A Chairde,
I write with really, really big news! As we come to the final week in our yoga term this Sunday, I want to thank you all so much for being there and trusting me with your time and energy. It really means the world to me and I absolutely love my Sunday evenings with you all :) After this week we are heading straight into a new five week winter yoga series of both Hatha and Soft Stretch classes at Thrive. These will be really lovely practices and the term will run every Sunday from November 15th through until December 13th.
But ... and this is the really big news I mentioned... This upcoming yoga term will be my last ever in Greystones (!!)
I'm honestly heartbroken to have to finish up teaching at Thrive, but thankfully it is for an exciting reason. Myself and my partner have made the decision at long last to move back to the West coast and begin a new adventure in Clare. The heart wants what it wants, and truthfully we were burning an obscene amount of petrol sneaking over and back every other weekend just to breathe in the Atlantic air for a single day. We don't really know what we're moving to...no jobs, no house, no connection lined up as of yet...but we do know that we're ready. So, into the unknown we go! If I'm being honest, I am terrified and heartsick. But I'm determined to find my courage. Most of all, I'm grateful. Especially to those of you who have come to yoga so regularly over the years and become such good friends :) From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
If you would like to drop in for the Soft Stretch at 6:30pm this Sunday please let me know as I have a few spaces available :) For the earlier Hatha at 5pm I can put your name on a waitlist and let you know if a spot opens up. To save a space for the new five week winter term of either Sunday class please just send me a message :) We will have a fun and replenishing philosophy theme of Wintering and exploring the Mudras (hand gestures to seal energy). It's going to be really good!
Now, to close out our beautiful five week series of exploring the pancha kosha together, the five yogic sheaths, we arrive this Sunday at the most profound, meaningful, and elusive layer of our real life perception ~ anandamaya kosha. The bliss body. In yoga, this is the deepest layer of how we may perceive reality, even deeper than our wisdom or intuitive sheath. Anandamaya kosha is the seat of compassion, connection, and curiosity. If you remember, the koshas are like layers of an onion surrounding one vital core (in yoga philosophy, this core is known as atman, the human soul, and living through the deep perspective of anandamaya kosha is the closest we come to perceiving life through soulful eyes). How beautiful is it that the yogis recognised proximity to your soul as being synonymous to feeling free and joyful?! In this way we know that to cultivate joy and compassion is the truest form of spirituality.
Because the layer of anandamaya kosha is hidden so deep inside us, and the realities of physical sensation, mental stimulus and emotional experiences in life can feel so overwhelming, sadly we rarely know what it feels like to experience life blissfully. When a baby laughs, we can catch a glimpse of it in another being. Usually, for me, when an adorable puppy leaps into my arms I am for a single moment consumed by a more positive and loving perspective. Impossible not to giggle! But, outside of happy circumstances, if you know what it feels like to let go, to surrender completely, to bask in nature, then you probably have a taste of this deeper perspective. The joy of creativity ~ true and free flow creativity, without thought for product or progress ~ is also an experience of anandamaya kosha. Imagine laying back in a big, beautiful river, and allowing the current to pull you quickly and effortlessly downstream. It is thrilling yet easy. You have no thought as to where you are going. It doesn't matter. The joy of being in that river, completely at ease, completely alive, is enough. You trust the river entirely to take you where you want to go, because you're there already.
Of course, a really good Savasana is another example of experiencing reality through anandamaya kosha! There's a reason we practice corpse pose at the end of every asana practice, and this philosophy is why it's so important. Everything you want is in the letting go. This week, a glorious savasana is our aim. We will work to explore enough movement, enough breath, enough engagement in order to stimulate the mind and body so that the moment of release - ah, finally, a rest! - feels truly wonderful. I can't wait to see you there!
For Equilibrium, a Blessing.
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all its names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”
― John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
Le grá,
Macha
