Charity Yoga Class

June 18, 2015 4:27 pm Published by

LauraYoga Charity Yoga Class

Where: Johmard Centre, Colliers Wood
When: 22 June 2015
Time: 8pm
Cost: £5 donated to Mind, the mental health charity

No need to book – just turn up

I like to do a charity donation yoga class every year. As a society we have the power to make changes, however small they may seem, to support those who are in need, to encourage a better way of living, to ‘be the change we would like to see in the world’ and yoga seems a perfect way to try.

In April this year my partner lost his best friend to depression, it was soul destroying. I think as a distraction tool to begin with (apparently when I am in shock and grieving I go a bit crazy-proactive, I did a lot of rushing about!!!!) I just wanted to do something to help. I found myself doing research into depression, such a severe illness and nothing short of terribly sad for those that it effects. It didn’t make the feelings of sadness disappear for the loss of Rollie but it made me feel at least a little calmer and that I could do something that would mean something to someone. I landed on the charity Mind‘s website and got reading.

We all have ‘down days’ and I know I definitely use yoga to help with those emotions and to help me feel in control of them, or at least make sense of them. The endorphins that are released when we exercise alone vastly help to improve our mood and lift our spirit. So many people leave a yoga class and cant explain it but say they feel ‘light, clear’. It is this light feeling that is a result of cleared negativity from the body and mind and re-balancing of hormones. When we do something positive for our selves, whether that be a run, walk along the ocean, bike ride, chat to a friend, a swim, a yoga class; we stand a better chance at helping ourselves look for positivity and gratitude in our lives. This consciously allows us to spend a bit of time absorbing this positivity. Exercise/yoga is addictive for this very reason. If we have the power to heal ourselves we are truly lucky and I think yoga teaches us appreciation for this ability.

This class will be a dedication to Roland Davies, who loved his cricket and used to smile and say to me “don’t forget to do your ‘Sachin Tendulkar”(a former Indian Cricketer and Captain for those like me who didn’t know) as a dig at sanskrit, the language of Hinduism and subsequently all yoga poses. I guess Sachin-Tendulkar could definitely be a Ashva-Sanchalanasana (a low lunge pose from the sun salutation flow).

For you Rollie…….

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This post was written by Laura Avery