Free The Birds

And the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…. I will always be with you…

A revisit to my days of creating prints. I made this one for so many lovely customers. And now those words mean more to me than ever.

I’ve been following Fierce Calm on Instagram for a while now and have felt so inspired by those who have shared their “yoga saved my life” stories. I felt moved to share my own. This is quite an open and honest post.

Posted • People self harm for many different reasons, and it’s often assumed that it’s ‘attention seeking’. But what not many people know is that self harm used to be a harmful meditative practice for me, a very unhealthy way of calming that overwhelming rage rushing through me

I had rituals around it. Set processes. A discipline. Control. And it was that ‘process’ and the ‘focus’ that enabled me to calm my mind, in the most damaging way, and shift my focus. And it took me years to understand why. To understand that I was hurting myself, not just my body, but my mind. And that there was another way, a healthy way, to achieve that stillness of thoughts
My name is Laura and

Through extending my yoga practice, during my teacher training, I began to find new ways to bring that focus, that mindfulness, that release. I discovered new ways of bringing a stillness to the thoughts. New healthier ways of silencing those demons

Yoga for me, now, is so much more than asana, the physical practice. Yoga, for me, is a holistic experience; it’s the mind, the body, the breath and the self. It requires discipline, rituals, processes. And when those overwhelming waves begin to rise within, I know I can take it to my mat, connect to my breath, to my practice, and find my way through to still waters again

And what’s more, yoga has given me back an identity. An identity beyond that which I thought I was limited to. It opened up my world and provided me with a community, an extended family. A purpose. It set me on a path

Yoga has taught me new ways. Better ways. For that I will always be grateful 🙏"

In yoga we use the phrase “root down to rise up” quite often. And it’s about using our foundations to prepare us and stabilise us in preparation to rise up. By making sure we have the right foundations, the right roots into the earth, we know we can safely and gracefully rise up, and take ‘flight’. It’s one of my favourite sorts of yoga balances; the balance between being connected to the earth, and reaching towards the sky.

If I could turn back time? A life without suffering?⁣
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Without wishing to give you a Cher ear worm for the rest of the day, this is something I’ve been pondering lately. ⁣
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If I could turn back time, what would I change? What events that have led to where I am would I alter? Patanjali teaches us in yoga that there are four causes of suffering / duhkham; ⁣
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Parinama / change⁣
Tapas / longing⁣
Samskara / habit ⁣
Gunas / energy ⁣
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Patanjali offers us various tools to lessen our experience of suffering, and the more connected we become with that quiet space within, our true self, the less we suffer. However Patanjali also says that you can’t escape suffering altogether. The fluctuating gunas are part of living within a human body. ⁣
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But Patanjali does go on to say that the experience of suffering can also be the prompt for change, for when suffering becomes so significant it disrupts your life you are more likely to seek a solution. ⁣
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So you could say suffering can be an agent for change. My dad always used to say; it’s character building. And at times I wondered just how much my character needed building. ⁣
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I’ll be honest, if I could turn back time there’s quite a few things I would change. Things I have suffered that I would erase. But all suffering? No. I don’t think I would. Because sometimes, from that place of pain, comes an immense light. ⁣
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How about you? ⁣
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A moment to breathe. Do you know your parasympathetic nervous system from your sympathetic nervous system? ⁣
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I hadn’t realised just how much, since lock down, I’d been running from my sympathetic nervous system, which works from a fight or flight space. Always ready. Alert. Expecting danger. Never allowing your guard down. And it’s truly exhausting. ⁣
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The parasympathetic nervous system works from a place of rest and digest. The body slows the heart rate. It allows the body time to settle, become a little passive, open, relaxed. And I hadn’t realised just how little of this I’d experienced since lockdown began. ⁣
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Having spent the last few days by the ocean, and allowed myself to truly breathe, and having had the support of my parents, I’ve finally been able to tap into the parasympathetic side. And it feels so good. Just being able to take a few moments of dropping my guard, not being on high alert, and trusting that there is no immediate danger. That feels good. ⁣
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When life is foggy, path is unclear and mind is dull, remember your breath. It has the power to give you the peace - Amit Ray ⁣
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Sunday’s vinyasa flow class is now available on my Instagram TV. this class explores how our bodies adapt and adjust when we shift or change the foundations. And explores how we might use that off the mat. To still find stability and balance when our foundations are changed in our lives. You can find this class over on on the gram.

Sunday 10am Vinyasa Flow - Foundations

Come and join me Sunday morning to explore our foundations. Sometimes, now matter how experienced or new we are to yoga, it’s important to revisit our foundations. We will explore our feet and hands and how we can develop strong foundations within our yoga, and how that might benefit our practice.

And how too, off the mat, spending time and energy on strong foundations can provide us with more stability and happiness.

Message me for the zoom access details. I look forward to breathing beside you.

If you fancy checking out one of my yoga classes but can’t join me on a Sunday morning, you can find some of my classes over on my Instagram tv ( )

Or

Garden Yoga? If you’re based in E17 and fancy a private yoga class in the comfort of your own garden, get in touch. I am now offering private yoga classes, early evenings.

These classes can be tailored to your needs. If you want strength work I can take you through a fiery yoga sequence. If you’d prefer something softer and more restorative, a gentle flow is available. If you’d like to finally master some of the foundations of yoga, I’m happy to take you through that too.

For these classes I will simply be asking for a donation. Pay what you can afford to.

Obviously they will be hands off, so no physical adjustments. But lots of verbal cues so you can get lots of feedback to enhance your practice.

Happy to do these as a one off, or a regular class. Either way, I’d love to come and breathe beside you.

Any questions or you want to get involved; slide into my dms. Limited availability for obvious reasons. Oh and happy to teach more than one member of the same household at the same time.

So this is ‘me’. Today I ‘graduated’ from my yoga teacher training. 2.5 months later than planned (thanks global pandemic) after a long incredible journey. It’s truly been life changing. This ‘me’ is in some ways very different to the ‘me’ who started this journey over a year ago. But in some ways, she’s the woman she always was. The woman she was intended to be. ⁣
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Feeling so grateful for all the space I’ve been given to feel my feelings, to laugh and cry and rage and smile. The space I’ve been given to learn, to fail, fall, succeed, and fly. Each of the amazing women I trained with have played their part in this. And hopefully I’ve played a small part in their journeys too. Forever etched in my heart. ⁣
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This is only the beginning of my journey. The very wonderful and exciting beginning. Of me. ⁣
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This is me. ⁣
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