Aum everyone,
The international day of yoga aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of this ancient practice. Recognising its universal appeal, on 11 Dec 2014, the united nations proclaimed 21 June as the international day of yoga and the theme for 2017 celebration is yoga for health and wellbeing. Let us celebrate this day by bringing the qualities of sadhana to our lives – in other words, using everything as a tool for our wellbeing. Sadhana does not mean any specific action or activity, It is more to do with our attitude every morning when we get out of bed and the way we conduct our body, mind and emotions.
This term we are focussing on opening up the chest and lungs; this area corresponds to the heart chakra. This is the area where our physical and spiritual sides meet. It is the fourth chakra and includes our heart, cardiac plexus, thymus gland, lungs, breasts and governs our lymphatic system. The Sanskrit word for this chakra is Anahata, which means “unstruck” or “unhurt” which conveys the idea that underneath our pain and distress is a place where no hurt exists. For example, when our heart chakra is open, we live with love and compassion, we forgive quickly and are more accepting of others and ourselves.
Yoga chest openers certainly can help attain this as well as reverse any mechanical constriction that can overcomes our bodies during the day. The physical demands of our lives have a way of drawing the chest in on itself. Working at the computer or behind the wheel often rounds our shoulders and causes the upper body to slump. Specifically, our pectoral muscles scrunch up while our upper back muscles become weak. This muscle imbalance can cause chest pain and restrict our range of movement. It can also reduce the amount of oxygen we get to our lungs because it can affect our intercostal muscles and so it can continue, even causing lower back pain.
Chest openers are also particularly good for releasing negative emotions. The more we expand our sternum, rib cage and the rest of our upper body with chest openers, the more blood, oxygen and circulation will invigorate us both mentally and physically. We have started some controlled breathing exercises known as Pranayama. They are one of the best ways to open our chest. When we consciously fill lungs with air and hold the breath at the end of each inhale and exhale, we begin to bring flexibility into our chest cavity. Our blood is oxygenated, it soothes the mind and energises our nervous system.
Yoga has many chest opening exercises such as Bow or Camel, which some people can find hard, but as always, we must choose our own modifications to suit our bodies and minds and so this term I will be focusing on helping you develop the poses and movements which will allow you to gain space in such a wonderfully important chakra.
Term ends on Monday 31 July.
Namaste xx

Namaste beautiful Yogi/nis
apologies for getting the dates muddled up…! New term begins tomorrow Monday 05 June – Monday 31 July. Thank you Chris for pointing this out to me!
Monday 05 June Vinyasa Flow 7:30 – 8:45 pm Market Square
Tuesday 06 June Hatha Yoga ( level 1) 6:30 – 7:45 pm Market square
Tuesday 06 June Hatha Yoga ( level 2) 8:00 – 9:15 pm Market Square
Thursday 08 June Hatha Yoga Flow 9:30 – 10:45 am St Mary’s Church
Looking forward to another term of helping to align the inner you with the outer you…!
Om shanti

Aum everyone,
Just a quick reminder about the class schedule for the coming week;
There will be no classes on Monday 29 May at Market Square and Thursday 01 June at St Mary’s Church.
Normal class schedule on Tuesday 30 May – Hatha Yoga 6:30 – 7:45 pm & Vinyasa flow 8:00 – 9:15 pm Market square.
New term begins on Monday 08 June – Monday 31 July.
I wish you all a good weekend.
Om Shanti

