Dear Friends in Yoga,

I know the cold months of the winter lockdown have presented each of us various challenges. I do hope that as the spring bulbs shoot up, the days lengthen and the Covid numbers come down there is a sense of spring positivity breaking or at least on the horizon. 

During the hibernation period my partner Tom and I decided to move to Cornwall where my family is at the end of March. Lockdown has been a time of reflection and reassessment for all of us. For me, like many of you, my family are incredibly important. So with my parents getting older I have been feeling a deep desire to be just around the corner to spend time in a bubble with them. From Edinburgh I could fly to India faster than I could drive to Cornwall and I have found the distance a real struggle during lockdown.

My community at Meadowlark means the world to me and because of our virtual yoga shala, I will not be leaving you really. Here are the details of my continued offerings and commitments...

In our traditional Ashtanga Vinyasa Mysore program here at Meadowlark we observe the “moon days”.  This means on the full and new moons we invite our community to take rest from our more regular practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. 

There are a variety of reasons for observing the rest days, and for many who practice daily (6 days per week) the extra rest and observation of fluctuations in one’s energy over periods of time is welcomed. 

During these days we invite our community to focus on other areas of practice, including and not limited to prāṇāyāma, meditation, chanting, gentler āsana practice like yin yoga or Matthew Sweeney’s Chandra sequence.  It also invites you to observe the attachment you may have to your ‘normal’ practice.

After advice from Hamish Hendry of Ashtanga Yoga London (who follows the Panchang Hindu Calendar for their Moon day scheduling) and carefully observing our sunrise times here in...

For many, being at home, and having access to a multitude of online yoga classes has opened up, and made starting yoga more accessible.  For some of us it might have left us a bit ??? about what style/ teacher/ format is right for you.

At Meadowlark Yoga, our Mysore program is a key element of what makes up our daily offering with 4 hours per morning, and evening options also.  What’s a Mysore style class? Read more HERE

When we work with beginners in our Mysore community, we like to work in small groups, so there is lots of personal attention, and care can be given individually.  This means that we can cater for lots of different levels, bodies and abilities.  There is no change for us working online, we keep our groups small, foster community and relationships with each other and are committed to help you grow a lifelong yoga practice. This is why we invite "videos ON" during Mysore classes!  Community and connection is...

Mysore updates: 11th March 2021

Due to Government Covid restrictions our Mysore program operates online with our well established program that has been running via Zoom 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! 

Our ZOOM for all Mysore offerings is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6447661797 Passcode: yama  

ALL BOOKINGS HERE

Mysore weekly Schedule: 

MORNING

• Monday- Thursday:

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...

ZOOM

• This is live streamed and not recorded. 
•  This is only for your fellow Meadowlark Mysore practitioners. 
•  Please mute your side of the channel, if direct dialogue and guidance needed, unmute and ask your teacher questions as needed.  
• We will be able to see you (if you choose to use video) and will offer support and guidance. 
  • This method is about supporting our regular practitioners who already know how to practice with some maturity.  We will provide you with support, accountability and community to be able to find steadiness and growth in this unusual time.  
  • Just like the Mysore...

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,...