Aeroplane Yoga

Thank you Qantas pyjamas.

If you Google: "yoga" and "aeroplanes", it's surprising just how many articles there are! There is even a book published about it called Airplane Yoga! I really don't think it's necessary to research it though because if you've ever been on a flight, even just a short one, you have most likely, albeit unconsciously, done some yoga! The most effective in opening the hips and really getting that blood circulating whilst I was sitting were: Ardha Padmasana (Half lotus), Ardha Matyendrasana (Lord of the Fish) and Supta Virasana (Reclined hero). Oh, did I mention I was lucky enough to fly Business Class all the way through to NYC?  Yeah, so that was just before I ate my Roast Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad with Barley and Sunflower Seeds. Ahem, sorry. Thus, ample room for me to do yoga in my seat .I'm sure there is room in Economy Class to do these too, but now that I've flown Business, I can't for the life of me ever go back...EVER!

Once you are out of your seat, after you've strategically contorted your body to climb over a sleeping passenger with all the agility of a Cirque du Soleil performer, there is ample room in some unoccupied corner to do a few more poses.  I found a spare little hallway near the Galley and did a few lunges, including this Anjaneyasana (Crescent Moon) complete with Qantas pyjamas! I then ended up chatting to a lovely Flight Attendant called George, who was possibly one of the most interesting people I've met and again, as I've been discovering with yoga, gravitated towards me for a reason. Stay tuned. Will discuss in my next post.

Overall, in all of my travel experiences including the 25 hours it took to fly to the other side of the world today/yesterday I learnt a few things:

Good morning LAX

• Perhaps people unconsciously do yoga and don't even know it!  The number of people stretching, yawning, taking deep breaths and sharing pitied looks was cool. Like yep, we're all stuck on this godforsaken metal tube together, may as well still feel alive somehow
• Drink lots of water, but make sure you get an aisle seat
• Pranayama (breath) is essential for flying, particularly because the air is thinner, so you need to sit for at least a few minutes and just breathe. I think people do this too?
• Don't EVER drink coffee on an aeroplane, the altitude means that water can't reach boiling point, that's why it's always luke warm. (I also learnt that in Flight Attendant school - Job #54 - amongst other things...)
• Don't watch a movie that involves plane crashes and then fall asleep and dream about plane crashes!

Yoga and photography.

Me, at 3 years of age, doing Prasarita Paddotanasana
(Wide-legged forward bend) and also apparently looking like a boy.

According to this lovely picture my Mum just dug out of a very old school photo album, I've been doing yoga since I was three!  Ah, I miss photos. Don't you?  There's just something so nice about flicking through an old photo album with the musty smell of pages and stain marks where the photos are held by now petrified blu tac. It's just so nice to have something tangible and able to be passed to someone.  Rather than everyone sort of uncomfortably huddling around a computer to have a look.  Remember the days of real photos, we could choose between shiny and matte? We could get even "doubles" printed!  Remember when every photo was sacred because we only had a roll of 24 or if you were lucky, 36 to shoot with?!  Remember when you had to wait a week for processing and were so excited when they invented "overnight processing"? What? We can go and pick up our photos the very next day? How exciting?! Then, we got our parents to drive us to the shops to pick up our photos at Kodak, only to find that half of them were light-affected and ruined? Remember the heartbreak you endured by a photo not working out?  OH the tears!  I wonder how many rolls of film B.K.S Iyengar went through, when creating his book, Light on Yoga (originally published in 1966)?

Iyengar, doing Prasarita Paddotanasana
and who is actually a boy.

There's nothing romantic about clicking through a bunch of photos on a laptop most of which are duplicates and nothingness.  It really reflects the nature of society today. The urgency and immediacy with which we are all engrained with.  The younger generation are born with it whereas us older ones have had to learn it to keep up.   As an ex Primary School teacher, I have had many conversations with kids about "my day".  Oh the 80s, days of swatch watches, bubble skirts and riding your bike without a helmet.  Where gyms were a rare thing and the queen of exercise was Jane Fonda in all her lycra clad glory!

