One of my long term students Rosie has recently moved to London. Rosie has studied yoga with me for at least 5 years? She was a regular part of my classes and a big part of the Ashtanga yoga community. I am sure she will be missed by many and we hope she will visit us from time to time.
In the meantime I was fortunate enough to be able visit her and attend some yoga classes with her in London. As many of you know I come to London once a month to study with my own teacher Hamish Hendry. These trips are very important to both my practice and my teaching. It allows me to focus in my own development in yoga! leaves me recharged and reminds me of what is like to be a student and to surrender to a teacher’s guidance.
I travelled up on the first train on Saturday morning 5:47 am, an early start but I slept some more in the train. I arrived in Euston at 8:00am in time for a Mysore class at Primrose Hill Triyoga with Ryan Speilman. I met Rosey there and we went to class together. Great class, lovely relaxed atmosphere and a lovely kapotasana assist for me. I then took Rosey to my favourite vegan cafe in London for brunch – Inspiral Lounge. That gave us time to catch up and I can confirm that she is doing great in her new life down South. Most importantly she has been a bit of a yoga tour and has been to 6 different ashtanga yoga teachers, since her arrival which shows real determination in finding her new regular teacher in London.
We then went to yin yoga class at the life centre which was really relaxing. In yin yoga, you hold the poses for 3-5 minutes. It was a lovely compliment to the morning ashtanga yoga practice. We felt so relaxed and mellow afterwards we went to a cafe before getting back to the hustle and bustle of the tube. Such a lovely way to spend a day.
On Sunday we went to another Mysore style class with Louise Newton. Lovely to see her again, it had been a while and a lovely atmosphere of focus in the room. We went back for brunch in Camden, I love that place!
This morning (Monday) I got to practice with my teacher, Hamish. Always so nice to practice with him in the room. My practice felt relaxed and focused and was a bit quicker than when I practice by myself. Must focus on removing any faffing! I will be back again in just 3 weeks and am looking forward to it already.
Did you do any yoga over the weekend? Do you practice at home and with a teacher? What do you like about going to a yoga class?
