Dearest Students,
I am sorry not to see you before my operation but things happened very quickly and in fact I had to go into hospital when I was due to teach my last classes. I had a long and complicated operation in September and it is a long, slow recovery process. As I was so fit and strong going into the operation the surgeon agreed to a really radical procedure but it will take some time to get back to full strength. I am making some progress and have now managed a couple of short walks. I am beginning to get very bored of day-time TV so that is probably a good sign that my synapses are starting to fire and I will be ready to hit the sun salutations very soon!
Although I will probably be strong enough to return to teaching in the middle of November I will have to have another operation at the beginning of December and, although it is a much smaller operation, it is better for me to be fully rested and as strong as possible when I have it, so Yulia will continue to cover my classes until the end of the year. The last classes of the year will be on 19th December. The recovery from the second operation will be much shorter at 3-4 weeks and I will return to teaching on 9th January, ready to begin 2017 fit, well and motivated.
I really miss you all and can’t wait to see you again in the new year. And if I am well enough to pop in and see you in November, I will try my best to do that.
In the meantime – some homework…..
Autumn is associated with the lungs and large intestine so try to take in as much fresh air as possible, work on your twists – seated twists including ardha matsyendrasana and the lovely parivritta ardha chandrasana (revolved half moon) and parivritta trikonasana (revolved triangle). Try to hold the postures for as long as you can – particularly the seated ones – and breathe deeply. You can’t go far wrong with some sun and moon salutations and think about starting a meditation practice if that is not already part of your routine.
As we move into Winter we think about cleansing practices – the kriyas. You will remember one of these – kapalabhati (the practice where we breathe vigorously by pumping the breath using forceful movements of the diaphragm). It is a great time to work on your backbends particularly dhanurasana (the bow) and urdva dhanurasana (the wheel). Backbends are said to lift your spirits and open your heart and you can work on thoracic breathing while practising. Winter is also a time when we like to hibernate so it is a good time to practise yoga nidra (psychic sleep) which is said to help boost your immune system and allow your body to deeply rest and restore itself. There are many great CDs you can use for this. I have some fantastic ones from Satyananda Yoga Centre in Balham (syclondon) which have been so helpful in my journey towards healing.
Enjoy your classes with Yulia, stay well and get ready for some full-on sessions in January!
Love,
Gaby
xxx
