Welcome to Eileen's Insights 01

Saturday 24th July @ 12.30pm is a full moon. One day each year to express gratitude to all of our teachers.

Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru devo Maheshwara Guru sakshat param Brahma tasmai Shri guravay namah

Guru Brahma: The Force of creation Guru Vishnu: The Force of preservation Devo Maheshwara:The Force of transformation, destruction Guru Sakshat: there is a Guru nearby Param Brahma: and a guru that is beyond the beyond Tasmi: I make my offering Shri: to the beautiful Guru: remover of my darkness & ignorance Namah: It is to you I bow

Make sure you have the good sense to be humble enough and not miss the opportunity in recognising the guru when it appears

Where have I been during the past four weeks?

Where have you been since YogaMoves last class on Thursday 24th June? We closed in accordance to government regulations. Everyone is feeling the effects of this current lockdown, with no end in sight. When we are finally able to reopen, I’m sure it will be slow paced and with restrictions.

I, like so many of you, have been disrupted. My early morning ritual of waking at 2.30am, five days a week has now egged its way to 4.30am. My pervious schedule of six hours of teaching and administration has been reduced to zero while time for my personal practice has been greatly extended with more time for sitting, practicing pranayama, and finally, that pile of books next to the bed are being read. Three books down, ten yet to read.

Yet still there is a void...

It’s teaching. I just love teaching a practice that I’ve been involved with for the past 43 years. I have also come to appreciate the caring community that has been created over those years.

In the last lockdown 12 months ago, I appeared on ZOOM on Fridays and it was a fun opportunity to bring the YogaMoves community together. For 1 hour I talked, demonstrated, stretched, folded and basically practiced with you. But it just didn’t feel right.

For me, developing a practice in yoga is a personal development of body and mind over a long uninterrupted period of time. This requires a relationship between teacher and student that is built on trust. The role of a teacher is to encourage the student to become independent, responsible and an honest observer.

Teachers appear in many forms. Our own birth; the creation principle, holds within it the potential for enlightenment, along with all its circumstances surrounding our birth. The situation we are in right now at this time, “embodying the guru principal” is an opportunity to provide us with a way for our own enlightenment to unfold.

I acknowledge how YogaMoves has become a Centre of learning and gathering for so many of you. And this has been taken away for a while. So a project is what I’ve needed. I’ve also appreciated that without this current lockdown this current project wouldn’t have come about.

So here’s my plan.

Each Sunday I’ll post up on the YM website stories; insights; ponderings of my week past. A chance for me to thread thoughts and feelings into a dialogue that encourages you to reflect on a practice much more than in a physical form; a yoga practice for daily life.

I doubt you’ll get to see any pics of me in the latest leggings balancing on one arm. But I hope these insights will create an opportunity to share something solid, open and honest about living an authentic life, making connections with people and bringing the practice of yoga into our every day.

Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

Please stay well. Stay safe.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti