1

Spring is here!Welcome to our third newsletterAt last, the dark days of winter are over and spring is here once more. This is a particularly energizing and inspiring time of the year to practice Yoga. It is the season of physical and spiritual rebirth.

Welcome to our third and most vibrant newsletter yet.

Thank you to everyone who contributed so many great articles and photos. Look out for our feature on the Devon Yoga Festival, which has now confirmed a fantastic line-up of teachers and workshops in a range of yoga styles and traditions.

Well done to Graham who won a free Yoga mat from our last newsletter. Don’t miss your chance this newsletter to win a free neti pot!

Enjoy the spring, enjoy your practice. I hope you enjoy our newsletter.

Namaste, James

NEWSLETTERSPRING 201221

st M

arch

201

2

exeterlovesyoga

*

2

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012 Posture of the season

Natarajasana - The pose of Lord Shiva By Alice Chapman

As the weather warms up, so do our muscles and our practice can naturally open up and become a little more dynamic in turn... building strength and opening like the plants and flowers around us. So, release all those winter knots and let go the hunched shoulders. Natarajasana is a beautiful posture, grounding and rooting you into the earth, at the same time back-bending and drawing the shoulders back to open and energise the heart chakra.

The name Natarajasana comes from an ancient south Indian myth. The goddess Kali, challenges Shiva to a dance contest. As the contest gets fiercer and fiercer, each dancer’s moves become more extravagant. Finally, Shiva wins the battle by performing a high kick behind his head, a move that Kali is unable match.From this epic tale Shiva takes the incarnation of the cosmic dancer, commonly depicted as dancing one legged on a demon. The demon represents ignorance in all its forms including ignorance of one’s own true self. Shiva rises up to a higher state of consciousness to banish this demon and liberate himself from all the worldly attachments and negative qualities trying to hold him down.

Technique:

1) Find a drishti point or a point of focus, ground into your right foot and lift the left foot up behind you. Take hold of the left foot in the left hand, either just below where the toes meet the foot or on the front of the ankle. Keep your right hand on your hip for balance.

2) Lengthen your tailbone towards your grounding heel and draw your

knees

together, feeling a lengthening in the front of the left thigh. Lift the right arm up with the palm facing backwards, open the heart space and rise up out of the crown of the head. This is stage one, feel the lengthening and extension through the front of the body, stay here until you feel ready to progress further.

3) Reach forwards with the right hand as far as you can go. Begin to lift your left leg up towards the sky creating a lovely backbend, bring your body parallel to the floor and take chin mudra with your right hand extending forwards, (thumb and forefinger touching).

4) Enjoy the extension, explode out of your core and reach to your extremities, hold on to your focus and breathe. Hold for as long as you feel comfortable.

5) Release slowly, with control, coming back to stand tall, releasing the right arm down and the left leg to the floor.

6) Repeat on the other side.

7) For the advanced position take hold of the left big toe and as you come into the backbend turn the left shoulder so the elbow points up towards the sky – you can also practice this with a strap around the foot. To complete the pose, bring the left toes to touch the back of the head – just like Shiva did.

Benefits:

This posture stretches the front of the body, lengthening the quadricep muscles at the front of the thigh. It strengthens the legs and back and opens the shoulders and chest. Energetically, it opens the heart chakra and helps to develop concentration. Emotionally, I find this posture great for dispelling fear and cultivating a happy and calm mind. Back-bending and balancing at the same time embraces the fear of falling and of opening ones heart and embracing the changes and challenges which we all face. Shiva has no fear of death and destruction, he destroys with compassion, knowing that everything that comes to an end creates space for a new beginning.

‘Nata’ - Dancer‘Raj’ - King ‘Asana’ - Posture ‘Natarajasana’ - The posture of the king of the dance.

Natarajasana is found in the ‘Yoga Rahasya’ by Nathamuni

Shiva: Cosmic Dancer

3

Alice ChapmanAlice specializes in restorative Yoga and Yoga therapy.

