Self Practice

Am I the only one who is tired of hearing about the corona virus? I'm sure we all are. These are trying times. It may seem like a flu but it's hitting everyone hard. Everyone is feeling the effects, hopefully not physically, but yes we are affected in our jobs, going to yoga and we see and hear it everywhere. But we will get through this as well. We just have to keep breathing. In this light the self practice is quite good. It's the hardest though. No teacher to watch you, no community to support you. But at some point of all our practice we all go through this. 

My tips on this?
- music. I know we ashtanga people do not practice with music, but for me it's more of company, I do not dance or practice to the music but it's just to be in someone else's presence. I like listening to a playlist someone shares with me when I practice, it makes me feel close to him.
- video yourself. It seems vain and weird, but sometimes it does help. I feel watched when I do this, so I am more alert and less likely to start cleaning or be distracted with mundane things. And if you decide to watch it you get a chance to see your patterns and can learn a thing or two about yourself. I think it's a nice experiment sometimes.
- visualise others around you. A friend of mine just gave me this tip and I think it's very valuable. Visualise practicing next to people you admire, people that are important to you, people you love, your teachers, your friends. Harness their energy in this way. 
- be kind to yourself. Really, you're doing good. You stepped on your mat. You did some sun salutations. You did enough. Do not beat yourself up. 
- join an online community. Taylor Hunt just started this on instagram #homepracticechallenge. I am also not so fond of social media. But like I said in my last newsletter, we kind of like have to make use of it in the right way.
- reach out to your teachers and friends, maybe we cannot be there for you physically or maybe we cannot answer right away. But we do our best in other ways. 
- practice 7th series. Be with family and just enjoy the time you get with them. Practice on the mat is important but spending time with our nearest and dearest is very special.

With this light I have something for your isolation/ self quarantine/ caring for others is staying away. Last week I made an experiment, I videoed myself for a whole week of practice, I didn't have a goal in mind. Maybe just to show how it is. That it's not easy but it's also not impossible. It's not my way of 'hey look what I can do with all these fancy asana'. It's more like this is real. It's hard, it's not beautiful but it's just the journey. The playlist of my daily practice for a week you can find here. Let me know what you think of it.

And I continue with teaching online. This week I did two videos. Both of them has surya namaskar A and B/ sun salutation A and B and the closing postures of ashtanga. One is more for a beginner and the other once you get more used to the practice. Again, this doesn't replace a teacher but in these times where we are advised to practice social distancing maybe it is a way. Share it with people who you want to start the practice if you are already familiar with this method. I didn't make it for seasoned practitioners but for people who just want to start and don't know how to begin. 

Help me grow this little passion. Like me on Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe to YouTube and join my mailing list. Message me, right now I have a lot of time in my hands (you can see I practice almost 3 hours, I know I'm a bit crazy)! Want online classes, skype or whatsapp calls maybe? Let me know. I'm crazy enough to do that. Join me on the journey! Take care of yourself these trying times so we can take care of each other! 


Love always,
J