Restorative Yoga: 3 reasons to do more relaxing and unwinding.

Restorative Yoga...why do it?

Relax all the way down to your cells.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend :)

Notice and feel more of the world through your yoga experience.

1. Slow Down the Pace of Life
Restorative yoga is an excellent opportunity to slow down from the frenetic activity of daily life by offering a welcome respite among all the business of 21st century life. Restorative yoga helps to prepare the mind and body for meditation and deepened awareness. 

2. Soothe Your Nervous System
Ahhh the slower pace and deep breathing practiced in a restorative yoga class triggers our parasympathetic nervous system and helps to reduce the effects of the regular fight-or-flight stress response that can damage your sense of well-being. The deeply relaxing experience of a restorative practice comforts and calms your mind, nervous system and body all the way down to the cellular level.

3.Encourages Mindfulness
Another name for restorative yoga could be “mindful yoga” because slower movements combined with relaxed and deep breathing encourage an expanded embodied awareness. Moving slowly cultivates space for a deeper experience of the poses, the breath and a heightened awareness of physical sensations, thoughts or emotions that arise, or sounds in the environment. These can all take on a richer and more profound significance in the depth of the restorative practice. 

See you on the bolster!

Love & Peace, Margot xx

Emotions and yoga

Emotions and Yoga????

A comment from a student got me thinking, they said "I come to yoga to shut down from my life so much is happening I just need to close off." I started to wonder how many other people came to yoga to "switch off" rather than "switch on" or open up to living from the heart. And then thought was I  judging? I know I am very lucky to be in a position to have the luxury of thinking about these ideas so with gratitude I offer an unraveling of my thoughts... 

I have been thinking about this student's comment as I have just returned from the most marvelous Yin Yoga Teacher Training for 15 days with the amazingly knowledgeable teacher Mysan Sidbo - such an inspiring and very cool teacher's teacher - and was blessed with the company of beautiful, strong, and courageous women. If you practice yoga, you probably have already discovered that dealing with emotions arising in our yoga practice can help us process them in daily life and then we can see this reflected in the way others manage their emotional expression and how best to respond (or not). The guidance of a good teacher can help us through the initial surprise or awareness of just how many thoughts, feeling and emotions are arising.

 Admittedly, on our training we had the luxury of spending time gazing at our navels and sorting through and releasing with LOVE our emotions, long held memories and pain. Everyday our teacher guided us in meditation with a theme that we could apply to or practice on ourselves, and for me more importantly our teacher encouraged us to to think about applying it to others, to our actions in the day, the way we walked, talked, thought, and breathed!

Themes we explored love, kindness, gratitude, humility, compassion, tolerance...

Yoga practice is a great place to open up and be with what is happening in your inner world.  I believe that we all benefit from taking time out to process our “stuff."  It is important.

Words often really do not suffice to express our true feelings either towards ourselves or others. though I do truly believe that meeting a cutting experience with a neutral or positive mind state can support us as we accept rather than push away what is happening no matter how raw and gut wrenching it may be for whatever arises will also pass. I had the blessing of witnessing this letting go, this accepting not resisting, this allowing emotion to wash through over and over again in our yin yoga practices throughout training and afterwards. Really looking forward to teaching this practice!

 Let it go!

Kite shop in Ubud Bali. Photo by Margot Porter.

So it may be it is okay to "to shut off" as my student put it in yoga class and give us space to allow emotions/feelings to surface and be witnessed, be accepted and make it easier to look outside ourselves and to see others as ourselves. After all haven't we all been to that dark place where staying in bed and pulling the covers over your head seem like a good idea. Of course, we all have experienced times in our lives when turning inwards (not off) is the most healing option to take. And when all is going well in our world it is easy to tell someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer to think "positive thoughts" but really it is pretty lame, and to take it one step further imagine saying the same thing to someone who had just lost all their family in a earthquake - well it would be heartless. 

My question in my meditation practice this morning was in today's me orientated world are we dwelling too much on our individual needs?  I can't help but ask: Are we choosing to become less aware and more closed off from others around us?

There comes a time when we must wake up and become aware that putting others before ourselves  brings happiness.

So I ask myself is there something I can do? 

Actions speak louder than words.

 It doesn't have to be big - the intention is to share love, kindness, understanding - to let another  know there are not alone. Instead of stuffing emotions away or expressing them in ways that hurt others or ourselves take some time to understand, reflect and digest your emotions. Own your emotions. See others emotions as a reflection of your own. This is a magnificent practice as it helps us see others as ourselves, to see their suffering as our own, and to wish them happiness and peace in their lives. 

We are all light. 

We are all love. 

We are all energy swirling as one.

Love an happiness to you, Margot XXX

 to put this in to play, because as the good old saying goes, if not now, when?

Yin Yoga Intensive July 11th

YIN YOGA INTENSIVE

Saturday July 11th 2.30 - 4.30pm

St Mary's Parish Centre

Bairnsdale

BOOKED OUT!

