Winter Solstice Celebration Smithfield/ Christmas Get together Elbow Room

How to give yourself a Foot Massage



photograph © brian d brady



    There are days when I don’t do a vigorous asana practice. I might have a full teaching schedule, might be menstruating, I might feel kind of sore, or just might not able to convince myself to strong work that day (we might just call that one a lazy day, probably?)

   Still, on these days I like to get onto the mat and connect and feel that I am doing something for myself. These are the perfect days for a foot massage.

Done in the morning, vigorously rubbing the soles of the feet, thus stimulating all the nerves,  a bit like in Reflexology, it can be  refreshing and awakening.

   If done at night, with gentle, slow strokes and calming fragrant oil, it can be very soothing and relaxing, just before bedtime is a great time to do that.

   I feel that massaging my own feet is a generous gesture of acceptance, nurturing and self-care, I feel that it is much needed, especially on these low-days.

   I would make sure that the room is warm enough, sit down on my mat and start at my right big toe. Of course this can be done sitting on a chair, a couch or anywhere else.

   I like to begin with the big toe and working towards the little toe, taking each toe individually, rolling the toe between thumb and forefinger, gently squeezing the end of each toe, wriggling, bending back and forth, circling, any movement that I can think of and that feels good.

   I am then working up each single toe, top and sole of the foot, Kneading the sole by holding the foot with one hand and making a fist with the other, using quite some pressure into the sole and the instep. I continue stroking on the top of the foot along the lines/ridges of tendons that run along the foot from toes to mid-foot.

Holding the foot with one hand, using the other hand to rotate the limp, passive foot, first at the ankle, and then near the ball of the foot, gently. I repeat a few times in each direction. Then I do the other foot.

   Is this really part of my yoga practice? Yes, to me yoga is more than downward facing dog. Anything that is done with great care, in an attempt to heal body, mind and spirit, aiming to connect to god, to the world around me and to my true deep self, I call that yoga.

Namaste 

Yoga and Photography Workshop/Retreat Spain

An internal and external log of a more or less typical morning meditation session, slightly shortened and censored

An internal and external log of a more or less typical morning meditation session, slightly shortened and censored

She swishes around in the house, makes tea, goes into the garden to check on the tomatoes and the chard and the weather, she comes back into the house. Once I’ve finished this cup of tea it’s time to sit for my 20 minute meditation. This is going to be good today, I feel it! - There is no good or bad meditation, Andrea, it’s just doing it or not doing it.  - Ah, ja, I know that, brain, thanks! She drinks her tea, washes a few dishes and plays with the cat. She takes a quick look to see if emails have come in during the last seven minutes or so.  Now then, let’s go. She sits down on her spot, realizes that she has already a pair of jeans on, too uncomfortable, gets up and changes into a pair of tracksuit bottoms. She sits down again and closes her eyes................................................. I wonder if I will get the course in the college, they still haven’t answered. Shall I email them again? Would that seem pushy? - Not now, Andrea, we deal with that later. Now gently get back, let go.

She shuffles her butt, to get into a more comfortable position. I wonder if I have lost a bit of weight during the last few days, that would be so cool! I can go and get new pair of jeans. Maybe a black one? -  Maybe. Anyway, we are going to deal with that later, ok? Now, just get into the now. She takes a few deep long breaths, settles down. Ah, the presence, the awareness, the quietness...ommmmmmmmmmmmmm................................... I want to go to Aldi and get a few of these delicious toffee desserts that I had last week.  – Yes  Andrea, that would be great, later.

She breathes, feels her sitting bones, her legs and feet connected to the floor, it is getting quiet inside........... Beautiful, even breath.................................... ............I have a weird feeling in the tummy today, I wonder if I... - ssshhhh! She sits, she breathes, and nothing else. Time passes in quietness, witnessed by a quiet, relaxed mind................................ Oh man, I am getting really good at this! Finally! - Ssshhh, no you are not! Shut up already! –I am not supposed to talk to I in that tone! What kind of yogini am I anyway??  Shouldn’t all this go much better? Why is this taking so long? – Can you pretty please kindly shut up now, brain, mind, memory? Breath........ silence..................... tranquillity..................... emptiness................ Outside, a house alarm goes off. I am not affected by this, I am just letting it go past me. The gentle flow of the breath, the gentle flow of ...................time....................................................................................................................................

