As I contemplate another 365 day journey around the sun next week, I was reflecting on the privilege of the last 7 years of sharing Dru Yoga with others. Dru Yoga is a gentle, accessible style of yoga suitable for older adults and most of my class participants are women aged 50+ like myself. I was so grateful over the last couple of days to share yoga with a range of different carers and have some people say it was their first time trying yoga and others saying they had not practiced yoga for many years. Often it seems age and/or injury mean people might stop their practice or it maybe that busy time of life with work and family gets in the way. Some commented on the Dru practice and asked is this still yoga? Which of course it is but I understand why they ask as yoga has been marketed to ‘look’ a certain way. There is a phrase attributed to yoga master T. Krishnamacharya that states “if you can breathe, you can do yoga.” Yoga is more than just the poses (asana), it is mind-body practice with breath as its foundation.

Your breath is powerful, there is nothing more essential to our health than breathing, taking in air. Breathing is an autonomic process and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic system increases your breathing rate, while the parasympathetic system slows it down. Breathing changes based on your activity level and the air quality. For example, you breathe faster during physical activity. You can sometimes control your breathing pattern, like when you hold your breath or sing. I have just gifted myself a Native American Flute and I am learning more about the importance of patience, practice and my breath.

There is a wonderful little Dru Yoga book called “Dru Yoga For All Seasons” that is now out of print and I have been trying to obtain it for a while now. A secondhand copy popped up on a website so I purchased it a while back and it finally arrived from the UK in this time between Christmas and New Year. Perfect timing as I contemplate and plan a theme for yoga classes in 2025. So I had a thought, why not make the whole year a theme of moving with the seasons!

At the beginning of 2024 I chose ‘grace’ to be my word of the year. It is a word I had not really considered before as for me it has associations with religion and I am not a religious person. However after reading Julia Baird’s book ‘Bright Shining. How Grace Changes Everything’ I realised there is much more to the word.

So I have made the decision to get off social media for at least a while for my mental health and well being. Have a read to find out more if you are interested why. Otherwise know that going to the website is the best source of current information about classes and events.

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If you came along to my yoga classes this week you would have experienced Energy Block Release (Awaken the Heart) in a whole new way! Adding in an awareness of the Prana Vayus. Prana fills the body, it brings life to the body and is the life course flowing through our bodies. Pra = first or innate and Ana = tiniest/indivisible. Vayu = that which flows. The 5 Prana Vayus are sub doshas of Vata (air/space) dosha and influence not only physical health but also mental health and emotional well-being.