Autumn has been a busy and inspiring time for me.  Early May found me in Bali at a week long yoga retreat with my teacher John Friend.  My understanding of the first principle of Anusara (to be receptive, sensitive, and open) deepened and I feel more fully able to sense, assimilate and respond to the flow of the energy of life.  Soon after my return I went to offer Wellington NZ’s first Anusara Yoga Workshop. I shared the teaching role with Katie Lane from Christchurch and was reminded how community and sharing invite us to a fuller living of our potential as our open and enthusiastic students, many of whom were teachers, played their edges and explored the art and science of Anusara.

Last term in weekly classes we explored the concept of energy loops in the body and how this model assists us in finding alignment and balanced action in our yoga (and life!). 

This coming winter term the first 8 weeks will be an exploration of energetic anatomy as offered by the yoga tradition.  We will also utilise restorative postures at the end of sessions to direct energy to the systems that are so key in vibrant wellness in the winter season.
With gratitude for this practice, my teacher, our community, and the gift of every breath.  Namaste

Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower ..... Shigenori Kameoka

In April I spent a weekend on retreat under the guidance of Carlos Pomeda, a world renouned yoga philosopher with incredible wisdom and skills in sharing it developed over 30 years of practice and study.  We studied the Pratyabhijna hrdayam, the ‘sutra of the heart’.  The contemplation of the text will be an ongoing process for me and I am in awe of the expansion possible for each of us in the process of yoga.

Sadly my mother-in-law is terminally ill in the US.  We will be going to visit her in October.  This means classes will be taught be another teacher from October 12 to November 5.  I am very grateful to Jackie who will teach Monday mornings and Thursday evenings, Lee who will teach Wednesday mornings, and Dani who will teach Monday evenings, for their willingness to stand in for me.  Whilst I am in the US I will also be attending an advanced therapeutics training with my teacher John Friend.  I look forward to deepening my understanding of the mastery and magic of Anusara Yoga and to returning to offer classes with the heartfelt intent that it serves to help you experience your limitless potential and savour the gift of your life.

The growing light and warmth of spring invite a quickening.  Our yoga practice can be likened to tending a garden.  We care for the soil, remove what we don’t want to cultivate, nourish the soil using for compost that which no longer serves us, along with the adversity and challenges that life brings, we water the soil by soaking it with our conscious breath.  We go deeply into the soil of ourselves where seeds lie.  I have been reflecting on seeds ..... in my garden there are those that I choose to plant and those that magically appear when I provide the right conditions for them to germinate.  Within us there are seeds we may not know are there, that can lie dormant for a lifetime, though ready to germinate given the opportunity.  Like the 1300 year old Lotus seed found in the dried earth which grew and bloomed when given the moisture it required.  May your practice help you tend the soil and your breath be the water so that you discover and grow the seeds that await within you. 
Namaste, Clare