Are you willing and able to let go?

Are you ready to fly?

Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali introduces vairagyam, non-attachment: 'The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.' This doesn't mean being disinterested, but rather it is acceptance of the philosophy that any practice without non-attachment is bound to fail.

I have been thinking about this in the context of my weekly classes. Am I too attached to my teaching methods? Am I reluctant to try something different or frightened to change gear in case my students leave? Am I doing them a disservice? More importantly, am I encouraging them to become attached to their practice and making it hard for them to find stillness of mind?

On a practical level, should I switch the class around so that they can't lie in 'their' spot? We're all creatures of habit, but unless we release those things we do on automatic pilot, is anything ever going to change?

We're all students

Source: kettering 50plus adventure club

Before I became a yoga teacher, I found it difficult to work on much of a home practice, but my Thursday evening class was sacrosanct. I rarely missed a week. Then I qualified. Now my home practice is daily, but I find it hard to get to a regular class. Certainly I go to plenty of IST days, but that's not the same thing at all.

That's why I'm grateful to teachers like Carrie who let me drop in and out of their classes. I don't often say that I'm a teacher when I attend as a participant (unless some asks the direct question), because I don't want to draw attention to myself. I don't want special treatment and I don't want people to watch me to see how I'm getting on. I like to sneak in at the back and do my thing.

I'm also lucky enough to have two regular students in my class, Angela and Claire, who are doing their teacher training at the moment. They pick my brains sometimes, which keeps me on my toes, but they are also a useful source of updated information and fresh perspectives on everything I thought I knew.

It doesn't matter how long you've been practising, there's always something to learn.

Why I haven't made any New Year resolutions

There is a school of thought that says you should start any challenge at the most difficult time - for example, go on a diet on a Friday so that you can get through the weekend when your resolve is strong. Wait until Monday, and by Saturday night you will be weak with desire for whatever your food fancy is. Other people say: no, do it when life is easy so you can get several successful days under your belt before you start to wobble.

I used to make resolutions when I was a child: be kinder to my little brother; do my homework on time; pick up my clothes off the floor before bedtime; then later it was the usual things like losing weight, getting fit, cutting down on the tea and biscuits. I never lasted much beyond February.

My yoga classes start again tomorrow after the Christmas break. I've already had quite a few enquiries from newbies wanting to join us, and I shall be glad to see them. However, I'm expecting that many of them will come for a few weeks and then something will stop them: they are too tired after work, the children need help with schoolwork, they forgot to eat at lunchtime and can't wait until after the class for their supper, or it's too cold to venture out. These are all valid excuses.

What works for me is to set weekly or sometimes even daily targets. It's easy to begin each morning by saying 'I shall go for a walk today' than to resolve to take a daily walk for a year. It's too much to ask, too big a target.

This week I shall be asking my students to consider a sankalpa, an intention just for that one class. This might be as simple as 'I shall open my heart and mind to what this session has to offer.' I shall be doing the same myself.

Up close and personal

It might surprise you to learn that quite a lot of people who ask for a one-to-one session are beginners. Often, they want to get a few basic postures and a bit of terminology under their belt before venturing into a general class, or they might simply want to find out a bit more about yoga (and the teacher) before committing to a course.

Others like the security and discretion that a private lesson affords if they are shy or lacking in confidence and therefore uncomfortable in a public class. Others still might have health considerations that make a public class inappropriate. Some just prefer to have a teacher come to them, so that they are in a familiar and comfortable environment.

Yogis returning to practice after a break sometimes book a one-to-one session to refresh their knowledge and also for the insight it brings into their physical, emotional and spiritual condition.

While it is lovely to be able to go to a yoga class on a regular basis to support our personal, home-based practice, this simply isn’t possible for everyone. If you have a complicated home or work life and find it difficult to commit to a regular class, booking ad hoc private lessons can be an invaluable way to keep up your practice in a way that is better suited to your lifestyle.

Even if you are attending a regular class, a one-to-one can still be beneficial if, say, you need a bit of a boost to your motivation (this is also true for those who practise alone; in fact, they may well be in greater need of inspiration).

