I love to hear from children who listen to my Yoga Sleep meditations. Here are thank you letters from Jess and Josh, two young yogis based in the UK. The drawings of yoga postures are fantastic!
All of my Yoga Nidra tracks are available for streaming with iTunes, Spotify and TIDAL. Search under my spiritual name JAYADEVI. You can also purchase as CDs or downloads via my online shop.
The Christmas holidays and New Year can be hectic. Searching for the perfect gifts for everyone, completing work in advance of the holidays, Christmas parties, getting all of the food in, preparing food, making time to catch up with friends and family. We can become very frazzled and worn out. This holiday season is a perfect time to unplug from your devices and take a digital detox.
Do you find yourself spending endless hours staring at your computer or device screen? Get lost in endless links and find you have wasted hours surfing the internet. Take a break. Give yourself a rest. Get some exercise. Try yoga and meditation. Spend some time in silent contemplation. Spend quality time with friends and family. You’ll feel refreshed, you’ll have more focus, you will feel energised and less likely to become distracted.
By switching off your devices for an extended period of time you will begin to notice a better posture. An opening of the front of your body, shoulders moving back and realignment of your upper spine. Your energy will open up, you will interact more naturally with others, you will appear more approachable and you will be more present. This will lead to better eye contact, deeper conversations, a sense of relaxation and great empathy towards others.
Winter is the time for rest, rejuvenation, reflection, time to go within and to slow down. It is important not to take devices to bed with you. Looking at screens late into the evening and in bed prevents you from switching off properly and will affect your natural sleeping patterns. The blue light from screens suppresses melatonin in the body which makes us more alert as we are going to sleep. You may find you are getting enough hours sleep but it may not be a high quality sleep. If you normally use your phone as an alarm clock, buy an alarm clock. Over the holidays you may have the opportunity not to set your alarm and allow yourself to catch up on sleep.
Create bonds with others by having proper conversations. Gain insight into someone’s mind by having conversations. Conversations can be memorable and engaging, you will learn new things about others and yourself. Don’t jump on Google to find the answer, allow the conversation to develop as you explore the answers. It’s a lot more fun!
Even after a few days without technology, you are more likely to remember obscure details about others. Neuroscientists believe that this is because when people are more present in conversations, their brains are able to process and store new information more easily. With the many distractions of technology, our brains have been trained not to register seemingly insignificant details. These minor facts are actually very important in the process of bonding and learning about other people. Rather than taking endless photographs we can be present and in the moment, taking in the details and using all of our senses to absorb the information. We will have a greater recall of events when we are fully present.
When you are offline for a while, it gives you space to review your career or relationships. You may wish to address your habits surrounding your health, fitness and lifestyle. You can really focus on yourself and discover areas you wish to transform.
Stepping away from your devices can allow you to find new ways to be creative and achieve a state of flow. This time and space will help original thinking and big ideas. You may wish to try something new such as dancing, singing, making Christmas cards, baking a cake, creating gifts, mindful colouring in, silent meditation. The list is endless, don’t limit yourself and give new things a try!
Instead of checking your social media or email first thing, write down on paper three things that you are grateful for. Appreciation can make you a happier person and more positive. Doing this evokes positive sentiments, so when you’re feeling low reading over this list can be a great reminder of all the good things in your life.
Make the most of the great outdoors and lose yourself in green space. A day out without your phone can feel liberating. You will more fully absorb and appreciate your surroundings. Being in a natural environment does wonders for your clearing your mind. Getting out into daylight in winter can really help with our wellbeing and promote a more positive mood.
Try not to rely on Google Maps for every turn. Asking somebody for directions forces us to engage in human connection. It could put a smile on your face, and theirs – people love knowing they’ve helped someone out. Plus, you could get some inside knowledge of the local area that a screen digital map couldn’t tell you.
Enjoy the festive season. Have fun with friends and family. Experience great food and new places but please resist the urge to post every detail online. Switch off your phone and appreciate the present moment. Being present and mindful will make your Christmas even more memorable.
To keep your good digital habitats going into the New Year you could start a digital “swear-jar” with friends, family or colleagues. Every time someone checks their phone mid conversation, they have to put money in the digital “swear-jar”. This really highlights the amount that people use their phones while engaging with others. You can use the collection for a gadget free night out, you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll raise funds!
Use this holiday period to balance and set new boundaries. Allow yourself to completely rest and rejuvenate. Take the time to gain control over your devices rather than the other way around!
Have wonderfully restful and peaceful Christmas and New Year.
As I prepare my final newsletter of the year and reflecting on 2015, I realised that I did not upload a post to update you all on the Yoga at Exmouth Beach Sessions that took place in the summer.
I scheduled two beach yoga sessions this summer as the previous year had been so popular.
Thankfully we had dry weather and even some sunshine (!) for both sessions. Many of you attended, some travelling a fair distance. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone that supported the sessions. You raised a total of £203 for the following two charities.
I will schedule Yoga at the Beach for summer 2016 and will let you know the dates as soon as they are confirmed.
