Photo: Roger Clark

News and Views Netherthird Yoga Group still going strong Netherthird Yoga Group was started over thirty years ago in the Royal Hotel in Cumnock by Victor Schiller, who was a dedicated yoga practitioner. Some members may remember Victor from Lendrick Lodge days. Victor handed over the class to Maureen Murphy (Mo) in 1999, when she completed her training with Yoga Scotland. The class continues to thrive in a lovely new building, under the name of Netherthird Yoga Group, on Wednesday evenings. Some of the women in the photo are founder members with Victor. We thank Yoga Scotland for all their support. Mo Murphy

Get Meditating for Peace – Spread the Word! On two recent occasions, the Yoga Scotland Dumfries Foundation Course students and I have joined millions of people round the world in a synchronised meditation for peace. At his recent weekend seminar Swami Krishnapremananda also stopped the programme for 15 minutes so that all of us present could join one of these worldwide meditations. The events are coordinated on a regular basis by a) an organisation called The Master Shift and b) the self-styled American ‘peace troubadour’ James Twyman. Research has shown that when mass gatherings of meditators take place, there is a significant drop in crime and violence in the locality. Back in the 1970s the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said that if we could just get 1% of the world’s population meditating, it would create the critical mass of higher frequency cosmic energy (prana) to tilt the world towards peace. This has been tested in many places. In Skelmersdale in Lancashire, where there is a community of Transcendental Meditation practitioners, the local police force knows that on weekends when there is a large gathering of meditators there, they can confidently roster fewer officers on the beat than at other times. In prisons in the UK, in America and India too, mass meditation has been shown to create healing energy and to lessen violence and unrest. The Intention Experiment conducted by journalist Lyn McTaggart in association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also showed that by coordinating people from all over the world to focus their energy at one time on particular persons, situations or plants, remarkable healing could take place. It seems to me that the need for all of us to be meditating has never been greater than now, with so many conflicts and

the spread of terrorist acts carried out in the name of a cruel and medieval interpretation of Islam. So to those of us who are able to teach meditation I call on you to spread the word and to create groups of meditators wherever we are. We have this tool in our hands and we can use it to play our part in trying to bring some peace back into the world. We may play a small part in helping the greater good, and in the process, the individuals taking part will also benefit from learning this wonderful practice. From little acorns etc...................... Carol Godridge

Editor’s inbox Thank you for your feedback. Please get in touch if you have views or suggestions to share. ‘A lot of the articles are not particularly reader-friendly, especially for dyslexic learners like myself. On a more positive note I do find some of the articles very interesting and would like to see more of those. The article about simple stretch sequences in issue 50 was of particular interest because it was practical and informative.’ ‘Well done, I enjoyed every article.’ ‘Excellent as usual.’ ‘I meant to say how good I thought the mag was. What a lot of work getting all the articles, and all the advertising material too.’

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Judy Cameron Lindsey Porter Lindsey is currently helping out with the development of YS’s social media profile. Throughout my busy successful 20-year career as a Project and Programme Manager working for various international banks in the Financial Services sector, both in the UK and overseas, I’ve mindfully kept my yoga practice going to help keep a balance in my life and to help keep me sane. In 2006, I grabbed an opportunity between jobs to spend time in Rishikesh, India to deepen my understanding of yoga and certified as an RYS Yoga Teacher, under Yogi Vishvketu of Akhanda Yoga. It was here that Asha Jhoti, my yogic name, which translates as ‘Light of Hope’, was given to me. Reiki found me whilst living and travelling in South America and I completed my Reiki I initiation in La Paz, Bolivia in 2000, Reiki II initiations in Chester, England in 2003 and Reiki III and Reiki Master in Llandudno, Wales in 2007. I’ve been loving and learning NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) coaching and communicating techniques since 2009 and qualified as a full INLPTA NLP Practitioner in 2015. In 2015 I decided to take a step in a new direction and follow my passion in yoga more fully. I’m now teaching classes in Falkirk and Linlithgow three times a week and running both UK- and overseas-based Wellbeing and Yoga retreats. As well as getting involved in a few charity and media-type events all with the aim of promoting yoga and in particular my own interest of encouraging people to take their yoga off the mat in various ways. You can follow my journey via my website www.yoganuu.com and also my Facebook page Yoga~Nu~U. I’m also really excited to have been selected as an Asquith brand ambassador (ethical yoga clothing based in London) and Yoga Magazine are running their ‘My Story’ page on me in their August edition this year. I’m loving the journey and feel it will be great to help deepen my connections with both Yoga and Scotland further by getting involved with the YS team.

Judy will become one of the Hatha Tutors on the Edinburgh Teacher Training Course in September 2016. Judy has practised Yoga for many years and has been teaching Pre- and Postnatal Yoga since 1996. It was while working as a nurse in Asia and expecting her first child that she first became drawn to Yoga. She gained enormous benefit from this practice which gave her the confidence to go on to have her second child at home. She trained initially in South India at the Sivananda Vedanta Ashram in Kerala. She subsequently went on to train for a further two years with Janet Balaskas, Lolly Stirk and Yvonne Moore at the Active Birth Centre in London. It was at this time that she came to understand how a more intuitive approach to Yoga, based on the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli, could transform her practice. She continues to explore this way of working with the ground, the breath and the spine – most recently with Gary Carter, Christine Borg and Peter Blackaby. She gained her Diploma in Teaching Yoga with the British Wheel of Yoga in the late 1990s and has also completed a Diploma in Baby Yoga (Birthlight) and a certificate to teach Yoga for the Special Child. She also has a strong interest in the use of hypnosis for childbirth and teaches HypnoBirthing privately, in 2011 establishing Breathing, Relaxation and SelfHypnosis classes within the NHS. Judy is a registered midwife, and runs classes in Yoga for Pregnancy, Birth Preparation workshops, HypnoBirthing, Postnatal and Baby Yoga. She also teaches weekly Hatha Yoga classes in Aberdeen and Kinloch Rannoch as well as Yoga for the Special Child in Perthshire. As Director of the YogaBirth Teacher Training and Module Provider for both the BWY Pregnancy and Postnatal Modules, she has a deep interest in passing on her knowledge to other teachers. Judy lives in the Highlands of Perthshire at the foot of Schiehallion with her husband, a small flock of sheep and a few hens. She is delighted to be joining the Yoga Scotland Tutor team in Edinburgh in 2016.

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Spring Seminar and AGM 2016 Photos: Kate Reilly-Andrews and Cathy Swan

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Living Yoga Course 2015-16

Whitburn Foundation Course 2015-16

Edinburgh Teacher Training Course 2014-16

International Day of Yoga in Fraserburgh International Day of Yoga in Fraserburgh, organised and taught by YS teacher Donna Falconer and attended by 30 people

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International Yoga Day, Aberdeen

International Yoga Day event in Aberdeen, jointly funded by GYA and YS. Taught by Sarah Gray and Lisa Taylor and attended by 45 people. Over ÂŁ400 raised from donations to help rebuild schools in Nepal. Photos by Ally Summers.

Yoga Scotland June Weekend 2016 in Galashiels

Photos by Libby Irvine and Jason Birch

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Aberdeen Foundation Course 2015-2016

Dumfries Foundation Course 2015-2016 Back row: Pauline Steenbergen, Patti Lean, Maria Cleary, Carmita Toal, Yoga Scotland Committee member Kate Reilly-Andrews. Front row: Mandi Houfe, Carol Godridge (Tutor), Jane Chalmers, Susie Jamieson. (Not pictured Yeolande Davies and Zaria Et An Astaria-Shanti).

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Annual Yoga Weekend 2016 – ‘Roots’ Jean Muir Student Village, Heriot Watt University

Welcome to Rona Main Rona has been practising Yoga for eighteen years and teaching for ten and Yoga and family have become her vocation. She trained as a Yoga Teacher in London, qualifying in 2007 with the British Wheel of Yoga. Now teaching in the Inverurie area of Aberdeenshire, she feels that Yoga should be accessible to all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Gratitude, openness and collaboration are at the heart of her practice. Hatha-led, her style draws on a mix of traditional and modern teaching influences in asana, pranayama and relaxation. She works closely with the breath in all aspects of asana practice, often with sequences, encouraging students to build strength and flexibility at their own pace. Identifying what can disturb inner peace, and helping students find Santosha through Yoga is a recurring theme she builds upon. Although work in progress, this includes Rona’s own personal exploration into a more minimal and uncluttered lifestyle. Rona also teaches children and youngsters in schools, and has recently incorporated more restorative Yoga and meditation into her adult classes. From September 2016 she will be co-tutor on the Yoga Scotland Aberdeen Foundation Course, which she sees as a very rewarding step for students seeking a deeper appreciation of Yoga and an enhanced practice.

Student Bursary Fund As a charity, Yoga Scotland places great importance on the need to use profits from its activities to help fund students who may otherwise have difficulty accessing our courses. Each year a number of students are helped, through reduced course fees, to study on our Foundation Course, Living Yoga Course or Teacher Training. If you would like to contribute to bringing on the next generations of yoga practitioners and teachers, you can do so by making a donation or setting up a direct debit payment specifically for the Bursary Fund, or by remembering YS in your will. Please contact Maria should you require account details. Thank you in advance for your support.

After a pleasant meandering journey, I found myself in the Borders town of Galashiels wondering what the weekend had in store. University residences conjure up thoughts of chipped paintwork, narrow beds and communal bathrooms, so I was delighted to walk into Jean Muir Village on Friday night to find a very different student hall. A new development for Heriot Watt University, the buildings were flooded with light from the numerous large windows. My room felt spacious, with a comfy double bed and en-suite shower room. The interior design throughout was fresh and vibrant with abstract contemporary art in fuchsia pink, orange and luminescent green decorating the walls. Luminescent seems to me a good word to sum up my experience back in June. I had not attended the Yoga Scotland Annual Weekend for some years and to be honest I felt a touch of apprehension – what were the tutors going to be like? Will it be worthwhile? I remember my asana tutor saying that there is always something to be learned from every experience and this proved to be true. After a delicious meal in a bright diningroom (small tables for four, flowers in a vase, a glass of wine….Yes, I know!) and a good catch-up with friends, I was looking forward to Saturday morning. An early meditation and pranayama class with Swami Saradananda started the day well, and then I attended the sessions of Jason Birch and Jacqui Hargreaves. Why? Well firstly, my hope for this weekend was to be inspired, shaken up and made to think. Secondly, as a mediaeval history graduate the pull of ‘Mediaeval Yoga. The Hidden History of Yoga’ was too strong to resist. After a fascinating, fairly academic and sedentary morning, the afternoon session was ‘attempting’ mediaeval asanas inspired by the Hathabhyasapaddhati from the seventeenth century. This caused a lot of laughter. The whole day was wellbalanced and I felt that connecting back to the roots of my 36year practice was not just useful, but essential. Sometimes you can feel isolated and adrift from the essence of yoga. Understanding the past does inform the present and future. The next day I returned to Jason and Jacqui because I wanted to learn more. The tyranny of choice! Attend one class and miss another. Nevertheless, Sunday was equally interesting and inspiring, with discussions on Samadhi – ‘Methods of Absorption towards Stainless Perfection’ based on an early eighteenth-century text by Gheranda Samhita. The afternoon complemented the morning session with a beautifully delivered class on Yoga and Mindfulness, a lecture and a practice, which brought my weekend to a close in a calm and gentle manner. Did I feel re-connected to the roots of yoga? Yes. Did I luminesce after this weekend? Well I certainly felt an inner glow. Will I attend next year? Definitely.