Yes, I wonder how much time actually has passed? -  shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........................................................................................................................................................................................... In autunm the house alarms go off all the time because of the wind......And the kids have started with their horrible fireworks. So annoying! – Yes, that is right but just let go for now, there..................................................... ..............The ringtone goes on, to announce the end of the meditation practice. Oh, already! I feel like I could sit here forever. Isn’t that odd? She slowly opens her eyes, switches off the bell, gets up and is very mellow indeed. At least, for the next hour or so.



Hahahaha

Retreat Location: The Gift of Peace

Chuck Miller Workshop

   This weekend, I went to a workshop with Chuck Miller in the Liffey Trust Dance Studios, it focused  on Sama Vinyasa: Breath, Roots, Core – Ashtanga Yoga.  I was only able to attend 2 sessions: Standing Poses on Friday evening and inversions on Saturday, so I lapped up every single minute.

The overall theme of the workshop was Sama, the Sanskrit word that depicts the meaning cluster of same, like, level, unaltered, even or straight. In other contexts it’s been translated as calmness, tranquility, control of the mind, as in SAMAdhi, and so we spend a good long time in SAMAstithi, standing posture, standing firmly without moving, trying to find the evenness, the centeredness in this basic pose.

Chuck talked to us about the practice not leading to some kind of success, by achieving more and more complicated, challenging posed (a basic truth, that nevertheless I need to be reminded over and over and over again), but to become more even, more levelled and unaltered in the simplest of forms, poses, actions. He taught that the practice is not like running forwards into new forms, but rather bringing us back to the form and function that we are meant to be, before we accumulated all the bad habits of wrong posture, misuse of the body, before injuries and sickness have occurred to every one of us, to greater or lesser extent.

Yes. And I notice that the more I practice Yoga, the clearer I can feel that there are all these imbalances in me, the twists and unevenness, the inefficiency that I have slipped into, over my living years. So, this weekend we were practicing to come back to a more Sama state, staying in postures for long, quite long, waiting for our bodies to reveal more of the un-sama-ness in us, and then to try and gently correct.

Having practiced yoga with my ego leading forward for many good years, overworking my body in the futile attempt to prove that I-am- just-as-good-as-anybody-else, or to please my teachers (I can smile about that now when I catch myself doing it again), I accumulated a few little but persistent injuries throughout my body, hello sacroiliac joint, hello right knee and right deltoid muscle! Reliant indicators for me of where to go and what to avoid in my practice.

Chuck summed it up in a very comprehensible, useful way, as we were all standing in Trikonasana for a good while: Distribute the work/stress evenly throughout the body, making a significant effort to share the stress throughout the spine (as opposed to damage one bit of the body by relying heavily on it, usually a rather strong or rather numb part within us)

So, this gave me a few beautiful new (but old) impulses for my practice, and also I was delighted to meet again some comrades from the teacher trainings in the Elbowroom and trainings with Dave Curtis’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga.

New Yoga and Photography Workshops for Next Year

Yoga Surfaces

 Recently I was on a camping holiday in Spain. Early each morning I went down to the beach to do my yoga practice. (I know! I am writing this with a big grin on my face, so great it was!)

 I am generally not a big fan to outdoor yoga, due to the many distractions, weather moods and occasional spectators, this was different. I went early enough to be alone, or pretty much alone on the beach, apart from the birds and one or two dog walkers. The sun was still gentle and I tried to align my breath and the Vinyasa of my practice to the the Vinyasa of the sea. But the best thing of all was the grainy sand or small pebbled surface I was on. On top of the ground I had my ashtanga mat, one of the porous, thin, floppy ones, and I felt I never practiced better than on these various beaches. With the help of rocks and little piles of sand I was creating little bolsters and lifts, just as I needed them at the moment. I got sidetracked by the beauty and diversity of these million little pieces of silicia minerals, but since I was on holidays, I didn’t have any time restrictions. 

While I was practicing my standing postures, I was amazed how giving and flexible the ground below me was, adapting to my weight, but at the same time gently holding and supporting my feet. I felt very much connected and supported by the ground, much more so  than in a studio or at home.  Could that be an idea of how to equip a yoga studio? Beach Yoga Studio Dublin, how does that sound? We might have a little problem with hygiene though, but so does the damp carpet in a Bikram studio, or rental mats, for that matter.

A nice, wooden floor with underfloor heating has advantages of course, especially here in breezy Dublin.

Some swear by sprung flooring, like in a dance studio, to have a bit of give and shock adsorbing during practice, especially, I might imagine, those yogis that don’t have the well sufficient  amount of natural body-padding, that I am carrying around, ha! Some like to have two mats, piled on top of each other, especially in colder rooms.