Anyhoo, this one time, at band camp, no wait, close, it was at school camp. One of my students had a camera with "film". Wow! Poor thing. All the other kids had their very own digital cameras, but this girl's Mum had just chucked a really old, manual wind up camera with a roll of film. This was in like 2006 so it really wasn't that long ago! Anyway, poor girl was sitting there trying to figure it out and didn't understand why there wasn't a display screen on the back, couldn't find where the SD card went and didn't know what to do the plastic tube that came with it.  Bless. I then sat down with her and explained how it worked. She was actually really intrigued by it all and couldn't believe we had to wait a week to see our photos back in the olden days!  Nonetheless, the polish wore off when I told her that each photo had to be carefully thought out because she only had 36 to take. She then asked me why her SD card wasn't that big and could only hold 36 photos. Sigh.

My Mum actually owned the video (VHS) on the left!

Perhaps that's why yoga is so popular this century?  Our society is constantly on the move, over-stimulated and forever searching for meaning.  Perhaps that's why, as I embark on my trip starting with New York, there's practically a yoga studio on every block? Why a third of the population of Australia which is crammed into a tiny island, yoga is the one hour of relief in a day that you might get to escape the chaos of it all. To just be. That is how yoga worked for me.

Even though I am pretty much an attention whore, who always does "photoshoots" with friends (ie. makes my friends take photos of me), I'm a completely different kettle of fish when it comes to yoga.  Yoga is just for me.  In fact, when I signed up to do my teacher training, a close friend of mine actually asked me: "Yoga teaching? Really? Do you even DO yoga?" To which I replied, well, yes, for the past 14 years. Cue blank stare from her! It really has been the one thing for myself and nobody else.

It's funny. I guess it's because I don't LOOK like someone who does yoga. I certainly don't fit the stereotype of a stick thin, zero body fat yogini!  But, yoga certainly has helped me overcome this.   Even though I was called "fat" at yoga camp. Yikes!  Onwards and upwards.  Thus, I will endeavour to take photos of myself doing yoga poses as I travel the world and put them out there.  Photography is also a good way to self-critique your poses, so if anything, it's a good teaching/learning tool.  Also, I won't be doing as much writing because I really need to enjoy my holiday and relax! SO my blog will be mainly photos, favourite sequences and coffee!

So keep following along on this blog if you want, otherwise I've now got an Instagram account (yay4yoga_coffee_dogs_travel) and it doesn't get any more immediate than that!  In less than 48 hours, hopefully, I will be uploading a photo from NYC!  As instantaneous and addictive as this kind of photography is, it is still not as satisfying as having to wait for your photos to be developed!  Bring back Kodak shops!

Also, here is a picture of a really old lady being flexible.
Yoga rocks. 

Restorative Yoga in Brisbane

@Core Yoga Studios                        12.30 - General Yoga with Nathan 

View of the city from the studio with
Avid Reader cafe/bookshop below.

Have always wanted to try this one because, again, it is affiliated with qualified physiotherapists, thereby enhancing the yoga experience, at least anatomically!  Also, Core Yoga they offer a program called Yoga for Runners. Not that I would consider myself a runner. I am just someone who runs occasionally. Anyway, it was the perfect class (yoga class #13 actually) for me today, because my body has sort of hit a wall. That wall is called fatigue. Also, a couple of days ago when I was doing my daily Mt Cootha walk, I totally stacked it and landed on my butt sorta of injured myself. Standard. I am possibly the world's most uncoordinated person at times, which is why yoga is possibly the safest form of exercise for me. 

Nathan took the class today (his wife normally takes this timeslot) and he was lovely. His voice was really peaceful and he threw in the odd joke which was nice. He was very comprehensive with checking for injuries, listing each major joint and limb, whilst we were in Supta Badda Konasana (Reclining bound angle pose), and asking us to raise our hands if we were affected by any of these. Very cool way to do it.  

He then did about the first half of the class lying down getting us to twist and stretch into various postures. Then we came up to down dog and did a few slow lunges and side bends. A great class to take in the middle of a rainy day. I absolutely loved it and will definitely go back for a Vinyasa Flow class when I get back from my trip. 

The studio had a big yellow wall! LOVE! Oh and carpet! LOVE EVEN MORE! It was well-stocked with all the props and had a lovely view of the city with a nice breeze coming though the windows. Definitely a good vibe. I was totally relaxed. 