Experienced yogis might book a one-to-one session:

• To work through questions about a specific asana – for example, ways to approach the challenges of Scorpion
• To explore in depth a particular aspect of yoga that isn’t covered in their general class, such as chanting, working with mudra and bandha, or exploring yoga philosophy
• To establish, develop or update a personal practice
• If they feel they are not receiving sufficient adjustment or attention from their teacher in a class situation – the personalising of the teaching is a key factor for many private students
• To explore a different branch of yoga or teaching style
• As a treat – for the cost of a decent haircut, you could find your yoga practice kick-started, revitalised and re-energised

Whatever your reasons for booking a one-to-one session, it is useful to have an idea of what you want to achieve, so that you don’t waste valuable time when you get there. But while it is good to have a goal in mind, you will still need to discuss your objectives with your teacher so that you can decide between you the best way to proceed. Be prepared to be flexible, because although ultimately the programme has to lead to the results you seek, talking it through might reveal aspects of yoga that you hadn’t considered – and this applies whether you are a newbie or an old hand.

What's in a name?

The second question that potential new students ask me is usually, ‘What sort of yoga do you teach?’ I generally answer that I am BWY trained in the hatha tradition, but that I have absorbed elements from various teachers and experiences over the years. (The first question is, ‘How much is it?’ Rarely does anyone ask me where – or even if – I qualified.)

There seem to be so many different styles of yoga around. Let’s start with hatha, ashtanga, Iyengar, kundalini, Dru: the list goes on and is growing. Add in Scaravelli, Bikram, viniyoga and yin, and those that are purely descriptive, such as dynamic, power, restorative, for pregnancy, and trendy ones like barre, aerial and acro – not to mention hybrids like Yogalates and Body Balance. I’m confused, never mind my students!

So, what sort of yoga do I teach? It depends. I always have a lesson plan, but adapt it according to who turns up and how we’re all feeling. Sometimes we work really slowly, sometimes more dynamically. Sometimes we have a very precise class, but sometimes we’re more mellow and we just go with the flow, literally and metaphorically. Sometimes, the age of my students on the night means it’s an over-50s session. Other times the boiler is playing up and we inadvertently have a session of hot yoga.

I don’t want or need a specific label on my classes. I teach ‘Julia’s yoga’, whatever that is.

Cultivating self-compassion

I'm studying an online course with FutureLearn called 'Mindfulness for wellbeing and peak performance', which is fascinating stuff. I've studied mindfulness before, but never with this particular focus.

We have reached the part where we try to cultivate self-compassion. Why is it so much more difficult to be kind to ourselves than to other people? I shall be dripping this bit of philosophy into the classes I teach over the next little while and including the following affirmation:

May I be happy;
May I be well;
May I be peaceful;
May I be safe.

Try it. What's the worst that could happen?

Reasons to be cheerful

Fashions come and go in the world of wellbeing as quickly as anywhere else. Nevertheless, I was surprised to read in the Sunday paper recently that mindfulness is on the way out. Well, that's news to me, but then: what do I know? Apparently, the new kid on the block for those who like to follow the latest trends (laser lift for your lady bits, anyone? Check it out here!) is gratitude. I can't see why these two should be mutually exclusive, but again: what do I know?

This prompted me to recall a writing job I did years ago, where I was commissioned to come up with 100 reasons to be each of generous, confident, positive and thankful. It was a lovely job and I was glad to look back at it. Here are a few of the reasons to be thankful that were included:

• You are who you are There is no one else like you, you are unique. Celebrate this and live life to the full.
• The past is behind you If you have done wrong, apologise and be grateful for forgiveness.
• Every day you move closer to your goal It might be something small: putting up a bookshelf, tidying the storeroom, catching up on the filing. Congratulate yourself on all these little victories.
• The constantly changing seasons As well as revealing the power of nature, this gives us the opportunity for regular renewal in all aspects of our lives.
• The comfort of realism As you grow older, you come to realise that you are not going to 'have it all'. Focus on the realistic and the possible.