In this month's Newsletter:.
New Team Member – An attempt to get more work done – Are you kidding?
A Question of Balance – But just who do we ask?
Quick Fix – Another Yoga Tool to use anytime.
Mudra for the Month – It's all in your hands.
Heartily Juicy – A simple but effective Juice for Summer.
Ten Light Hearted Stress-Relief Tips – Non-the-less effective guidelines for calming.
Ease Back – We backed-ourselves-up carefully.

Reiki Clinic News – Monthly Clinic goes from Strength to Strength
Cash to Bosnia – A Huge Cheque thanks to You.
Autumn Courses – Exciting NEW Pranyama Workshops
A Student's View – Adi Frankovitch tells us about the Start of Her Yoga Journey.

Well... We Tried!
In a rather misguided attempt to get the newsletter out on time, I was advised to delegate some tasks to others and not try to do everything myself. OK, it was a great idea but somewhere along the way our hi-tech system collapsed, We were simply trying to record an amusing message for the answering machine when I asked Xena to press the pause button... she mis-heard, thought it was PAWS button, and, because she has four, didn't know where to look! She totally lost the plot and now will not use the telephone at all. We had 'dog-down' for days and eventually agreed that she should only use the computer. If I thought that would fix it, I was wrong. Next day she emailed the citizen's advice bureau asking for clarification of her employee's rights as she was certainly not going to be anybody's LAPTOP DOG!

Balance is what it's all about.
Everything in life pulses, waxes and wanes, moves from empty to full, from start to stop, from positive to negative, from action to rest.
In our classes we recognised these cycles and learned to tune into them,working with them rather than against them, or ignoring them altogether.

We tend to become a little bit vulnerable as the seasons changed. A little bit prone to the swings of life, so our balancing practises, both physical, and during meditation and breathing, aimed to restore our equilibrium.

We looked at stability, and not only standing on one leg.. or arm, but the balance between our left and right side of our brains. Our left brain side is the logical and extroverted side, whereas our right brain is the creative, intuitive, softer side. While both are equally important, in todays world, often more credence and importance is put on our logical thinking, and sometimes even dumbing down our own natural inner wisdom. When we lose sight of this, we stop living from our own authentic self, and rely on others to tell us what to do, where to go, and how to live our lives.

Erich Schiffman, in his book “Moving into Stillness” talks about asking for “Inner Guidance” and getting used to doing it on little things, when things are not emotionally charged. Then you will be ready for the big issues. So try this. When you are getting dressed ask “should I wear the white shirt, or the blue?” and wait a moment. You inner guidance does not get fed up at being asked about the little things.. in fact it is pleased to be acknowledged and then you get used to the feeling that comes.
Try it when you are in the veg shop.. “Should I get the red apples or the green ones?”.. wait a moment ... get the answer and then do it. Act on it. then you will be ready for the bigger questions. You will know and recognise the feeling.. “One instinctively knows when something is right.” It’s the feeling that counts.

We have passed high summer now. The summer solstice, light nights, and we are moving towards a quieter time and looking towards slowing down... and enjoying it.
When we find ourselves hurrying, or even pressing others out of our way, we might ask ourselves exactly where are we going in such a rush? What are we running away from? or rushing into? Can we learn to pause? Can we learn to stop for a moment, to sit down, to smell the air, to look around, to take a breath in... and savour it. When we slow down, we make a place for silence and solitude in our lives. This state of mind is called yoga. Can you let the moment open itself to you? If we did nothing else in our life but reduce our accelerated pace, the world would be transformed overnight.

Instant calm – Yoga's quick-fix remedies for stress
Another of the tools for your yoga toolbox

When you feel life is just too much, everything is on top of you, you feel angry disappointed, weighed down, try one of the following;

'Haaah' meditation
Take a moment to:
Stop everything... now!
Let your breath out across the back of your throat in a 'Hhhhaaaaaaah'. Let it go as far as you can. Then let it go again for another two seconds. Push up from your abdomen until you feel emptied of everything. Then pay attention to the experience of your breath coming back in. Do this twice more and see how different you feel. Stay with this feeling for a few moments and then carry on.
You will be surprised at how things drop into perspective.

'Just... ...This' meditation (A Donna Farhi meditation)
You can do this for as long as you like.. 30 minutes to simply a couple of times.
Sit or lie. Be comfortable. This is part of it. Stop, snuggle, let go. As you breathe in, say to yourself ‘just’ and as your breath goes out, say to yourself ‘this’. Nothing else matters. all the jobs will get done. Christmas will come and go, the sprouts will get cooked. Do it for as long as you can and notice how your breathing pattern changes. Simply let your thoughts pass by. Don’t hold on to any one of them. Just watch them as they go by. “Just...This”’ Breathing in and breathing out... and notice that it did not ruin your day and you still got everything done you needed to.

Mudra for the Month
Hakini Mudra
This mudra is said to benefit the brain, third eye and lungs, balancing the right and left side of the brain and creating co-operation between them.
In terms of science, this mudra has been researched quite well. It is recommended in memory training and used in management courses. It is said to open the right hemisphere where memory is stored. It also deepens respiration. Your left side of your brain is your logical, rational, masculine side. Your right side is your feminine side, intuitive, and cooler. We need a balance between the two. Much emphasis nowadays is placed on the left brain, logical, mathematical, side and much of our inner wisdom has been lost, or pushed out. When we use this mudra we begin to remember, and to use and be guided by our own intelligence, and bring ourselves back into balance.
You can use it at any time, when you are sitting down, waiting at the dentist, you do not have to specifically do it when you are meditating.
It is also the mudra for lost things... keys, words, names. Just sit, apply your mudra, bring to mind what you have lost, and then leave it alone, and wait and see when when your loss returns to you. It may take five minutes, or two days, but it will come.
Simply place all your finger tips and thumb tips together.

Juice for the Heart
The benefits of drinking freshly juiced fruit and vegetables can be felt instantly, but the same as anything else it is with regular drinking the gains come. Generally we are full of toxins, and one juice won’t shift it all. But a regular dose may. Juice can be a powerhouse of vital vitamIns and minerals that help to keep us in glowing good health.

Green Juice.
No time?
...but you feel your heart chakra needs a boost (or someone else’s does!)
This is delightful and tastes divine.
Even people who don’t like vegetable juices usually love this one.

The sweetness of the apples keeps it easy on your palate.
Four apples. The much maligned golden delicious are perfect.
Spinach. How much? How green do you want it to be? Watch it as it comes through and you decide.
Wash your spinach.
Push your apples through your juicer with some wet spinach. Leave water on the spinach. It helps it through the juicer and makes the juice more refreshing.
Add a smidgeon of lemon juice if you wish.
Drink straight away before the apples oxidise, but take it slowly, savouring it. Let it get warm in your mouth and then feel it slide down into your heart.
On a very practical level, it’s full of nourishment. Apples have vitamins A and C and spinach is well known for it’s iron content, but drink it for the joy, the beauty, the smell.
You can experiment with this. Use pears instead of apples, or mix the two, add some parsley or watercress.
Apple trees are the epitomy of unconditional love. They simply grow, produce their fruit and give it away. The more they give away, the more prolific they are the next season. They don’t choose or discriminate who to give their apples to. All are welcome.
Excellent juicing books are Nigel Slater’s “Thirst” and Michael Von Straten’s “Super Juice”

Ten Commandments for reducing stress
1. Thou shalt not be perfect, nor even try to be.
2. Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people.
3. Thou shalt leave undone the things that ought to be done.
4. Thou shalt not spread thyself too thinly.
5. Thou shalt schedule thy time for thyself and support of network
6. Thou shalt switch off and do nothing... regularly
7. Thou shalt be boring, untidy, inelegant and inattentive... at times
8. Thou shalt never ever feel guilty
9. Thou shalt be thine own worst enemy and thine own best friend
10.Thou shalt not take life too seriously

Ease Back

We had our “Back Care Day” at Denshaw Village Hall which highly successful. Gentle routines, easy to follow for all, even those who had never been to a yoga class before in their life.
Many back ailments can be prevented or relieved by attention to posture and movement habits every day. Symptoms of overuse [repetitive strain injury] of which many computer users are aware, can be relieved by short breaks, and tension relieving exercises. Integrating simple yoga practises, breathing, relaxations as well as exercise, into every day life, has cumulative long term benefits.

One of the most common causes of low back pain is stress. It is one of the most common modern complaints. Research says some 33 million working days are lost because of it, and 80 out of 100 people are stricken with at least one bout of back pain in their life. The strain of coping with today’s fast moving life, as well sedentary work, can give rise to poor posture, a hunched back, collapsed chest, [and thus poor breathing] and tight muscles which further exacerbate the experience of pain. Yoga can do much to help alleviate symptoms as well as root out the cause and heal back pain naturally.
A well constructed yoga routine can be an ideal way to learn to relieve a painful back without creating or aggravating pain.

The real power of managing back pain lies within ourselves. Back pain, as with any other pain, when we feel it, we tense up against it.
.“Pain”…ouch…tension…fear…more pain. The worry. ‘How long will it last? How much worse will it get? What is going to happen next? How am I going to manage? Do my job? Cope with life? What will happen as I grow older with this pain? If we can RELAX with the pain [after all this is what most pain killers do]. Don’t fight it but say “It’s all right” and see what happens. Keep your muscles strong and healthy with a realistic exercise routine. Keep moving. Keep breathing and above all keep relaxing.