Pose: His explanation of Sphinx pose was possibly the best I have ever come across. He began by getting us to collapse into our shoulders and then promptly called it the "watching television pose" which was hilarious. He then started at our toes in explaining the correct alignment of the posture. Begin with pressing the backs of the feet towards the ground, which in turn lifts the knee caps and engages the quads and glutes. Suck navel to spine, bring the shoulders back and down and really grip the pads of the fingers into the floor and pull backwards slightly. This engages the whole thoracic area giving you a really effective back bend. Brilliant!

Almost finished my book!

Coffee: Avid Reader, Boundary St, West End (Cafe and bookshop in one. Toby's Estate Coffee. Possibly the best bean EVER!

Hatha Yoga in Brisbane

@ Yoga Physio                                         5.30pm - Experienced/Level 2 with Tam

Lovely little studio in Auchenflower off Haig Rd.
On a side note, look at the phone booth on the left!
Do they really still exist? Who uses them?

Class tonight was just lovely. I've only been to one other class here (same time and teacher) and it was entirely different from tonight! Again, that's what I love about yoga. The diversity. It's like the box of chocolates in Forrest Gump.

Studio:
The studio is tucked away underneath the main shop front, at least, I think it's a shop with all the pyhysio stuff.  It is a lovely little bricked in place, with a burgundy feature wall, soft lighting and mats lined up around the edge so we were all facing each other. Fun! It has zero noise which is excellent for being so close to the city. Oh and perhaps because I've just returned from my little country road trip, but it had that real country feel to it. You could tell that the students and teachers were all familiar with each other and just as welcoming to an outsider like me.

Teacher:
Tamara James, the teacher, is really cute and fun!  She is the founder of the studio and also a Physiotherapist which really is an added bonus in a yoga class.  She was just so welcoming and even remembered my face from last time which was great!  She began with Pranayama, which I'm not sure of the name, but it was basically inhale for 4, exhale for 4, inhale for 5, exhale for 5 etc. Then she told us to just "find our breath".  She really had an excellent way with words. Which I think was even more pronounced this evening because I'd spent the entire day doing a First Aid course, to update my certificate (just in case one of my future yoga students gets stung by a jellyfish or impaled on a fence) with a trainer who kept saying "pacifically" instead of "specifically"amongst other things. Argh! Breathe...

So yes, Tam would say things like "liberating your happy hips" and "journeying your arms".  It was such a nice change.  Her sequencing was just lovely and floaty and flowy. It was in stark contrast to the one previous class I'd taken with her which had heaps of strength work and inversions.  I love that each class is different.  I will most definitely try and make this my regular place if/when I come back to Brisbane. Providing I don't run into Gwyneth Paltrow when I'm in London and she makes me her personal yoga instructor. Six of one really.

She did a number of sequences all based on a six breath movement and once she demonstrated, we were able to just do our own thing, 6 breaths on either side. I absolutely LOVED this. It was just so nice to be in a room full of other yogis and just doing yoga! A couple of them were poses I have never done in my life and cannot remember what they were called. But, I do remember that she used ALL of the Sanskrit names and very few English versions, which was very impressive. Also, she drops the "a" at the end of the "asana".  I learnt about this at Yoga Teacher Training camp, that instead of saying, for example: Uttanasana, it could be pronounced: Uttanasan. Fun!  Her instructions were very clear and she demonstrated each sequence and then walked around to help eveyrone. There were lots of different levels in the class so it was nice to see how professionally she coped with that. Ooh, we ended with Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand) with the chair! Twice in one week! The entry to this pose was the opposite to what I learnt in Kate Pell's class (Yoga in Bowral) where we started on the ground and worked our hips/legs upwards. Instead, we put the chair with the back against the wall, then started out sitting on it, threw our legs up into a sort of Viparita Karani thing and then very ungracefully sort of wiggled or slid our way down until our neck was on the bolster below and our hands were underneath gripping the back legs.  Our legs were then straight up leaning on the back of the chair and touching the wall. Phew! Man, I wish I knew how to draw a picture using my computer. Would be way easier.  It felt amazing though and again, I am going to try and not go straight for the harder/stronger options every time I take a class, especially how my body feels today. Starting to fatigue. Must practise Ahimsa!

The general vibe of the class was lovely. With nice music in the background, mostly Kirtan, with a lovely little Bluesy number called "Move yourself" or "Move me" or "Move something..." Again, I think I am keen to make Jazz Yoga a thing! Oh and students would feel comfortable enough to ask the teacher questions and have a little joke or two here or there. Definitely my kind of place!