Wisdom & InspirationSteps

Like ev'ry flower wilts, like youth is fading and turns to age, so also one's achieving: Each virtue and each wisdom needs parading in one's own time, and must not last forever. The heart must be, at each new call for leaving,prepared to part and start without the tragic, without the grief - with courage to endeavor a novel bond, a disparate connection: for each beginning bears a special magic that nurtures living and bestows protection.We'll walk from space to space in glad progression and should not cling to one as homestead for us. The cosmic spirit will not bind nor bore us; it lifts and widens us in ev'ry session: for hardly set in one of life's expanses we make it home, and apathy commences. But only he, who travels and takes chances, can break the habits' paralyzing stances.It might be, even, that the last of hours will make us once again a youthful lover: The call of life to us forever flowers... Anon, my heart: Say farewell and recover!  Hermann Hesse

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012

"Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."          Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel prize 1921

"Movement is the song of the body. Yes, the body has its own song from which the movement of dancing arises spontaneously. In other words the liberation of the upper part of the body produced by the acceptance of of gravity in the lower part of the body. This song, if you care to listen to it, is beauty. We could could say that it is part of nature. We sing when we are happy and the body goes with it like waves in the sea.”

Vanda Scaravelli

‘Highway and Byways’ by Paul Klee 1929

Marilyn Monroe in Dhanurasana (bow posture) in 1948.

Marilyn learnt Yoga from Indra Devi who also taught Greta Garbo and Elizabeth Arden.

If you have some inspiration you would like to share, then please email words/images to james@exeterlovesyoga.co.uk

4

Top quality teachers, comfortable accommodation, award-winning catering, a beautiful setting; it sounds like the perfect yoga festival.

That was the aim of Devon School of Yoga director Duncan Hulin when he dreamt up the idea of the Devon Yoga Festival. And this year, the dream becomes a reality.

Duncan Hulin said: “There are a number of yoga festivals around the South West and other parts of the country but we felt there was space for something with comfortable accommodation, and an all inclusive price as opposed to just camping.

“I have been mulling this over for years and then a friend who does consultancy work at Seale Hayne suggested I take a look at it. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect.”

Seale Hayne is an Edwardian estate situated near Newton Abbot, between Dartmoor and the sea. The centre of the estate has a beautiful Grade Two listed quadrangle and is surrounded by stunning views of the Devon countryside. The red brick building used to be an agricultural college but is now home to the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust, a fact that fitted neatly into Duncan’s vision for a festival.

“It was important to me that the festival, although run in a professional way with high standards of quality throughout everything, was not-for-profit. So we are raising money for the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust and also the Ganga Prem Hospice in India.

"I first came across Ganga Prem through Swami Saradananda, one of the festival teachers and then later again in 2009 on a river Ganges pilgrimage. I’ve sold their annual charity calendars over recent years but wanted to do more. It fitted perfectly with my thoughts of charity donations from the festival; one connected with yoga and India, being the source of our inspiration, plus one closer to home in Devon."

Once the location was booked, Duncan set about devising a programme that would bring teachers from all over the world to the event. Amongst the names signed up so far are

David Sye, Bridget Woods Kramer and Swami Saradananda.

The festival will feature a choice of 40 workshops in styles ranging from ashtanga to kundalini, anusara to restorative. There will be classes specifically tailored for children, beginners and the over 60’s, and evening kirtans - gatherings for chanting and singing. There will also be a number of talks on the philosophy that underpins the practice and (on Saturday only) films about yoga.

Food is always an important part of any festival. The Devon Yoga Festival will be a fully catered event with award-winning 80% organic and 100% vegetarian catering from Fresh Organic. This Devon-based company won of the prestigious Glastonbury Festival Green Trader, Gold award 2010 for their green credentials and for offering great tasting food served with a smile.

Practical considerations have also been top of the agenda in devising the festival. Seale Hayne is easily accessible by public transport and main roads and there is free parking.

“There is wireless internet throughout and if anyone is desperate to watch their favourite Olympic sports there is even a TV lounge available!” says Duncan. “Aside from the three meals a day plus snacks and drinks which are included in the ticket price, there are also two cafes on site if people want anything extra. There are spacious grounds for walking, an art gallery and a silent space. I think we’ve got it covered and we very much hope our guests will agree.”