I also have this insanely expensive, ecological sound mat, with a fancy pattern and different colour on each side, it feels very nice, is extremely slip resistant, and my cat loves it too, I often see him burying his claws or teeth into the mat, with obvious pleasure, but there is one big disadvantage: the mat is elastic! Whenever I stand in a wide legged posture or in downward dog, slowly my extremities drift apart, not a good thing, so don’t use it that often!

Still, my favourite is my worn old, purple, totally unglamorous ashtanga mat.  On a sunny beach.  In Spain. What is yours?

Andrea's Silent Retreat

Silence

    For a long time now I have had the wish to go on a silent retreat, to find out what happens to me behind the distraction of talk, mindless and meaningful, essential and unnecessary. I booked myself in for a few days to the Glendalough Hermitage Centre and took a vow of silence for four days and nights. When I arrived at the centre, I was greeted with a very warm, friendly welcome by the sisters and staff in the centre, it was all gentle, calm, unintrusive. While the centre is a place of silence and rest, there was some talk among the other pilgrims, twice daily prayers and meditations were offered, just no mindless chat. I loved it. I loved it and it was easy for me to be silent, apart from a few times, when I started to mutter something to myself, like: where did I put the keys? Or: ah, that’s a nice cup of tea!, these kind of things. But I caught myself each time and didn’t feel the need for a chat. One day a dog showed up on the premises and I forgot and I started talking a bit to the dog until I remembered. Does that count? Anyway, I stopped talking to the dog quickly as well. I felt calm and content, I prayed, meditated and walked a lot during my stay and enjoyed every minute of it.

   There is this reccurring dream for me, a nightmare rather. I am followed by a dark shadow through my dream, running, fleeing. When the shadow nearly reaches me, I open my mouth to scream, but, that is the worst part: I am mute, no sound comes out of me and I am paralyzed with terror and then I wake up. I do believe that this dream is about something that happened to me when I was a child, when I didn’t have the power to speak or to protect myself. I also had this dream while I was in Glendalough, a few days into my silent time, and that time I woke up screaming my head off! This was a scream of liberation and it felt really good and I felt that something had come together within me. It was about 3 am when it happened and I hope I didn’t scare anyone of the neighbours too much. I got up, closed the windows of my hermitage and went back to bed, snuggled up, safe and relieved. The next day I thought a lot about the freedom to speak and the freedom, or choice to be silent. Both is valuable, both I find is necessary to learn.

   

   I also learned once again, even with the friendly welcome I got at the centre, that Christianity is still freaking me out. I love God, I am in search of spirituality every day of my life, but all the talk of our Father here and our Lord there is something so alien to me. But that’s of course just me, I happen to like my God/ess/e/s a bit more abstract.

 I would love to take a silent retreat again, maybe a bit longer next time. I also feel that it is a great luxury to go into retreat and I got a lot of peace out of it. It occurred to me that, unfortunately, when I was in great pain and my live was in turmoil, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind to do something like it, use the opportunity to step back, breath and be silent and just wait what comes up in stillness, and I know of friends and fellows that it’s the same for them, the peace doesn’t come when it’s most needed.

The Glendalough Hermitage Centre is open for visitors and guests, their website is
Glen da lough hermitage Center

Breathing

When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is still, so is the mind still." - Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Breathing is the process that moves air in and out of the lungs. Breathing is life. It is one of our most vital functions. Without food, we would die in a few weeks, without water, in a few days, but without air, we would die within a few minutes. Also, breathing is one of the few bodily functions which, within limits, can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. Pranayama is the science of yogic breathing exercise which promotes proper breathing. In a Yogic point of view, breathing is not only to bring more oxygen to the blood and to the brain, but to increase and control Prana or the vital life energy. Prana, or life force is a concept of the Hindu religious tradition, but a spiritual meaning to breath can be found frequently in other religious context too: Throughout the books of the Bible, the Spirit is experienced as the Breath of God, revealing God to the world and giving life, not only to humans, but also to the whole of creation. The very first verse of the Bible speaks of the Spirit as a mighty wind which moves over the face of the deep, drawing aside the veils of darkness to allow the beautiful earth to emerge (Gen 1:1).In the second chapter of Genesis, God breathes the breath of life into humans and animals. Elsewhere in the Bible, when God takes back the breath, life disappears: 'When you take away their breath they die and return to the dust' (Ps. 104:29).

The cultivation of breath, as we do in Yoga, has many health benefits too,

 It helps sufferers of respiratory illnesses such as asthma and emphysema to overcome the fear of shortness of breath.

 It actually increases lung capacity.

