Yes it’s that time of the year again where the busy get even busier. With presents to buy & wrap, food to prepare, parties to attend, houses to prepare, travel to relatives…all on top of our already busy lives, it’s no wonder many get stressed at Christmas. 

As women we seem to be constantly re-inventing ourselves. New hairstyles, make-up or clothes can be our first ‘go-to’ in an attempt to feel like a ‘new woman’. But when we eventually find that retail therapy doesn’t take away that feeling that something is missing in our lives, we can then look to change our job, partner or where and how we live, rather than look within ourselves.  We buy into the idea that these changes will be the ‘magic bullet’ that will fix everything and offer us the chance to start afresh and reclaim that ‘missing’ feeling.

Have you ever observed or registered that when we are present and loving with ourselves it is natural to feel open and loving towards others?
 
The quality of every relationship we have is in fact based on the quality of love we have built within us first. It provides the foundation for all else that follows.
 
It starts with allowing ourselves to feel, to connect and to be consciously present with the body and all it shares.

When it comes to “wellbeing” coming back to our bodies and to the “being” within us which, like an orchestra directs the body, is key. Getting used to stopping for a moment to ask ourselves - what is my quality like right now and given this what do I choose next?
 
It’s the quality inside us, our inner quality, rather like water inside a water bottle that is the communicator of how we are, or, our state of being.

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.