The event will start at 4pm on the Friday afternoon with workshops and finish at 3pm on the Sunday after lunch with closing address at 1pm and an optional en-masse surya namaskar in the beautiful quadrangle at 1:15pm.

Ticket prices range from £75 (£55 for children) for a day pass to £195 (£175 for children) for the full weekend, with substantial discounts available for early bird bookings.

www.devonyogafestival.co.uk

Devon Yoga Festival Press release: Devon Yoga Festival.

5

Michelle Levi will be leading a day retreat on 31st March and then a 5-day residential retreat 15-19th June, both at exquisitely beautiful Devon locations.

Michelle has been influenced by a number of different styles of yoga and she will draw specifically on the teachings of Tantra and Hatha yoga in the March workshop. Michelle’s most influential teacher was Clive Sheridan whose own guru was an Aghori - a practitioner of the most extreme left-hand path of Tantra. Philosophically, he also brought through the teachings of Advaita Vedanta. These streams of yogic philosophy have formed the bedrock of Michelle’s spiritual understandings. In recent years she has undertaken some very long personal silent retreats studying primarily the Buddha’s teachings on Emptiness.

Michelle’s first career was a contemporary dancer and so she has a keen love of moving the body and extending its limits. Moving the physical body is a very direct and easy way to move the energy within the subtle body and so bring more balance and harmony within the mind. Michelle left the dance world when the call for a more spiritual life became stronger. She studied at Jivamukti, NY and then Astanga Vinyasa with Danny Paradise, Rolf Naujokat and others. Her TTC was a 9-month full-time course at YogaArts, Australia which provided a well-rounded basis to teach from. In recent years she has been exploring the

teachings of Vanda Scaravelli and finding them to provide another very rich avenue into yoga.

The March day retreat (to be held at Barefoot Barn) is entitled ‘Resting in the Heart’, and will involve the various modalities of asana, pranayama, meditation and chanting to quieten the mind and get in touch with the hearts’ true longings.  Making this connection to the inner heart can remove resistance and enable us to plug into the universal life force which is flowing abundantly all around us and within us.

The June retreat (to be held at Eden Rise :: Welcome ) will be co-led with Ollie Frame who will be offering classes in ‘Conscious Cookery’ - a chance to learn how to make delicious food that is both healthy and conducive to the practice of Yoga. The retreat will also include time for asana, guided meditation, Yoga Nidra (deep healing relaxation) and chanting (no musical ability needed!).

For more information on either of these retreats please contact Michelle directly on michelleyogini@gmail.com

“Michelle’s most influential teacher was Clive Sheridan, whose own Guru was Aghori - a practitioner of the most extreme left-hand path of Tantra.”

Hatha & Tantra workshop and retreatwith Michelle Levi

Michelle’s first career was in dance so she has a keen love of moving the body and extending its limits

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012

6

Janet teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa.

For more info visit the exeterlovesyoga teachers page.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. As a former journalist and current PR consultant, that’s the not-quite-a-joke slogan that has coloured my working life. But what exactly is this thing called the truth?

Interestingly, PR and yoga have a great synchronicity here (probably the only time those words will ever emerge from my mouth).

Writing a press release involves choosing a fact and then giving it a particular ‘spin’. For example, talking about a new service that a client is offering for the first time…..in Exeter. No need to mention the service is available elsewhere around Devon, it’s still true and grabs the journalist’s interest.

Yoga too teaches you that there are facts, and then there is the mental and verbal spin that you put on them – with negatives results. Uncontrollable ‘citta vritti’ is the source of much unnecessary mental anguish – we have all experienced instances of worrying about something that hasn’t actually turned out to be true, just a product of our fevered imaginations. Afterwards, amidst the relief, we privately feel a little sheepish about having fretted so much about nothing.

