More and more studies are published which show that the proportion of people who don’t sleep well is on the rise. According to a 2017 study by DAK, one of the largest German health insurance companies, 80% of all employees have occasional sleeping problems. Sleeping disorders for employees between 35 and 65 years have increased by 66% since 2010. 1 in 10 employees suffer from insomnia, an increase of 60% since 2010. Similar studies are published in other countries.

On September 16, the Super Typhoon Mangkhut slammed Hong Kong—affecting the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, the typhoon signal 10 was hoisted for more than 10 hours.
 
We don’t usually relate Yoga to Super Typhoons. However when my physical safety was being threatened by one of the strongest Typhoons Hong Kong had experienced in many years it was the safety, steadiness and care that I felt within that became most evident. During the Typhoon I reflected upon how I have been learning that real safety and the ability to embrace and be open to  situations is experienced from within.

Having a commitment to listen to the honesty of the body and honouring what is felt is a very beautiful and nourishing way to live. We are constantly receiving messages from our body that are offering us to return to harmony, for this is what is innately known to be true.
 
Esoteric Yoga - The Yoga of Stillness, allows us to explore the relationship and awareness that we have with our body and the mind. There is a difference between allowing the body to lead the way or allowing the mind to lead the way. When the two come together in union – body and mind, we have a synergy that has the potential to truly serve our whole being.

What is love? It is a question that has been asked for eons.
 
Have you ever experienced a moment when you have been met by someone who has been totally present with you? They see you for who you are, they see your beautiful, adorable qualities. They see your absolute potential and hold you in that.
 
This indeed is a beautiful feeling. We know love and we know when we feel it.

I often get questioned, sometimes challenged about the question of self-care, self-nurturing and the development of self-awareness, concerned that they are utterly selfish.
 
Aside from the committed hedonists and those driven by a belief that only the fittest survive, most people see putting the care of others first, as virtuous, admirable and the mark of a good human being. Most adhere to the belief that ensuring your own care and well-being is something that should come after the needs of others are satisfied, and that anything that develops self-awareness is by its very nature self-centred, and thus assumed to be exclusive of others.
 
But there’s a challenge to this belief taking place in the practice of yoga. 

Esoteric Yoga – The Yoga of Stillness, has revealed something quite remarkable that I’ve not felt nor witnessed before in my previous 20 years+ experience of other forms of yoga.

Earlier this year I attended a Level One Esoteric Yoga Course. For the duration of the course we had the opportunity to partner with other participants, to practice giving and receiving a yoga session. Over the course of the days I could feel how the modality allowed me to deepen my relationship with my body and with the quality of stillness, which is the core value that this modality nurtures. This was a different experience from being a client at other esoteric healing sessions, where I had often experienced deep stillness.

One of the great joys of Esoteric Yoga is that it is such a wonderful support for developing an honest relationship with the body that then supports one to have a more honest relationship with everyday life.
 
The various themes that are available to be explored in an Esoteric Yoga class are endless and equally there to be explored in life’s everyday activities. Developing an acceptance in life is one such theme that supports the body to surrender more as opposed to pushing through life carrying tension, burdens, exhaustion or pain in general. It may at first seem that acceptance of ourselves and how things are in life would be simple, however given the opportunity to look deeper, one can find that there is much to uncover and feel.

Stillness is our natural state of being

And yet do we really know what stillness is?
Have we really felt what an amazing gift it is to be imbued with the quality of stillness?

We could easily think that stillness means not moving or making any noise, like sitting quietly in a chair or hiding behind a tree. However, stillness means something more than lack of movement, being calm, quiet or relaxed. It is a movement of energy that lives within all of us and holds the divine qualities of the universe.

I have had many phases in my life and one that stands out was my spiritual phase. It was at a time in my life when it felt like I was missing something and I started looking for ways to ‘find myself’. I now know that I was searching from my head, rather from within myself, where the true answers can be found.

My introduction to Esoteric Yoga began in 2010 at the age of 40, when I attended for the first time a Universal Medicine Retreat at Lennox Head, NSW. Having practiced yoga in different forms sporadically over the previous 22 years, I thought I knew what to expect but what I experienced in no way compares. There were no awkward postures or uncomfortable sitting positions, there was no chanting and no intricate breathing techniques. At no time did an instructor stand over me to correct my posture because the movements were so simple and so ordinary and I actually soon realised that it wasn't about postures at all.