Om Shanti Carol R Crook

International Yoga Day / अंतर्राष्टर् ीय योग दिवस (in Hindi)

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Lindsey Porter, YS member and Akhanda Hatha Yoga teacher Every day is a day for yoga practice, whether it’s a few mindful breaths or a full yoga asana/physical practice. And now on 21 June every year (since 2015), the world comes together to celebrate the joy and benefits of yoga on a united, global scale. International Yoga Day (IYD) was proposed by India, brought in by the United Nations and endorsed by a record 175 member states. Its aim: to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practising yoga. ‘For centuries, people from all walks of life have practised yoga, recognising its unique embodiment of unity between mind and body. Yoga brings thought and action together in harmony.’ This year saw many yoga events taking place to celebrate this day across Scotland and here are a few of them: • Yoga for Alzheimer’s charity 2-hour session held in Glasgow including four different teachers and styles of yoga • The Association of Indian Organisations (AIO) in Glasgow, in collaboration with the Consulate General of India,

Edinburgh, organised a Yoga session at the Glasgow Hindu Mandir and Cultural Centre • The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh organised Yoga classes in its Health Club • Session held at Baljaffray Church, Bearsden, Glasgow • And our very own YS Yoga event jointly organised at the Trades Hall in Aberdeen with Grampian Yoga Association (GYA). ‘Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.’ Find out more about IYD at: http://www.un.org/en/events/yogaday/index.shtml http://idayofyoga.org/ Find Lindsey at www.yoganuu.com

What’s On September 2016 Sat 3, Sun 4 – Teacher Training Edinburgh Sue McLennan, Galashiels (SSYT) Sat 10 – Foundation & Living Yoga Courses Polmont Sat 10, Sun 11 - Teacher Training Glasgow Leslie Kaminoff, Glasgow Sat 17 – Foundation Courses Aberdeen and Dumfries Sue McLennan, Edinburgh (ELYA) Ann Hunter, Glasgow Yvonne Davies, Crawfordjohn

October 2016 Sat 1, Sun 2 – Swami Pragyamurti, Dundee (SSYN) Ali Freeman, Aberdeen and Fraserburgh (GYA) Sun 2 – Connie McCreath, Forres

Johnny Glover, Edinburgh (BWY IST) Fiona Ashdown, Polmont (TSYP) Sun 30 - Fiona Ashdown, Polmont (TSYP)

November 2016 Sat 5 – Foundation Course Polmont YS Executive Committee Meeting Sat 5, Sun 6 – Daniel Gelblum (Edinburgh) Sat 12 – Living Yoga Course Polmont, Foundation Course Aberdeen Ann Hunter, Glasgow Sun 13 – Louisa Craig, Dundee (TY) Sat 19 – Foundation Course Dumfries Judie and Ali Freeman, Edinburgh (ELYA) Fri 25, Sat 26, Sun 27 - Teacher Training Glasgow

Sat 8 – John Stirk, Edinburgh Sat 15 – Foundation Courses Polmont, Aberdeen, Dumfries Living Yoga Course Polmont Sat 15, Sun 16 – Teacher Training Edinburgh Sun 16 – Nadine Watton, Dundee (TY) Sat 22, Sun 23 - Teacher Training Glasgow Sat 29 – Philip Xerri, Stirling (YS Autumn Seminar)

December 2016 Fri 2, Sat 3, Sun 4 – Teacher Training Edinburgh Sat 10 – Foundation Courses Polmont, Aberdeen Living Yoga Course Polmont Ann Hunter, Glasgow Sat 17 – Foundation Course Dumfries June Mercer, Polmont

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Welcome to Sue Jenkins, member of the Executive Committee I have practised yoga on and off since the age of 17, and am now 66. I hold a degree in Modern Languages and English and another in Complementary Medicine. I have been involved in education since 1972, teaching in schools, further and higher education, running my own aromatherapy business for the last 25 years or so and since 1996 an aromatherapy school. I trained as a teacher with Yoga Scotland in 2013-15 and have been teaching yoga for about 4 years in local village classes and a class for carers.

MEDITATIVE CREATIVITY YOGA WORKSHOP With Connie McCreath

SUNDAY 2ND OCTOBER 2016 – 1030 – 1600 At Masonic Lodge, Main Street, (opp Grant Park) Forres IV36 1BU WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE WORKSHOP

Working with the breath and flowing sequences takes us deeper into ourselves – the inner dance reveals itself in a natural, creative manner. As the outside ripples settle, we will sit in quiet observation. This gentle practice creates a sense of ease and comfort in the physical, mental and spiritual planes resulting in an organic ambience for sitting meditation. Connie has been teaching Yoga for over forty years. She is inspired by her teacher John Stirk and the Vanda Scaravelli tradition. This workshop is suitable for teachers and students at all levels.

COST: £25.00. Cheques should be made out to Connie McCreath 31 Drumduan Park, Forres, IV36 1GF For more details contact Connie on: 07840956394 Conniemccreath55@gmail.com Drinks will be provided – please bring your own lunch.

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Meet the Chair… of iYoga: Margaret Blythe YS: Can you tell us a little about iYoga and the organisation’s change of name? Margaret Blythe: Hi there, and thank you for inviting me to take part in this interview. Our original name, GWSIYI: Glasgow and West of Scotland Iyengar Yoga Institute, doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. iYoga Glasgow is easier to remember. It also works better as a logo. I think it has been a positive change. YS: What does your work as Chair involve? Margaret: Honestly, I have been chair for two years and thus far I simply chair meetings and help ratify decisions. I guess I have contributed ideas along with everyone else, however, it is not really me, but the others on the committee who have been working tirelessly for Iyengar Yoga in Glasgow for the past twelve (or more) years. In particular Valerie Miller who was formerly Treasurer and now Events organiser; Pamela Martin, membership secretary and Newsletter editor; Willi Smith, Treasurer and Brian Stewart who is our Institute’s Representative at the IYA [UK] meetings and does a great job as unofficial IT ‘consultant’ for our website. We currently have three keen practitioners of Iyengar who kindly give of their free time to attend committee meetings and offer valuable contributions. We need more bodies to join us. YS: What do you see as the main challenges currently facing iYoga? Margaret: The main challenge, as with any organisation, is sustaining and growing membership and getting folks involved in the Institute committee directly, to keep it vibrant. Trends come and go and obviously other yoga styles do tend to promote themselves in a different way from Iyengar, so it is inevitable that our numbers will fluctuate. Currently Iyengar Yoga is in a fairly good position globally. It does not promote itself aggressively, and its emphasis remains first and foremost with the yoga rather than the business of yoga, which can sometimes be a disadvantage in this commercially-orientated world. I believe promoting ourselves in an effective way without compromising our integrity and the high standard of yoga Iyengar is recognised for, is key. We should be saying ‘Yoga is for life not just for Christmas’. If you were to consider our most senior teachers, many of them are still practising and teaching yoga into their seventies and eighties. Iyengar himself practised daily until he passed away at 95. That is a major incentive for practising yoga and especially Iyengar yoga. I feel we should celebrate our longevity in that respect. YS: Can you tell us a little about your family background and formative years? Margaret: I am the youngest of four: two older sisters and a brother. We three girls were Highland dancers and my brother was a professional Soldier and Piper. We were therefore often called upon to provide the entertainment at family occasions (my sympathy rests with the audience). I had a close family and group of friends. East Kilbride, where I lived, was a New Town, so we had great amenities, a cinema and Olympic-size swimming pool. It was surrounded by green belt. So my formative years were spent aimlessly

wandering in the countryside, swimming and going to the ‘pictures’. I watched a lot of comedy and drama on TV. Later I was to work in telly, so it must have had an effect. My dad was in signals during World War 2 and afterwards became a signalman for British Rail until his retirement. Consequently, we travelled everywhere by train, and I have a deep love of train journeys. Our holidays always seemed to me to be Big Adventures, leaving from our local station to Central Station and the Metropolis of London. Journeying onwards to and through the foreign lands of Europe, often on night trains. We were the real Railway Children. The stations wowed me as much as the landscapes. It was always about the journey for me, not the destination. True also of yoga! YS: How did you first ‘discover’ Yoga? Margaret: My earliest connection was with my mum. I would mimic her doing Hatha yoga poses in the living-room, as you do. In my teens, our dancing warm-ups I later recognised to be yoga poses. And as a health-conscious vegetarian I practised poses from an exercise book, again….yoga. However, it was my longstanding friend, and fabulous Iyengar yoga teacher, Frances McKee, who really brought me into the fold properly in the eighties. Frances introduced me to Iyengar yoga with Fiona Morton (another great Glasgowbased teacher) and through those classes I made my first venture to a retreat in India, travelling to Kerala for a month’s stay, and subsequently to Pune, and that was it! YS: What are your main interests and hobbies outside Yoga? Margaret: Outside of yoga I love walking, preferably in the hills, and anything to do with storytelling: documentary, film, photography, reading, writing. I enjoy baking when I can…and eating it with family and friends. I love the theatre but do not find…or make… the time to go. Just like everyone else, I guess, I am usually trying to do too many things at once… YS: What is your favourite Yoga book? Margaret: That is a very hard question because I usually love the one I have just discovered. But if I had to choose I’d say Light on Yoga and A Gem for Women, which I see as one book. Both are the original text with the pictures of BKS and Geeta in full bloom. They provide guidance for the male and female perspective. YS: A Yoga practice or posture you find particularly beneficial? Margaret: For me the Queen of poses Sarvangasana (shoulder balance). I had to think a lot about this because there are so many I love, but this for me is always the one that revives, calms and also offers me a different perspective on things (literally) and mentally. YS: A Yoga teacher you find or have found inspiring? Margaret: Geeta Iyengar. Her empirical knowledge, understanding and humility is inspiring. And she can spot a dodgy pose at 100 miles away!!