Nepal Earthquake Appeal
On Saturday 25 April a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. It severely shook the lives of at least 8m people and left many homeless. Nepal’s major cities, including the capital Kathmandu, have been badly damaged and rural areas near the epicentre have been completely cut off by avalanches.
DEC member agencies and their partners are working urgently to provide emergency shelter, food, clean water and blankets. Once immediate, life-saving needs are met they will work with individuals, families and communities to support them to rebuild their lives.
Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home
Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home in Rishikesh, India is home to over 60 at risk children and a free school for over 160 students from Ramana’s Garden and local underprivileged families. The school provides classes from kindergarten to eighth grade. Below is the thank you letter received from Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home.
I will be bringing the ever popular Yoga Nidra Workshops to Jala Flow Yoga Studio in Sidmouth as from February 2016. There will be a regular programme of Nidra workshops across the year and I’m really pleased to have secured a dedicated yoga space for these blissful workshops.
Jala Flow Yoga launched in June 2015 and is a dedicated space to practice in the heart of Sidmouth. Set in an attractive grade II listed building, conveniently located on the High Street. And just a stone’s throw away from the beach!
I will shortly be updating my website with the new yoga terms for 2016 plus workshops across the year in Exeter, Sidmouth and Swansea. Remember to book early as these workshops do fill up quickly!
If you are based in Sidmouth & the surrounding area and fancy attending class at Jala Flow Yoga they currently have a First Class Half Price offer available. Also if you are out of area, they have a weekly pass for visitors to the area.
Quantum physics has proved that everything in the universe is made up of energy which constantly flows and changes. Just as we can become unbalanced energetically so can our homes, land and offices. The energy of places can affect how our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Everything that has happened in a building – thoughts, actions and emotions – can be imprinted in the walls, floors and furniture. Past traumas, grief, depression, sadness, ill health, bad vibes can create stagnant energy which may affect the lives and comfort for the current people who live there.
Other factors, such as underwater streams, earth energy lines, energy channels, fault lines, stress lines, ley lines, spirit lines, chakra balancing, fabric of the building and so on, can also have a detrimental effect on the property and its inhabitants.
Energetic space clearing is a highly effective technique to clear the past energy of a home or land. By moving the energy to a more vibrant, positive, revitalised energy we can see improvements in the quality of life, health issues and promote a more positive outlook. The energy of a cleared space will have clarity and positivity.
Space clearing is a practice found in many traditional or native cultures. There are many tools to clear energy such as drumming, smudging with sage, sound, rituals, prayers and essential oils. De-cluttering to remove excess clutter is a form of space clearing and allows the energy to flow more freely.
Properties and land are also considered energetic entities so there may be stagnant energy to cleared. A property may have been built on sacred ground, on a battle field or may have a negative past history. The Energy Clearance can act to clear this energy.
I am in the process of selling a property and decided to commission a Property Energy Clearance in order to ensure a smooth selling process. I provided details of the property along with a detailed floor plan. The property was energetically cleared and I received a comprehensive report containing 40 points that had been reviewed and cleared.
This report confirmed thoughts that I’d had in relation to the property and identified clear actions that I needed to take. Once I made the decision to take action and instigated the changes, I received an offer on the property within a few days!
Even if you do not own the property you are living in, you are still considered in ‘energetic’ ownership of the property so an Energy Clearance would still be valid in this situation. In addition objects in the home may be causing energy disturbances and this will be identified within an Energy Clearance.
Negative energy may cause businesses to have financial difficulties, organisational challenges and employee conflicts. It may also cause you and your staff to experience ill health, emotional outbursts, unclear thinking, indecisiveness, and ineffectiveness. A Property Energy Clearance will help to clear any stuck energy in business premises.
I’d highly recommend a Property Energy Clearing to cleanse your home or business environment. Issues and negativity can be easily cleared. It’s a great way to create a healthier, happier and positive home or office.
I recommend Margaret Hunt (MHlifebalance.co.uk) Email Margaret@mhlifebalance.co.uk.
I’ve just finalised my new Yoga Nidra flyers for 2016. A big thank you to my designer Nia for this great design. Get the 2016 dates into your diary!
It’s been a week now since my return from Green Man. Green Man is an intimate festival with a 20,000 crowd and the festival site is nestled in the lush Welsh mountains.
I was working as part of the Wild Wellbeing team in the Nature Nurture area of Green Man. The healing area was a small affair with an abundance of therapies on offer plus yoga, hot tubs and a sauna. The beauty of the landscape added to the chilled experience. A perfect space for people to immerse themselves in peace and tranquility in order to feed their body, mind and soul.
The rainy and misty weather didn’t dampen our enthusiasm! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Wild Wellbeing clients, fellow therapists, Festival Staff, old and new friends alike! It was a lot of fun!
It wasn’t all work and no fun though. We managed to catch a variety of Festival events and sample the wide range of food on offer. Working so close to the main stage meant that we caught many of the main stage acts whilst we were massaging so I don’t feel that we missed out.
A festival highlight was catching Charles Bradley. A truly inspiring soul.
