Christmas 2023

IN PURSUIT OF SPACE & EMPTINESS! Nobody has ever measured how much the heart can hold but with a particular worry gone for us this year it feels like there …

kninkles

I don’t think there’s a word for what happens at aging elbows but a glimpse of mine in the mirror six months ago caused me a ‘lil pause. The body’s …

SLOW DOWN YOGIS!

THE PROCESS of shifting attention from the large and/or final movement, the outward shape of the asana to the micro moves, deeper muscles, mindfulness and the quality of the breath …

A HAPPY LIFE LASTS 90 MINUTES

The Bliss path to Self Realisation becomes obscured ‘over time’; relatively speaking, time can be an enemy as well as a friend; your ‘Bliss suffers with the mere passage of …

GIVE WHAT YOU WANT!

If you want Love, you give Love. Yes we offer you our appreciation and Love; and they don’t cost a thing! We know as we give we will receive. In …

DARSHANA

Albert Einstein said “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Once we get to that point where we have studied and examined the roots of our …

LOOK.AT.YOU.

“LOOK INTO YOUR OWN EYES. LOOK AT YOUR THIRD EYE. LOOK AT YOUR ANATOMICAL END POINTS. LOOK AT YOU” ~ Trisha These are our ‘broad’ 🙂 focused gaze choices at …

DO YOUR BEST

WHAT DOES ‘DO YOUR BEST’ MEAN? You hear it at school, home, work.  Is it just a filler? Something people say when they don’t know what else to say? It …

Your Health is Your Wealth!

“they’re gonna stick a needle in us when we’re 90 and make us live longer, whether we like it or not” This lil’ funny was on furlough for the past …

Free Your Fascia !

Recommended reading for anyone involved in mindful movement therapy practices: Way back at Bikram TTC 2001 Bikram brought in some engrossing teachers from other spheres to do workshops with us …

!Purple Alert!

!WARNING! said Jenny Joseph “When I am old… I shall wear Purple, with a Red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me!” !PIFFLE! I say “I shall wear Purple …

WHAT DOES ‘FINDING YOURSELF’ MEAN?

Using western ‘logic’ ‘fact/literal meaning’ it is too easy to dismiss this little phrase as a bit of ‘new agey’ ‘nonsense’. To the person who hasn’t explored the idea these …

The Doors of Perception

Just done some Yoga and feeling a bit trippy! ~ I remember reading The Doors of Perception {Huxley} thinking gad he goes on a bit about ‘that chair’! but I …

EVERYone smiles in the same language!

‘National Smile Month’ 18May-18June primarily has an oral hygiene focus thus ‘improving the quality of your smile’. It has reminded me of a story I’d like to share ~ A …

~ KNOW Your Yoga Origins ~ Standing Bow Pulling Pose ~

‘Standing Bow Pulling Pose’ (Dandayamana Dhanurasana) and its predecessor ‘Lord of the Dance’ (Natarajasana​) are nowhere to be found in the pre-modern texts of Yoga. The development of physical postures in hatha yoga were largely seated …

The Art of War

March @ YM is for WARRIORS!!! Ahhh Love FebYOUary!… BUT! Onward MARCH! 😉 ~ the start of Spring, the clocks change again, time to celebrate the Irish in you 😉 …

Love is…

Part 1 ~ LOVE is… CELEBRATION! Is there a better topic to discuss than LOVE? Darren and I 17 years married today (21 years together {2020}) and of course Valentines …

HOW NOW 2020?