Yoga SCOTLAND YS: What would you most like to see happen within the UK Yoga community and how might it be achieved? Margaret: Unity. Yoga means union. Why we are so fragmented I do not understand. It would suggest egos are interfering and yet that is the purpose of practising yoga, to eliminate or at least temper ego. All yoga comes from one source. The method chosen to practise it should not be of concern, and should not divide yogis, unless it is damaging to people to practise it in that way. We should embrace our differences and ask what we can learn from each other. How to achieve it: no idea. Just be and let others be. Come together once a year at least on International Yoga Day and share ideas and resources the rest of the time. I know why I practise Iyengar over say Ashtanga or Bikram. We do choose what suits us best. Can’t ask more than that. As long as yoga is being practised, safely, that should be a positive thing. YS: Three words that sum up Yoga for you? Margaret: Namaste is made up of the words: namas (bow), as (I) te (to you) and for me that is it. I bow to you, gratitude, respect and acknowledgement of one soul to another. I am not sure if this is strictly it…but it is how I understand it. YS: Cat or dog? Margaret: Both. Sorry to be tricky. I have a beautiful former stray cat but grew up with a dog, called Heidi, so would like another, though don’t tell my cat. YS: Many thanks. Margaret: No, thank you, Namaste.

Yoga with June Mercer

Yoga with June is a gentle practice to bring powerful changes to strengthen the body while stilling the mind. June’s yoga has been guided over the last 20 years by ‘Scaravelli inspired’ teachers

Yoga holiday to Kissamos in North West Crete • 14th -21st September 2016 Back to the lovely Hotel Peli for the 6th year! The venue has a swimming pool and is just across from the beach. Two guided walks included. Details from www.westcreteholidays.com. To book tel Lynne on 01332833417 or email bookingwch@hotmail.co.uk

Make Space at Xmas • Saturday 17th December • 10 am 1pm in the Greenpark Centre, Polmont... Movement, asana, meditation and veggie mince pies. Cost £25. Contact June to book

June runs regular weekly yoga classes in Central Scotland. Details on the website www.junesyoga.com

June is bringing her teacher John Stirk to Stockbridge House, Edinburgh on Saturday 8th October 2016,10.30 -3.30 and to the Greenpark Centre, Polmont, Central Scotland (easy walking distance from Polmont station or a short drive from J4 off the M9) on Saturday 18th February 2017 10am - 4pm. The Edinburgh workshop is themed “The Inner and the Outer”

Contact June on 07835835919 or email june@junesyoga.com

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Yoga Teacher/Yogacarya by Andy Curtis-Payne In this article we will begin to consider what it means to be a Yoga Teacher, looking first at a more traditional model, that of a Yogacarya (pronounced ‘yogacharya’). What does this word mean or signify? Who or what is a Yogacarya? In terms of etymology the word acarya comes from the root ‘car’ or ‘carya’ referring to conduct and literally connotes ‘one who teaches by example’. The word is of course Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, through which the teachings on yoga have come down to us. Within the teachings that comprise Hinduism the term acarya is a formal title for a guru or teacher such as Adi Sankaracaraya. Interestingly in Southern India the term is often shortened thus, T.K.V.Desikachar. So this term was, at least traditionally, used to respectfully address someone who was a teacher of yoga or certain spiritual practices and who exemplified those teachings. This idea was reinforced by Sri Desikachar when he told me that an acarya is ‘one who follows what he says’ and ‘one who is an example’. This meant that such a person was fitted to be a yoga teacher because s/he embodied the very words that they spoke, lived according to the precepts they taught. Yoga was not, therefore, something that was ‘put on’ for the duration of the teaching session, rather it was a life that was lived and a teaching that was shared for the benefit of others. This term is further defined by Sri Desikachar thus: ‘There is a difference between a guru and an acarya. Samadhi is the

Tayside Yoga

SEMINAR PROGRAMME AUTUMN 2016 BOTH SEMINARS IN Nilupul Centre 51 Reform Street Dundee DD1 1SL

Date Teacher 16 October Nadine Watton 13 November Louisa Craig Sunday mornings: 09.45 – 12.45 Admission: £15

Further details from: Frances Morgan 07732 696 802 or, please e-mail: taysideyogaassociation@hotmail.com

process an acarya goes through.’1 This is a reference to Yoga Sutras, chapter 4, Verse 1, where Patanjali lists different means to attain the fruits of Yoga. In this sutra, samadhi is a reference to the astanga yoga of chapter 2: yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. In other words an acarya has followed the entire teaching and overcome the obstacles on the path, thus enabling her/him to better guide/assist others on the path. This point is reinforced by Sri Desikachar in the same text thus: ‘The person who has been transformed through the astanga yoga of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi is the true teacher.2 And once again, ‘That is samadhi: effort and discipline. People who have followed this path are considered acarya.’3 He goes on to describe acarya thus: ‘Acarya does not mean a scholar but someone who has worked in a certain field and who gained his own experience,’4 and ‘My father always said that we must deserve our position by our own efforts and example. We should not simply preach to others. We have to put in tremendous effort to deserve this role. That is what an acarya is.’5 Finally and from Sri Desikachar once more, ‘This is what we call an acarya. This kind of person is an example. Acarayas have overcome problems themselves, so they know what they are talking about and how to solve problems.’6 Obviously if I want to understand, practise and progress through yoga, such a person would be an invaluable support to my journey. But, is that possible or realistic in the modern era? Are there teachers who have this degree of commitment to yoga that we can learn from? And if so how can we find such teachers and verify their credentials? We will continue this exploration into the modern era in the second of these articles. Andy is a member of TSYP, teaches in Sussex and can be contacted at yogandy@hotmail.com 1 TKV Desikachar and Hellfried Krusche, Freud and Yoga (North Point Press, 2014), ch. 4, p. 149. 2 Desikachar and Krusche, ch. 4, p. 148. 3 Desikachar and Krusche, ch. 4, p. 149. 4 Desikachar and Krusche, ch. 4, p. 162. 5 Desikachar and Krusche, ch. 4, p. 169-70. 6 Desikachar and Krusche, ch. 4, p. 184.

Mountain Yoga Retreat Las Alpujarras, Southern Spain Join Sue McLennan for a week of yoga practice, revitalising energies, walking in the mountains,swimming in the pool and enjoying freshly prepared organic food at the beautiful Hidden Paradise retreat centre

10th-17th May 2017

For full details: www.suemclennan.co.uk 17

Yoga SCOTLAND

Working with the Mohans by Chris Browning Over the past few years yoga has become more mainstream. From schools to yoga studios and parks across the world to elderly homes, people are taking up yoga in various forms. There is now even an International Yoga Day, and photos of the new Canadian Prime Minister in a tree pose recently went viral. However, the way yoga is promoted is often perplexing, with various names and brands of yoga advertised. It is commonly promoted as a way to become super-fit, or as an esoteric exercise, and has often lost its original meaning and purpose. I recently attended a two-day workshop in New Zealand which shed light on the true essence of yoga. Taught by the delightful and accessible A.G. and Indra Mohan, the workshop brought yoga teachers together from across the country and from Australia. A.G. and Indra Mohan were long-term students of the late Krishnamacharya, ‘the father of modern yoga’, who also mentored B.K.S Iyengar and Patabhi Jois. The workshop entitled ‘Minding the Mind’ clarified and simplified why we get on the yoga mat, and how yoga extends into our daily lives. We learnt that the essence of yoga is yogic mindfulness – achieving a state of lightness in the body and brightness in the mind. This state of mind is known as ‘sattva’, and is characterised by a sense of equanimity and mental steadiness. We learnt that a state of sattva is within everyone. We all feel it in glimpses, we just need to bring it up more often and decrease the fluctuations of the mind for it to be more lasting from day to day. The two other states of mind we experience are rajas (hyperactivity) and tamas (dullness). The basic premise is that happiness is caused by the outside world, and external changes in it. We can’t be permanently happy, as our mind is in a constant state of flux and we don’t have control over external circumstances. Therefore, we can only achieve steadiness and stillness internally in our own mind. Yoga is a process to achieve this. The workshop addressed practices for minding the mind using the mind itself, the senses of knowledge and action, the

John Stirk

The Inner and The Outer Depth and Expansion for Movement and Yoga Saturday 8th October, 10.30 -3.30 Stockbridge House, Cheyne Street, Edinburgh Cost £45 To book contact June Mercer on 07835835919 or june@junesyoga.com

body and the breath. A brief background was also given on a balanced Ayurvedic diet. A core text referred to throughout the workshop was the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras, far from being outdated, are a yoga psychology text with parallels in positive psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In the workshop, A.G. Mohan outlined that the aim of yoga as stillness of the mind is outlined in the first three sutras. Chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutras is the next most relevant part of the text as it provides a manual for daily life. The chapter covers daily realities such as latent impressions and the flux of the mind, and yoga practices (including the 8 limbs of yoga) to come back to a state of sattva. The workshop also discussed how mindfulness is becoming a popular world-wide practice. The concept of mindfulness has been interpreted in many ways. It was emphasised that yogic mindfulness does not mean that we push our latent impressions aside. It is to be in a state of continued awareness. Or put another way, yogic mindfulness is to attain freedom from the agitated and dull thoughts in the mind and bring about a sense of sattva. Sattva is our true nature and is the ideal place to take (or not take) action from. The asana practice led by Indra Mohan demonstrated that a breath-based yoga practice is essential, as it is the fundamental link between body and mind. The basics of a breath-based yoga practice were taught throughout the two days. It became apparent to those in the group that any yoga done without a focus on the breath is more akin to gymnastics. The workshop clearly outlined that coming to yoga from a place of enlightened self-interest, rather than solely for fitness, helps us lead a more peaceful life both inside and out. The Mohans’ latest book, Yoga Reminder: Lightened Reflections was the text for the workshop, and for information on workshops and courses visit (www.svastha.net). First published on https://chrisbrowningyoga.wordpress.com /2015/12/14/yogic-mindfulness-svastha-yoga-nz/

Yoga Workshops with Ann Hunter Saturday 10.00 – 13.00

17 Sept, 12 Nov, 10 Dec 2016

United Reformed Church, 69 Johnstone Drive, Rutherglen, G73 2QA

An opportunity for teachers and advanced students to deepen their knowledge and explore aspects of yoga not normally covered in weekly classes

