NEWSLETTER – MAY 2023
Dear Friends,
I am walking along the wide verge of a country lane. It’s a lovely sunny day – so welcome after the winter here when the temp dropped to -9°. The sun is bright, and the flowers are sparkling, still wet from the showers. I am not satisfied by just looking and absorbing the beauty – I am searching in mind for their names. Every time the name or label popped into my mind, information about that plant and its history came too. I listened to this in my head and stopped observing. My attention had gone into the past.
I was only seeing the past: the Vasana, the story, the history.
Bringing your attention back into the present through the discipline of yoga.
What better tool than your body - your body is your best ally in this.
Vasanas cloud our vision. They are all our habits or patterns and prejudices.
But how can we be free of them?
By seeing them.
The answer is always the same.
Are all labelled things Vasanas?
When looking at a new scene; say David Attenborough takes you to an underwater scene or jungle and you don’t have a label for what you see, you are looking at the unknown. When you wake up in a different bed and for a moment don’t know where you are. In these situations you see without preconceived ideas as if looking for the first time.
Then perhaps we see clearly.
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” - Corinthians 13:12
Can we remove the blocks that prevent us from seeing that one is already realised?
By coming into the present.
We might want to scuttle into the past, but in truth there is nowhere to go. There is nowhere else, only here and now.
Some of the Vasanas you have accepted and learnt are necessary, such as talking, walking, using a knife and fork. Others are limiting and restrict you.
They are not who you are - your identity.
You can break the pattern and be free.
When I came under the discipline/influence of Iyengar and the Shankaracharya, my family remarked I had completely changed character! I began to see I had adopted many unnecessary habits and seeing them enabled me to drop them.
I felt freer, more able to see things as they are without my preconceived ideas and conceptions.
Come and join us on Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th September 2023 at our Weekend in - Yoga at Hawkwood, Painswick, Old Road, Stroud, GL6 7QW.
Whatever your ability, you will be most welcome at this weekend yoga retreat. Hawkwood is set in 42 acres of beautiful gardens, woods, and fields in an Area of Natural Beauty. There are panoramic views over the Stroud Valley.
Renowned for its delicious organic cuisine, it also has its own spring water.
It truly is a magical weekend.
Day and evening guests are also welcome, but priority is given to weekenders.
To book you will need to contact Hawkwood directly - call 01453 759034, email info@hawkwoodcollege.co.uk or book online at https://www.hawkwoodcollege.co.uk/event/ruth-white-yoga-retreat-23/
Please be vigilant in your daily practice. It’s best to practice asana in a shaded place as practicing in the hot sun can bring too much blood to the head, especially inverted postures.
Your practice is different in the hot weather.
I suggest you include Halasana - posture of tranquility and viloma – step breathing - down from the top, and pranayama and meditation.
Love to you,
Ruth
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