 Dramatically reduces emotional and nervous anxiety

 Improves detoxification through increased exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen

 Amplifies the auto immune system by increased distribution of energy to the endocrine system

 Calms the mind and integrates the mental / physical balance.

So let’s try to picture the breath as a continuous wave like pattern, The wave that connects us to life. It may take a few weeks of practice to perfect a smooth flowing pattern with minimum effort and with maximum capacity.”

Probably one of the easiest breathing exercises goes like this:

Lie down on your back in a comfortable, quiet spot, maybe the floor, maybe the bed... eyes closed. Put one hand onto your tummy, and let your breath flow, deep, full, but without force. Enjoy, relish, every refreshing, invigorating inhale, every relaxing, calming exhale. Feel how the air moves through the body, feel the gentle lifting and sinking in your hand. Notice, how easy it is to relax like this? Repeat as often as possible or necessary.

To finish, I would like to share my favourite poem of Kabir, thirteenth century mystic poet and saint of India:

 Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.

 My shoulder is against yours.
 you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine
 rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
 not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
 around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but
 vegetables.

 When you really look for me, you will see me
 instantly --

 you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
 Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
 He is the breath inside the breath.

Update on Andrea's Pilates Instructor Course

    It's Sunday evening and I had an exciting weekend of Pilates instructor training. Thankfully, I am not as sore as I expected to be after many hours of discovering new ways of moving and using the muscles in my body. I admit it, I am a terrible Yoga snob and didn't care to learn much about other forms of physical refinement, but the fabulous Susan Church, our teacher, showed me the other side of the coin, as she put it, if Yoga is all about flexibility, Pilates is all about stability.

     That was an eye opener! So I stabilized my core like I never stabilized before, and it is very hard work indeed, maybe more so, since my body is formed and kind of trained towards yoga moves, yoga posture. I feel like I am gaining a brand new angle on how to move and use the body!

Karina and Eilish, fellow students

Andrea is starting Pilates instructor training today

"I've been pondering back and forth now for years, if I should add Pilates to my repertoire, sneezing a bit about the purely physical approach of the Pilates method, as opposed my beloved yoga, that hopefully one fine day will bring us spiritual enlightenment. So I googled a bit, and this is what I found, a quote from Mister Pilates himself:"

Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities.

 

"So it's not just about a flat tummy after all" (Though a flat tummy is of course a nice thing to have). 

Here is another one of his quotes:

"The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being mental calm, and spiritual peace are priceless to their possessors....[and] it is only through Contrology that this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind, and spirit can ever be attained."

- Joseph Pilates, Return to Life Through Contrology

Now, that sounds like yoga to me. I am getting more and more curious and will report more when I have recovered from my first training weekend.



Andrea's Review of "Fierce Medicine" by Ana T. Forrest

 

    Ana Forrest's new book "Fierce Medicine" came out last month. I had eagerly awaited its arrival ever since attending a workshop she held in Dublin earlier this year.

   To me, this book had a few very important bits of information that helped me on my personal path. Sometimes it just happens when I read, just a few words in a certain way, at exactly the right time, and something clicks, shifts, something old breaks up to make space for a new development. I stopped drinking coffee right after reading her book, just like that, a task that I had been putting off since many years really, so profound were her words on me that I was able to turn knowledge into action.

    Ana's book has a minimal amount of information specific to the practice of asanas, pranayama or Kriya cleansing techniques, instead she writes about painful truths, struggles and fears, and how to utilize yoga as a tool to develop personal freedom and spirituality.

This book actually did change my life a little bit, highly recommended!

Andrea Boudin

Brian's Photograph Of The Day

Body-Mind Centering Workshop

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Tanya Fitzpatrick



This Bank Holiday Monday Andrea attended to the Body-Mind Centering workshop with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in Dún Laoghaire .

  

 "We got to play with our toes for most part of the morning (hey, my favorite!). The very knowledgeable, graceful Bonnie led us into Janu Sirs Asana (seated head to knee posture). As it usually is, my left side was harder and less flexible that my right side when bending forwards. Then Bonnie got us to slowly and thoroughly massage our feet, toe by toe, relax the ankles and repeat Janu Sirs Asana, while teaching us about the anatomy of the feet. What an amazing difference that was! There was less strain to get deep into the pose, hips! and legs! seemed softer and the difference between left and right far less pronounced. I did the foot massage yesterday and this morning before Asana practice, glad to have been shown another little bit of the workings and not-so-well-workings of the mosaic that is my body."

 

Namaste!

Andrea in Tabanas

Andrea, a wonderful evening in the Tabanas Desert