£20 Small group so booking essential

Email ann@athunter.plus.com or 0141 6471817

Yoga SCOTLAND

From the Archives My Experience of Yoga (from a Christian Viewpoint) Rev G.A. Chalmers It was suggested to me that I write an article for Karma on Yoga and Christianity. The idea behind the suggestion was that Yoga, in recent years, has come to be quite severely criticised by a certain style of Christian, and that this has caused a lot of concern. It is a concern which I share. Since I am a Christian, and I have an interest in Yoga, going back at least twelve years, I do feel unhappy that some folk speak about Yoga as if it were ‘a work of the devil.’ I recall that a lady I knew, some years ago now, was advised against taking up Yoga, on the grounds that the emptying of the mind, which is a part of the technique of Yoga meditation, is dangerous: it was said that it offers ‘an opportunity for the devil to enter.’ I find this a quite startling way of looking at things, and indeed I find it unhelpful to talk about ‘the devil.’ But I will come back to the subject of meditation later on. I do not think that I have space here (or in truth the ability) to write a full-scale exploration of the issues raised by the meeting of Yoga and Christianity. All I can offer are a few personal comments which I hope might be useful. I make them from the point of view of a convinced Christian, and I want to emphasise this – I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I try my best, however inadequately, to serve Him. But I do not see any fundamental conflict between saying that and also saying that I have found Yoga to be helpful to me in many ways. The physical side of Hatha Yoga is both strengthening and relaxing. The asanas of course have to be treated with great care, but that is why the SYA [former name of YS] exists, with its very responsible scheme of teacher training, carefully supervised. In general terms, our physical posture does express and affect the way we feel. Yoga recognises the fact and seeks to put it to positive use, without requiring a specific commitment to a particular Eastern or indeed Western religious viewpoint. I believe that it is possible to express a religious mood or feeling in and through the asanas, even a distinctly Christian mood or feeling. I also have a very special interest in Indian religious philosophy, so the philosophical ‘underlay’ of Yoga is, to me, fascinating. But even in the area of Indian philosophy, I feel more of a personal attraction to another of the Indian systems altogether (that of Ramanuja, the philosopher of bhakti yoga, for those who are interested). This does not prevent me from taking an intelligent interest in the Yoga system, or from appreciating the value of the asanas in themselves. As to the question of meditation, I really would encourage all Christian people to have a good look at the Christian tradition itself, with its strong emphasis on prayer and on meditation too – meditative prayer even with the Christian tradition does include techniques of stillness and of ‘emptying the mind.’ There is no basic difference, except perhaps in that Christian meditation is more distinctly God-directed, while on the contrary we have the type of Yoga meditation which is not ‘aimed’ at any ‘object’ at all. I am myself more comfortable with the former, although I must accept that others may prefer the latter. Does it have is dangers? Yes, but then almost anything that we can get up to does! I think that meditation can be used, as long as it is with help from others, and as long as it is treated sensibly, wisely and with moderation. In this way it can be a help in finding a new sense of relaxation and balance and in opening us to a deeper reality than just the physical. Finally, I would insist that we always have to put our experiences and the experiences of others to the test. I find confidence in using a criterion from the New Testament itself (the words of Jesus): ‘By their fruits you will know them.’ If you find that Yoga asanas and meditation have good results, then you should accept their goodness. I also have to declare that I have found the people I have met through Yoga to be most warm and welcoming, open and friendly. That also has its significance. I have appreciated very much the friendships I have made, and this in itself is good. Is there not a place where people can meet, in love which is divine when it is true and genuine? I would hope that those who are truly seeking the good can find a way of being together, even if they do not agree about the exact details of the route to follow.

First published in the final issue of Karma (Magazine of the Scottish Yoga Association), volume 17 (1988), pp. 18-19.

Yoga SCOTLAND

Yoga Scotland Ordinary Membership Renewal 2016/17

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Yoga Scotland Teacher Membership Renewal 2016/17 Section 1 – Membership Renewal 2016/17

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– Registered Teacher Member

£65 (£35 + £30 insurance)

Section 2 – CPD Record Form

Part of YS insurance compliance is that each teacher conforms to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requirements. CPD Form for 2015/2016 (ie last year) and any supporting evidence by 31st July 2016. A copy is issued in the May magazine. If not already returned please do so with this renewal form. Contact Maria if you need a copy of the form.

Section 3 – Teachers Insurance Renewal

Insurance requirements for specialist classes, at no extra cost.

We are required to keep a record for insurance purposes of all ‘specialist classes’ run by Yoga Scotland teachers and student teachers. Having people with special needs within general classes is not termed a specialist class. If during the course of the year you start to offer any specialist classes or start to teach new ones, please remember to inform Yoga Scotland so that records can be updated.

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Section 5 – Gift Aid Donation

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Yoga and Ayurveda: Ayurveda is what? by Lindsey Porter

I could feel a sense of panic creeping in, I needed help. I had woken up to feel and see that one of my eyes had been replaced by a golf ball. It was made of pink and white layers of swollen skin and my eye had just about disappeared underneath it. I was far from home, in the Yoga Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India and part the way through my Akhanda Hatha Yoga Teacher Training with Himalayan Yoga Master Yogrishi Vishvketu (‘Vishva’). As soon as I could, I sought out Vishva and asked him to help me. Unphased by my now rather distorted and odd-looking face he took a look at me and simply said, ‘no more rice’. Okay so I respected his skills and knowledge, which included many years studying Ayurvedic medicine and healing, but I felt sceptical hearing that as my prognosis. I was also a little deflated. Since starting my teacher training course I had wholeheartedly embraced the sattvic diet and foods provided. However, as a chocolate lover and with a sweet tooth, it was a tough path to keep on. Now rice was off the menu, this left me with meals of lentil dhal and chapattis. Thankfully I still had my 4pm Chai tea to keep me sane. After halting my rice consumption immediately, my eye returned to normal within a matter of a day or so. It was rather miraculous! Through our training we were introduced to some basic principles of Ayurveda and after my unexpected experience with it, I was curious to find out more. As many of you know, Yoga is an ancient tradition originating from India encompassing ways to restore and maintain a balance and connection between our mind, body and breath. Perhaps slightly less known is that Ayurveda also has a long history as a sacred science born in India. Known as the Vedic science of healing or natural medicine, it complements the aims of yoga. Just like yoga, there is much to study, deep roots of knowledge to immerse yourself in or you can take it at face value and simply enjoy the process

unfolding and the journey of discovery it takes you on. Here are a few of the basics to get you started and to start being curious about your own internal makeup and in relation to your yoga practice. If you want to explore more from here I recommend delving into some of the works written by David Frawley. In Ayurvedic terms there are three primary mind/body types or constitutions known as the gunas: • Rajasic an active driving force for change • Sattvic a neutral balancing force embracing harmony • Tamasic a passive, negative force of inertia and stagnation Whilst we have qualities from all three in us, usually one predominates. Understanding which one that is can help you consider and gain insight into your preference of style of yoga and understand which styles or particular postures may suit you in certain circumstances. For example, people who find themselves to be predominantly rajasic types can often feel themselves drawn to the challenge and achievement of a Bikram/hot style yoga practice. They may in fact find a more cooling, slower practice such as an Iyengar class better in helping them slow down, pause and to move towards a better place of balance. As gunas help us gain insight into ourselves and in relation to our practice, understanding our dominating dosha can help see what we need more or less of in our life relating to our health constitution. Again in Ayurvedic terms there are three primary ‘psychophysical’1 types or constitutions: • Vata meaning Air • Pitta meaning Fire • Kapha meaning water As with all yoga, developing our knowledge and practice helps us shine the mirror of awareness on ourselves. There are short questionnaires you can take to help determine your preferences. Once you know your two predominant types it can help you understand some of the ways you act or react in relation to your yoga practice, food and other parts of your life. It can can help guide you in making decisions, such as what type of food you’ll eat today if you are feeling sluggish and what yoga poses will help stimulate you. So I know that I’m a Pitta Rajasic type. I actively seek achievement and success and with that come controlling tendencies. Having this basic insight helps me work on moving towards that better place of neutrality, balance and harmony and that has to be a goal worth working towards! I wonder what small changes you can introduce to your health and yoga practice choices to support your journey towards a better balance? Lindsey of Yoga~Nu~U is an experienced RYS200 Akhanda Hatha Yoga teacher, Reiki Master, NLP Practitioner, Holistic Therapist and Project Manager and is starting out writing articles. She offers yoga classes, one-to-one instruction and co-hosts Wellbeing Retreats (Yoga, Hillwalking and NLP Coaching) in the Scottish Highlands and overseas. Find out more at www.yoganuu.com or on Facebook (Yoga~Nu~U). 1 David Frawley, Yoga & Ayurveda (1999).

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Yoga and Ayurveda: Ayurvedic Massage and Yoga in Auroville by Sue Jenkins

I arrived in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, South India, nine days after leaving Edinburgh. I had flown via Schipol to Kuala Lumpur to teach for Joon Wong and to examine her students. I also gave two public talks: ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism’ and ‘Essential oils for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections and Arthritic disorders’. The talks were not terribly well attended, but the participants were lively and very interested in what aromatherapy – and yoga in the case of ADHD – might have to offer. Auroville, where I was to be for four weeks, is an intentional community based on the teachings of Sri Aurobinda and a French woman who later became known as ‘the Mother’. It is very near to Pudicherry, with its strong French connections and perhaps because of that and the mother, has quite a community of French speakers. I came to Auroville for something of a holiday and possibly to do a little social anthropology research for my next module at St Andrews University, but found myself instead drawn to doing a six-day Ayurvedic massage course. I had just completed an introductory course in Ayurveda with Yoga Scotland and was interested to learn more of the marma therapy that I had understood formed the basis of Ayurvedic massage. I was quite nervous, as I knew hardly anyone in Auroville, having been in the community less than a week, and had no idea when I signed up for the course who or how many would be there. I arrived a little late on the first day – one has to cycle or ride a scooter to get anywhere in Auroville as it is so large (approx. 2,400 people) and I came off the main road

and down the sandy track that led to Aurodam and Harmony guest house, only getting lost once. The teaching space was in the open air (this part of India remaining warm right through the year), a beautifully clean marble-tiled floor, with wooden frame walls and pan-tile roof, set amidst the jungle greenery and birdsong. It was an ideal location. Mesh protected students from any marauding mosquitos, but allowed fresh air to circulate. At one end of the room was a series of tiled and mosaic shelves holding a shrine, oils, cloths and various massage accessories, with a wash-basin in the corner. The toilet was outside. The rest of the spacious room housed three simple massage tables, made locally out of work wood, Accasia auriculaformis, quite wide and long, each padded and covered with a sheet. No need for lots of blankets in this climate. Our teacher was Umberto, a friendly and bronzed Italian, who, I realised by the end of day one, was a talented masseur and healer and gifted teacher. My fellow students (two women and a man) were a French Algerian, an Italian and an Englishman. The latter had lived at Auroville since 1991 and was bringing up his two children there, the Italian girl was a short-term volunteer, also with a child and the French Algerian was the Englishman’s partner. Umberto began by telling us about the course. He would cover the therapist’s role, how to take care of ourselves, the aim of the massage (to facilitate the healing – physical and spiritual growth – of the client) and much more. He talked briefly about the five elements, the gunas, the doshas and the