WHAT.a.year.  It has been MASSIVE in terms of our Yoga community locally AND globally.  The world in its changing feels freefall and less predictable at the moment; where will we …

~ITS A PARTY~NOT A PICNIC~

There was a little group of peeps appearing daily in our school You may think WOW that’s really ‘HOT’ but they were really pretty COOL What WAS going down? Well. …

Bikram Yoga and its extractions…

Bikram Yoga classes are 90 minutes.  (As a matter of interest Sivananda classes are 90 minutes.  Iyengar classes are 90 minutes). There IS no ‘quick fix all’ and 90 minutes …

WHY I ‘WRITE’

Dear Yogi, I’ve been writing my Yoga essays since about 2 months after we started working with You lovely Yogis! When we were planning to open it never dawned on …

YM Bikram Challenge

***DATES FOR DIARY*** Monday 18 to Sunday 24 NOVEMBER 2019 *** 7.BIKRAM.CLASSES.7.DAYS.CHALLENGE. *** ~170~ (Yes! One Hundred and Seventy!) People have COMPLETED a Bikram Yoga Challenge with YM in 8 …

WE DID IT !!!

THE SINGING BOWL WILL BE SINGING AGAIN ~ FRIDAY 21ST JUNE ~ We have been in an interesting position of late; we have had to hand certain things over ‘emotionally’; …

LOCK THE KNEE (‘LTK’)

Our classes are mixed with ‘knees’ of all sorts! healthy and otherwise AND lately a few who have nothing wrong with their knees but who are fearful of Lock the …

No Devices in Yoga School

Sometimes we have to home in on the ‘etiquettes’ what they are and why we have them so people can work on the same page as us if they wish… …

THIS is the problem with Bikram Yoga

LOL.  ApPARently! There is someone out there subtly trying to undermine Bikram Yoga most likely in the hopes of building their own empire on any ruins they create! Yeah, I …

STILL IN LOVE…

…WITH BIKRAM YOGA AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS.  YOU CANNOT MAGIC UP 20 YEARS LIFE EXPERIENCE; YOU HAVE TO DO THE TIME !  THIS MONTH I’VE BEEN HAVING MY OWN …

Good Things Come in 3s !!!

3 THINGS CANNOT BE HIDDEN! Is it THE SUN, THE MOON and NEW BEGINNINGS??? OR is it INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY ~and~ SUMMER SOLSTICE ~and~ FREE YM!   Yes! OF COURSE on the …

Raja Yoga ~ Part I – Ethics

THE TREE OF YOGA represents one of the 4 main Paths of Yoga ~ ‘RAJA’ or Royal Yoga.  The Tree has EIGHT LIMBS or ‘branches’ (referencing Patanjali’s Sutras and ‘Ashtanga’ or ‘Eightfold’ …

Om Om Om My Ghosh!

~ YM News ~ Darren is going where the Bengal Tiger lives… We are always studying our art (either formally or privately).  Sometimes we attend the formal trainings for, as …

Someone messaged me some months ago about an emotion that tended to rise for them immediately after a practice. I just came across my answer again and I thought I …

choosing a Yoga instructor

“so there it is work it out for yourself, BE SELECTIVE, be OBJECTIVE… be an asset to the collective, as you know you gotta get a life” ~ Jazzy B You …

Christmas mullings… 2017

Its 12.25, just had breakfast 🙂 still in jammies, HAVE NOT looked in the mirror 🙂 Saoirse’s just had lunch, Darren’s putting the food shop away, house is mess and I’m just mulling over …

A YM Challenge is an OPPORTUNITY to refine your own musculoskeletal analysis skills and, perhaps, expedite bridging the gap between your body and your mind. Like that beautiful, perfect space …

Designed BY Universe, Shaped BY Life

BY nature we are asymmetrical beings; parts of our anatomy are asymmetrical (e.g. contents of torso). Some muscles are highly active whilst others have been inhibited; a loop effect creates …

Math – All the Cool Kids Are Doing It

As usual I have a number of books ‘on the go’: ‘Harry Potter’ (again! keeping my daughter company on her first reading), ‘Of Human Bondage’, ‘The Chair’, ‘The Casual Vacancy’, …

YM Guerrilla Yogis Abound

YM Bikram Yogis like to tout Their JOY of Yoga whilst out and about See the pic (if you are doubting) Of YM Yogis world-wide outings See! HAPPY Bikramites BE …

BREAKING SYMMETRY

Have you ever heard the expression ‘if your gonna be tight be tight on both sides’ ? 🙂 Think about it!  One sure way your body will be MORE vulnerable …

BIKRAM CHOUDHURY AT YOGA MATTERS?