Very often ‘doing less’ can do more for us, by allowing our body to return to a state of constructive rest. It can often provide a much needed respite from the demands of modern living. How does Yoga help? In three ways
With exercise... gently stretching muscles, mobilsing joints and improving posture.
With breathing exercises....helping to relax and release tense muscles.
With relaxation ... reducing stress and anxiety.
And having a look at lifestyle to maintain your healthy back at home and at work.

What matters…Moving and positioning yourself in ways that pose minimal stress upon your back. Resting appropriately for the pain, then resuming normal activity as soon as you comfortable can. Maintaining a healthy level of physical activity and an appropriate amount and type of exercise. Getting qualified guidance to prevent further injury. Do not give up any treatment or medication. What does not matter…Extensive bed rest when you do not need it. ’Olympic’ level exercise or athletic programs. Doing it ‘all on your own’.

This was a specialist program, tried and tested, and one I have learnt and used throughout my life. In all our classes, the breathing, stretching ,strengthening and relaxing techniques help to keep our backs healthy.
One person had such a good reaction she emailed the following note:

Hi Marilyn
Just to let you know, since the course on backs I have followed the
programme in your booklet every day.
My problem was more with my hip, which I figure is connected to the back
therefore the same exercises should help.
They have been a great success, I am much more in tune with my back and so
far for most of the time, pain free.
So a big thank you your course and programme have been invaluable.
Sue Mann

(Sue can be seen in the above photo, centre in yellow, concentrating on her practise at Denshaw)

Just remember though, like Sue found out, the real power lies in actually doing it!

Reiki Clinic – First Saturday each Month
This is going great.

It is proving very popular, and what a way to spend a Saturday morning. When you wake up and feel you don’t want to get out of bed, all you have to do is think...”Well. I only have to get dressed and then go and have a lie down at Uppermill Reiki”. Or if you are an early riser and have done a days work by 10 a.m. you can then go and have a cup of tea and a real restorative lie down. The relaxation felt is true and deep. All are welcome. The feedback we have been getting is just amazing. It is difficult to define what happens, and indeed it is different for each person, and also different each time you receive a treatment. Reiki works for your own personal good, giving you what you need at that moment.. and sometimes it may be a release of stored up emotions. Often, nothing is felt immediately on the first treatment, [sometimes it is] but a feeling of well being may begin to settle into you. You may not attribute to the Reiki, but it does not matter as long as you enjoy it.
The atmosphere is lovely. Cups of tea are excellent, as are the biscuits.
When I was telling my son about the clinic, explaining all about the Reiki, the practicioners, the logistics, the atmosphere. His one question was “What sort of biscuits?”
If you have never encountered Reiki, this is an opportunity times where you can to go and experience a Reki treatment without it costing a fortune. We only ask for a suggested donation of £3.00 which goes to pay the rent, and any money left over goes directly to Saddleworth Cafe [Cancer Aid For Everyone] which is the local support group for cancer sufferers, their family and carers.
If you are having a bad week and have no money, that’s all right too. Come anyway, for free.
All our practitioners work at the clinic on a voluntary basis. We know, and have felt the value and joy of Reiki and simply want to pass it on.

Reiki Level Two Certificate Course: will be on October 18th
Reiki Level One Certificate Course: full day Sunday November 16th

(For more details please email your interest: reiki@marilynyoga.com)

Reiki Practitioners Please Note the date of our next Reiki Exchange is
September 8th at 7.30.

Next Clinics are August 2nd, September 6th, October 4th

A Great Result For Tuesday Morning Yoga
Our Tuesday morning yoga class at Uppermill is a one-hour class with a difference
There is no official charge and anyone can attend.
There is a suggested donation of at least £3 (though anyone on a very tight budget could skip this...no-one would mind). The only costs incurred are the hire charges for the room, ALL the remaining money goes to the charity, Healing Hands Network. This is the charity that supports the war victims in Bosnia. The war in Bosnia ended 13 years ago, but the suffering the people underwent is horrific and ongoing. I have been and I have seen it first hand. Concentration camp victims were simply turned out when the war ended. Often they had no homes left to go to. Women and children were too ashamed of what had happened to them to return to their husbands, if they had one. They were just left. Camps were set up, but no funding, and no way of earning a living. Still today, there are some who have only one set of clothes to wear. Gradually they are rebuilding. Classes have been set up to teach skills, sewing,communication. Physical and mental tortures are being treated by therapists who go out to Bosnia and give their services free of charge.
...makes you think doesn't it?
Through the class we recently sent £1200 to Healing Hands.
Thank you to all who came to class and donated.