Extra stuff:
On another side note (in addition to the fact there is still a market for telephone booths in the year 2013) is that Yogaphysio also offers Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness. This definitely appealed to me given my, er, history.  Great that such a comprehensive range of therapies can be offered in the one place.

Sequence: No idea what this was called, but it was by far my favourite of the class. Started in Bridge, then inhaled lifting, ahem, "journeying" our hips to the sky and arms straight up and over the head, then exhale tuck knees to chest. Inhale legs out to either side, exhale, tuck chin to chest and go forward between the legs. Inhale come down, arms back, legs still apart and exhale tuck knees to chest. Inhale back to flowing Bridge and exhale back to the floor. Again, like all of the other sequences, we did it in our own time for 6 breaths.

Quote: "Let your breath be, as it is" - Tam, yogaphysio.

Coffee: TBA (Hey, it was 7.45pm! But, I know the place I want to check out tomorrow morning on my way to Yoga Class #13)

Aerial Yoga in Brisbane

@ Flight Skool AntiGravity Yoga                8.15am - Drop in class with Iain

Just a couple of glass doors and a set of stairs
that lead to a fabulous warehouse of yoga fun!

Can't...move...arms. Trying to type.  Just came to the realisation that I have zero upper body strength and about 2 and a half more months of daily yoga to go. [insert expletive here] 

Before class started, there were 2 other teachers and an assistant teacher in the room. I think this was unplanned and turned out to be an added bonus, especially for us noobs. (For my Mum and the one other fan of my blog: noobs = new people).  One of the teachers approached me with a step ladder and explained how to get my sling/hammock/cocoon at the right height, between my hip bones and groin, and then adjusted it accordingly.  It just dawned on me that I perhaps should have attended the Sunday workshop which is specifically for people who've never done it before so you can get used to the terminology and technique.  Too late now!

Iain, the main teacher, then began class by introducing the origins, principals and benefits of Aerial Yoga which I thought was excellent. He then outlined a comprehensive list of contraindications, which included all the usual suspects relating to inversions in "normal" yoga, but also included Glaucoma.  Interesting. I think my grandmother suffered from this. She used to have to put drops in her eyes every night the poor thing!  Irrelevant. 

The class began with lovely slow, fluid movements of various poses with cool names like eggbeater and other things I can’t actually remember.  At this point, it dawned on me how a beginner must feel in a "normal" yoga class with all of the English and Sanskrit names. I was just trying to concentrate on not toppling over, let alone remember the names of stuff! Note to self when I start to teach: use lamen’s terms.

We did pretty much all of the well-known poses in yoga like Paschimottanasana (Forward bend), Ashva Sanchalanasana (Horse rider's or high lunge pose) and Balasana (Child's pose), just standing or hanging versions. The trickiest part I found, was finding a drishti (focus point).  Particularly in Utthita Hasta Padanagustasana (Extended hand-to-big-toe pose) because our forward, outstretched leg was resting in the sling, it was really disorienting to find a still point to concentrate. Our only dritshi was our knee, which comes to think of it is very Bikram-like, but our peripherals were completely taken up with the pretty white silk fabric.  Pretty challenging though.  Anyway, for the asanas, we just sort of bent, stretched and twisted our bodies, using the sling for leverage and the power of gravity as a natural weight.  It’s really hard to explain, so you should really just go check it out yourself!

I have no idea what this pose is called...

I was really impressed with Iain’s teaching style. He gave clear and concise instructions accompanied by real-time demonstrations, obviously a necessity for this style of yoga. A teacher's sling/hammock/cocoon was at either end of the room (the red one you can see in the picture) so that once we were hanging upside down in...er...whatever it was called, the teacher magically morphed to the other end of the room to take us out of the pose.  I actually didn’t even make it to the end of the pose because there was too much blood rushing to my head and the sling thingy was cutting into my fat rolls.

Being a grammar nerd, I also appreciated that Iain used a  plethora of multisyllabic words such as haberdashery, discombobulated and undulation.  It made me smile.  Especially since I have been to a few yoga classes where the English is, well, butchered. Oops, cynical me comes out! Back to being Sattvic…

What also made me smile was the chill out music playing ever so quietly in the background, including the odd bit of jazz.  Considering my first ever class post-teacher training (taught to four friends in a loungeroom) was accompanied by ABC Jazz through the television, I am actually a huge fan of Jazz Yoga. Is that even a thing? Surely someone has invented it and patented it already? If not, I think I’m going to make it a thing.