 

Welcome to Yin Yoga a deeply profound practice on all levels: energetic, physical mental and emotional. 

LOVE Yourself by supporting your immune system and sense of well being during the winter months. 

Margot will guide you through a series of poses targeting legs and pelvis, lengthen and soften your deep tissue layers, create space in your joints, open up the fascia matrix allowing chi and fluids to flow, massage and stimulate winter meridian pathways (kidney and urinary bladder).

What is Yin Yoga?

Yin yoga is a deeply profound practice that works on a myriad of levels: energetic, physical, emotional and mental. In this practice, we hold the poses in a relaxed way for a long periods of time (a minimum of 3 minutes and up to 10 minutes or more) to access target areas and lengthen and soften the deeper layers of fascia of the target areas and joints.

Fascia is connective tissue found throughout the body, for example, ligaments, tissues, muscles, organs, nerves, and blood vessels. 

On an energetic level releasing, elongating and opening up the fascia matrix allows fluids, water and chi to flow unimpeded. It massages and stimulates the meridian pathways along which chi flows improving vitality, health and well being. 

On a physical level, yin yoga creates space in the tissues and around the joints bringing freedom to an individual by restoring their natural range of movement. 

Mentally and emotionally, a yin practice gives us time for reflecting on, digesting and releasing of thoughts or emotions that no longer support or nourish us.

Prepay by Tuesday July 7th and only pay $30 or $25 concession (HCC or full time student)

Pay on the day: $35 or $30

To book contact Margot Porter on prasannayoga@hotmail.com

Yin & Yang Yoga Intensive May 23rd

Yin & Yang Yoga Intensive

Saturday May 23rd, 2.30 - 4.30pm

Hi yoga friends,

I am excited to offer my Yin & Yang Yoga Intensive on Saturday May 23rd, Bairnsdale. My last one before I go to Bali to do a further 100 hours in Yin yoga training. I hope to share what I have learnt with you in class and in workshops. I hope to continue with the Yin and Yang intensives as well as introducing deep yin and restorative intensives when I return. My first offerings will be in July.

What's on offer for this intensive: A playful mix of 'yang' and 'yin' yoga. 'Yang' yoga is a dynamic, active and heating practice whereas 'yin' yoga is quiet, meditative and cooling practice. I offer flowing sequences beginning with Sun Salutes and moving through vinyasas to build heat before sliding into beautiful grounding moon salute variations. Throughout these flowing vinyasas the focus will be opening up space in the upper back, shoulders and neck.

The 'yin' practice where the poses are held for up to five minutes with emphasise on the lower body slowly and mindfully allowing the pose and time to melt away tension and tightness. This intensive is 2 hours of mindful movement finishing with pranayama (nadi shodhana) and meditation.

Details

Day: Saturday May 23rd
Time: 2.30 - 4.30pm
Venue: St Mary's Parish Centre, 23 Pyke Street, Bairnsdale
Investment: Prepay $30 or $25 concession by Tuesday May 19th
Payment on the day: $35, $30 concession

How to book?
Your booking is made when your payment has been received. An email will confirm your booking. Payment can be made either in cash/cheque at my classes or by Direct Bank Transfer (email for details)

Cancellation: A cancellation made before 5pm Tuesday May 19th will be refunded in full. After that date no refund will be given.

I look forward to seeing you on the mat.

Light, love and peace,

Margot XXXX

Yoga Intensive: Journey to the psoas

Intensive 4
Yoga Intensive May 9th
Restorative Yoga: Journey to the Psoas 

Where and what does the psoas muscle group do?
Where is this 'psoas muscle' group?
The iliopsoas muscle group is made up of the psoas major, psoas, minor and the iliacus muscles.We will mostly explore the psoas major muscle in thisi workshop. The psoas originates from the 12th thoracic vertebrae (T12) and travels laterally to each of the 5 lumbar vertebrae. From there it flows down through the abdominal core, the pelvis, to attach to the top of the femur (thigh) bone (see image below from http://www.townsvillemassage.com/healthy-hip-flexors/)

 What does it do?

The Psoas is the only ‘muscle’ to connect the upper and lower spine to the legs. It is responsible for holding us upright, and allows us to lift our legs in order to walk. A healthily functioning psoas stabilizes the spine and provides internal support through the trunk. This forms a shelf for the vital organs of the abdominal core to function optimally.
Interesting?

Resetting the psoas can assist with fatigue and tiredness, digestive and menstrual irregularities as well as lower back, SI joint and hip discomfort, and pelvic imbalances.
Internal awareness of the iliopsoas muslce group and learning to release this muscle group will bring a sense of freedom, ease and structural integrity into your core.

Appropriate for all levels as variations and modifications offered throughout the practice. Tailor the practice to suit your needs on the day.

Prepay and save $5: $30 or $25 concession
Otherwise pay on the day: $35 or $30 concession
Contact Margot Porter on prasannayoga@hotmail.com for details

To express your interest or to book you spot contact Margot at prasannayoga@hotmail.com
Limited places available.
Om shanti, shanti, shanti
Margot