New Workshops for Autumn
We will be having pranyama workshops.
Right now, you are breathing, automatically. When you go to bed tonight, your breath will flow in and out without any help from you. This automatic breath allows you to survive, but when you unconsciously restrain your breath though habit, or stress, you become automatically restricted and distorted. This allows you to survive, but does not allow you to thrive.
Today research is proving over and over that when we breathe well, we create optimum conditions for health and well being. When we don’t, we lay the foundations for illness, heart disease, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression.
Breathing correctly is the most readily accessible resource we have for creating optimum health and sustaining vital energy.
As we begin to focus our attention on our breath, it becomes effective at cleaning and purifying at a deep level. As this happens, you will experience an increased feeling of lightness and renewed energy in your body, and a greater calmness and clarity in your mind.
Breathing affects your respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, muscular and psychic systems. It has an affect on your sleep, your memory, your energy levels and your concentration. Everything we do, the pace we keep, the feelings we have, the choices we make are influenced by the rhythms of our breath.
When we were first born, our whole bodies breathed. Every cell quivered with life. Every bone, muscle and nerve was fed and nourished by our breath. Today, most of us have forgotten what it is like to breathe fully and wholly. We may have forgotten it, but we have not lost it. We can reclaim it. In finding it again, we may also reclaim other areas of our lives.
The classes will be three hours and a combination of asana work to open restricted areas, breathing techniques and meditation. Numbers will be limited to fifteen people to allow for individual tuition where necessary. The cost will be £15 and booking essential. Please make sure if you book that you can come. A phone call at the last minute, or even two days before does not allow time for someone else to fill your place.
Sunday September 28th 10 till 1pm
Saturday November 22nd 10 till 1pm

The Foundation Level One will be coming to a close and a new course will be starting early in the New year. The Foundation Course is such a lovely and nurturing time, learning more about yoga, more about yourself. There will also be a Foundation Level Two beginning in 2008. If Foundation One was dipping your toes in, Level Two is deeper, more profound, even more fascinating.

From Adi, Foundation Course Student
It was only the beginning…

Registering to do Foundation Course 1 was something that I never considered or thought about. When the Thursday class ended and as I was on my way home I picked
the leaflet from the table together with other leaflets of yoga workshops that I collected but never went to... Little did I know that this course is going to have such an impact on me and those around me.

I enjoyed doing yoga since I first went to a local class back in Chorlton although never in the same way or to the extent that I did when I started attending Marilyn’s
Thursday evening class in Uppermill.

I was pregnant at the time and the Thursday evening class was a very welcome
‘weekend starter’ and also eased the pain I had in my groin due to a condition that
can occur in pregnancy (SPD). And so, on that Thursday night in summer 06 I asked Marilyn if I could do the Foundation Course 1 even though I was pregnant. Marilyn said the pregnancy was not a problem in that sense and so I registered and waited for the unknown. I had no idea what the course would be like and whether it would merely include further asana work. I was very keen for the course to begin and was not disappointed.

I met a lovely group of people, very different yet very similar. People from different walks of life but with one common love: Yoga. From the start our group ‘melted’ very well together and in combination with Marilyn’s lovely and warm home and the fresh
Juice waiting for us each time we arrived, it felt like a haven. I longed to the next Yoga Day the minute that day’s session was completed.

Yes, we did do some asana work but we did a lot more than that. We touched the basics of yoga, some parts in more detail than others, flowing by the group’s own inclination and following Marilyn’s lead. We went from the philosophy of meditation to meditation outdoors and from meditating on food to eating it…we learned about ourselves and about our chakras and how we can bring balance to our lives or at least work on achieving it…we learned to be, we learned to be grounded, we learned to listen to others and listen to ourselves. Mainly for me, we learned to be positive and strong even when all is swaying around us.

In the same way that I never planned to do Foundation Course 1 I never planned to become a yoga teacher but throughout the course I felt that this is something that I long to do and even more than that, I need to do.

Throughout the course I read different yoga related books and it all just made sense. I knew I want to know much more about yoga as a way of life, as a passion and that I want to experience yoga in every possible way.

Foundation Course 1 was the appetizer for me, the antipasti, the aperitif……..it left a marvellous taste in my mouth and I felt that I wanted to know more, much more, about yoga, the people who developed it, the way of life and the way to bring it to others.

I am now looking forward to embark on the teachers training course in July. I feel such a thirst to learn all I can about yoga and hope to experience the impact this further course will bring into my life.

In the meantime, I do yoga every night with Michael (and Babar the elephant) every night before bed and enjoy the sense of calm it brings to both of us together and I know that I was so lucky to pick that leaflet on that Thursday night.

Adi Frankovitch

Note the Holiday Break
The Tuesday classes only close for the summer on July 29th and re-open September 9th.

The Thursday classes at Uppermill do not close at all.

For more details about any of the above
Telephone: 01457 870453
or Email: enquiries@marilynyoga.com

With Love