Overall, a fun class, with lots of arm hanging stuff. I am going to check out the original Aerial Yoga when I head to New York…in 5 DAYS TIME, weeeeeeeeeeeeeee…and will definitely come back to this class when I return to Brisvegas. 

Sequence: It was all a bit of a blur to be honest, but by far, my favourite pose was hanging Savasana (Corpse pose). It was like we were wrapped up in a cocoon. So very relaxing!

Coffee: First Pour, Montague St, West End.  This was a regular haunt of mine when I lived around the corner. It has come along in leaps and bounds! Used to be just a warehouse selling coffee out of the big sliding doors, but is now a fully fledged coffee shop, complete with an area for dogs! Love!

Free Pour at West End also has a section for dogs
which included fake lawn, a water bowl and a pot plant!

Yin Yoga in Brisbane

@Fitness First Indooroopilly                   10.30am - Yin Yoga with Lynne

A really boring photo of the entrance to my gym.
I think it's time to start taking photos of actual yoga.

This is my regular gym and my semi-regular yoga class. As I am commitment-phobic, it has always been difficult to find one yoga class and stick to it.  Much like a job...and a man...

Anyhoo, Lynne is just sensational. I know there's always a stigma about "gym" yoga teachers, there are many blogs about this topic in fact. But, Lynne is fabulous and totally like a proper yogi with bells and everything! She teaches in other studios around the traps anyway...

She teaches on Wednesdays and Fridays at my gym, with the Friday class being a gentler Yin Yoga.  The poses were beautifully sequenced and as Lynne explained to me at the end, the concept is to receive energy by using body weight for poses such as Ardha Uttanasana (Half forward bend) a pose I've never actually down before or Ardha Chandrasaana (Half moon) , rather than taking energy in stronger poses like Virabadrasana II (Warrior 2).

After handing out eye pillows, which I thought was lovely, and having a quick chat with most people about injuries etc, she began class in Savasana, which I don't think is that common. Is it?  I'm not really sure. I vaguely remember doing it in a class a few years back.  I thought maybe it was more relevant in a gym perhaps, seeing as people (like myself) may have just done a cardio type of workout beforehand and needed to calm the body before practising this lovely restorative yoga.  I know I should have been relaxing, but since beginning this blog, I'm really not getting into these classes as much as I would like and am merely thinking of what I'm going to write about!  Pretty sure I can't take a pen and paper into class with me like at yoga teacher camp!  Thankfully, that was the one and only time my thoughts wandered during Lynne's class.  Her instructions were clear and her demonstrations were perfect. She has everyone's yoga mats in a circle facing inwards where she is simply part of the circle and then walks around to make small adjustments. It is lovely and a good way to avoid the gym mirrors!

One of the coolest variations we did, was go into Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide legged forward bend), but only halfway (so perhaps throw in an Ardha in the name somewhere?) and then we extended our arms into "down dog" type armsm releasing with each exhale. It felt so good!  Towards the end, we did a bit of core work in Navasana, a pose that I've done in pretty much every class this week, so my abs were really crying out! Little did they know that the worst was yet to come in Aerial Yoga tomorrow morning!

We ended in Savasana, just like the beginning, which somehow rounded out the class quite nicely. Something I may consider for my fictional yoga teaching career.

Sequence: 

• Ardha Uttanasana                     (Standing half forward bend) x 3
• Ashva Sanchalanasana              (High lunge)
• Parivrtta Parsvakonasana           (Revolved side angle)  x both sides          
• Prasarita Ardha Padottanasana  (Wide legged half forward bend)
• with down dog arms, lunge left to right, back to centre, clasp hands behind back, breathe.

Quote: "Your intention in yoga is the only thing that matters, not whether you can physically do the pose or not."

Coffee: Muffin Break, in the Food Court, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. The coffee here is sometimes hit and miss, but I love the owners, a lovely older couple who always have a chat. The husband always makes the coffees and after chatting to him over the past couple of years, we've bonded over our old jobs, teaching. He actually used to be a School Principal. Amazing!