Yoga SCOTLAND chakras, elaborating more on the latter and then explained what marma points were. He talked about these in relation to the chakras, energetic communication and transfer of information. He also explained that the course was certificated and we would, with appropriate insurance, be able to offer Ayurvedic massage in most European countries. He also mentioned that this was the first and most basic of three courses – I could already see myself coming back for more. What he said made a huge amount of sense to me and reminded me that, as an aspiring aromatherapist in 1988, I had been taught by Patricia Davis about care for oneself, grounding and centring in preparation for giving massage. Umberto’s lecture took up most of the morning. We were then offered tea and biscuits and were joined by Umberto’s partner Sonia, who was to be the model for him to demonstrate the massage. He started the massage by positioning Sonia supine on the couch and then prepared himself, not standing at the head of the couch as I had been taught, but away from it, hands in prayer position, grounding and centring himself. He began with Sonia’s left foot and leg, having explained earlier that male and female energy is different and the energy from both legs meets in the body at the sacral chakra, Swadistana, seat of creativity and wellbeing. The massage was quite vigorous and involved some shaking of the limbs and pressure on various points. After the legs he did the arms, turned the model over and did the back of legs, arms, back and shoulders before turning her again to do the front of the body, neck, face and head. The massage finished, he moved away from the table to close the session and ground himself again. He then gave us ten minutes to decide if we wished to continue the course or not. If we had chosen not to continue he would not charge us for the four hours we had already been treated to. Of course we all chose to continue and I was given permission to take some photos for this article. The second day, two of us were treated to a lengthy massage, with the other two working alongside Umberto to

provide it. I really enjoyed the treatment and found myself lighter and more spacious at the end, although Umberto had picked up on some energetic issues that were affecting my tissues. He was spot on – as Carolyn Myss said ‘your biology is your biography’. The area below my right shoulder bore witness to my emotional turmoil of three years ago and my left leg documented some issues from my childhood perhaps. What I had considered the result of sitting long periods at the computer and a slipped disc aged 23 were actually disturbances to my energetic self. I could readily believe this, as I had learned in Ayurveda that for illness to manifest in the physical body it needs to first affect the other bodies, such as Pranamaya kosha (energy body) and Manomaya kosha (mental body). Day three saw me working, with guidance, both verbal and physical, from Umberto, on one of the other students. Although some of the strokes were familiar, many were not and the pressure was much deeper. I found it difficult sometimes to put aside the techniques practised over many years as a therapist in Britain, but began gradually to learn not only the new strokes, but also their logic. As Umberto explained, the therapist does not heal, but allows the space for the person to move through the healing process and this can take some time. He recommended around six treatments. Again it was interesting to see how the body manifested energetic blocks/injuries. I thought I would be as tired as I was after receiving massage, but although I had not slept well the night before, I was more lively after giving massage, emphasising that the giving and receiving of massage is a two-way process. Days 4, 5, and 6 followed a similar pattern, but with Umberto taking a less active part, just correcting and helping as necessary. At the end of each session he sat and listened to our thoughts on the session – sometimes anxiety, a need to get it right, sometimes frustration about flow or pressure – but throughout he was both understanding and supportive of all four of us. The last day we had to perform the full massage with him just watching, although I must confess that I required a little input at times. I started off quite nervous, wanting to get it right, but by the end I had really begun to relax and enjoy what I was doing – and feel that I was giving Mirabelle, my Italian model, space to release and relax. The massage itself was a mixture of working muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, in addition to various chakras and marma points, which were worked mainly with thumb pressure. The big difference for me was the massage of the front of the torso, something I had only experienced once – twenty years ago when I had an Ayurvedic massage in Kerala. But of course it was very professional and there were no issues with any of us

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exposing our breasts. The breast tissue itself was not massaged, but being exposed allowed for a much better massage of the front – and the back – of the torso. No essential oils were used, but various carrier oils were discussed, with sesame and sunflower being Umberto’s preferred choices. This course was about the massage rather than the oils used. At the end we all duly received our certificates and were

„Through the practice of Yoga Nidra we are not only relaxing, but restructuring and reforming our whole

personality from within” Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga Nidra

a short training course for yoga teachers over 3 weekends with

Swami Vedantananda Saraswati

8/9 April & 24/25 June & 16/17 September 2017 The Earthbeat Centre, Saltburn

For more information contact: Swami Vedantananda: swamivedantananda@gmail.com Pujananda: 01423 880859 ute@yoga-harrogate.com

sorry, at least I was, to see an end to what had been a very intense and enjoyable learning experience. Many thanks Umberto, for your patience and skill both as masseur and teacher. If you are interested in finding out more about Umberto’s courses (he teaches sometimes in Europe too) please email umberto@auroville.org.in My next sortie into complementary/alternative medicine was to attend a three and a half-hour workshop on Meridian Yoga. Yaor, an Israeli, explained briefly but fairly clearly the five elements and their characteristics, but most of the workshop consisted of a mixture of Do-in and Yoga-style exercise designed to unblock the meridians. It was a long time to work, but very interesting to see and feel the similarities with Ayurveda. The same afternoon I also embarked upon an Iyengar yoga workshop, billed as for beginners, but in reality going much further than that. The first session was two and a half hours and I was very tired by the end of it. However, after the next two sessions the following day, I was more energised and really enjoyed them. Tatiana the teacher was extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of yoga, including philosophy and chanting (her voice clear and melodious) as well as the asanas. I found the classes very useful, particularly in the use of bolsters, blankets, belts and blocks. I shall certainly be putting some of what I have learned into practice. After the end of this workshop, I continued with various Iyengar classes (every couple of days), this time with Angela, another excellent teacher, and even one adult ballet class, which I found a lot more demanding. I have found that I am more aware of my body and indeed, it has changed its shape – I am more able to sit upright and bring my shoulderblades inwards towards the spine, lifting the chest and making more space for the breath. I am much more at ease sitting cross-legged (perfect posture) and also doing shoulderstands. I feel that my neck has elongated and my legs and arms are more lithe and strong, after doing lots of adho mukha svanasana, in addition to shoulder work, which included garudasana and gomukhasana. I just hope my body can remember enough to continue the practice now I am home. The last Wednesday of my visit saw me having a nutritional and lifestyle consultation with Yaor. I suspected that, although I was not vastly out-of-balance, there would be some nutritional/lifestyle advice which would improve the flow of energy round my body, so I have taken his advice and reduced sugar, dairy and bread and am generally feeling much better for doing so. This holiday has reminded me that health is about a combination of things: exercise – for me in the form of yoga and cycling (and walking when at home), the food we eat (‘we are what we eat’) and getting a regular massage (something I have not done for some time, and which I intend to do again soon). Sue completed the YS Teacher Training Course in 2015 and joined the Executive Committee in April 2016.

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Simple stretch sequence With thanks to Gill Gibbens

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Living Deliberately – A Personal Interpretation by Mark Biddiss

‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.’ Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

I first encountered Thoreau’s classic masterpiece Walden back in 1989. To this day, it still inspires me. Essentially, it’s an account of his experience of living for two years, two months and two days in the woods. In Thoreau’s words, ‘I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbour, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts’. Walden is regarded by many as one of the ‘must reads’ of the aspirants and proponents of voluntary simplicity, minimalism, and ‘The Good Life’. To me, and many others, Walden is full of stirring and thought-provoking prose, beautifully written. I hear the above-quoted passage as a challenge or a call to arms. Thoreau also wrote, ‘The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation’, which I see as being as depressingly true today as it was back then in the mid-1800s. I would say that one lesson of Thoreau’s withdrawal to the woods speaks of the need many people feel, especially those leading lives of ‘quiet desperation’, for a place of retreat or sanctuary – real or imaginary, physical or temporal, permanent or temporary. A sanctuary away from the many and varied trials, tribulations and vicissitudes of everyday workaholic, materialistic, consumerist, status-anxiety-

ridden society. To me, it needs to be a place of peace and tranquillity; a place to explore my dreams and fantasies; a place for meditation, reflection and contemplation; of stillness, silence and solitude; a place in which I can explore how I can ‘live deliberately’ in the way Thoreau describes so eloquently, albeit in keeping with my own beliefs and values. Thoreau ‘went to the woods’ and of course, not everyone has a cabin in the woods to live in, but we can still find ways to withdraw, at least in small ways, and beyond the all-too-infrequent annual holidays. I have created my ‘sanctuary’ in a room, or sometimes only part of a room if I didn’t have a spare. Even when I have a physical space to set aside, I sometimes set aside some time each day as well: a ‘temporal sanctuary’ rather than a ‘spatial sanctuary’. For instance, I sometimes withdraw from my mobile phone, computer, radio and television, having a total ‘communications technologies break’ for certain periods of each day or even whole days each week. Sometimes I meditate or just sit quietly contemplating the universe and my place within it. Whatever way is practical, spending some regular time alone, temporally or spatially, away from the frenzy and mayhem of everyday living is something I think everyone should consider exploring. Thoreau said that he went to the woods ‘because I wished to live deliberately’. I would say that to live deliberately is to live mindfully in the fullest sense: thoughtfully, consciously, purposefully and ‘in the now’ or, as Thoreau so beautifully puts it in Walden, ‘to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and future, which is precisely the present moment’. Moreover, I would argue that living deliberately means thinking through the full consequences of our thoughts, feelings and actions, and whether they are congruent with our core beliefs and values about life. Living deliberately means asking questions about every aspect of our lives, discovering who we really are and how we really want to live. Living deliberately forces us ‘to front only the essential facts of life’. That doesn’t mean we must somehow deny or denounce the relative importance of inessential things, or abandon them, but rather put them into proper perspective in our lives, seeing them for what they are. But it does mean exploring what really matters to us. When Thoreau goes on to say, ‘and see if I could not learn what it had to teach’, he’s pretty obviously referring to what lessons are to be drawn from actually living deliberately and fronting only the essential facts of life, learning from such rich practical life experience, through ‘doing’ rather than just ‘thinking about’. Arguably, we can learn something from all of our experiences of being, doing and having in our lives, be they good or bad, involving success or failure. Living itself is a classroom, we just need to be willing pupils. To me, when Thoreau adds, ‘and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived’, this speaks of not living in regret, not lamenting things I wish that I had done. A few months ago, I read of some research which listed the top five regrets of the dying and it makes sobering reading. They are: 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself and not the life others expected of me; 2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard;

Yoga SCOTLAND 3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings; 4. I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends; and 5. I wish I’d let myself be happier. ‘I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life’ is for me implicit to living deliberately. To really savour every life experience, ‘sucking out all the juice’ as the cliché says, in all aspects of day-to-day living, taking the rough with the smooth and learning from it. ‘To live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close’ – I imagine this would probably appeal, in spirit at least, to the ascetically-inclined who practise strict minimalism and voluntary simplicity, or ‘voluntary poverty’, as Thoreau describes it in Walden. I feel rather more drawn to the Buddhist notion of ‘non-attachment’ to how we perceive ourselves: to who we are, our place in society, to what we do with our time and to what possessions we have. I feel no guilt or shame whatsoever in enjoying what I am, what I do and what I have – I just strive not to be defined by, or draw too much personal significance or status from such things. I see such things more as enrichments and enhancements to my life, not life itself. Moreover, what I am, what I do or what I have doesn’t necessarily tell you anything really important or even true about me as a Human Being, such as whether I am a loving,

compassionate and kind person, which are some of the things that really do matter. So non-attachment, as I understand it, lends itself perfectly to helping me to live deliberately and ‘to put to rout’ all that is not life. When I hear Thoreau conclude with ‘to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms’, to me he’s reiterating his intention to distil out the ‘essential facts of life’, the things we really must have to survive in life. However, some might well argue that surviving isn’t the same as thriving, and that to thrive and flourish in life, meeting our fundamental human needs physically, mentally and emotionally, requires more than the ‘essential facts of life’ as Thoreau describes them. I do appreciate that other people may well interpret this extract from Thoreau in different ways, significant to them personally. That is as it should be, since we can each only really experience life from our own unique vantage point. Walden speaks to us as individuals, albeit as part of humanity. Either way, this book has been, and continues to be, a rich source of contemplation and inspiration to me, not least as my life unfolds and I journey along new and unfamiliar paths, especially choosing, as I am wont to do, those roads less travelled. I have found that travelling them has, as Robert Frost writes in his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, made all the difference to my life.

