Hello and welcome,
This Monday we have our monthly restorative class and it is aligned with this weeks overall theme of PRATYAHARA – Patanjali’s eighth limb of yoga, the class is designed to soothe the senses, quieten the mind and aid restful sleep – details below, all welcome.
We’ll continue in different ways in our regular classes this week to explore this limb that is often the hardest to explain as it is the most alien of the eight limbs to Western people. Often translated as withdrawal of the senses, it more accurately means withdrawing the energy from our senses and bringing it inwards. When practicing pratyahara we seek to ignore the vrittis (fluctuations of the mind) brought on by the distractions of the outside world like sounds, sights, smells etc and instead bring this energy inward, specifically toward the spine. We typically use our energy and push it out into the world, constantly responding to the demands on our senses often causing stress on our minds and bodies but when practicing pratyahara we reverse this flow of energy. So much is going on inside of us that is fascinating and beautiful if only we were able to see it. Pratyahara is the practice of pulling energy in to awaken this beautiful inner world. We cannot move towards the subsequent limbs when our energy is constantly pulled to the outside, it takes a lot of practice to draw away from the constant pull on our senses and not be disturbed by them, it’s hard. This is why we keep practicing and use many techniques.
I look forward to seeing you in class this week.
Wishing you a happy and peaceful week ahead.
Namaste, Kim Xx
Restorative Yoga: Studio Bhāvanā, 6.00pm – 7.30pm: MONDAY 14th August – Elusive Dreams – a deeply restorative practice to soothe the senses
Cost: £12 per class (Not included in multi-class discount offer)