The Yoga Mama team had a wonderful (busy) time at the Om Yoga show here in London. The show also featured the Mind, Body exhibition where there was plenty of weird and wonderful things happening, including spiritual hair cutting. We met so many lovely people and I was really happy to have some of my yoga pals drop by and say hello... A big thank you to everyone who made it possible. Here are some photos of the event. For more details on Pregnancy yoga teacher training in London go to www.yogamama.co.uk The one quiet moment       Some of the Yoga Mama team                          Some of the Yoga Mama team  The Yoga Mama stand Kevin joins the team :-) Marygrace  Mel from Yogaclicks brings us a smile                   Scott from Stillpoint yoga London selling t-shirts... not :-))        It's a family affair... the husband                                          Cupcakes  Olympia, such a beautiful buildi

A beautifully filmed piece with a remarkable woman...... Big thank you to both  Alessandro Sigismondi  for filming and Tanya Gordon Golad for sharing her story.   

Quiet London is a beautiful book full of quiet spots in London-written and photographed by the wonderful artist Siobhan Wall . As a Londoner I love the vibrancy and mix of London-I also love quiet spaces too, and this book offers many "secret spots" I didn't know about. Siobhan is currently writing another Quiet London book and the Yoga Mama studio in Putney has the privilege of being listed in it. I would highly recommend this to both Londoners and visitors to the capital- who need a little "time out" from the hustle and bustle of the city- and those that enjoy beautiful original photographs of places in London, that you wont find in a guide book. Available from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quiet-London-Siobhan-Wall/dp/0711231907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381671173&sr=8-1&keywords=quiet+London

A snap from inside my fridge this week. The mix of wine, beer and Vita Coca sort of sums up my family really. The ones that drink wine and beer don't go in for the coco water, and the coco water drinker doesn't go in for wine or beer. In summary, none of us need worry about the other nicking all the drinks. :-)

Svadhyaya : means self- study. A teacher can only guide a yoga student. A student must then go and study- expanding the knowledge they have learnt from their teacher, until they have some deeper personal understanding of the subject, being shown to them. Swadhayadisthaddevatasamprayogah YS 2.44 While practicing self study we totally submerse ourselves in the deity that we have chosen. See Sharath Jois- Astanga yoga Anusthana for his interpretation on this. 

Interesting to see Sharath count into the pose, but not in the pose its self-same as Manju Jois did in a resent led class I attended. This is exactly how I was taught this sequence by my teacher Nancy Gilgoff-I notice some teachers ( and students) go into a really deep Utkatasana. Lovely to see the shala in Mysore, sweated it out in that spot a few times myself :-)

How does this pregnancy yoga class differ from a general prenatal yoga class?  Diane King our specialist teacher explains. Yoga for birth preparation classes Diane’s  Yoga for birth preparation classes are tailored for the final stages of pregnancy (From 32 weeks), where what we need most is to quieten the mind, let go of time pressures and constant doing and be in a consciously relaxed state, where we can connect with ourselves, our babies and our inner birthing wisdom. The course runs over four weeks and each week a different topic is discussed at the start of class: Week 1: The natural physiology of birth – What to expect at different stages of the labour process Week 2: Managing fear – Trusting your body and nurturing a sense of empowerment Week 3: Creating a positive intention and guided relaxation – Letting go of the intellect and connecting with intuition and instincts Week 4: Using breath as your anchor in labour – Detailed breath techniques for the differe

I feel really lucky to have practised yoga with the two people I would call the most influential teachers in my yoga practice, Nancy Gilgoff and Sharath Jois, here in London this summer (see previous blog items). Nancy has of course known the Jois family for many, many years and recommended practising ashtanga yoga with Manju, if I got the opportunity. StillPoint yoga London hosted him here in London and I managed to get along to one led ashtanga yoga class. It was a wonderful experience and I can only describe it as a "soft and joyful" practice. It is always interesting to see how the same yoga asanas (more or less), are taught differently by different teachers. Manju counted us into the pose but not once we were in it. I glanced at him in in what seemed to be a very long Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana and saw that he was counting to himself throughout. This really made me smile. The long pranayama and chanting were the best and was indeed the pranayama practice Nancy

Well this is a rare treat indeed-Sharath teaching a short pranayama on youtube and wearing his Brahmin thread. This is the pranayama that he shared here in London on his recent trip.This is the first time I have ever seen a video of him teaching like this.

Interesting title from Richard Freeman (mind you, he is always interesting). Before you jump to conclusions watch the video Yoga ruins your life...  as you once knew it.