Restlessness, Stillness & Ahimsa

I'm currently studying Seasonal Yoga and we are looking at the season of Spring just now. This week's task is to look at Ahimsa - or non-violence - in yourself, your practice and your teaching.....so I thought I would revisit this blog post from around a year ago since it is on the subject...enjoy! 

"Tonight is the first time is some weeks that I have come to my mat for my own practice. 

My health is not good - my adrenal glands do not produce the hormone cortisol , that is essential for life itself, vitality, energy, immunity and much more. 

Once again I have found myself sick and weak and feeling lifeless - I have had no energy even to roll out my mat to lie on it. I've stubbornly avoided it. 

But tonight I came to it for myself. I lay there in savasana (corpse pose) just breathing. I even hung out in uttanasana for a while (standing forward bend). I spent several minutes in balasana (child's pose) - I  was still, I rested, I turned inwards and heard the rhythm of me. I heard the tiredness, I heard the restlessness, the worry , the fear but I heard it all and stayed with my breath.

Admittedly, these may have been short periods of time but for me, right now, these minutes were a lifetime! I became restless and uncomfortable and so I eventually moved but I stayed with it for as long as I could. 

And that's all you can do. Your best.

Tune in; listen to your body, your life-force - breathe. 

Don't be forceful and judgemental. 

Whilst it is important in yoga to stay with the breath and work with the restlessness, inability to sit still and so on, it's also important to practice Ahimsa (non-violence) and compassion for oneself. Be careful and gentle with yourself.

You came to your mat. You listened. You moved. You breathed. 

It is better that you came here than not at all. 

You did your damn best and you are a warrior!"

Namaste,

Austen x

Emotion on the Mat

Hello! I've not posted in the blog for a while because I recently moved house but here I am! I want to write about something that has been on my mind for a while and something that we will touch upon in my women's class on Wednesday.

So often I see 'yoga inspiration' posts and yoga practitioners talking about how wonderful yoga is and how it helped them heal - it got me thinking and this is where I'm at....

It's true; it truly is wonderful and a powerful healing tool however I feel that what isn't communicated is that yoga will break you. Yes. And I'm not being 'negative', it's absolutely true - it will break you into all the little pieces that you glued together and masked with your resistances, the walls you put up and your coping mechanisms (helpful and unhelpful). The masks we put on are broken away and what's left is something raw, something true - your true Self. And there's no denying that this is a lifelong process but it's also a challenging one that ultimately affords us a better quality of life and to inhabit our true selves. Naturally, as we break down these resistances we can rebuild and find ourselves.

I feel that many teachers focus so much on the wonderful, positive emotions associated with yoga that when a student comes to the mat feeing completely and utterly dreadful, with many powerful emotions - that the student can feel disillusioned, discouraged and as though there is something wrong with them or that they're doing 'it' wrong - 'why am I not feeling amazing, like I'm walking on air?' 'Where is this wonderful feeling?!'...... 

 It's fine to feel angry on the mat. Frustrated. Tense. Grief. Sad. Depressed. Gutted. Jealous. That's absolutely okay. Be in the moment with that emotion. Breathe into it.

That is so much easier said than done! And I will be the first to admit that identifying these emotions and breathing into them is something that I struggle with deeply..

Maybe you leave your yoga class feeling worse than when you went in because something came up for you? That's fine. That's normal. Working to connect the mind-body-breath is powerful and can bring up strong emotions.

You do not need to hide your Self; you do not need to hide these emotions when you come to yoga. Be kinder to yourself. Come as you are. Be as you are. Breathe as you are.

"You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather."

<3 <3

There is so much more on this subject to say but I'll leave it for another post. ;)

<3

Interview: Demystifying the Doula!

A new feature on the blog: - every few weeks I'll post an interview with a local, inspirational and passionate woman who supports other women in her work. This week's interview is with Sam Steele, of From Bump, Birth & Beyond.......

Tell us a bit about yourself - what brought you to birth work?

"Hello! My name is Sam and I am based in Rosyth, Fife. I have three children ; two boys aged 17 and 22 and an 18 year old daughter. I qualified as a Learning disability nurse in 1990 but following the births of my children I became very interested in all aspects of pregnancy and birth. I commenced my midwifery degree in 2001 and on completion of this I worked in antenatal clinics and wards, gynaecology wards, midwife-led unit, obstetric labour ward and postnatal wards. I loved my work immensely but became disheartened with the amount of interventions and focus on the medical model. I returned to my nursing job in 2010 but I missed working with women and their families. Then I discovered doulas!!"

What is a doula?

