Mountain Mandala Flow

I am up at about 5000 ft in the mountains of Haputale, Sri Lanka.  It's pretty spectacular.

Here I created a mountain mandala flow.

We often do this in class but facing the one direction.

But here there are beautiful views from every direction here and so I wanted to move and take them all in.

So here I repeat the same movement pattern but just turning 90 degrees each time.

It also gives you a 360 degree view of the movements so you get a better perspective.

Ok, I realise there are wardrobe malfunctions here but those who know me know my yoga wardrobe is the least of my concerns.  Hopefully no one will be offended.

I particularly wanted to create this for Karen and Dave, my mountain friends in Nepal.  Hope this helps with your practice.

Happy and safe practicing.

Interesting Hips: Standing Flow

It does not rain it pours!  Two videos in about ten minutes.

This is also from our current sequence and is part of the standing practice.  I have also sped it up.  I quite like the flow of the movement at this speed but when you practice try at least a quarter speed.  The real-time practice took about 8 minutes.

I could have equally called this practice interesting spine because it is really about spinal movement.  But I also want to cue you into turning the hips and then the feet when you move from the central posture to the asymmetric ones.

Enjoy!  Happy and safe practicing.

Mandala Namaskar

A very long time between postings!  Yikes.  This one I promised to my students several weeks ago and is from our current practice.

I generally don't recommend practicing something without a teacher and especially not this one if you are not familiar with the hip rotation.

But for those of you who are, here it is! At last.

Remember, keep the ankles off the floor.  Turn the hips and let the feet follow.  Move slowly--there is no rush.  If you are 'looking' for anything it is joy and not an end posture.

I practiced outside on this lovely patch of grass in the winter chill where I had fresh air, a kiss of sun on my skin, and the pleasure of a the earth beneath my feet.  Why not find your own patch of grass?

I have sped up the clip so if you were to practice this it should take at least twice as long.

Happy and safe practicing!

Yoga Retreat 29 Sept-2 Oct 2016

Join me for my 4-day yoga retreat in Sri Lanka this Sept 29th - Oct 2nd!

This retreat is for people who want to explore movement and yoga with fun and friends.

I will be teaching ways to use your internal power and energy to move gracefully and with ease, to move away from pain and towards free movement.

You will learn the importance of using active movements and how the key to better stability, mobility, and freedom is to learn how to firm parts that need to be firm and, significantly, relax what needs to be relaxed.  

In this retreat I hope to help you move closer to understanding and experiencing how this movement of energy will help every cell in your body to sing!

I have a lot of experience working with people with various injuries and I encourage you to contact me beforehand if you do have some sort of condition so that we can figure out if the retreat is appropriate for you at this time and how I might be able to help you.  

Because I am interested in you learning how to be your own best teacher, I will be offering sessions between the classes for questions and answers and for us to think deeply about particular issues or postures, so come along with some of your own ideas and questions and I can help make the retreat more personal for you. 

Check-in Thursday 29th Sept 1 pm- Depart Sunday 2nd Oct after breakfast by Noon

Venue: TalallaRetreat  http://www.talallaretreat.com/

Classes: Six 2 hour classes. First yoga class starts on Thursday afternoon at 4.30pm.  From then we will have 2 classes on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 1 on Sunday.  

Aside from the usual yoga there is the opportunity to relax by the pool or at the beach, surf, get a massage, or just hang out.

Because there are limited rooms I am encouraging people to please consider sharing so that as many people can participate as possible.    Rooms need to be confirmed with full payment received by 29th August 2016.

The rate includes:

•   All yoga classes

•   Full board (tea/fruit before yoga; buffet style breakfast served at table; a la carte lunch (there is a menu to choose an item from), buffet style dinner)

•   Accommodation

You need to pay for any extra drinks or snacks you might have if the mega breakfast and dinner and light lunch still leaves you hungry!  

Normal timetable is as follows

6.30am                     tea/fruit (if desired)

7.00-9.00am         yoga

9.00                     breakfast

RELAX                  (have massage, swim, surf, read, have lunch around 1 or 2ish depending on how full you are after brekkie)

4.30-6.30pm         yoga

7pm                     dinner

The prices quoted below are based on 3 nights per person.   You need to find a person to share with if you opt for double or triple and Tilak can put you in touch with other people who may also want to share.  

Payment

Full payment is required by 29th  August.  You can make your booking directly with Tilak (tilak@antsglobal.lk +94-773-912-100) and pay Tilak directly or he can provide a Sri Lankan or Australian bank account details for you to transfer to if that is easier.

Retreat Rates are as follows:

Sri Lankan citizens or with those with a Sri Lanka Resident visa:

Single 3 nights                   Rs. 51,000/-

Double (share) 3 nights     Rs. 41,000/- per person

Triple (share) 3 nights       Rs. 38,000/- per person

Non-Sri Lankan citizens without a Sri Lanka Resident visa

Single 3 nights                   USD 670

Double (share) 3 nights     USD 570- per person

Triple (share) 3 nights       USD 540- per person

Look forward to seeing you!

Much metta,

Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com

www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

10 Minute Practice: Twists in the Olives

I had the privilege of visiting Croatia again recently, to see a dear friend from way back when I lived and worked in Bangladesh.

Her talents and generosity seem boundless and, along with her partner, they produced this lovely video for me.

This is a ten minute sequence filmed by a lake amongst the olive groves that abound in Dalmatia.  The overall effect reminds me of practicing yoga in a Renaissance painting.

My friend, Mejrema, composed the music herself and it is from an album she produced while working with people with autism as part of an art in therapy project. It fit perfectly with the mood. It also fit perfectly with me since my full-time work is with people with autism.

I did not plan this sequence. We saw a beautiful scene.  We set up a camera.  I stood for a moment, took a few calm breaths, and practiced what came to me in the moment.

The sequence consists of some strong standing balances, but if you were practicing it you could modify it so you either kept your toe on the ground or you hugged your leg to your body, rather than straightening it as I do.

There are also some standing twists and side bends.  Again, you could modify these to your capacity.

When I reviewed the footage I loved how my knobbly arms and legs seemed to blend with the branches of the olives.

The olive is sacred to the people of this area.  I love how their silvery leaves sparkle in the breeze.

I smile when I see this video.  I hope you will too.

Happy and safe practicing!

Much metta,
Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com