For many people their Bikram Yoga time is ideally a respite from the ‘troubles’ of the world outside the room. Other practitioners use the time to reconcile problems of the …

Lines of Energy

You can change a posture in an instant by creating a LINE OF ENERGY. You are a living being. You are a LIFE FORCE. In Yoga class we work to …

~ WE ARE GLAD & GRATEFUL~

THANK YOU to ALL who have kept us company this year.  Our longer term practitioners hold glad space in our hearts but more have joined that space this year than …

BELLY UP PART II ~ SEE YOUR BELLY ~

AT THE BEGINNING of a Bikram Yoga Class in ‘Pranayama’ one of the standard phrases in the Bikram dialogue is ‘stomach in…depression of the abdominal wall…ribs stick out’ ‘RIB CAGE …

Method in the Madness!

This post might help you when explaining to friends/family how a Bikram Yoga class works 🙂 A Bikram Yoga class is not the place for deep meaningful explanations about all …

feeling your Yoga

A YOGA POSE IS A LIVING THING.  Not set in stone. Your pose is ever changing. It expresses differently from personality to personality, body to body, history to history, class …

~ FEEL V. FORCE ~

After 2 posts about ‘seeing’ your Yoga I thought I better ‘Yin’ it out with a couple of ‘FEELING’ your Yoga post :). Its all about balance 🙂 : Sometimes …

~ MIRROR MIRROR ~

Do you obey what your eyes show you or do you feel your Yoga? Some might say feeling your Yoga is King but as a beginner the reality can be …

Don’t Nourish the Flourish

More experienced students taking places in front few rows please/should be aware of the newbies placed behind them and try to lead by example: remembering not to insert extra movements/quirks/flourishes …

Responsibility; the Road Less Travelled

BIKRAM YOGA IS, amongst many other things, about strength, flexibility, balance and stamina which contribute HUGEly to one’s overall health and fitness. This is a challenging beginning Yoga class and …

As Glück Would Have It !

I first read ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ not long after I took up Yoga. It was pretty mindblowing stuff at the time for me and I was a bit skeptical …

Stiff As a Board V. Bendy Like a Pretzel

My friend remembered a conversation we had recently and tagged me in a clip yesterday (attached https://www.facebook.com/BarcroftTV/videos/1052132741466371/) and… it got me thinking… 🙂 Walk down the street and look closely. …

Ghosh

We are always studying our art (either formally or privately). Sometimes we attend the formal trainings for, as much as anything else, catching up with old friends/peers, as well as …

Mad Mat Matters I

We have recently put an order in for all new studio mats. We are always excited when we get new mats; it always feels so fresh. By end of this …

The Night Before Yogi Christmas

A’fore the night b’fore Christmas, I have something to say! I’ve been thinking of things that might lighten your day Just now! It has struck me ~ You don’t need …

One Quick Fix Coming Right Up…

‘How little time do I have to spend in order to get maximum benefits’ seems to be the burning question these days. Guidelines from government health organisations seem to lower …

Shapes & Numbers Celebrations

8 is my daughter today (best thing I ever made), 4 is YM (best chance I ever took), 16 years ago I ‘found’ Darren in a tent (there’s a tale! …

Illuminating… Sit Up

If you don’t practice Bikram you might wonder how complicated can a Sit Up be? It’s a Bikram Yogi thing folks! Only the Bikramites out there will be interested in …

Bikram’s Five Qualities of Mind

The Boss says: “the greatest challenge we face as human beings is controlling and properly using our own minds… The ego driven mind… does not want to give up its …

Yoga Matters Manifesto

As you LOOK into the eyes of your reflection and KNOW these are the eyes of your teacher, you REALISE there is nowhere to hide. Your smartphone can’t help you …

WHO AM I

A self enquiry that has been pondered through the ages. It’s a mystery! In Yoga, observation of breath can be one method to assist with finding the answer. Just switch …

Nobody wants to get side lined by injury in their chosen sporting activity. Consider bringing your body into balance by adding Bikram Yoga to your training regime. Training in a …

Darren’s Back!

