Awakening Vitality
Yoga & Qi Gong
Yoga
Here in the Awakening Vitality Studio, you will be guided through a yoga practice that will help you achieve mastery over your body and mind.
Yoga means the yoking, or union of mind, body and soul leading towards self-realisation.
In this small Ashtanga yoga class (no more than 8 participants), the focus is on providing an authentic, meaningful practice that is much deeper than just exercise for the body. Here, yoga is valued as an ancient spiritual tradition, not the modernised version where focus is on business. Each student is given individual attention so they develop a strong foundation, learning postures correctly and safely. My background and training in many different Yoga disciplines, allows me to give each student a practice that meets their needs.
Each class begins with deep relaxation exercises to prepare the body for the movements to follow.
Raja yoga, also called as Ashtanga, means “eight limbs” or “the eight-fold path.” It uses dynamic asanas (postures) and science based breathing exercises to create physical health and harmony. It leads to changes in behaviour and causes emotions to flow through meditation movements. The eight steps of Ashtanga create an orderly process of self-transformation beginning with the level of the physical body and eventually involving the subtler levels of life. The eight steps are: Yama - moral codes, Niyama –self-purification and study, Asana –posture, Pranayama –breath control, Pratyahara –sense control, Dharana – concentration and Samadhi – contemplation.
Building up a strong, correct yoga foundation is the key to further advancing your yoga practice. You cannot do this at home by yourself. You need a good teacher who has their own practice and knowledge along with experience of yoga movements and body instruction to guide you through each class. Knowing how to isolate the different parts of the body to relax or engage the muscles is an important part of the process. Synchronising breath and postures helps to master the ability to align the body using strength and flexibility. Each class finishes with relaxation, meditation and sound healing to dissolve all tension from the muscles, clear your mind and leave you feeling totally refreshed and calm.
Yoga will help you to step beyond the human body and live a life being fully awakened. Knowing your limits and weaknesses and pushing yourself deeper in your training will result in life long health benefits. This requires you to recognise that the choices you make every day impact your mind, body and spirit. To compliment your yoga practice, be conscious of your food choices, your thoughts and your actions and all areas of your life will be transformed.
A Meditation and Sound Healing class is an experience that must be heard to be fully understood. Deep meditation, a distinctive singing voice plus the unique sounds of the ancient Tibetan singing bowl, along with other sacred instruments, lead you to deep relaxation, healing and transformation.
You are guided through a calming meditation, followed by the inimitable healing sounds of voice and instrument. This allows you to let go of your worries and open your chakras, giving you the opportunity for unlimited healing potential. Through mindfulness and awareness of the present moment, you can step beyond the body to see with a clear mind who you really are by exploring the spiritual side of yourself. You can experience a deep connection with your higher self, your spiritual family and your ancestors, transforming old energy and blockages to find a clear path to the inner self and ultimately, to the oneness of our universe.
As your level of consciousness is raised, you gain insights into what is happening in your body and mind: in every breath you breathe; in every thought you encounter; and in every minute that you live. This perfect synchronisation brings about a calm state and a clear mind. Unlimited health benefits await you when you are able to switch off from the distractions and troubles that are a normal part of our day. This changes the way you think and act. You will be more awakened to who you truly are, to the problems you need to overcome and the issues that are troubling you.
Healing sounds of voice are deep, powerful self-healing sounds for everyone. This allows you to flow into the joy and happiness of each moment. It promotes and enhances spiritual awakening and development by transforming your thinking and energy levels so that you reconnect with your true nature and the vital energy within. It leads to heightened states of wellbeing, helps to eliminate stress, improves sleep and promotes energetic harmony.
Qigong and Yoga
In my Qigong Yoga class, two ancient traditions are integrated in a way that produces a perfectly balanced practice. Like Yin and Yang, each compliments the other, working in harmony to complete the whole.
Yoga is the Yang, focusing on developing strong internal energy by building up the strength and flexibility of our muscles along with the right breathing techniques. Most importantly, movements such as inversion poses improve the function of each of our vital organs, squeezing them and bringing blood and oxygen to every cell. Yoga works to isolate and engage different parts of the body to hold a posture, building strong and flexible muscles and perfect balance. Many yoga students do not get enough attention and are not guided step by step in their practice with full awareness and attention to movement, breath and mind. This can lead to joint pain and build subconscious tension in muscles that stop the Qi/ Chi, blood and oxygen flow.
Qigong is the Yin, and you are able to give more attention to energy healing by using visualisation while doing the exercises. You will focus on soft, relaxed and effortless movements. Unusual forms, such as the five elements and animal forms, along with organ and joint exercises will improve coordination, joint and organ function and balance. In this tradition, you learn how to awaken your own qi/chi or energy to flow and recharge. You learn how to gather the healing heaven and earth vital energy to unite with your own energy and harmonise with the universal energy force. This is done while completing movements, using unique breathing techniques different to yoga breathing. Qigong breath prevents any ailments and stops the leakage of energy by using the rectum, intercostal and diaphragm muscles as a pump to pump the energy up to nourish the brain. You will learn how to relax totally and reconnect with every part of your body, master your breath and achieve microcosmic circulation. Opening the channels in the body using the breath and giving attention to the flow and circulation of energy, allows a deeper level of healing to occur as well as keeping energy levels constant as you go about your daily tasks. Emotional blockages and disease can be addressed as you learn to remove subconscious tension.
Be open minded when approaching this practice. Accept and fully embrace it and you will find you will achieve optimum health. Allow yourself to step away from the negativity and weaknesses that we encounter every day. As you discover how to balance both the mind and the body, you will find that love, joy and peace is available to you at every moment from within yourself.
Meditation and Sound Healing
A Meditation and Sound Healing class is an experience that must be heard to be fully understood. Deep meditation, a distinctive singing voice plus the unique sounds of the ancient Tibetan singing bowl, along with other sacred instruments, lead you to deep relaxation, healing and transformation.
You are guided through a calming meditation, followed by the inimitable healing sounds of voice and instrument. This allows you to let go of your worries and open your chakras, giving you the opportunity for unlimited healing potential. Through mindfulness and awareness of the present moment, you can step beyond the body to see with a clear mind who you really are by exploring the spiritual side of yourself. You can experience a deep connection with your higher self, your spiritual family and your ancestors, transforming old energy and blockages to find a clear path to the inner self and ultimately, to the oneness of our universe.
As your level of consciousness is raised, you gain insights into what is happening in your body and mind: in every breath you breathe; in every thought you encounter; and in every minute that you live. This perfect synchronisation brings about a calm state and a clear mind. Unlimited health benefits await you when you are able to switch off from the distractions and troubles that are a normal part of our day. This changes the way you think and act. You will be more awakened to who you truly are, to the problems you need to overcome and the issues that are troubling you.
Healing sounds of voice are deep, powerful self-healing sounds for everyone. This allows you to flow into the joy and happiness of each moment. It promotes and enhances spiritual awakening and development by transforming your thinking and energy levels so that you reconnect with your true nature and the vital energy within. It leads to heightened states of wellbeing, helps to eliminate stress, improves sleep and promotes energetic harmony.