September often heralds a bit of a "back to school"feeling, whether you actually are or not. Add to this the fact that summer is drawing to a close, and we are about to head, with breakneck speed, into the countdown to Christmas.
Perhaps - hopefully - you've had a summer with respite from many of the usual activities, and now as the "new term" starts, you're ready to restart your practice, or maybe even start for the very first time, to be ready for the closing of the year with a new mindset, as well as a more supple, stronger body.
In our busy lives, we are always looking for the next thing. What to make for dinner, where to go on holiday, how to tackle Christmas. We busy our minds thinking about events to happen in coming months, planning for next week, preparing for tomorrow.
What about today? What about being truly, fully, utterly present in NOW?
The practice of mindfulness is one of the most useful tools we can take with us on and off the yoga mat. When we practice physical yoga, we bring our focus to the breath and to the body - and by that I mean, to the breath that is happening in that instant, and to what the body is doing in that exact moment - not what the breath will be like tomorrow, or in an hour's time, or what the body will be doing next, but literally we aim to be completely focussed in the NOW.
What does that give us?
For one thing, we press pause on the busy mind always trying to race ahead of the present. We enable it to experience a quiet still space, the space in fact where our most powerful selves reside silently. We effectively press the pause button on the chatter of the mind that obscures what is inside.
By hitting that pause button we then enable the mind to laser in on what we are doing at that precise moment, whether it's a yoga pose, washing the dishes, or dealing with spreadsheets, all with a feeling of calmness and focus. And this is where with regular practice the magic happens!
Join me in the NOW for a regular yoga practice that can transform your mind and your body.