Shivaratri

Shivaratri, “Shivas great night” falls this year on February 23rd. An important Hindu festival, it is celebrated at new moon to honour the wedding of Shiva and Parvati. It is also considered to be the night when Shiva performed the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.

Devotees honour the occasion with ritual, chanting, story telling, prayer and fasting, continuing through the night until dawn.

It is believed that a devotee who observes a Shivaratri fast with sincerity and utters the name of Lord Shiva with perfect devotion is absolved from all sins. Such a devotee reaches the abode of Lord Shiva and lives there happily. He is also liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

Follow this link to hear Shiva’s powerful mantra. Om namah shivaya: I bow before Shiva.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gEx3ldOUBs&feature=related

Working without a teacher

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s yoga class with more than usual enthusiasm having missed last week’s session due to the renovation of the teaching space.
I began wondering how regular students, those who turn up week after week would handle a two week gap in their practice.
I would love to think that many of my students have begun to practice at home. For it is when we take responsibility for or own yoga that the practice becomes very powerful, we become our own teacher.
Students tell me that they elect to attend led class because of a lack of motivation to practice at home. However, when the teacher is absent a gift is offered- the opportunity to honour our commitment to yoga and practice alone. Through such action we reinforce our commitment to yoga, our health and wellbeing. Alone with the breath and the poses we can explore movement and stillness joyfully, confidently, uncovering a deeply enriching experience.

About the sit bones

During class I frequently make references to the sit bones. Most commonly when we are preparing our posture for pranayama and also during sequences of seated poses.

The sit bones are anatomically speaking ischial tuberosities, the bony protrusions located at the base of the pelvis. An easy way to locate them is to sit cross legged in sukhasana and shift the weight of the torso until you get a sense of them, the point at which the skeleton contacts the floor. It can be helpful to move the flesh of the buttocks out with ones hands if necessary! Now try in dandasana, for a more subtle experience.

Having established connection with the sit bones, one can adjust one’s posture for optimal results. We can place our attention on the contact of the sit bones and from our stable seat invite the feeling of a light, upward moving spine.

This feeling of being grounded through the sit bones can help us stay balanced during seated forward bends and twists where we might be inclined to overemphasise one side of the pose and sacrifice our alignment.