Aum everyone,
In Yoga, we try to tread the contented road between pushing ourselves to build strength or flexibility and gentleness. We might ask ourselves “How do I know whether i’m being kind to myself or just a bit lazy?”. If we are looking for an answer, it might help to think of it this way; that ultimately our bodies love to move and they are built for it. knowing that, it can be surprising when we encounter so much resistance ( both physically and emotionally ) to our efforts to move our bodies.
We know that resistance mostly comes from the way we think about things. The judging mind has a lot to say about what we do in life, particularly concerning anything we do with our body. Of course, some days our bodies tell us to take it easy – We might be fatigued, in pain; but most of the time we resist moving our bodies because we send and receive critical messages in our mind as soon as we begin to consider anything to do with our physical self. Some of these critical voices come from others, the media, but a lot of the time it is from us. Spending so much time listening to this critical voice can be damaging and so it can take time to come back around to tuning in.
We can think about it in a different way; If a child chose not to do something because they were afraid of the criticism they would hear if they tried, what do you think would best help them to overcome that fear? More criticism? Or kindness? It is kindness that we need to listen to.
We also know that, because of our suburban, often sedentary lives, quite often what we need is for our body to move. Understanding this means that kindness is not leaving our yoga practice for tomorrow, it means finding time and space for you to practice now, a space in which the judging mind is welcome but is not ruling. We can accept that we cannot silence the critical voice, but we can at least choose, for a time, to hold it lightly and instead connect with our true voice, the voice of our wisdom self.
The greatest news of all, of course is that the more yoga we practice the more able we become in tuning in to hear the true voice of our body.
We have established that our bodies are amazing machines that are designed to move. Unfortunately our lifestyle and the way we move can often distort our bodies. The body also holds emotions in tense muscles. By opening and releasing muscular tension, old stuck emotions can be shifted, leaving you feeling lighter and more free, emotionally as well as physically.
This term, we have been breaking down the base of the postures, the feet pelvis and how to stabilise through correct placement and technique. Once the base of the posture is established, we can safely start to open the hip flexors using the core muscles without over working the gluteus or lumbar, avoiding any pinchy pain in the lower back. Only when these 2 actions are applied can we safely start to open and strengthen the back muscles which will help us get into the more challenging backbends.
Dates for your diaries: There will be no class next Monday 22 May as i have a training day and no class the following Monday 29 May ( bank holiday ). I apologise for the repeated interruption to the Monday Vinyasa class – due to all the bank holidays and my training day which i couldn’t move unfortunately. This class will run uninterrupted from Monday 05 June – Monday 31 July Please feel free to join the Vinyasa class on Tuesday evening 8:00 – 9:15 pm during those 2 weeks.
I wish you well in your yoga adventures wherever you are in the world right now.
Namaste & love

Dear Yogi friends,
I hope this finds you well. Just a quick notice to yogi/nis who didn’t come to class last Monday: As there is an unusual abundance of bank holiday mondays this term causing a disruption to our regular flow, It’s been decided that the vinyasa class will go ahead as normal on both Monday 01 & 29 May.
Wishing you all a great weekend.
Om Shanti

Dear Yogi friends,
I hope this finds you well.
I am writing to remind you that spring term will end this evening with our usual Vinyasa flow class in Market Sq. It has been another term of aligning our bodies and minds to stay in tune with the changes in seasons, work, relationships and lifestyle. Thank you all for joining me in becoming fully aligned so that we can give our best to the world.
Summer term begins on Tuesday 18 April and ends on Monday 31 July. please see below the class list which you’ll also find on the website:http://aquariusyoga.co.uk/classes/
Monday 7:30 – 8:45 Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Market Square.
Tuesday 6:30 – 7:45 Hatha Yoga level 1 – 8:00 – 9:15 Hatha Yoga Flow level 2, Market square.
Thursday 9:30 – 10:45 Hatha Yoga ( all levels ), St Mary’s Church.
I would like to share with you one of many videos on youtube by my inspiring coach Daniel Aaron from Radiantly Alive Yoga about how to facilitate changes we want to make in our lives.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80RrH-2Ayyo
As always, please be mindful of your space and your fellow yogi/ni’s when setting up. aquariusyoga.co.uk/yoga-etiquette
Have a wonderful Easter.
Om Shanti

As we enter the week of love, Let us set our intention ( sankalpa ) on self-love. Loving oneself in a positive sense is different from being selfish, arrogant or conceited; instead, it means knowing oneself, our strengths, our weaknesses and self respect. It is about how we relate to ourselves inwardly which determines how we interact and treat others outside ourselves. German born psychologist and humanistic philosopher Eric Fromm argues that in order to truly love another person, a person needs to first love oneself.
This week i am going to leave you with a thought….What does self-love and self respect mean to you? do you love yourself just as you are? Are you kind to yourself?
Just to remind you that the Vinyasa yoga class will be running tomorrow evening as normal. There will not be any other classes held this week.
Class schedule will return back to normal from Monday 20 Feb.
In Gratitude

