Mysore updates: Thursday 8th October 2020

Due to newly updated Government Covid restrictions our Mysore program will return to it's well established online program on Sunday the 11th October that has been running since March 20th 2020. 

We appreciate change and transitions have a variety of challenges to them, but know that we, as a teaching team, are committed to providing community, focus, enthusiasm and steadiness for your practice alongside keeping everyone as safe as possible.  Keep your practice consistent as we navigate this next part of our Covid journey is key and we look forward to seeing you all on the mat in 2D or eventually 3D! 

There is an updated new ZOOM code as of Sunday 27th September:  Click on the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6447661797 Passcode: yama  

ALL BOOKINGS HERE

Mysore weekly Schedule: 

MORNING

• Monday- Thursday:

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On Thursday 9th July, Emma Isokivi and Sarah Hatcher chatted on IGTV and here are some nuggets transcribed from the conversation:

Emma Isokivi is our Mysore Director and a long term student of Sarah Hatcher’s.  On Saturday 25th July, Sarah is running a special 2.5hr workshop for us online (see more details HERE and at the bottom).

Emma:  Sarah why don’t you share a little more about yourself and your connection with Meadowlark?

Sarah: This is fun.

I got connected to Meadowlark Yoga because I came to Meadowlark in 2012 to guest teach and then I ended up staying and the story is a little bit long, but well just the good stuff is I was the director of the program there for a year and a half. Then we moved up to Aberdeen or I started a program up there at Love Yoga. And then we came back to Edinburgh and I was there for another four and a half years or so, and again taught as the director of the Mysore program.

So Meadowlark is, my really heart and...

Written by Kirsten Waugh, our Evening Mysore teacher and general class teacher at Meadowlark Yoga. 

I regularly teach yin yoga classes on the Meadowlark timetable but I’m particularly looking forward to a special moon day practice for our Mysore students this Friday morning.  (Booking details HERE)

I know that many of our students attend other classes outside of our Mysore programme and yin won’t be new to everyone. I also know that even the most committed Ashtangi is often also a keen cyclist, swimmer, rock climber, *insert your chosen activity here*.

Some of the theory we use in Yin Yoga comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Yin and Yang are sometimes described as polar opposites but there is no absolute, and one is relative to the other. Yin is cold, dark, passive, feminine, where Yang is hot, bright, active, masculine. The list is far reaching.

If we apply the principles of Yin and Yang to our daily activities many of us are spending more time...

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Director of Meadowlark's Morning Mysore Programme, Sarah Hatcher, shares her experience and knowledge of practicing whilst pregnant in the Mysore room, and the various paths you can take if you would like to practice yoga if you are expecting.

“Simply trust the body and follow the breath.” Judy Cameron, Yoga of Birth

The Mysore room is the melting pot of transformation: when you walk in you immediately feel the heat, hear the music of people’s ujjayi breath, and witness bodies moving in the space with rhythm and pace. And you are pregnant. Do you belong in here?

You’re very welcome to be pregnant and practice in the Mysore room at Meadowlark Yoga. If you’re not here in Edinburgh, speak with your Mysore teacher about practicing as each programme is different; some Mysore programmes don’t want pregnant mammas in the room. This may be the case if the teacher isn’t prenatal trained or they haven’t had a baby of their own. The Mysore room,...

Pratyahara, or "sense withdrawal" (in short) is the 5th of the 8 limbs of yoga, but not regularly touched upon in yoga classes.  This important study can have a huge effect on physical and mental states and is a tool used regularly in the practice of Ayurveda (a sister science to yoga).  This often overlooked limb of yoga is also fundamental to a successful meditation practice... which I needn't tell you is one of life's great healing tools!

So... what exactly is it and would it be useful for me?

Simply, pratyahara is the withdrawing of our senses from negative environmental influences - food, impressions & associations.  This covers what we nourish our bodies with (food), what we fuel our thoughts with (impressions) and who we spend our time with (associations).

If we can temporarily and effectively withdraw the senses from negative influences, we can tone and strengthen our senses to longer term immunity.

In Ayurveda, we believe that pratyahara has different...

by Nadine Watton

Entering the third decade of teaching Yoga… who would have thought it?!

During one of our chats, Karen and I realised that we are both celebrating our 20th anniversary of teaching Yoga. It really is amazing how quickly time goes by and these landmark moments always provide the opportunity to reflect and consider the journey of the years gone by.

My introduction to yoga was through Ashtanga Yoga which I fell in love with instantly and I have had the privilege to learn from some amazing teachers from the start. My beginnings of Yoga teaching was assisting my teacher at the time, Abbey Daniel,  in the Mysore room, assisting her in beginners classes and then, with the guidance of Abbey, beginning to teach classes which I started at the age of 23 when I lived in London.  

Early 90’s…

In the early 90’s the Yoga scene was very different to what it is now. There were very few dedicated Yoga studios. We had no Instagram, no Facebook,...