Yoga in Dubbo.

@ Yoga with Kym                                         10.00am - Sivananda Yoga with Kym

The entrance to the Atma Holistic Centre,
which includes the yoga studio, looks like this!

Phew! Made it. Drove 150km in 1 hour and 23 minutes. Country drivers either drive really, really, really slowly...or about 20 kms over the speed limit :-s I drove somewhere in between, ahem, with about 3 minutes to spare after I eventually found this lovely little yoga studio, which was an old council room with lovely wooden floors and high ceilings in the old Macquarie Chambers, built in 1884. (That's ancient history in Australia).

Kym was a beautiful lady inside and out! She was instantly welcoming and friendly the minute I walked in, even thought I was all flustered with only a couple of minutes to spare.  I am a super stresshead about being late, as my friends would atest too. Being a military brat, I was trained to turn up 15 minutes early for everything. My mates actually inform me that something will start half an hour later than the ACTUAL start time because they know I'll be early and they will notoriously be late. Argh!

Again, I digress. Yes, Dubbo, being a smallish town, she knew I was new and asked all the appropriate questions.  She then told me she trained with Katy Appleton! One of my all time favourite yoga teachers EVER! I got so excited all of a sudden, saying that I've been doing the Geri Yoga DVDs for like half my life! It makes it sound kinda lame when you reference a Spice Girl in relation to the majority of your yoga experience.

Gorgeous mismatched patchwork cushions.

The class was beautiful. Very flowy and stretchy. I've never done Sivananda yoga before so it was really fun to experience yet another style of yoga! Kym was excellent at creating visuals for each pose, using everyday items or actions as a reference point.  My all-time favourite to date involves pink high heels. When coming into Ardho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog) from high lunge, she says: "step into your pink high heels!" PINK HIGH HEELS! Brilliant!  Another really good phrase she used was when placing both hands on the ground in Bidalasana (Cat/Cow) oh, in which she did that awesome free-flowing snakey thing with the spine, and Balasana (Child's pose) was to: "stand your hands into the ground". It really did work in making the hands grip the floor, white knuckle style. Finally, when coming into Supta Padanagustasana (Reclining big toe pose), she told the class that we were doing the can can. FUN!

She mostly did verbal corrections, rather than physical adjustments. This was in stark contrast to what I'd experienced a couple of hours ago in my Orange class with the whole "boobs in squashing into the back" situation. I was quietly relieved. Moving on.

I was quite disappointed that the class only lasted an hour, but knew I had a looooong drive home. Nine and a half hours to be exact! On my way out, I told Kym about this blog and she thought it was a great idea! Thanks Kym! She also said to just find myself, my own style, my own way and be true to myself. When I start to teach, the right people will gravitate towards me. Naw. She was so nice! She also told me that Katy Appleton recently had a baby so I probably wouldn't be able to see her when I visit London...damn it!

Sequence: In the middle of Sun salutations, she threw in an Extended side angle, then rotated it, offered bound arms as an option, then cartwheeled the arms over into plank, then back into the pink high heels, Down dog. It was really effective in testing your balance and elevating the heart rate that little bit more.

Quote: "Think less. Move more. Look within." AND: "Are you a worrier, or a warrior?"

Coffee: Mr Bean's Coffee Emporium, Macquarie St. This was just the first coffee shop I saw across the road, plus it had Piazza D'oro beans, so it was already a winner.

The main street below. 

Yoga in Orange

@ Ishvara Yoga                                  7.00am - Hatha/Vinyasa with Martina

POWER POINT PRESENTATION IN MY YOGA CLASS THIS MORNING!!! 

I have never seen anything like it in my life! It was so cute and informative and random!

Recharge here? With Virgin Mobile AND yoga!

The best thing about Yoga is that every single class really is different!   No matter what yoga studio you go to, whether it's the same one at the same time every week or at a different place at a different time every single day, which is what I am embarking on for the next few months. Yoga will always be different. Thus always challenging and bringing you into the moment.

It's weird how so many people gravitate towards familiarity.  Your comfort zone is a place of safety.  I guess that's why Maccas (McDonalds for you non-Australians), Starbucks and the like are so popular. It's a one stop shop. People know what to expect. They stay in their comfort zone.  I've been guilty of such a thing. When I travelled to Paris many years back, I went to Maccas twice in one day. Admittedly, it was mainly because it was the only place I could find clean toilets, but also, beacsue I was hungry, couldn't speak French and knew what I was going to get...enough about McDonalds, let's talk yoga...


