87International School
of Yoga, Meditation
& Ayurveda
druyoga.com
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
intakes...
WALES Nov 2018 & Jan 2019
LONDON until Feb 2019
STROUD March 2019
Oct third page dyttc.indd 2 29/08/2018 13:20empty the last little bit of air before a long
inhale to replenish. As the body flows into a
fast, strong vinyasa, the ujjayi breath aiding
the steady flow of movement making the
practice a moving meditation, the breath
switches to kappalachi breaths to aid
micro-pulsing in wide leg squats. The mind
distracted from the burn with the fast breath
and ohh the release with the exhale and fold
forward. As the breath releases to a natural
breath in savasana she lets go of the breath,
the practice allowing a moment of rest.
Back to work
The breath returns to the control of the
medulla, of habit and reflex as she drives to
work, attention diverted by thinking about
the day ahead, mind is full of things to do,
things to remember, things to worry about.
The work day starts pressured, there is a
queue waiting for her at her office – the
receptionist, the practice manager, two
patients waiting, 82 letters, 94 results and
31 tasks in her inbox. Automatically her
shoulders hunch, her breath is shallow, fast;
there is no dedicated full yogic breath - that
has been lost in the barrage of things to do.
Stress levels rise. She kindly asks reception
and the practice manager to put their
requests in a message which she can put in
the pile, and shuts the door on the outside
world, sits in her chair, closes her eyes,
stabilising herself for a moment with sama
vritti breath. The slowing and focus on the
breath instantly relaxes the tension in the
shoulders and back. Right, ready to
start the day, pick up the phone: “Hello this
is the doctor from the surgery, how can we
help today?”
Her third patient has anxiety and stress
at work; she desperately wants more time
to guide them to yoga, to mindfulness, to
meditation. To extol the virtues of all the
above but they’ve already gone over their
allotted time and she needs to give them
something she knows that can help. She
runs through the use of the double time
breath and arranges follow up in two weeks
to see how they are doing; it is all a work
in progress.Take a pause
Lunch comes and goes sat at her desk, she
cannot leave the computer as every time she
does another 10 calls get put on the triage
list; it is like an avalanche and she is trying
to stop it with a wall made of feathers. She
is on high alert, Defcon 1: she has lost her
breath somewhere between the child with a
meningococcal rash and the staff member
walking out saying they are not coming back!
And she still has another five hours to go...
tired, frazzled but she must soldier on. She
takes five breaths of Nadi Shodhanam to
balance, her mind empties as she focuses
on which finger is on which nostril and which
nostril she should be breathing in or out of,
aware of a mild congestion on the left as she
lets out a mucousy exhale. Ahh right, where
was she...?
The afternoon fares better for patient
numbers but not for morale with a patient
shouting on the phone when she is unable to
see him in an urgent same day appointment
for the corn he has had on his toe for six
months! Her sympathetic nervous system
kicks in as he raises his voice threatening to
complain or go to A&E. Adrenaline rises, her
voice is sharp and short in response, with
a racing heart and shallow breath she tries
to reign in her breath to control her own
reflexive reaction to a perceived threat.Another breath
Finally finish the day with a sigh of relief,
at home, sinking into a hot bath allowing
everything in the day to melt away as her
breath returns to its normal steady, slow
controlled resting rhythm.
Tucked up in bed, her mind is whirling,
struggling to turn off, desperately tired and
in need of rest. Cue double time breathing
until eventually she drifts off to sleep.
Beep! Beep! Beep! as the alarm goes off
for another morning, another day, another
breath...^om mind