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Those who breathe together, grow together

Can you believe this is where we are again? In lockdown… more restricted than ever before… and somehow trying to maintain our lives, our families and our incomes as best we can.

I have certainly been feeling the pressure of it all and questioning when we will ever get out of this mess. I have spoken to so many people and all have expressed this feeling of inner anxiety or tension. I have felt this in myself also. I have had this constant feeling in my belly of uncertainty and unsettledness, fluctuating between feeling hopeful and inspired to feeling completely defeated and lost, I don’t like it at all.

So What Do We Do About It?

Something that I have found helpful is to breathe and recognise the feelings in my body. Breathing techniques are a cornerstone of yoga practice and can really make a huge difference in a very short amount of time, they are free and with you always so what a gift to be able to use them at will and when needed.

Following is a basic breathing technique to help you find calm and stillness, relax your nervous system and create a sense of peace in the body and mind.

  • Begin to notice your breath, just feel it where it is most noticeable.

  • As you notice you may start to feel the breath more keenly.

  • Just breathe naturally and notice. Begin to count the length of your inhale and exhale.

  • Not changing, just counting and noticing. Take 5 – 10 breaths, just counting.

  • Then begin to lengthen your exhalation.

  • Allow you to exhale to release from your body slowly and fully, without a sense of strain.

  • Take 5 – 10 breaths in this way.

  • Return to natural breathing and notice how you feel.

You might know some other breathing practices to use as well. I encourage you to use them to help you find inner calm or even to lift your energy. I know I am seesawing between feelings of lethargy and laziness and feelings of hyper agitation and frustration. I am actually having to work really hard at just being. I find I am best when I am teaching as this is where I can help and make someone else feel better, that helps me feel better too.

I hope that you are doing ok at this time and hope that our offerings are supportive and helping to ease the stress of lockdown. It can be hard to get to the mat, to block out all the home stuff, that’s for sure. Coming into the studio is definitely nicer and makes it much easier to drop into the zone. But getting to the mat, amongst the chaos and connecting inwardly is really a very deep form of yoga practice. Carving out self-care, connecting in time and space with others in real-time and everyone going through the same thing can really be a balm for these times. I feel being live online has a very different energetic quality than using a reply or even practising on our own and I am so grateful to those of you who are still joining us online. Your support for the studio is immeasurable and will ensure that we can make it through and reopen. These are very difficult times for all small businesses and my heart goes out to everyone trying to keep one alive.