More about Yoga Scotland at: www.yogascotland.org.uk 31

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Yoga and Ayurveda: ‘What Dosha type are you?’ by Nikki Biddiss Nikki Biddiss, Western Medical Herbalist, ponders our fascination with categorising health. According to Ayurvedic principles the doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha – express our unique blend of physical, mental and emotional characteristics. A balance of the doshas results in health, while imbalance results in disease. Modulating our behaviour or environment can increase or decrease individual doshas to bring them back into balance. An online questionnaire can quickly establish dosha type and suggest products to aid realignment. There is often something satisfying in completing a questionnaire and awaiting the results. Being given a category or label can help us better understand ourselves and our health. We all want to be understood – it’s part of a basic human need to be accepted – and what better way than to slip effortlessly into a neat category. But this should only be seen as the start of the journey. Reducing this age-old tradition of medicine to a quick category quiz is misleading and misses the point: Ayurvedic medicine is not simply about categorising people. Categorising isn’t always helpful and could even be harmful. The essence of this ancient tradition and that of Western Herbal Medicine is the need to take a holistic approach, considering the whole person – mind, body and spirit – in the context of their environment. Herbs, diet and lifestyle advice need to be tailored to those particular circumstances, to provide the solution to a health issue. We are complex human beings with very specific, individual needs. So why do we find categorising so appealing? We love to create categories and then place people or objects into them, and there is a valid reason for doing so. Our senses are constantly assaulted by images, sounds, smells and tastes. Quickly recognising what we are encountering is advantageous. It makes our daily experience of life less overwhelming and potentially much safer. Plant taxonomy is a good example of how this works. Once we had worked out common characteristics of plant species, we could begin to arrange the thousands of plants we were finding in the world into plant families. Any new plants could then be identified, classified and described based on our existing knowledge. However, this only works so far, as there can be significant differences between family members. The Solanaceae or nightshade family contains 2,700 species ranging from agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, ornamental garden plants, vines and trees. Many contain potent alkaloids and some are highly toxic (belladonna) but many cultures eat nightshades as staple foods (potatoes, tomatoes). So we can’t assume that knowing about one member of the family means we know about all members. They can’t all be treated the same.

So how does this apply to humans and health? We can be very good at evaluating people quickly, at least in some ways. Categorising people based on previous experiences and knowledge allows us to get the measure of the person quickly: are they friend or foe? But snap decisions can be wrong and hard to change. We may overevaluate information that is readily available and undervalue subtleties. Psychologists call this premature cognitive commitment: by leaping to a conclusion we can be blighted by habitual, inflexible responses to people, situations or ourselves. In a medical setting, using classification systems allows the quick diagnosis of a patient and a treatment protocol based on previous experience of treating similar symptoms. But what if someone is put in the wrong box? What if the categories used are too narrow or too broad? What if a person exhibits two or more characteristics that seem to fit into more than one category? What if we are so preoccupied with fitting the person into a box that we ignore or don’t ask anything that compromises or otherwise challenges our classification system? What if we become too blinkered by the process? The economist Thorston Veblen called this ‘trained incapacity’: the more expert a person is, the less likely that person is to see a solution when it is not within the framework in which he or she was taught to think. This is an aspect of a well-known human tendency to look for evidence to support a belief, while discounting, ignoring or explaining away evidence to the contrary. This problem exists in all professions. Many patients I have seen over the years feel let down when they don’t fit any box and are rejected with the words, implied or otherwise: ‘there is nothing we can do for you’, as they don’t neatly fit into a designated category of illness or hospital department. Complementary therapies are not immune to the risk of this either. Categorising someone by illness or ‘type’ could also narrow the framework in which their health is analysed. Therefore, we need to look past the category, past the label and see the individual. Taking a holistic approach means we are looking at the person, mind, body and spirit. We are treating the person, not the symptoms of the condition. We are looking at their physical, emotional and mental health in the context of their own unique values, beliefs, environment and life history. Having a systematic way of gathering this information may be useful, but it should only ever be the starting point: knowing your dosha is only the start of the journey. In Ayurveda, health is defined as the dynamic state of balance between mind, body and environment. The treatment protocol needs to be as dynamic and varied as the individual being treated, and there is no category for that. Nikki Biddiss is a Western Medical Herbalist, Aromatherapist and Cognitive Coach and has clinics in Bridge of Allan and Napiers, Glasgow or via Skype. See www.botanicalhealing.co.uk for details or call Nikki on 07528341206

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SSYN Yoga Weekend Seminar

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The Power of Awareness SAVE THE DATES! A two-day event with

SWAMI GYANDHARMA

You will be skilfully guided by Swami GyanDharma into the mystery of Awareness.

Sessions will be centred around the Tantric meditation practice of antar mouna Inner Silence - through which we learn to touch our own inner meditative stillness. Each day will also include a morning hatha yoga class, pranayama and Yoga Nidra. There will be a Kirtan on the Saturday and plenty of opportunity for questions.

The programme is best experienced over two days as it is progressive, but attendance on one day may be possible.

Originally from Denmark, Swami GyanDharma has been practising and teaching yoga for over 40 years. The depth of his wisdom is conveyed through his teachings. His inner peace, beautiful singing voice and mischievous sense of humour (often with a perfectly straight face) make a deep impression. His life and actions are rooted in a meditative connection with his inner being and he leads fabulous kirtans!

Dates: 13 & 14 May 2017, 10am-4pm each day. Kirtan on 13 May 5-6.30pm. Venue: Victoria Halls, Dunblane, Stirlingshire

Teas/coffees will be provided. Bring your own lunch. Cost: TBA

Booking will open in September 2016.

Contact Carol Godridge to obtain more information.

Tel: 01848 200681

Email: yoga@cgodridge.plus.com 33

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Yoga and Ayurveda: Professor T Krishnamacharya and his use of Āyurveda in Yoga Therapy by Ann Hunter Krishnamacharya was respected as a healer and yoga teacher. His effectiveness as a healer came from his thoughtful combination of the teachings of yoga with Āyurveda. His training started at the age of five under the tutelage of his grandfather, who was a renowned teacher of the Vedas. He continued to train with the best teachers that India had to offer in Vedanta, yoga, Sanskrit, Āyurveda etc. and had the equivalent of seven degrees awarded by all the major universities in India. He spent his last seven years of training with Śrī Ramamohan Brahmachari in the Himalayas and it was during this period that he learnt the complete meaning of Pataňjali’s Yoga Sūtras and how to adapt yoga for the individual. When Krishnamacharya was thirty-four, his teacher sent him home to marry, raise a family and teach yoga. At that time, Krishnamacharya could have obtained a professorship at a university, but he carried out his teacher's wish for him to teach yoga. Initially he struggled to make a living as a yoga teacher, but persevered. His fortunes changed when he was asked to treat the Maharajah of Mysore. This patronage continued for over twenty years until India’s independence. Then, once more he struggled to earn enough to keep his family. He was encouraged by a wealthy lawyer to relocate to Chennai and as his reputation as a healer spread, he was able to support himself and continue with his teacher’s wishes of teaching yoga. TKV Desikachar, Krishnamacharya’s son, studied with his father for thirty years. During Desikachar’s training, a great deal of information was imparted about diagnosis, diet and Āyurvedic practices including pulse-taking and the use of herbal remedies and oils. Krishnamacharya grew his own herbs and medicinal plants to use when practising Āyurveda as part of healing for students who came to him for therapy. One of the main differences between Āyurveda and allopathic medicine is its holistic approach. Krishnamacharya would develop a rapport with his students to fully understand them, their lifestyles and their issues. At times, this understanding would be developed over many sessions. Only once he fully understood the student and they trusted him enough to follow his directions, did he advise them on a course of action to remedy their problems. In doing this he drew on all of his knowledge across many disciplines and tailored the solution to the individual in front of him. He would then monitor the student closely, admonishing those who did not follow his instructions and modifying the instructions as the student’s circumstances changed. Contrary to Western medical thought, Krishnamacharya believed that ‘the lungs are the pump that makes the heart work’. In his eyes the breath was more important than the heart. He saw the human body as a totally integrated system that involved the conscious involvement of breath, body and mind. He felt that there was an intimate relationship between prāna, mind and breath. Breath is the means

through which we can consciously regulate the flow of prāna. He saw true health as the unimpeded flow and containment of prāna within the body. This results in the increase of inner prāna and therefore calmness and clarity of the mind. As a result, more emphasis is placed on maintaining a smooth breath when practising āsanas. In addition, the form of the posture ie exact alignment, is less important than the effect on the breath and flow of prāna. Importance is placed on allowing freedom for the chest to open and the diaphragm to move. Postures are chosen to help realign the spine to allow the free flow of prāna in the main energy channels and correct alignment of the cakras. Impurities within the body tend to concentrate in the lower region of the body (apāna). Krishnamacharya felt that these impurities were what blocked the flow of prāna into the main energy channel, susumnā. An appropriate practice for the individual would remove this blockage and allow the prāna to flow. The concept of directional breathing advocated by Krishnamacharya moves the inhalation from the upper chest down towards the lower abdomen. Then actively engaging the lower abdominal muscles on exhalation and continuing to move the breath upwards to the upper chest. This technique takes prāna to apāna and apāna to prāna as advocated in both Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā 2.47 and Bhagavad Gītā iv 29. The active engaging of the lower abdominals also stimulates the apāna region helping to eliminate the impurities that accumulate here. Āsana are designed to open the energy channels (nādīs). Prānāyāma increases prāna and directs it as a cleansing force to eliminate impurities. Thus a regular practice strengthens the individual and interacts with all the other aspects of yoga – improving relationships with others (yamas), with ourselves (niyama), improving our ability to direct our mind to increase our understanding and manifest positive changes (pratyāhāra, dhārāna, dhyāna, samādhi). Krishnamacharya brought together all of his knowledge and refined it over many years by observing the effects on his students. He discarded some techniques and modified and improved others. He emphasised the importance of bringing aspects of prānāyama into āsana practice. He felt that long smooth inhalations, exhalations and moments of retention were essential to bring about the union of body, mind and breath. He would take a student’s pulse before and after practice to ensure that it was not raised by the practice. A raised pulse indicated that the practice was not appropriate for the student and would be harmful in the long term. Āyurveda are integrated in Aspects from Krishnamacharya’s approach to Yoga Therapy that continues today at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram and with teachers trained in the tradition. KYM was set up in 1976 by TKV Desikachar, author of Heart of Yoga, to honour his father Śrī T Krishnamacharya. The teacher must fully understand the student before suggesting a course of action. This involves a holistic approach to the examination