Darren here 🙂 and back from a fab few days of sweat in the big smoke. It was a real treat to immerse myself in Yoga and practice 6 classes …

Missing Darren

As part of our commitment to teaching we continue to educate ourselves in order to better support our practitioners. So Darren is going on a 3 day intensive Bikram teacher …

My Bunny. Again.

THOUGHTS FROM A VINTAGE YOGI ABOUT HER RABBIT (again) ~ YOGA GETS BETTER AS YOU GET OLDER!!!. I spent much time in the past working on some postures that tend …

When Does My Teacher Practice?

Q: DOES YOUR YOGA TEACHER PRACTICE ? Hello Beautiful Yogis, the short time before and after class at the studio can be very intense, checking people, settling new people, dealing …

Hey There!

Hey there YM Yogi’s WHERE DID YOU ALL GO? The last few weeks have been quite strange without y’all you know! The studio has felt empty so let’s get back …

Once Upon a Midnight Dreary…

Watched ‘Simpsons’ last night (yeah this is what I do when I get a night off :)) and Homer’s version of Poe’s ‘The Raven’ and of course it got me …

Never Be Afraid of the BackwardBends !

~BACK PAIN CONSIDERATIONS for your Bikram Yoga practice~ DIAGNOSIS: Firstly, the instructors at YM are Yoga instructors and are not qualified to assess your pain. If pain is severe or …

Bone Matters

We work on the 26/2 diligently, a group of people in our unique bodies. We regulars know it is clearly not one size fits all. In this post I am …

Bow~WOW Asana!

Looky Looky Get ready world – a new batch of Bikram teachers comin’ off the training soon. I know why they are spending ‘$11,000+the rest’ and putting themselves through NINE …

Bikram Yoga works on you Outside & In

Which is more important? So what if you can’t get into the perceived “ideal” form of an asana? Many who receive benefits from Bikram aren’t necessarily those for whom something …

Thumbs Up!

Whist I was tightening up all my bits preparing for Part I Utkatasana today I suddenly became excessively aware of my THUMBS! I feel them, any movement, they feel strong, …

Darren’s Yoga Story

INSTRUCTOR PROFILE ~ DARREN So the year is 1999, I’m an asthmatic plumber with a bad back, a dodgy left knee, one kidney and a new girlfriend who is crazy …

I Am Awesome Yogi

So folks, I’m psyched! After an amazing weekend in Brighton (I even got a glimpse of their naked bike ride!! Woohooo (ok more than a glimpse 😉 possibly more than …

PEACE

“Don’t let anyone walk through your mind with their dirty feet”~ Mahatma Ghandi I love this quote but actually this post is not about other people’s feet 🙂 – it …

Bad Bunny !

Notes from a trip to meet Mary Jarvis Snr Bikram Yoga Instructor… So anyway, whilst in Brighton I asked MJ to take a look at my ‘Shocking Rabbit’ 🙂 (just …

Bendy Wendy

~ ITS WORLD POETRY 2014 ~ So here is a poem for all ages (Especially 6 ½ and 43 ¾ year olds) Bendy Wendy was born supple and strong A …

Wax On. Wax Off.

I’m a lazy kinda person you know. Or at least I have the potential to be lazy; I kinda fantasize a lot about putting my feet up and veggin’ on …

Who Am I to Define Bikram Yoga?

