When YMI was established one of the founding principles was to work with only the best teachers in the UK: the teachers that really knock your socks off, the ones at the top of their game. This doesn’t mean adhering to a certain tradition or school of yoga, but we wanted to work with teachers who have had a rich and genuine yoga experience, founded on years of dedicated practice and learning. There is a growing community of yoga teachers in the UK and particularly in London, and with that comes a multitude of questions about maintaining a level of quality. We think that ultimately students vote with their feet and support the really great teachers with their ongoing attendance over the long-term. And we are exceptionally proud of the teachers that we are working with. They really are a most excellent bunch of yogi’s! (FYI – our definition of a most excellent yogi does not hinge solely on looking good in an Instagram yoga selfie, even though they do look great in an Instagram yoga selfie!). With this mind we are going to take some time over the coming weeks to introduce them properly to you on the blog. On that note, meet Jean Hall, who shares her thoughts on modern living.
It seemed like a good idea at the time
– volunteering as a parent helper for my son’s school outing. That was until I
bumped and squeezed my way on to a commuter train with 30 plus jostling, super
excited 8 year olds!
That and the nagging feeling that I was
leaving a pile of emails unanswered, yoga classes untaught, a sink full of
dishes (yes I still don’t have the modern appliance of a dishwasher!) and my
mobile phone vibrating away on silent in my jacket pocket in order to comply
with school rules and focus on the task at hand: the safe supervision of
children!
As I surreptitiously tried to spy who
the missed calls were from, my son caught me in the act… “MUMMM! NO phones
allowed on school trips – you’ll get me into trouble” he hissed.
“Hold on I’m just trying to see…”I attempt
to justify myself but get cut off mid sentence as he snatches my phone and
stuffs it in his school bag.
As I try to protest and retrieve it I
see his form teacher across the carriage watching me, eyes brows raised to her
hairline… I smile weakly back realising I’ve just been rumbled and had my
mobile confiscated by my primary school son with his teacher’s unshakeable
approval!
Wow that’s harsh I think to myself as I
feel my mood darkening with thoughts of all the other stuff I really ought to
be doing and sorting out right now cluttering my mind… Grrrh! I could really do
with some time out on my yoga mat!
Gradually the playful banter of the
children about me infiltrates through and pulls me out of my head into the
moment of the crowded noisy train - and then slowly it begins to dawns on me…
This, here – this life, this energy,
this constant shift of mood, quickening and slowing of breath around and within
us – this is where the yoga is - not just in the yoga studio but in the every
day ordinariness of wrangling and balancing all the various life tasks of commuting,
school runs, (or outings), mundane dish washing,
repetition of making the packed lunches, worries about work… and our mental
take on it all is yoga – or not – we have a choice!
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| Jean and her son doing some yoga |
Forget about practising mindfulness on the mat – it’s off the mat when it
truly counts… to be present and at ease with the haphazardness of life and its
challenges, to breath with it, through it one day at a time – mindfully in this
precious fleeting moment… regardless of
how many balls we’re juggling and maybe even dropping...
And then more importantly perhaps it’s the dropping of the juggling balls
and not managing to do it all that is the real gift…
After all multi-tasking isn’t all that its cracked up to be… I mean we
are so used to multi-tasking, so conditioned or even addicted to overachieving
that we forget that the real happiness lies in the simple things that take
place in the present moment – like the really bad jokes 8 year old kids tell on
packed rush hour trains on school outings!
It’s all yoga…
This has also got me thinking how to simplify things in my life juggle, so
I thought I might try the following:
1. Prioritise and do what’s essential first (to maintain our
livelihood), and then what we feel passionate about and enjoy next… after that
try let the rest go.
2. Always make time for those we love… it nurtures our and
their soul.
3. Be of service to others and give support - this is
karma yoga, and not only does this help
others but it also helps us feel
worthwhile and happy… and on top of that it is a great way of expanding our own
support system...
exchanging help and taking turns say with childcare or school runs.
4. Draw
boundaries and learn when to switch off from stuff that deletes our energy.
5. Make
time to get on the yoga mat regularly - just lying mindfully down and breathing
fully is a practice in itself - and will pay off ten fold… it often helps reveal
solutions or realisations otherwise undiscovered and also can pinpoint what's
most meaningful in our life… so that we can focus on what’s really important.
6. Finally
don’t do it all yourself - delegate activities especially in the homestead…
getting kids or our partner to wash up, put out the rubbish etc is a the way of
getting them to begin to take responsibility… or perhaps easier still just
lower standards on cleanliness and order!
