Yoga House Teacher Training | Winner - Best Independent Business in Lewisham Borough!
January for The Earth
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How are you feeling so far?
As we approach the January mid point, we will be looking at simple ways to help us feel more positive and inspired.
In this newsletter we are taking a look at the importance of nature, the impact of our disconnect from it and how to rebuild and nurture our way back.
As we treat the planet kindly, we are automatically treating ourselves kindly. The endorphin rush from doing something good is real! We will share some beautiful films and books to get you inspired and talk a bit more about what we’re doing this January to give back.
We also have lots of exciting Studio News; we have FOUR new classes! Beautiful workshops to play, rest and recharge in + new prices for 2022 including a six month membership plan.
We are finishing off with an Ayurvedic recipe from Jasmine Helmsley to help nourish us through the Winter Vata Season.
We are thrilled to see so many of you back in the studios. Make sure you are booking your classes early to avoid missing out. The studio is still operating at only 60% capacity. Also please remember to early cancel if needed so someone else can take the waitlist slot.
We are adding four new classes to help your practice.
You can book now:
Monday Lunchtime Hot Flow | 11.30am with Aina | Catford
Tuesday Qigong & Yin | 7.45pm with Dan | Lee
Wednesday Warm Yoga | 7.30pm with Charlie | Catford
Friday Beginners Yoga | 5.30pm with Helen | Catford
Last week we introduced the following new pricing structure: Drop in across all classes – £15 10 Class package £125
(£12.50 per class, 3 months to use the package) Monthly membership no commitment £95pm
(can cancel with 1 months notice) Six month membership paid upfront £510
(equivalent of £85 per month) Annual membership paid upfront £895
(equivalent of £74 per month)
‘The core of the global bioplan is a simple idea. If every person on Earth planted one tree per year for the next six years, we would stop climate change in its tracks. Three hundred million years ago, trees took an environment with a toxic load of carbon and turned it into something that could sustain human life. They can do it again.’
-Diana Beresford-Kroeger
This January we have been donating £1 from each booking to Kasia’s Wednesday Elemental Flow class (6.15pm Catford) to plant trees with re:earth . First week with the full class, we donated £25 to re:earth to plant for example 50 mangrove trees! And we will be choosing a variety of trees to plant at the end of the month.
“I want to remind you that the forest is far more than a source of timber. It is our collective medicine cabinet. It is our lungs. It is the regulatory system for our climate and our oceans. It is the mantle of our planet. It is the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. It is our sacred home. It is our salvation.”
– a botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger, puts it so perfectly.
When we look after the Earth, we replenish and help to rebuild the damage, we are in fact healing ourselves.
Spending more time outside, in the forest, breathing in all the beautiful aromas and goodness, instantly allows our nervous system to relax. Did you know that Forest Bathing is an actual thing?
And through our practice of yoga we can add to the movement of repairing our beautiful planet.
Here’s a selection of ideas to inspire you
YOGA | Yoga has a beautiful connection to nature. Many of the asanas (poses) are named after animals and their movements. The ancient sages in India observed how animals lived in harmony with their environments and own bodies. The Sun salutations or Surya Namaskara are a dynamic group of asanas that were handed down from enlightened sages as a greeting of honour and respect to the sun.
A yoga class may also be the only time in the week you put your bare feet on the earth outside going to bed.
GROUNDING | Working backward from 5, use your senses to list things you notice around you. For example, you might start by listing five things you hear, then four things you see, then three things you can touch from where you’re sitting, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. You can do this anywhere to help ground yourself but try it next time you are out in nature.
EARTHING | Have you ever been outside on a warm summer day and felt the urge to run barefoot in the grass? One of the easiest ways to ground yourself to the earth is to walk barefoot.
Whether this is on grass, sand, or even mud, allowing your skin to touch the natural ground can provide you with grounding energy.
WATERING | Water may be used to ground in the same way the physical earth is used for grounding.
It’s suggested that simply wading in a clear lake or swimming in the ocean as a way to ground yourself. Always, be sure to stay safe when swimming, especially in murky or deep waters.
Get inspired by these books, films & shows
BOOK | To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger. “This autobiography of learning ways to heal the damaged earth and break the tightening grips of climate crisis offers a rational and inclusive way to keep our future.” Get this book
FILM | Call of the Forest
Take a walk in the woods and learn our profound human connection to the ancient & sacred northern forests and the essential role that they play in sustaining the health of our planet. Watch this film
FILM | Fantastic Fungi
This film is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago. Watch this film
TV SHOW | The Green Planet
Dive into a world where a single life can last a thousand years, with David Attenborough. See things no eye has ever seen, and discover the dramatic, beautiful plant life of Earth. Watch this show
Butternut Squash & Fennel Soup with Pan-Fried Sage Chickpea Dumplings
During the winter season, cold and windy climates can throw off a vata constitution. Winter is generally hard on a Vata types, because of their cold and dry skin, cold hands and feet, and overall difficulty handling cold weather.