THERE WAS A POWER POINT PRESENTATION IN MY YOGA CLASS!!!

The teacher, Martina, was very young and thus, was all over technology. I am a technopobe (hence the simplicity of my blog) so was of course impressed. She had her iPad on her mat, connected to her iPod, connected to the speakers, connected to the hip bone etc etc.  When class began, she sat in front of her iPad and turned it around to show us. It had a picture of the chakras (similar to this one) and proceeded to explain that we were going to concentrate on the Crown Chakra today.  The previous lessons had focussed on all the other chakras in the lead up to this one, so good timing on my part I guess! She then continued with her explanation of the Chakras and their significance, by flicking through the notes on her iPad. It was actually very informative. Well done Professor Martina!

After this, she explained a bit about oil and the fact she was a Reflexologist, and then she put oil on the top of our heads. Again, a first for me. It smelt nice and also made my hair oily. Oh and then we did a quick Meditation with our hands in a Mudra that I can't for the life of me find the name of, no matter how many times I've Googled it!  Basically, we had to interlace all of our fingers into a fist, but leave the two ring fingers pointing upwards. Are you trying it right now? It's actually really difficult!  Overall, the first 15 minutes of class was very educational and comprehensive.

Lisa and Chika, demonstrating partner adjustment perfectly!

Right, on to the exercisey bit.  Isn't that why we do yoga anyway? Kidding! Our first pose was Vrksasana (Tree pose). Yikes! Straight into it. Evidently, seeing as it was first thing on a bitterly cold morning, I had zero balance whatsoever.  Onwards and upwards. We did a lovely Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun) to warm our bodies up, then on to a quick succession of poses.  Martina was very hands on with her adjustments which was, er, confronting.  My issue completely. I have a weird aversion to touching people, or being touched.  I absolutely need to overcome this if I intend to teach yoga myself one day. Anyway, she was excellent in her adjustments and it was interesting to experience a different teaching style, especially since the last couple of teachers had been all about verbal rather than physical corrections. The only thing that FREAKED ME OUT, was something we learnt in partner yoga at YTT boot camp. When you are in either Baddha Konasana (Bound angle pose), Upavistha Konasana (Seated wide-angled leg pose) or Janu Sirsasana (Head to knee forward bend), you can have someone kneel behind you, rotate your thighs outwards and then press down on your back with the front of their torso. Like this picture! These are my beautiful friends Lisa and Chika. I am definitely going to visit them when I make it to Japan! Anyways, she did this without warning and all I could think of was: YOUR BOOBS ARE TOUCHING MY BACK! ARGH! Eventually, I overcame this and ended up being stretched even deeper into the pose which was excellent. Nice work boob lady. The class finished with Salamba Sirsasana (Headstand).

We then did some Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (two nostril breathing) and were then taken into Savasana. Oh yeah, Martina also came around and did some tricky reflexology on our toes and head which was cool. Again, well on the way to overcoming my fear of being touched :-s

It was certainly a traditional Hatha class, covering Meditation, Pranyama and Asanas. It was fairly action-packed for a one hour 7.00am lesson though. I enjoyed it all the same.  The room itself was a lovely little carpeted studio that was decked out for Mums and Bubs yoga, with a little creche type of thing filled with toys in one corner. If I ever decide to have children and move to Orange, I will definitely go there.

Sequence:

• Ardha Purvottanasana                      (Half upward plank pose or table top)
• Ustrasana                                             (Camel)
• Balasana                                               (Child's pose)
• Uttanasana                                          (Standing forward bend)
• Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana     (Standing split)    
• Ardha Matsyendrasana                     (Half Lord of the Fish pose) 

Quote: "Move with purpose, do everything with purpose."

Coffee: The dotted eight, cafe and studio, McNamara Street. Tucked away in a gorgeous little lanewayand serving Campos coffee! One of my favourite beans!

Yoga in Bowral

@Bowral Yoga Studio                    10.00 – General Yoga with Kate     

Did yoga in Bowral with the legendary Kate Pell (who used to work at The Yoga Den, West End, my old hood and occasional haunt. What a small world?! Especially now that she's teaching about 1000km away and I happen to go to her class!)