Yoga SCOTLAND and observation of the students, looking at the whole person and not just the problem they come to you for help with. It is important that the student has confidence in the teacher and trusts them. The application of oil is advocated to help alleviate joint and muscle problems and students are encouraged to alter their diet. This is done in a sensitive way, students being encouraged to make small changes in their diet and gradually replace inappropriate foods with ones that suit their constitution. For example, if a student came to Krishnamacharya and they drank lots of strong coffee which was not appropriate for them, he would encourage them to cut down from six cups a day to five. Over time he would wean them off coffee altogether. Lifestyle changes may also be advised such as improving sleep schedules or giving up inappropriate activities. In addition, Krishnamacharya used the Āyurvedic concepts of bamhana, langhana and samāna (expansion, contraction and balance) to bring a student to a more sattvic state. He extended the use of these concepts into the planning of yoga practices. After careful consideration of the student's needs a practice would be devised. A variety of

yogic tools would be used and these would be structured into an optimum sequence combined with appropriate breathing techniques to energise or calm the student as appropriate. In addition to the more usual tools of āsana and prānāyāma, chanting was often a key element of practices due to its cleansing and healing benefits. For more information see TKV Desikachar with R H Craven, Health, Healing and Beyond - Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharya. KYM runs courses open to international students www.kym.org Ann teaches group classes and works with individual students to develop a regular home practice. She also runs regular workshops and helps organise TSYP events in Scotland. Her second Introductory Course to the Krishnamacharya Tradition starts in September 2016 ann@athunter.plus.com TSYP promotes the teaching of Krishnamacharya and Desikachar in the UK www.tsyp.yoga A TSYP Teacher Training Course is planned to run in Glasgow starting in September 2017.

Photo competition Some of the many entries submitted to YS's photo competition.

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Yoga and Ayurveda: Introduction to Ayurveda: the Yogic System of Medicine for the Body and Mind by Marj Smillie and Elaine Bingham I completed this brilliant course last year and would highly recommend it to everyone interested in deepening their yoga practice and expanding their knowledge and understanding of Ayurveda. Bijam and Elizabeth Roberts are excellent communicators, delivering well-structured, fun lectures, asana practice, pranayama, meditation, cooking demonstrations and much, much more. The course for me, opened up whole new areas to explore and understand. The asanas and pranayama practices helped focus my attention inwards, listening more intently than before to my inner self. A huge amount of information was communicated, but with the help of the revision sessions and relating the data to myself, it became much clearer and a lot of fun. I found it surprising that some foods I didn't like or which have an adverse effect on my digestion were not recommended for my Dosha. It made me look at my food choices in a whole new way and I was amazed how this ancient Ayurvedic science had worked all this out. During the course I participated in a two-week Ayurvedic cleanse. I am not a vegetarian, so it was a real challenge cooking only vegetarian meals. Recipes were provided and recommended lists of ingredients supplied to help. One of the tonics I had to swallow was unpalatable, but it was full of essential vitamins and minerals, so I held my nose and swallowed it. Yuk. After the first week and as long as I drank enough water I felt ok. The regime was very relaxed and emphasised being kind and understanding with yourself, not to get stressed-out if you could not manage to comply completely with every recommendation. The emphasis was more on accomplishing what you could at this stage and observing the benefits to your digestion and overall wellbeing. I did have a coffee and a dessert one night when out with a friend, but overall I stuck to the programme. People commented on how healthy I looked afterwards and I felt great, with more energy than normal. I was pleased when it ended, but surprised that I did not rush immediately back into my old eating habits. I now eat much more vegetables and grains than before and have a few vegetarian cookbooks to expand my cooking range. I felt that this cleanse helped me connect more with the basic

Ayurveda principles of diet and wellbeing. I have only absorbed a small percentage of the information contained in this course but it continues to guide my daily yoga practice, helps maintain my body and mind and has directed further study. Marj Smillie

I also completed this course last year and agree totally that it is a brilliant course and would highly recommend to anyone looking to expand their existing knowledge of this ancient Ayurvedic system or wishing to commence their journey. Unfortunately, participation in the cleanse was not possible for me at that time due to other commitments. Not being able to participate did not detract from the benefits gained from the course though. We all have foods that aggravate our Dosha and these can be hard to drop from your diet. That bar of chocolate or glass of wine or special occasion where you overindulge in rich food... For these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;occasionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; I now always have to hand Ayurvedic Spice Mixes. These are Dosha-specific but are everyday spices that can be bought at any supermarket. Not only are they natural, they can be used to cook with and in comparison to Western medicine, for an upset stomach, cost pennies. They definitely work, a family member who was very sceptical that everyday spices could settle an upset stomach is totally won over! What did surprise me was that specific asana or pranayama practices could aggravate a Dosha or vice versa. Also, I never even considered that the time of day or season could also alter the experience of the asana in your Yoga practice, again due to your Dosha. Now I find myself paying much more attention to my inner self than to the physical sensations in the body at the end of an asana. There are many aspects to Ayurveda but this is not something that has to take over your life before any benefits can be noticed in your wellbeing. This makes it easier to keep making those small changes without realising that you are. Elaine Bingham

To advertise in Yoga Scotland Magazine contact: maria@yogascotland.org.uk

Yoga SCOTLAND

The Yogic Cook

• Cook for a few minutes • Add cooked aubergine

Aubergine Curry

Enjoy – it’s a very easy recipe and is delicious! With thanks to Sue McLennan

1¾ lbs aubergine Vegetable oil 1 tsp fennel seeds ½ tsp cumin seeds 1 tin good-quality chopped tomatoes 1 inch cube fresh ginger 6 big cloves garlic 1 tsp ground corriander ¼ tsp turmeric ¼ tsp cayenne Salt if required • Cut aubergines in slices or chunks, salt and leave to soak for 20 minutes • Drain off salt and dry on kitchen towel • Fry or oven-bake in batches with enough oil to keep aubergine soft • Fry fennel and cumin seeds in large frying pan • Add tin of tomatoes • Grate fresh ginger and garlic into tomato mix and add all other spices

Thoughts for the Day You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – over and over announcing your place in the family of things. Mary Oliver, ‘Wild geese’ ‘nothing that you ever do with all your heart is done in vain.’ Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday (1942) ‘While some of us might be sitting around thinking Nobody cares about me!, our heart is currently working its seventeen thousandth 24-hour shift – and would have every right to feel a little forgotten when its owner thinks such thoughts.’ Giulia Enders, Gut. The Inside Story of our body’s most underrated organ

Yoga and Ayurveda: The Ayurvedic Lifestyle by Susan McManus I was lucky enough to study on the ‘Introduction to Ayurveda’ course with Elizabeth Roberts and Bijam last year. It amazed me how little I knew about yoga and I am so glad I took the time to learn about the science behind it. I got to understand the doshas and what food types and yoga practices – asanas, pranayama, mudras, etc. to use to help balance my health out. Initially I was very good at making changes in my life, eating less meat and dairy, cutting out coffee and taking my spices for my constitution, and truly felt a new person through following this very ancient science of life. However, when I had a lovely holiday in the sun I overindulged in food and drink that did not make me feel so good. On my return, I got back into drinking hot water, eating clean food and of course the asanas to balance my doshas. When my study class returned after the summer and I spoke to Elizabeth about my disappointment at not keeping to my practice, she said, ‘Don’t beat yourself up about it, you have the tools to make the changes’. I have benefited so much from learning about Ayurveda; I am more in tune with my body, I am able to work out why I am feeling certain ways and most importantly I know how to make positive changes. Yoga is my life’s passion and Ayurveda has added a deep connection to mind, body and soul.

Yoga SCOTLAND

British Wheel of Yoga Pregnancy and Postnatal Modules for 2017 with Judy Cameron BWY, Active Birth,YogaBirth & Midwife

Pregnancy Yoga Modules 2017 In the Moment, Glasgow G3 7DS: 11-13 March; 2-4 June & 8 September Santosa, Edinburgh EH7 5LH: Dates TBC

Postnatal Yoga Module 2016/17 For course outline and registration contact

Judy Cameron cameron.judy@yahoo.com tel: 0779 207 9389

Oxford: 26-27 November, 18-19 February 2017 & 29-30 April 2017

www.yogaofbirth.co.uk

GRAMPIAN YOGA ASSOCIATION’S (GYA) FORTHCOMING SEMINARS: A Weekend of Yoga with Ali Freeman: Listening is Loving

YOGA

Saturday 1st October 2016, 10.00am to 4.00pm Cults Kirk Centre, 404 North Deeside Road, Aberdeen AB15 9TD (hot drinks provided, please bring a light packed lunch), and Sunday, 2nd October 2016, 09.45am to 3.45pm Fraserburgh Community and Sports Centre AB43 9TH (food and drink not permitted at the centre but can be purchased at the café) View Ali’s website for more information: www.judaliyoga.com

A Weekend of Yoga with Bob Insley: Space and Rotation, The Key to Freedom in Asana Saturday, 22nd April 2017, 10.00am to 4.00pm – Cults Kirk Centre Sunday, 23rd April 2017, 09.45am to 3.45pm – Fraserburgh Community & Sports Centre View Bob’s website for more information: www.bebobyoga.co.uk Bookings for both seminars by email to gyaseminar@outlook.com For further S information on GYA please go to our website: www.grampianyoga.org.uk (

GYA aims to offer yoga to all. Individuals who are restricted financially, or in other ways, may apply for support when booking.

