Om Yoga Magazine — February 2018

Empowering confi dence.

Transformative and inspiring.

For further information & syllabus

please contact The Devon School of Yoga

http://www.devonyoga.com • [email protected]

Telephone: 01392 420573

The Devon

ofYoga

School

Empowering confi dence.

POSTGRADUATE

YOGA

THERAPY

TRAINING

COURSE

This holistic and eclectic

course offers a broad and deep

base of academic, practical

and experiential studies.

Qualifi ed, self motivated yoga

teachers from any tradition,

who want to evolve and

integrate the diversity of their

life experience into a

therapeutic practice are

invited to apply.

26 days over 12 weekends

(including residentials) from

September 2018 - May 2020

Cultivating giving

and receiving

It may sound obvious, but taking turns to

give and receive touch is a wonderful way

to tune into what feels good for you and

savour the experience. Agree who will give

first and who will receive first. Set a time

that feels right for you whether it’s five

minutes, 15 minutes or an hour. Tip: set a

timer so that you don’t have to keep an eye

on the clock! Interestingly, many people find

receiving more challenging than giving. If you

find yourself struggling with this, relax in the

knowledge that receiving is a quality that

can be cultivated.

Clear and compassionate

communication

One of the challenges people often have

in getting the touch they crave, is that they

don’t have the vocabulary to ask for what

they want. So they just put up with whatever

they are given so as not to offend the other.

Make a game of exploring with these two

kinds of touch:

(Tip: although the strokes can also be

used pretty much anywhere on the body, try

exploring hands and arms only at first. There

supports us in feeling more intimate and
connected with others.
So, how can we create safe and
nurturing conditions to give and receive
quality touch? Touch with an intention
of intimacy and tenderness rather than
excitement and arousal.
The suggestions offered below can be
explored with a friend or lover. And also
with yourself.

Creating a safe and

sacred space
It is one of the beautiful paradoxes of life
that the more safe and secure we feel, the
more we can relax into letting go. Make
special time to explore touch; separate from
other activities. Agree on the intention of
the experience. This is especially important
if you already have a sexual connection
with the person you share this with. Your
intention might be ‘To feel closer to you
through non-sexual contact’. Hold true to
this intention even if sexual energy arises.
This is how trust is established and deepens.
A beautiful way to open and close sacred
space is to offer one another a bow of
namaste to begin and end the experience.

is so much sensation to be explored in this

area of the body).

‘Earth Touch’ has a connecting, grounding

quality. Use the palm of your hand to sweep

over the skin. Allow your fingers to be soft

and loose so that they don’t press into the

body but rather trail over it as you move.

Essentially you are leading the stroke with

the palm of your hands.

‘Air Touch’ has a feather-light, caressing

quality. Use the very tips of your fingers

to lightly stroke. Allow them to be soft and

loose so that the fingers dance over the skin

rather than press down into it.

There are four simple words that can

make all the difference to communicating

how you would like to receive: firmer, lighter,

faster, slower.

If you are in the giving role and hear

these words, reply with “Thank you”. Let

them know that you hear them and that you

have received their request. Express your

gratitude that they have communicated their

needs and preferences in this moment. No

more guesswork. What a gift!

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