Dear friends,
Let’s start 2017 wiser, more attuned and better aligned in life. At the start of the year there can be pressure to make sweeping changes. Begin 2017 with the best small changes that bring out the best in you, building on the strengths in your nature and personality, without self-punishing resolutions, unsustainable fad detoxes or unrealistic expectations. Start with the best small changes that can bring big shifts in your health, wellbeing and growth in 2017.
We will start this new year clearing through all the layers of physical, energetic, mental, intuitive and soulful self.
Monday 09 January 7:30 – 8:45 Market Hall – Move your body. Steady and flowing Yoga to unlock long stuck places.
Tuesday 10 January 6:30 – 7:45 Market Hall – Restore your body. Deep healing rest poses to expose deep tension in your body/mind and more sustainable energy.
Tuesday 10 January 8:00 – 9:15 Market Hall – Kundalini Yoga – Awaken inner Buddha with a sequence of detoxifying Kriyas to boost energy, promote mental clarity and rid the body of toxins.
Thursday 12 January 9:30 – 10:45 St Mary’s Church Hall – Hatha Yoga – Building the physical practice with a strong foundation of correct alignment.
A notice to Kundalini Yoga practitioners: As the restorative class students will be in their final pose ( relaxation ), please do not enter the building before 7:50. In gratitude.
As always, please take a few minutes to familiarise yourselves with etiquette on the mat, to make this a wonderful experience for you and your fellow yogi.
Happy New Year.

Dear Yogi friends,

As our classes wind down for 2016, I would like to thank you for your continued support and for being part of our growing community this year. I would also like to invite you to devote this month to your Inner Wisdom. The kind of wisdom that actions and results in our lives are measured by. The proof is in the putting….! Ram Dass, my hero and ( Author Of Be Here Now ) said: I’ve met some of the smartest people in the world, and some of the wisest. the difference I’ve found between them is that the wise ones are also happy.

I would like to wish you and all your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. To plan your yoga schedule for 2017, click here….aquariusyoga.co.uk/classes

May we love our wisdom, and may our wisdom be love.

​I notice that at times, we can all forget about our breath when we are on our yoga mat, but it is one of the most important and beneficial aspects of our practice, so I’ve written a few guidelines below which might help us learn how to use our breathing to its maximum effect.

Awareness
Start by noticing how you are already breathing. Simply becoming aware of our breath tends to slow it down, and noticing why our breath might be shallow or fast at certain times may help us address some of the stressors in our lives. You can do this anywhere. Start by breathing through your nose, and take time to observe the inhalation and exhalation. Is either faster? How long is your breath? Don’t try to manipulate them, simply watch and try this for 2–3 minutes.

Ocean Breath
This is a breath which is known for its soft, soothing sound which is alikened to breaking ocean waves, and we use it because it can increase how relaxed we are when breathing, the vibrations sending messages to our nerves to induce a calming effect. If you start by inhaling through your nose, then open your mouth and exhale slowly, making a “HA” sound. If you repeat this a few times, at the end of asana practice then afterwards close your mouth, but try to keep the back of your throat in the same shape used to make the “HA,” as you exhale through the nose.

Retaining Breath
Did you know that if you inhale fully and then pause for 10 seconds, you can inhale a bit more? This is because holding our breath increases the pressure inside our lungs which gives them time to expand even further, which oxygenates the blood which then passes to the rest of our body and muscles.

How to Use Your Breath In Asana Practice

When bending forward, we should naturally exhale. Forward bends are postures which quiet us, so this breathing rule enhances the energy and the depth of the fold.

When lifting or opening the chest, inhale; in a backbend, for instance, you increase the space in your chest, giving our lungs, rib cage, and diaphragm more room to fill with air. Our heart rate speeds up on an inhalation, pumping more blood to our muscles. 

When twisting, exhale. In our twists, the inhalation accompanies the preparation phase of the pose (lengthening the spine for example), and the exhalation is paired with the twisting. 

Hopefully this has given you some guidance for use in your practice, and that this allows you continue to draw further depth and breadth from each moment on the mat.