In Wild Times...
Stay grounded, heart centred and open-minded
Dear Yoga Practitioner,
It’s been a little while!
It felt right to connect with you all before I scoot out of London to Wales and the beautiful Mandala Yoga Ashram. My partner and I are on a Silent Retreat there before we set up the sound healing tent in the healing village at Medicine Festival in mid-August. I’m looking forward to leaving the busyness behind us to immerse ourselves in being in circles in sacred space and being in Nature.
If you’re not able to get out of your locality over this time, there a ways of creating a sacred space break to nourish and restore your spirit. They’re all very simple. Yet, somehow our phones and computers seem to push these nourishing, ancient restorative practices to the bottom of our to-do lists. If we pushed thme right to the top, we’d feel more grounded, joyful and connected. Here are some things I’ve been doing to bring more of that nourishing holiday vibe into my life… on a budget of course!
Take a few more classes at your local yoga studio (not the fitness ones, the deep relaxing yin-type classes). See the Shiva Shakti Schedule here. Or practice some yoga in your garden, or a park near you.
Have a Sauna. Hackney Community Sauna is very reasonably priced and well worth the trip. Stepping into this magical backyard space is so fun. It’s like being in pixie land for a couple of hours - they even give you a special sauna pixie hat to wear. Alternatively, my super-budget way of doing this is to have a long hot candlelit bath with music and maybe a few dried rose petals. It’s not as social as the pixie sauna though.
Massage - it is believed that the effects of Abhyanga (ayurvedic self-massage) are similar to those received when we are saturated with love. For me, it feels soothing, grounding, calming and yes enveloped in nurturance and care. If you are feeling extra decadent try adding some jasmine, gardenia or ylang-ylang essential oil…
Wild Swim - If you have a local body of water that is not contaminated with effluent, then use it, even just to dip in your toes! Or visit a local lido, early morning before the crowds… And if there seems to be nowhere suitable, you can do a cold water plunge in your own special tub. Super invigorating and refreshing, and bound to increase your joy potential. When you’re back out of the tub anyway!!
Meeting the Trees - taking a walk around your neighbourhood, immersing yourself in the deep green of the trees, is a very soothing way to ground and reconnect. You might take some time to sit under a tree; hug a tree (and feel them hug you back); or take a picnic and some elderflower cordial and sit and sketch or paint your favourite tree.
Dancing - if you have a local five rhythms or ecstatic dance group then this is an amazing way to free up your energy, express yourself and burn off built-up tension. Or maybe you prefer salsa, tango or street dance. Go on your own or with friends and dance wildly, sweat and let go of all that holds you back from being you! And, you guessed it, the budget version is dancing around the kitchen to your favourite tunes… I make my playlists on Tidal (they give more more and credit to artists than Spotify, and they don’t invest in AI weaponry like Spotify does). Just saying… our purchasing choices are one way we can change the world…
A lovely decadent chocolate mocha:
Take a cup of hot black coffee or even better caffeine-free dandelion coffee (simmer roasted dandelion root in water for 20 mins). To a blending beaker, or a blender add
a teaspoon of coconut cream from a tin or a block
a teaspoon of unsweetened organic cocoa or cacao
a pinch of raw stevia powder for sweetness
1/2 teaspoon of reishi mushroom powder (calming) or lion’s mane mushroom powder (inspiring); or shatavari powder (cooling and calming for women) all of these special organic powders (and more) you can get very cheaply from tree-harvest.co.uk
a splash of vanilla essence if you have it
Blend until it is a little frothy and creamy. Yum!! Heart-opening medicine for your soul!
I’m running the Tuesday evening classes at Shiva Shakti Studio through most of August, and one group class at the Union Church on the 12th of August, and have space for the odd private lesson on most Tuesdays in August.
And also I’m running the Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs course in September (starting on the 27th September). I don’t run this course very often so if you have back pain, it’s good to book soon as places are limited.
And if you are further afield or unable to make classes for whatever reason, you can join us online for the free meditation circle on Monday evenings 7:45pm - 8:15pm. It’s not running every Monday in August, but when I can I will. It is on tonight!!
Wishing you a wonderful summer brim full of the simple joy of just being.
With love and good wishes,
Julia xx