It doesn’t belong to me. It doesn’t belong to Bikram. It is for each practitioner to discover and define for themselves. But the teacher has to try to give a sense …

How We Roll

YM IS A DEDICATED YOGA STUDIO on Rue De Funchal teaching the Bikram method; this means there are no other activities in the space that are not compatible with the activity …

I N S O M N I A

Please take the following post at its face value: a story of girl meets Yoga 🙂 . There are many with more serious problems than mine was and I do not …

Skiers & Snowboarders

! CALLING ALL SNOWBOARDERS AND SKIERS ! Bikram Yoga can be an excellent way to train for ‘SHREDDIN’ THE CHOWDER’ :). A regular practice will improve your body’s overall flexibility …

Come Back to Your Yoga Practice

~ ! We’ve missed you shiny happy people! ~ It is always hard to find the right words for something that is essentially experiential. Words are limiting; my explanations seem …

An Ounce of Practice …

PRACTICE is the only way to develop your Yoga to bring about the benefits. CONCENTRATION is required in the pose. Conscious setting up a REGULAR BREATH (Pranayama at the beginning) …

Oh What to Wear to Yoga!

mmm I am sure many thousands of hours have been spent contemplating this one around the globe 🙂 For Bikram Yoga keep it simple; less is more. MODESTY PREVAILING of course! …

Challenge YourSelf

The YM CHALLENGE is coming The EXCITEMENT starts to build. 7 or 10 days to CHOOSE from ! Your MIND & BODY will be CHILLED. A personal journey of DISCOVERY …

Ooops! Did I Drip on You?

Ooops! did I drip on you? I can’t help but smile; Dripping Instructors is kinda the deal in Bikram Yoga 🙂 So, occasionally other peoples sweat mixes with your own. …

Strange Doctor

“YOU HAVE A VERY STRONG OPINION FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.”  A little man in a sharp suit walked into my reception at 5.40 …

Bikram in Paris

CHECK CHECK! Are you listeNING? In his inimitable fashion Bikram has delivered another seminar in gay Paris. He doesn’t know how to swim, he invented disco and has just recorded …

Banging on about Water. Again.

DRINK WATER. So here I am again banging on about water and hydration :). I can almost hear the collective sighs of my FB friends; haven’t you posted “Happy Hydrating” …

Shaking & Shuddering

So. Bikram Says: “Your willpower must say “no” when no is required. When presented with a difficult choice your determination must lead you to say “Yes I will” {if yes …

Slippage

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK: So now and then we experience “slippage”; old problems/habits we have worked on rise again. It is not surprising, they have been highly-rehearsed and …

The Tenets That Distinguish Bikram Yoga

THE TENETS THAT DISTINGUISH BIKRAM YOGA: The Bikram method’s unique features are: > Bikram certified teachers only > 26 postures TWICE (don’t be scared 🙂 ) > 2 Breathing exercises …

How to approach your practice…

The sequence performed as a ‘whole’ is what maximises benefits. Practicing the sequence nourishes and invigorates the entire body and mind as well as enabling one to access their own …

Happy Hydrating

Managing your water consumption in a Bikram environment So you all know you must come to class properly hydrated; come in de-hydrated and it is downhill all the way.  You …

Where to Find Peace?

Attendance at YM classes can be high and with a lot of bodies comes a lot of energy and activity. YM does value and appreciate serenity, calm, quiet and peace …

Struggle

“PHEW, THAT WAS A STRUGGLE” “I struggled tonight”, “is it always such a struggle?”. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear the word ‘struggle’ exclaimed after a class …

Happy Halloween

Is it time for YOGA yet? its gonna be HOTTER THAN HELL at YM 6p.m. tonight AND – so dress down, engage your RED HOT POKER STRAIGHT LEG and come …

Trisha ~ Instructor Qualifications

I took up Bikram Yoga in 1998 and am qualified to instruct via the Bikram (2001) (for those who LOVE hours: 10billion hrs 🙂 just kidding: 600+hrs) and Sivananda (2005) (500hrs) …