SingingTreeYoga

And once again I've deservedly been brought back down to earth here in Rhodes town, by local conversation. Of course there is concern about Eco-tourism (or lack of) and there are people working towards solutions Ms Morrell!  I guess the problem once again all boils down to numbers, the sheer amount of people in Europe taking holidays is the issue. So I ask you wouldn't you rather contribute to a places natural beauty and antiquity rather than this oblique manner of existence? Don't you want to be absorbed in travel, for the experience to move ones whole being, change focus, change brain waves, make you feel alive? Ahem! One day I'll be truthful about times & dates (but for now I'm happy in my Yogic youth giving properties). Back to the late 60s & early 70s here in Crete, where my mumma lived and taught. She has amazing pictures of what I imagined I'd see here in Greece. And I did, to certain extent.... if I ignored the fat 'sun-red' punt...

Catching a couple of hours respite in a local Rhodes Town Cafe I am struck by my surroundings. So I did it! Before a hectic remainder of the Choirs busy years concert schedule I've taken a spontaneous holiday in Greece. Something has slipped. From the Kim Wilde 'You Just Keep Me Hanging on' playing overhead to the 36 degrees and 99% humidity. My lil' artistic brain is overheating, plus I don't feel like being exported back into polka dots and 80s bubble skirts, today. Efcharistò. Stray animals have taken over; there's a multitude of the furry beings, kittens, cats and mangy looking dogs. Locals have concocted bizarre looking contraptions to try and deal with the 'poo' problem in pot plants. Plastic mesh and spiky wooden things, sticks sticking up out of the soil. None of it seems to be working to deter the detritus. Freshly laid feces for your touristic pleasure. I wouldn't normally pull focus to these things, because 'tourism is as tou...

So here I am, like a child about to dive into their first ice cream of the summer; waiting in anticipation of a great new adventure... that's right, I'm off to Rhodes Island, Greece. My momma taught English and History here in the early 70's. In her Dusty Springfield Joan Baez phase... protesting the Vietnam war, falling in love with a local boy and then getting kicked out of the country for standing by what she believed in. So I have lots of imaginary 'baggage' to lug over with me. I'm fictionally not travelling light. Practically I am though, with sustainable travel kit and the intention to explore intrepidly, zoot...I'm off. Au revoir, ciao London is black hole at times, a succubus of souls. Yoga on clean sand and salt in my hair; here I come! 

Sitting in a London cafe today. It's so pleasant to interrupt a thought bubble with chit-chat and today a girl and I (she had an article to write on Foucault) exploded into discussions of monstrous-feminine, gender fluidity and actual peels of laughter. So I encourage you all whatever gender, whatever creed, colour, culture you identify with to enjoy your day.... and why not, while you're all sitting there blogging away, texting away, posting away .....open up and talk to the person next to you once in a while. You might find you have more in common than you think. 

In this month of celebrating Pride do we question our motives for fitness. Transformation is available to everyone and everybody. It shouldn't be exclusive or expensive... That's why doing Yoga is awsome. It's accessible and is based in philosophy that runs deep over 2500 years of it. So to this month of celebrating diversity. Enjoy your yoga. SingingTreeYoga is striving to address the challenges of diversity to be really inclusive. Because we want our local business to contribute to the society it exists in, a question that big corporates discuss in a rhetoric that doesn't actually reach the people. Reading people's job title's illuminates this for me: 'Independent People & Culture Transformation Consultant .... Director of People Strategy & Transformation' 🙄Hahaha! "The foot feels the foot, when it feels the ground"                                           ...

Are you feeling depressed at all by the way this rubbish brexit thing just drags on and on? Does the sheer embarrassment of politics and personality media take you away from what's actually important in your life. Even if you live outside of Britain it's pretty tricky to avoid. Don't worry you're really not alone. It's tempting me as a Yogi to write about it, so there's the evidence. Don't worry you're not alone - you, do not have to feel burdened by something utterly ridiculous and out of your control. Doing some Yoga can provide you with ways to liberate the mind, body and soul. At any time yoga is brilliant fun, relaxing and rejuvenating. So yes! It's a Sunday, why procrastinate any longer while the political world acts (rather badly) at being over privileged and boring start a Yoga practise at home, at work and begin making your weekend stretching full of life. *And...SingingTreeYoga is giving a Easter Yoga taster event for Childre...

If you are having trouble balancing your energies at the moment then try a restorative Yoga class. Restorative Yoga combined with rejuvanating and healing herbal teas is a great way to celebrate the Spring and Easter season. And an alternative to being swamped by the dreaded chocolate performance. Well the collective research is getting done on the subjects of unnessesary sugers hidden in our food. Here's a nice post from one of my favourite websites:  EZineArticles You can learn about a few you didn't know about before, such as low fat Yoghurt - better to stay with whole, full fat Yoghurt (and made by Anglonubian goats ;) Haha! Lovely greek Yoghurt with a sprinkling of your favourite oats. Spring Is Natures Way Of Saying 'Let's Party'                                                          Robin Williams

I suppose the style of Yoga you do offers so much or so little complexity to your life. If like me you thrive on being busy and inspired then possibly Iyengar Yoga is the choice of yoga for you too. Anyhow this latest Blog is a quick heads-up to anyone struggling with tight hamstrings in their practise. These 5 Asana can be practised as a whole sequence or individually to get the benefits: Uttanasana (forward bending pose) Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose) Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-legged forward fold) Pachimottanasana (Seated forward bend)  Supta Padanguthasana (Reclining hand-to-big-toe pose).  The last asana of this group especially targets the hamstrings - and in Iyengar we use straps so it's easy to access or 'get into' this one. Also a SingingTreeYoga top tip if you are suffering with tightness in the legs is to afterwards soak in a hot bath with natural Epsom Salts - bliss! Enjoy 😊

I hope you find some inspiration reading the SingingTreeYoga blog. I can through lifes' experiences encourage you to unwind to try and be present in the world. To have a quality of mindfulness in your conversations and actions. Become better at communication and relationships. Be closer and more thoughtful when forming new relationships. It's so difficult to construct ourselves in this way in this world. With that floating island of plastic in the Pacific and all the chaos around us.  Yoga and meditation, done for 10 minutes at some point in your day can relieve you of stress. Even better if you can do it with the people in your life. So that the 'wins' and 'Aha' moments can be shared. We are all learning from each other collectively we gain insight and knowledge of how to heal the hurt.  The mind is everything. What you think, you become .                                    ...