"A doula is a layperson who provides support to women and their families during pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatally. A doula does not give clinical care and is not there to replace the midwife or women's partner. A doula provides one-to-one support and a continuity of companionship. I feel that birth should be empowering, free, flexible and intuitive. Every woman should be free to labour in her own way, uninhibited and undisturbed. A doula is the calm, watchful, loving presence who protects the fragile harmony of birth. Nurturing, compassionate and reassuring support of the labouring woman also gives reassurance and stress-relief to her partner and family, assisting them to participate within their own comfort zone (as well as enabling them to take meal breaks and toilet breaks without feeling they are abandoning their loved one). A doula meets the women and her partner /family during pregnancy, discovering what the woman's wishes are for her labour and birth. The doula goes "on-call" from 37 weeks until the birth of the baby and remains with the woman throughout labour (regardless of how long that takes). The birth doula will make postnatal visits too and can, if desired, offer postnatal doula work which can involve cooking nutritious and delicious meals, breastfeeding support and a listening ear."

Why is a doula so beneficial?

"Research based evidence proves how vital the role of the doula is. This includes lower risk of caesarean birth, lower risk of instrumental birth, less need for epidural or painkillers during labour, lower rate of induction of labour and a greater likelihood of successfully establishing breastfeeding. I aim to uphold each individual woman's philosophy of birth and parenting and help her have the type of birthing experience that she wants, be it a waterbirth at home surrounded by faerie lights or an elective caesarean. I am also a clinical aromatherapist and reiki therapist and I offer antenatal massage, postnatal massage and baby massage. The fundamental needs of a woman in labour are trust, privacy, intimacy and freedom. As a doula I help create a safe "nest " for the labouring woman and her partner, particularly in a hospital setting."

What’s your favourite part of your job (if you can choose!)?

"This is the hardest question! Trying to narrow down my favourite part of my job is pretty impossible! But I think it would have to be seeing a woman who had a previous bad birth experience and who was understandably anxious about this birth becoming strong, empowered and have exactly the type of birth that was stolen from her first time round. Women are amazing."

If you had one piece of advice for a pregnant mama, what would it be?

"As a doula I can't really give advice but if I was chatting to a pregnant friend my advice would be 'Read. Read everything. Knowledge is power and you can't make informed choices and informed refusals if you don't know all your options.' And join A.I.M.S! (Association for Improvements in Maternity Services), a vital resource."

And for a postnatal mama?

"Advice for a postnatal mama? You are the expert regarding your baby. Sometimes it might not feel like that, but you are. Don't get bogged down with advice from Tom,Dick or Harry!. You've got this, you're doing a great job."

Tell us about From Bump, Birth & Beyond?

"From Bump, Birth and Beyond was born after I completed my Mindful Doulas course. As a Facebook page, I add articles, studies, photos and fun stuff every day as a resource for women trying to conceive, pregnant women and their families and new mammas and dads. I offer a birth doula service and have worked with women in Fife and Dundee (and a surprise one in Edinburgh)! I also post links to other websites and fb pages that may be of interest and to other doula pages. It is vital that women find the right doula for them. Speak to as many as possible and see who you click with. Find out what services are available in your locality. Shiatsu, yoga, massage, chiropractors, aqua mums, sling networks etc. My page is hopefully a good resource to find information. Drop by and say hello!"

You can join Sam on the From Bump, Birth & Beyond page on Facebook .

Thanks so much to Sam for being my first ever interviewee on The Whirling Dervish blog! If you'd like to be featured, drop me a line and we'll have a chat!

X

Lights, camera, action!

Lights, camera, action! 

Throwback to this time last year when YogaBellies Dundee was featured on The Dundee Channel! This was a surreal experience for me and it feels like it happened a lifetime ago, as opposed to last year! Where does the time go ....

Smoothie of the Week!

Ingredients

4-5 Tablespoons Greek yoghurt - High in protein and contains live microorganisms that are beneficial for your gut health and immune system - very good for you especially after a dose of antibiotics! 

Handful of Blueberries - High in Vitamin C and according to a recent study at Rutgers University, blueberries contain compounds similar to cranberries that can help ward off urinary-tract infections!  

1 Banana - High in potassium, sustains blood sugar levels and is said to improve mood and reduce PMS. 

2 Tablespoons of Chia Seeds - very 'fashionable' at the moment but they are actually nice in a smoothie, offering a great texture. A source of protein, high in fibre and Omega

50 ml of Water 

Bung it all in the smoothie whizzer and hey presto! One delicious and rich smoothie for you to indulge in and enjoy! 

Is the Swastika a "Universal" Symbol of Hate?

Is the Swastika a "Universal" Symbol of Hate?

Vegetarian recipes: Darkly Divine Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

Vegetarian recipes: Darkly Divine Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake