A complete yoga practice in one beautiful sequence. Again, these notes are to help jog your memory to what we learned in class. Enjoy!

Build Your Own Practice – Sheet 5 - EBR2 – Be Here Now

Stretches and strengthens the whole body, releases tightness and tension, and restores a clear, calm mind.

Practice each movement 3-5 times, moving with your breath

Tadasana
Breath of Arjuna then with Brahma mudra
Chair of the heart
Anahata Breath
Standing Twist
Arm rotations
Standing Cat
Wide Leg Forward Bend
Shoulder to mid-line, turn head
Wide Leg Forward Bend
Elbow to mid-line, turn head

Stop here if your wish,uncurling back up to standing and allow your blood pressure to settle a little 

Heaven & Earth Twist
Leg Flicks
Sitting Forward Bend
Bridge
Sphinx
Crocodile
Child

Well done to all who performed the Inner Fire Sequence this week. If you felt the heat, this is why: Parivritta trikonasana (Rotated Triangle) and Utthita parsvakonasana (the Bhima) raise energy from our legs & lower abdomen and build heat/strength/energy in Manipura chakra, our Solar Centre at our navel. Warrior II then lifts this energy up to our hearts, voices & minds. Use this dynamic creative energy for whatever needs a bit more oomph in your life this week. And affirm, affirm, affirm!

We are going to spend some time outside tonight practicing a walking meditation, so if you would rather not go barefoot then please wear some shoes you can walk fairly briskly in. See you later!

I've had some really wonderful feedback from our listening meditations this week, so here is a bit more about the process, as well as how to do it if you want to try again.

Meditation is an age-old practice in mindfulness. In a listening meditation, the goal is to keep your awareness on every sound around you, without forming thoughts or judgments about them. By continually bringing your attention back to one central point, your mind will calm, as you systematically let go of all unnecessary thoughts and feelings. Just as a computer can be running many superfluous processes, which slow down efficiency and performance, so, too, our brains run many processes which only diminish our focus and well being. Meditation is a practice that will reboot your mind and leave you feeling fresh. Remember, though, it is a practice. This means that you will get better the more you do it; so let go of expectations and stick with it.

So, here is the practice:
Start by listening to your own breathing
After a few breaths, expand your awareness to a few feet away
Then slowly, take your awareness out a little further until you feel your awareness expanding as far as you can hear.
Stay here a while, bringing your mind back to listening whenever you find yourself thinking, judging or following just one sound.
Then slowly bring your awareness back, closer and closer, to your breathing.
On an inhalation, open your eyes and notice how clear-minded and refreshed you feel.