My work-year is now complete. I saw my final massage clients last week and taught my last yoga classes the week before. It is time now for some rest and space.
I have for a long time truly relished the week between Christmas and New Year. These are days when we walk, read and, for myself, take stock.
The months have flown by. I went for a Juice Week in May with the lovely Jayn, care of Jason Vale. Much walking was enjoyed up in The Peak District. There has been a steady flow of wonderful people to my therapy room and I have realised how beneficial it is for my clients to receive a facial massage.
In the past I have left that to others but as I began to use more Weleda massage oils my clients asked if I would do their face with some of the great Weleda products I have in my room. It has proved to be very interesting as there are several newbies who would never have had a massage but simply love having a facial which also incorporates neck, shoulders and arms. And there I was ready to retire from bodywork in the near future!
This has also been the year when I was asked by Jane of OmYoga Magazine if I was interested in writing a blog post related to an article in the magazine. I have thoroughly enjoyed both reading the various magazines and then finding something that has inspired me to write.
My latest edition of OmYoga had much In it about the life of B.K.S. Iyengar. It was Iyengar Yoga that I was first taught and I wrote about my teacher, Julie Brown, in one of my first posts.
Amongst the many yoga books on my shelves there are several by Mr Iyengar which I occasionally visit. My yoga life began in earnest 20 years ago with him. I remained a devoted student for nine years. Then I began to take interest in other books I started to see on the shelves of bookstores. Aha, so there were others ways to practice yoga. Off I went and I continue to learn, investigate and be amazed at what can happen when yoga becomes part of daily life.
Nowadays we have the Internet which offers at the press or touch of the fingers a vast array of yoga but when I was starting out there was much less choice. Today I practice daily and take myself off to various parts of this country and overseas to learn and experience yoga as taught by others.
For many years I have bought both yoga and bodywork magazines where there is a wonderful variety of knowledge and inspiration. An article or even an advert can open a new door. That is precisely how I discovered Forrest Yoga, an advert in the very back of my yoga magazine. Prior to that I knew nothing of Ana Forrest other than seeing a photograph of this rather intimidating-looking woman in an American magazine. Years later and after a month of intense training with Ana and I know her to be deeply compassionate and amazingly intuitive.
Reading my latest OmYoga Magazine caused me sit back and look at my life. The discovery of Iyengar Yoga changed my life, although at the time I truly did not realise what was going on. It took years of being on my mat and listening both to my teacher and my body before I came to various ‘blinding light’ moments….or as my Dad would have said “a blinding flash of the bloody obvious!”
How amazing are our bodies but we do need to take the time to sit with ourselves and really hear how things are. These moments of clarity did not come from my Iyengar practice. There came the time to move on and ‘hear’ what others had to share on the subject of yoga and my body.
A truly great teacher, in my opinion, teaches and shares their knowledge and gracefully steps aside when the student is ready to move on. The point of it all is to enable and provide a safe space with clear boundaries until the student is strong enough to delight in their own way of being both on and off the mat.
That all said, when I talked to my last class about going-it-alone for the next few weeks, it was pointed out that everyone keeps on returning to class because things are forever changing and evolving. My passion is to keep learning from wherever the inspiration comes and then to move that out into my world. Hopefully, in my tiny way I can open doors for others to step through!
I am hugely grateful to Jane of Om Yoga Magazine for inviting me to join their blogging community. It gives me immense pleasure to share some of my thoughts and the magazine is a great read. A new double edition is on its way so, if inclined simply click on the side panel to subscribe.
Thank you to everyone who has stopped by during the year to read my various posts. May the end of 2014 go well for all and my love to everyone as we approach a new year.
May we all walk in beauty…..