Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Purity

I don’t know about you, but the feeling of a newly cleaned house, or getting into a freshly laundered bed, or getting out of the shower in the morning can really lift my spirits. Does it follow then that a clean body and pure mind feel virtuous and uplifted?

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Aparigraha // Letting Go

Holding on too tightly to something or someone can come from insecurity, the avoidance of loss or grief. Ultimately it becomes about avoiding pain, but in the process of possessiveness we cause a different kind of pain for ourselves.

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Brahmacharya // Balance

Bramacharya, The fourth of The Yamas, set out in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, can be translated to mean living moderately. Our life energy is precious and when we have a healthy respect for it, we naturally tend towards moderation. In our yoga practice it becomes about noticing which practices are working for us and which don’t work for us. It’s about becoming aware of our energy and using Yoga classes as a way of balancing it.

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Asteya // Abundance

Asteya, the third of the Yamas in the yoga sutras of Patanjali, can be translated to mean ‘non-stealing’. We’re all acutely aware of how harmful and damaging stealing is. But as with all things yoga, when we permeate down to a deeper meaning the lines can become very blurred. What does asteya mean in our thought processes and our subtle actions though?

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Satya // Acceptance

Satya or truthfulness is the second of the Yamas, the observances in yoga. Which, superficially we may understand to mean that telling the truth is a virtue. Probably a virtue that most of us live by most of the time. But to lose sight of what’s true can sometimes creep up on us and even become normal.

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Ahimsa // Kindness

The First of the Yamas, the observances of Yoga practice, is Ahimsa. Ahimsa is usually translated as non-violence which, for most of us may be pretty straight forward. Give yourself a pat on the back for not beating anyone up today! However, have you beaten yourself up? Probably not physically, but how about mentally?

Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023 Lauren Bloxham 13/07/2023

Ten to Zen // The Yamas & Niyamas

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one of the ancient texts on Yoga. Its wisdom is dedicated to the human condition and the (sometimes long and arduous) path to inner peace! In the sutras Patanjali explores ‘the citta vrittis’ which, roughly translates as ‘the mind fluctuations’.