One day I’m going to India!

I want to start by saying how overwhelmed I am at the comments I’ve received from my friends and family regarding my first post! Everyone’s been so positive and I’ve even got a few people applying my ‘do something everyday that makes you happy’ theory into their lives! So thanks guys! It’s certainly put a big smile on my face!

On Tuesday evening I went along to my local community centre and joined a load of other 20 something year olds, in a rather small room, for my new yoga class. I loved it! Cathy’s teaching style is very hands on which suits me perfectly. She told me this is how they taught her in India and she wants to bring that teaching style here. For me, the best way of learning is being put into a pose so you know how it’s meant to feel, then you can use your muscle memory to recreate the pose next time. It’s how I work best when I’m dancing and it’s certainly working best for yoga!
I love yoga because it’s not meant to be used as just a form of exercise, it’s a way of life. Of course it’s an amazing way to strengthen all areas of your body and increase flexibility however it’s also a way to calm and focus the mind. The final pose of every yoga practice is called shavasana, the corpse pose. The intention of this pose is to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. I’ve always been more spiritually minded therefore the yoga lifestyle really appeals to me, however not everyone thinks in the same way so here are some of the physiological benefits of why deep relaxation should be part of your routine:

a decrease in heart rate and the rate of respiration,
a decrease in blood pressure,
a decrease in muscle tension,
a decrease in metabolic rate and the consumption of oxygen,
a reduction in general anxiety,
a reduction in the number and frequency of anxiety attacks,
an increase in energy levels and in general productivity,
an improvement in concentration and in memory,
an increase in focus,
a decrease in fatigue, coupled with deeper and sounder sleep, and
improved self-confidence.

So yoga is also pretty great for your health!

I’ve done two of Cathy’s classes now and in each class I’ve pushed myself further in poses, sometimes with her assistance, to the point where I’ve expected to not be able to move when I get up in the morning! However in both classes we performed shavasana for at least the last 15 minutes of the class. By letting my muscles relax and recover properly from my practice, I’ve had hardly any aching in the morning.
Cathy spends time with each person during shavasana helping to achieve a deeper relaxation with massage techniques and simply giving your legs a shake before resting them back on the floor. She explains that the idea of shavasana is to surrender your body to the earth, feeling gravity pulling you down. I haven’t yet achieved the full feeling of relaxation but I’m getting closer already!

Cathy’s classes have given me an insight into what training in India would be like and I can’t wait to get! It’ll definitely be happening at some point in the future! For now though I shall continue going to Cathy’s classes and push my practice to the next level!