And while it goes without saying that adhering to Satya always means speaking the truth, there is an issue of ‘spin’ to be considered here as well. Baldly stating that your girlfriend actually does look dreadful in her new dress is unlikely to progress you very far along the spiritual path. At all times, one must balance Satya with Ahimsa (kindness). Indeed some commentaries on the Sutras go as far as to say if speaking the

truth is unpleasant to others then it is better to say nothing at all.

Calm your mind and hold your tongue. Spare yourself those minutes, days and even months of worry by staying within the moment and sitting quietly with the bare facts. And be grateful that your prudence avoided causing hurt to another, even you feel uneasy at having to hold back.

Of course the only truth that matters ultimately is that we are all connected to each other and that our true selves are pure love. Everything else is an illusion.

That’s fairly hard to hang on to if you’ve just heard that your boyfriend was seen out with another girl, or there are rumours that your employer is heading for bankruptcy. As ever, it’s important to just breathe. Dipping out of mulling over the past or projecting into the future, spreading gossip or lapsing into exaggeration and just focusing on the breath is the fastest way into the moment. Patanjali even goes as far as to say (2.36) that ‘As truthfulness (satya) is achieved, the fruits of actions naturally result according to the will of the Yogi’. In other words finding and holding your own truth, and passing then that on in your dealings with others, encourages a natural flow of all good things in your direction.

And I don’t think he was putting a spin on it.

Jay Kipling www.jayyoga.org

Living the Yamas and NiyamasSatya - truthfulnessBeing honest with oneself and othersBy Janet Kipling

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012

7

Baobab farm is set in the midst of the Devon countryside on the edge of Dartmoor

Imagine a C16th farmhouse set in 3 acres in the midst of the Devon countryside on the edge of Dartmoor yet just 20minutes from Exeter.

Imagine a retreat where you can enjoy a leisurely practice of yoga and relaxation during the morning in the yoga studio. Hatha Yoga is suitable for beginners as well as those who have a regular practice. Jenny Kane, Lynda Dodgeon, and Jill Hurley, the yoga instructors are all experienced British Wheel of Yoga qualified teachers.

This is followed by a 3 course home cooked vegetarian lunch in the traditional farmhouse kitchen. Lynda is passionate about cooking and prepares the lunch herself using only high quality fresh ingredients.

In the afternoon you can choose a complementary therapy such as Aromatherapy Massage, Sports Massage, Reflexology or Indian Head Massage. There is also time to enjoy the steam room and relax in the spacious hot tub. If the weather is good spend time relaxing in the peaceful garden with stunning views across to Dartmoor.

Refreshments are available throughout the day.

The Pamper Days are usually on Saturdays throughout the year. The next available dates are April 14 and 21 and May 26

We also are happy to arrange a special day to suit your group (max 8) People usually book for special occasions such as birthdays and Mothers Day or simply to enjoy a relaxing day with a group of friends or colleagues. Please let us know your requirements.

A day at Baobab would be a perfect present to give to a loved oneGift vouchers are availableThe special price for the day is £55 Contact Lynda Dodgeon on 0164724236 or lynda@lewdonfarm.co.ukOr Jill Hurley 0164761095 / 07807917369 mail@jillsyoga.co.uk

Yoga, relaxation and pamper days“staying peaceful in a busy world”By Jill Hurley

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012

Simply answer the questions below.

Clue: most of the answers can be found somewhere in this newsletter:

1) What does Satya mean ?

2) What is the name of Lord Shiva’s pose?

3) What is your favourite yoga asana?

4) Who taught Marilyn Monroe Yoga?

Email your answers to info@exeterlovesyoga.co.uk or use the postal address underneath.

Closing date: 1st July. From those who answer correctly, we will pick three names out of the hat who will receive Neti Pots. If you are unsure how to use your Neti pot, I’m happy to give you a quick demo and show you what to do!

Namaste, James

Jala Neti is a practice in which saline water is poured through one nostril and out of the other

EXETERLOVESYOGA3 Powderham Road Exeter EX2 9BS

NE

WS

LETT

ER

SPR

ING

Mar

ch 2

012 Win a free Neti Pot!

We’ve got 3 pots to give away