As a Black American who grew up in the mid-twentieth century, Charles Bradley’s back-story is one of struggle and hardship but it’s also one that’s steeped in deep love and adoration for the musical greats. It was after seeing James Brown in 1966, at the age of fourteen, that Bradley first discovered his own talent – but it wouldn’t be truly unearthed until a full thirty years later when he was spotted by Daptone Records’ co-founder, Gabriel Roth, while performing as a James Brown impersonator in Brooklyn in 1996.
It was truly special experience seeing Charles and witnessing the latest chapter of his music career.
Photo Credit: Wild WellBeing / Simon Clemenger
I’m back from Wilderness Festival where I had the pleasure of working for Wild Wellbeing in the Sanctuary area of Wilderness Festival. We were blessed with glorious sunshine throughout the weekend.
The Sanctuary was bigger and better this year with a team of 36 in-house therapists providing massages and facials. Plus many pitch therapists offering a broad selection of therapies ranging from massage, reflexology, tarot readings, acupuncture, solar powered showers, saunas through to gong baths. A perfect space for people to immerse themselves in peace and tranquility in order to feed their body, mind and soul.
Massage and facial products were sponsored by Neals Yard Remedies. Team Pukka provided herbal tea and a much needed chill out area for both clients and all of the hardworking therapists.
This Festival is certainly more than just music. Wilderness Festival is spread across 1,700 acres of Cornbury Park and prides itself on luxury. With a huge programme on offer ranging from theatre, arts, debates, talks, workshops, banqueting, good food, wellbeing, lakeside spa, children’s activities, there is most certainly something for everyone. At times, there are over 400 events laid on for festivalgoers.
It’s not all work and no play though. Festival highlights for me included The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Ben Howard and La Fura dels Baus.
La Fura dels Baus, Barcelona based performance company, presented a large-scale show ‘Blending (in the Air)‘, directed by Miki Espuma. This performance involved participation and the combination of the flamenco singer Ginesa Ortega together with the Wilderness Festival Orchestra and the English choir Deep Throat. 60 actors performed this original La Fura dels Baus spectacle. A giant puppet, operated by a crane, dominated the performance area and 43 performers – who had never done anything like this before – took part in an aerial spectacle in which they created a stunning human net.
Images Courtesy of: La Fura dels Baus, Wilderness Festival, Pukka Herbs, Neals Yard Remedies
“Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, then we can give from our surplus, our abundance.” Jennifer Louden
Life can be busy, demanding and stressful. With ever increasing demands from work, family obligations and life in general, we may feel the consequences of not taking adequate care of our physical, mental or emotional health. We can end up feeling drained, depleted, stressed and out of control.
For some, self-care may seem like an impossible luxury. You may be running at a thousand miles an hour, never catching up and the thought of self-care may even seem selfish to you.
Self-care is not a luxury, it is ESSENTIAL. We cannot operate from an empty vessel so ignore any warning signals from your body, mind and spirit at your own peril. If we do not take the time to fill up our vessel, we will have far less to offer others including those closest to us.
If self-care is being avoided, your body-mind-spirit will start to flag up this lack. Initially the signals may be subtle but if ignored, over time, the messages will get louder and louder. You may experience anger, frustration, fear, impatience, lack of energy, illness or injuries.
The key is to understand when we feel unbalanced and to identify self-care strategies that work for you. We need to understand what helps to restore and nourish us. This may be different for each individual but developing your self-awareness can help identify what works for you.
Here’s a list of self-care activities. See what resonates with you and add anything that makes your heart sing. We have a deep inner knowing so take the time to connect with your heart to understand what your body, mind and spirit are calling out for.
Go ahead and find out which self-care strategies work for you. These may change over time but make a start.
Here’s a gentle reminder: Take care of yourself today.
“Taking good care of YOU, means the people in your life will receive the best of you, rather than what’s left of you.” ~ Carl Bryan, Tennis Coach
“Self-care is a divine responsibility” ~ Danielle La Porte
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We have TWO PLACES remaining for this retreat. Get in touch if you’d like to join us!
Aloha Yoga is really excited to be hosting a yoga retreat at Tara Casa, a beautiful country house set in the quiet village of La Magdalena, Spain.
Come and join us for a relaxing week of daily yoga, great food, a good programme, therapies, local tours, excellent company and sunshine. You can book your place with a £100 deposit and pay instalments up to June 2015.
If you wish, you can pay the £100 deposit to reserve your place and then monthly instalments to spread the cost!
The week is led by two qualified and experienced yoga teachers, Julie Bladon (Jayadevi) and Jackie Dorrian (Jagdambe Ma), who will teach yoga classes in a variety of styles including Akhanda Yoga, Yin Yoga, Classical Kundalini Yoga, Sivananda Yoga and Yoga Nidra. This mixed programme is perfect if you are starting your yogic journey and wish to explore different styles or if you are more experienced and wish to immerse yourself in your practise. Whether you wish to travel as a group or solo, this will be the perfect week for you.
We understand that life can be busy and stressful so this week is a perfect opportunity to take care of self, replenish, rejuvenate, relax and to have time to “just be”.
We truly love what we do and would love to share a week of yoga with you in the beautiful sunny region of Murcia. Read More >