Her studio is on an intersection in the centre of Bowral, on Level 1 away from the hustle and bustle of the street below.   Instantly, there is a lovely atmosphere once you reomver your shoes and step inside. It  It has a neat little reception, lovely soft lighting and big airy windows surrounding the whole corner of the studio. Carpet too! I love carpet.  I've had many a discussion with other yogis about carpet vs wooden flooring. Wow, us yogis really do live life on the edge. But, especially as today, being minus 3 degrees Celsius and all, carpet was a luxury.  Oh and the coolest thing when I walked in was that Neil Diamond was playing over the speakers! Legend!  I am such a fan of all types of music, so it was refreshing to hear something different and unexpected.  Of course, she changed it to “normal” yoga type music once class began.  I did also like that she had speakers set up around the room, instead of just a little music player.  It really made the experience that much more enveloping.  Oh and at the end for Savasana, she played this amazing Kirtan version of Om Shanti which I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t get the artist’s name.  It was truly mesmerising.  I’ll get it next time.

Oh Autumn. What beauty!

Anyway, Kate is clearly a pro. She jumped straight into class with confidence and vigour.  I think a yoga teacher who instils confidence straight away gives you piece of mind that you are going to have a safe practise. I actually don’t remember many of the sequences, because she was so particular in all of her instructions that I was just caught up in everything.  Her instructions and verbal corrections were so precise that I just couldn't imagine actually ever becoming a teacher as good as her.  Perhaps I need to look elsewhere for job #57?  I also wanted to do really well for her, so was just concentrating on trying to do everything perfectly.  Again, a trait common in yoga students and soooooo Rajasic! I am so rajas right now.

What I can remember is that she scaffolded everything brilliantly.  She began with the easier or option 1 versions and ensured that every student did these. I have definitely gotten into the habit of just waiting for the stronger options, so it was nice to get back to the simple, yet somehow more effective versions.  She then increased the strength so that we built up to each pose. She said the aim of today’s class was leading up to Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand), so it was quite clear that every single movement, pose and transition was leading up to this quite advanced inversion.  Genius.

Bowral is well-known for the Tulip Festival in September.

Oh, one last thing.  I really liked that Kate used pretty much all the Sanskrit names for things, rather than the English names.  She even shortened Virabadrasana II (Warrior 2) to Vira II.  I assume she has structured her Beginner classes around these original names because everyone easily went into the poses, without that whole looking around to see what everyone else is doing thing.  I actually still do that in classes after all these years! I have zero confidence in my ability.

Sequence:

• Paschimottanasana          Seated forward bend 
• Purvottanasana                 Upward plank pose
• Salamba Sarvangasana    Shoulder stand (with chair) 

We did all of these poses 3 times, building up to a stronger, deeper pose each time.  In Seated Paschimottanasana,we partnered up and our partners pulled our hands/arm towards them to really stretch out our backs. Great!  In Purvottanasana, we did it on blocks for the first couple of times, then on the floor for the final time. In between these poses, we concentrated on our wrists, doing flexion and extension  exercise in between.  Kate used wonderful analogies like pretend you're squeezing out a damp cloth (great visualising!) and spiderman hands, taking the fingers and thumb at the knuckles and bend them to the back of the wrist. Finally, we then had to start with all finger tips touching and flick them out as hard as we could. Such a neglected part of our body these smaller muscle groups so I really felt it the next day! Finally, we made our way up to the grand finale, Salamba Sarvangasana, using a chair. The first time EVER, I've used a chair as a prop. It was brilliant. 

(NOTE: Am trying to figure out a better way to set out my sequences for ease of reading and appeal for both new teachers and students. Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Are bullet points too "assignmenty"?! This message is for my fans. All two of you.)

Quote:

 “Your inhale breath is unique, your exhale breath is unique, this moment is unique. No other moment in your life will ever be exactly the same as this moment. Stay in the moment.” - Kate Pell, Bowral Yoga Studio.

Amazing porridge and skinny latte in a bowl!

Coffee: Elephant Boy Cafe, Bong Bong St, Bowral which is one of my all time favourite places, mainly because they have, wait for it, LATTE IN A BOWL! Weeeeeeeee! (Oh and also, amazing porridge which they served to me even after I missed the breakfast menu)