With every yoga class I teach I have an aim for what I want to focus on in particular. There are so many themes to choose from, such as hips, shoulder region, stability and ease, springiness in the body, etc. We are spoilt for choice!
Many things happen in one single yoga posture or movement. I love bringing deeper awareness to the postures and movements we frequently practise. The other day I was thinking of slow fashion and slow food and so decided to pick a new theme for my class. I called it slow yoga.
To me, slow yoga is about:
- taking one’s time in the postures
- fine-tuning the awareness to where the body is in space
- finding stability and ease to stay longer
- allowing the muscles to engage and trusting the body is okay
- connecting to the breathing and allowing the breath to support the posture
- staying within and staying alert to the experience
- being patient in the transition between two postures
Writing this I realise slow yoga is all about being in the moment and bringing acceptance to what is. I realise that what I am describing here is yoga to me and that I sometimes pack too much into my classes.
Less is more. Allowing for quality of time, stillness, presence, movement and breathing is vital. I view practising slow yoga as a “counter-pose” to the energy of busyness that many of us feel in our daily life. What a wise teacher yoga is ❤️