Enjoy this Vata taming soup from Ayurvedic Chef Jasmine Hemsley
INGREDIENTS Serves 6
1 large butternut squash, approx. 1kg
1 large bulb fresh fennel, white part only* (approx 350g), sliced into quarters
½ leek, sliced in half lengthways
3 tbsp ghee (or other cooking oil)
½ tsp sea salt
1L veg stock/chicken stock (I used one Kallo stock cube in a litre of water)
½ tsp Mixed Spice **
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste (optional)
Pinch of asafoetida/hing (optional)
For the sage chickpea dumplings
½ cup chickpea flour
150g cooked butternut (from your big one, you don’t need a second squash!)
8 sage leaves, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
1½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp plus a pinch of sea salt
Ghee for frying (or other cooking oil)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Wash the butternut and then pop it onto an oven tray. Roast for 45 minutes and remove (check after 30 minutes that it isn’t burning). Allow to cool slightly and then slice lengthways — it will be very hot inside! Arrange the two halves on the tray along with the fennel quarters and the split leek, sprinkle with the salt and dot with the ghee.
Place the tray back in the oven, reduce temperature to 180°C and roast for another 25 minutes giving the fennel and the leek a turn halfway through.
Add the roasted fennel, leek (removing any papery bits) and the caramelised “stuck bits” to a large cooking pot. When cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scrape away the tender butternut squash flesh from the skin (if it needs a bit more cooking pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes). Reserve 150 grams of the softest squash flesh for the chickpea dumplings and leave any stringy bits for the main pot.
Pour in the stock, stir in the mixed spice and bring up to a rolling boil. Pop on the lid and simmer gently on a low heat for 15 minutes while you prepare the balls.
To make the dumplings, carefully toast the chickpea flour for about 15 minutes in a dry pan on a medium high heat until nutty and fragrant and a few shades darker — stirring often to prevent burning (you can do this while the squash is roasting in the oven). Add the toasted chickpea flour to a mixing bowl with the spices and mix. Mash in the 150 grams of butternut, finely chopped sage leaves and salt. Thoroughly combine everything using a spoon (the mixture will be wet and sticky).
6. Heat a couple of tablespoons of ghee in a medium hot pan. Take a heaped teaspoon of the mixture and use another teaspoon to help shape it and place it in the pan. Fry the dumpling until golden brown all over – about 7 mins. Cool and taste, adding more salt to the dumpling mixture or sage if needed – I like a lot of sage! Then proceed to fry the rest of the dumplings.
7. Use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup, until smooth or to your liking. Taste and adjust the seasoning including the mixed spice — important as vegetable sizes vary as do stock cubes – I end up adding up to another 1/2tsp of mixed spice and 1/2tsp more salt. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, add a few sage and chickpea dumplings and garnish with extra sage.
Wolf Full Moon – Cacao + Sound
with Kate
The power of sound healing is an effective and proven modality that uses vibrational frequencies to enable us to drop into a meditative state and allow the possibility of clearing, cleansing and balancing on a deep cellular level.
Saturday 22nd January | 6-7pm | £25* | Catford Studio
Journey Through The Elements
with Aina & Patricia
Start the year feeling brighter and lighter with a journey to revive the senses.
You will be guided through the elements to let your mind, body and soul be nourished, energised and restored. Pure essential oils will be waived into the session for an afternoon of rejuvenating Yoga.
Saturday 29th January | 2-4pm | £25 | Catford Studio
Pincha Mayurasana Workshop
with Kasia
A two hour workshop covering how to prepare and strengthen the body for PINCHA MAYURASANA aka Feathered Peacock or Forearm Balance Pose, how to safely enter, exit and transition in and out of the asana
Saturday 5th February | 2-4pm | £20 | Lee Studio
Valentine’s Gong Bath Sound Sanctuary and Guided Meditation
with Alicia
Spend a magical Valentine’s at Yoga House. “The Gong is the spirit song. It is the primal whisper of the soul. Its sound is the echo of the Original Word that created the world, the sound within all sounds”
Saturday 12th February | 6-7.30pm | £25* | Catford Studio