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Desert Island Yoga by Peter Angelucci ‘Yoga is the control of thought waves in the mind’ (PYS 1.2), which for me, along with the Buddhist teachings of The Four Noble Truths, the Sattipathana Sutta (Mindfulness) and the Karaniya Metta Sutta (Metta) are and have been for the past thirty years my most significant teachings and practices. They are even more pertinent for me now that asana have become a practice of the distant past, as a consequence of a progressive neurological disorder. For some time I have taught little but meditation, the practice of which drew me to yoga and Buddhism in the first place, and therefore texts on asana have now become very much less relevant to me. Given the concept of Desert Island Yoga is about being isolated on an island, I find it very simple to draw the parallel between that and my own mind isolated in a body which provides no functional interface between the mind and the external world. I dabbled a little with yoga in the late sixties when I was in my late teens, but became seriously interested and started practising in the late 1980s. From the very beginning I was immediately drawn to meditation, largely from a Buddhist, rather than a yogic approach, thus both yoga and Buddhism entered my sphere of existence at roughly the same time. Although I intellectually know them to be different, in practice, for me there has never been any separation. To exemplify and emphasise at least one commonality between yoga and Buddhism, one has only to read Patanjali’s yamas and niyamas and the five/eight precepts of Theravada Buddhism. Given the aforementioned parameters and returning to the more common conception of the DIY exercise what would I take to this imaginary place... There are probably not too many ‘books’ which I would choose to take with me, rather I would take ‘teachings’. To paraphrase: ‘Better than a thousand meaningless statements/verses Is one meaningful line of statements/verses Which, having been heard, Brings peace’. Dhammapada (100/101/102) Therefore, if I have to list my ‘meaningful’ texts, here goes... in no particular order of usefulness/meaningfulness/ helpfulness/instructfulness to my being. The first book which I would take would not be a book at

all, it would be a website called Access to Insight – www.accesstoinsight.org. For me it helpfully deals with every aspect of existence. ATI is a website which I have used in one form or another since the early to mid-nineties until the present day and has been hugely helpful in the development of my Buddhist/Yogic practice. If I did not have an internet connection, then I would have to take the four large Nikayas belonging to the Pali canon, The Digha Nikaya, The Majjhima Nikaya, The Samyutta Nikaya and The Anguttara Nikaya. These are not four books they are a set of teachings. Either Access to Insight or the Nikayas contain the original, and therefore essential, teachings on The Four Noble Truths, Mindfulness and Metta amongst countless other relevant teachings. As such I would feel that taking specific books on any of these or similar subjects would be duplication. The second book or pair of books would be the Chanting Books used by The Theravada Buddhist Monasteries of The Thai Forest Tradition in the West. I have been closely associated with Aruna Ratanagiri (Harnham Buddhist Monastery) since the late 1980s and have hosted a meditation group in this tradition for many years, which is visited monthly by monastics from Harnham. Although I regularly do the morning and evening chanting, the volumes contain many other chants that I do not daily use. I would also cheat and take the downloads of the chants in some form or another. Although I had been practising yoga for 4-5 years before I ever visited the Yoga For Health Foundation (The Bury) in Bedfordshire, it was there that I first really encountered Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in a serious manner. Although The Bury now, sadly, no longer exists, I did my first teacher training certificate there. I regularly stayed, participated and taught there for many years and consequently met countless learned and inspirational teachers, and it was there I met Melanie to whom I have been married for the past twenty years. So partly as a reminder of the Bury and partly as I can only take one version of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, I would take BKS Iyengar’s Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Although I have practised largely following the teachings of the Thai Forest Sangha Tradition, in 1990 I attended my first 10-day silent vipassana meditation retreat led by an assistant of S. N. Goenka, which was a profoundly life-altering experience. Since my first retreat Goenka’s approach has been a cornerstone of my practice. In the Goenka tradition you have to complete five Ordinary courses before you are accepted onto doing a 30-day Satipatthãna Sutta Retreat, which I did eventaully complete in the late 1990s. Although all the teachings which are given by S.N. Goenka are on discs, the discs are not available to the public, but because these teachings have been so internalised and practised for many years there would not be much point in having them anyway. But I would take the two volumes of discourses for both the Ordinary course and the Satipatthana course because doing the daily practice is slightly different from doing it in the form of a 10- or 30-day course. Even though I have known Philip Xerri as a friend from The Bury since 1994, in 2001 I did his Pranayama Foundation and Teacher Training. Many of the pranayama practices which I learnt on the course I for many years included in both my teaching and personal practice. As mentioned in the paragraph above, many of the pranayama practices which I

Yoga SCOTLAND learnt on the course have become cornerstones of my own practice, if not all on a daily basis most very regularly. However, as above, I would take the course manual and the course on disc. As a result of doing the course I also frequently refer to, and sometimes practise, some of Gitananda’s (Philip’s teacher) other teachings on pranayama not included in the course. Some of Gitananda’s teachings I have as downloads. In the same way that I have been compelled by disease to let go of asana practice, I have also let go of the majority of my ‘physical’ chi kung practice, to the extent that my whole practice now revolves around the internal movement of energy. Although Wong Kiew Kit’s The Art of Chi Kung – Making The Most of Your Vital Energy is rather basic, I would still find it useful to take. The desert island that I may be landed on would have to

Satyananda Yoga CDs

for home practice

Yoga Nidra: 3 practices for first and second year students. Yoga Nidra: 2 practices for more experienced students. Meditation: Kaya Stairyam (body stillness), Ajapa Japa (mantra) and Antar Mouna (inner stillness). £7 + £1.50 p&p each.

From: Carol Godridge, Ben Doran, Ayr Street, Moniaive, Dumfriesshire DG3 4HW Tel: 01848 200681 Email: yoga@cgodridge.plus.com

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meditation

Meditation practices from the Satyananda tradition

carol godridge

have a wheelchair-accessible wharf and abode. The abode would have to have an electricity supply, a profiling bed, a track hoist, a roll-in shower and a washing/drying wc and a book stand and page-turner, all of which would be required to make daily life possible for me. I would also require a carer to get me in and out, on and off and facilitate my use all of this, and prepare my sustenance for me. These things would definitely not be luxuries, but the basic necessities of existence for this being. My luxury item would have to be my 17” Mac Book Pro, for the thirty thousand-plus tracks of music contained in my itunes library and the countless learned and instructive downloads. It would be interesting to live with a carer on a desert island and attempt to practise noble silence apart from essentially required speech...

Yoga SCOTLAND

Yoga Scotland Ongoing Training Programme 2016 – 2017 Saturday 24th September 2016 Melanie Cook: Sit. Breathe. Meditate. G25 Dance Studio, St Margaret’s House, London Road, Edinburgh EH7 6AE

Sunday 30th October 2016 Philip Xerri: Teaching Pranayama: How to introduce, maintain and develop an ongoing Basic Breathing/Pranayama practice for Beginners in the first year. Iris Murdoch Building, University of Stirling

Saturday 4th March 2017 Derek Doyle: Yoga for Men Victoria Hall, Dunblane

Saturday 4th March 2017 Claire Rodgers: A Journey Through The Chakras Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre, Glasgow Saturday 18th March 2017 Yvonne Austen: Hypermobility Lochnagar Hall, Cults Parish Church, Aberdeen

Saturday/Sunday 1st/2nd April 2017 Helen Reidy: Tapas – Svadhyaya – Ishvarapranidhana: A triple Spiral of Living Yoga G25 Dance Studio, St Margaret’s House, London Road, Edinburgh EH7 6AE

Sunday, 23rd April 2017 Jill Paget: Function Versus Aesthetics Victoria Hall Dunblane

Saturday, 13th May 2017 Marjory Watt: Charting the Subtle Body Greenpark Community Centre, Polmont, FK2 0PZ Saturday/Sunday 27th/28th May 2017 Andrea Newman: Stability Partick Burgh Hall, Glasgow Date: TBC Margaret Blythe: Inversions Glasgow

Yoga SCOTLAND

Reviews Hathayogapradipika, tr. by Kausthub Desikachar Media Garuda, (2016) 27.95 euros

Yoga texts can only be fully understood by practising yogis. In Kausthub Desikachar we have someone who has practised and studied for over two decades with his teacher, TKV Desikachar. He has imbibed the teaching of his father and grandfather, both renowned for making ancient wisdom clearer and more relevant for a new generation. Now he is doing the same thing. This edition of the Hathayogapradipika is beautiful and a pleasure to see and hold. Most importantly, it is clear and easy to understand, and will be invaluable to practitioners of yoga, students and teachers alike. Sarah Ryan

Gut. The Inside Story of our body’s most under-rated organ Giulia Enders Scribe, (2015) A fascinating, informative, down-to-earth and often very funny exploration of the workings of our digestive system and its impact on overall health. Elegantly and imaginatively translated from German, this book is brought to life by some quirky illustrations, and manages to make a complex topic both accessible and genuinely enlightening. It will be enjoyed by anyone wanting to find out more about this ‘under-rated organ.’

Yoga for Osteoporosis Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall (W. W. Norton, 2010)

Hathayoga is a term often used nowadays, without the user really having much idea of what it means. The Hathayogapradipika (‘A Light Shining on Hathayoga’), the best-known text on the subject, was probably written in the fourteenth century by Svatmarama, and its invaluable companion, the Jyotsna commentary by Brahmananda, a while later. It is a long time since we were able to obtain a good translation of the text, and I don’t think we have ever had a full English translation of the commentary. Now Kausthub Desikachar, son of TKV Desikachar and grandson of T. Krishnamacharya, has produced this new edition, to shed light on the subject for us today. Here we have the Sanskrit and full translation of both the original text and the commentary, together with Kausthub’s own notes and extensive introduction. Furthermore, leading yogis of our time – Sonia Nelson, Gita S. Iyengar, Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, Frans Moors and Sharath R. Jois – have also contributed their thoughts. Not only do the notes throughout the text help us to understand the relevance and importance of different things, but the introduction contributes enormously to our understanding and knowledge of the subject. In it Kausthub addresses such questions as the identity of the Hatha yogis, whether Hatha Yoga is ‘forceful’, the importance of Kundalini, the four stages of the spiritual path and the importance of having guidance from a teacher who has already trodden that path before us.

This book gives clear guidance for people at various stages in terms of bone health: osteopenia, osteoporosis or simply wishing to maintain optimum bone strength. It offers routines/sequences (largely Iyengar-influenced) which are illustrated and well explained and hence will be of use to both teachers looking for information/ideas and practitioners wanting to find out more about these conditions.

Living Your Yoga. Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life Judith Hanson Lasater, (Rodmell Press, 2015) An inspiring read, with lots of ideas for taking your yoga off the mat and some lovely mantras for use in everyday life.

Cure. A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body Jo Marchant (Canongate Books, 2016) Any practitioner of yoga will find plenty of interest in this chunky read, which explains in layperson’s language what scientific research is currently doing, the results (and what they might mean). Yoga, meditation and complementary therapies are all put under the microscope.

Yoga SCOTLAND

Yoga as Therapy

Two separate but linked days for students, teachers and serious practitioners of yoga

with Fiona Ashdown Polmont

Saturday 29 October 2016 Sacroiliac Problems with a focus on yoga for women

Sunday 30 October 2016 Arthritis – Osteo and Rheumatoid 10.00 – 17.00

Each day will be a mix of theory and practice

Fiona Ashdown is a yoga therapist and has studied extensively with TKV Desikachar, including a four-year Yoga Therapy course. This involved month long internships at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai observing 1-1 lessons. The lectures and practices this weekend will be based on her studies there. Venue: Greenpark Community Centre, Polmont FK2 0PZ

Cost: £40 one day, £70 both days (£5 reduction for TSYP members) Information & booking form Ann Hunter 54 Underwood Road, Burnside, Glasgow G73 3TF Tel 0141 647 1817 email ann@athunter.plus.com