in the salon

DEEPER STILL

Written by: John Stirk | Forward by: Carol Nelson
Released: January 2021
https://www.handspringpublishing.com/product/deeper-still/

Deeper Still is the next stage of an ongoing process and a consequence of further inquiry into the yoga experience from author John Stirk. Following on from The Original Body this book invites an even deeper immersion into the reality of practice and the totality of personal experience in accessing the power of our inner teacher.

Many yoga teachers have adopted a relatively shallow approach when compared to the deeper approach of traditional practice. Perhaps yoga teachers are comfortable with teaching the exercises but unwittingly reticent when it comes to opening up a deeper experience that includes transformative shifts in consciousness. No amount of external information, however inspiring, can take us to that shift in consciousness. Only we can step, unaided, across the fine line between conditioned and unconditioned responses into the transformational shift that yoga provides. In Deeper Still yoga teachers are invited to deepen your potential for transcending ‘the norms of yoga’, and in so doing to discover and provide for students an ever deepening and transcendent approach.

Write your own story, develop your own script, ride the uncatchable wave that might be called yoga, and open up your creativity to the next level!

Deeper Still enables yoga teachers to take students to a deeper dimension.

THE JOYS OF WALKING

JANUARY 16, 2021 | by CAROL NELSON

You may be asking yourself   “ Why would I sign up (and pay) for a yoga workshop to take a walk?” Good question! 

Did you know that how you walk, stand, sit and carry yourself in your daily life activities translates directly to what you do on your yoga mat?

We have buried the natural, instinctual beauty of our architecture and movement that is our birthright as upright, bi-pedal creatures by: not walking, spending long, tense hours slumped in car seats, sitting slouched at our desks with heads forward and eyes strained, constantly looking down at our phones and devices, rushing around lugging heavy bags and knapsacks … etc.   

So often I hear people complain “yoga hurts me.”  It is no wonder, look what we bring to the mat! Yoga completely conforms to the natural structure and function of the human body and it shouldn’t hurt! Yoga can not be done by someone with a collapsed spine, tense muscles, shallow breath, or mental agitation. Yoga is not meant to be used to break through these conditions. Yoga begins when we are free from stress and tension.

Walking, the most natural of psycho – somatic therapies “warms up”  the whole being so that the yoga begins from an open, relaxed state of mind and body. Our walks will become a meditation on the amazing chain reaction of events that occurs when we walk well and unencumbered …  meaning NO hand held devices, ear buds, water bottles, bags, knapsacks etc.

When we walk and allow our arms to swing freely the shoulder joints are fluidized. The pendulum like movement of the deep psoas ( your true core) lubricates the hip joints and sends a ripple of massage up into the lower back. The diaphragm, the muscle of breathing is set free. The lungs open and the breath deepens. Circulation reaches our hands and feet. When the eyes — the ears — the nose —  sense, the brain receives colors, sounds, and smells that stimulate neural patterns of well being and relaxation.

Are you ready to take a walk on the wild side? NATURE inside and out will be our partner. Reboot your walking body and the yoga will unfold naturally, easily and comfortably.