Mudra means “seal” or “mark”. Yoga mudras help energy move through our bodies and there are quite a few to choose from to help you in your practice. I see it almost as if the mudra seals the energy in your body and directs it to where you need it to go.

I have picked the three I used the most in my practice…

Chin Mudra:

Chin means “consciousness” and this mudra helps us connect to our higher selves. I find it really helpful when I am meditating to help ground my meditation practice and help me focus my mind. This mudra can also help overhaul a dull mood and lift you up. Sit and focus on your breath for 10 minutes and then touch the tip of the index finger under the tip of the thumb, keeping the remaining three fingers relaxed but slightly extended.

 Anjali Mudra:

Anjali means “benediction” or “salutation” to your higher self and to others. We put our hands to almost a prayer position. We practice Anjali mudra when we want to bring about a meditative state, i.e. getting ourselves ready for our practice or when we find a natural break in our practice.  

Prana Mudra:

Prana essentially means “life force” or “energy”, so using this mudra can really help awake any dormant energy. If you are feeling low physically or mentally, try using prana mudra in your practice. This mudra can really help focus your mind too if you’re feeling a little foggy!

Getting deeper into your Yoga journey will naturally unearth things such as mudras, bhandas and kriyas so let me know if you want to start scratching the surface of anything else and going deeper into your practice! 

Love and light,

Emily

X o x 

Back in March 2016 I found myself on a plane to Thiruvananthapuram in India to learn to become a Yoga Teacher.

Having paid £60 an hour, weekly, for the months leading up to it to get hypnotherapy to get rid of my fear of spiders… I was sat on the plane having my last glass of sauvignon blanc thinking ‘What on earth are you doing?’

Leading up to my trip I remember thinking ‘this is rather impulsive’  but then worrying had I thought all of this though? I became quite obsessive the weeks leading up to my trip constantly checking the accommodation, the area, the food to which when I got there, nothing was as it seemed; in a good way. 

I wasn’t actually sure where it came from wanting to be a Yoga teacher, I honestly just thought it would be a great skill to have and I was doing more to improve my own practice and deepen my spiritual connection to Yoga, and what better place to do that than the birthplace - India.

I arrived in Kovalam late at night, (I forgot to mention my wonderful Mam and Aunty travelled with me and stayed for 2 weeks and enjoyed a Yoga filled holiday!). We survived a very wild airport transfer to Kovalam Beach, where we stayed at the Sea Breeze (aka the Nee Breeze - you will get this if you are a Geordie).

The beautiful beach in Kovalam

My fears spiked, I didn’t know if I’d be able to sleep. With that, came no sleep whatsoever.

The next day I got up and went to meet Padma Nair, my teacher. I had to walk through the jungle to reach the Yogashala and it was exactly as I had imagined. Bright, light and smelling of rose incense. Padma is still to this day one of the most inspirational characters I have ever met. She cared deeply for us all and wanted us all to succeed. 

The days would begin at 5.45am with a quick shower, a bathroom visit and off through the jungle to Padma’s yogashala where we’d begin a Yoga practice from 6.30am - 9am:

Savasana

Meditation

Pranayama

Asana 

Savasana 

At 9.30am we’d have breakfast and it would either be coconut milk porridge or savoury dosa. We’d have an hour before beginning training at 10.30am - 12.30pm when we’d break for lunch and often go for a swim in the sea (however that stopped for me after the 2nd week, more about that later!). 

Lunch and dinner most days

We’d begin the afternoon again at 2pm and often the afternoon would be practical learning whilst in the morning it would be Yoga philosophy, anatomy, or prayer. 

At 6pm, we would have some free time and then dinner at 7pm where I‘d say I ate some of the best curry I’ve ever eaten, all vegan too. In Yoga one of your Yamas is Ahimsa (non cruelty/violence) so we ate Vegan everyday apart from on a Saturday.

On a Saturday we’d have a day off, which meant I’d go for an amazing ayurvedic massage, costing me all of about £5.00 for an hour or find a fancy hotel near by and go and relax for the day or just go and explore Kovalam and the beautiful temples and scenery around. But mostly, I would eat. Everything. 

I had gone from doing 3-5 Yoga classes a week to 5 hours a day and on a Vegan diet… I was hungry and it was a good thing there was lots of fabulous options. Kingfish or Searfish was my favourite, cooked in a banana leaf in a coconut curry sauce with rice. I was enamoured. I have tried to make it since I have come home but its not quite the same.

My favourite day on the course was Acro Yoga (yoga using a partner to get into postures). By this time I’d made some friends for life and trying to balance on each other and often failing, made me laugh so much. This came at the 3 week point where I was starting to worry about the exam and also I was missing home a little so it was perfect timing. 

I’m sure you can see here how funny I found ACRO YOGA

Earlier I mentioned that I stopped going in the sea at lunch time, that is because I am not a very strong swimmer and the sea got the better of me. We were in the sea and I was with two women that were both really strong swimmers, one from Australia and one from California, both had been lifeguards in the past. Feeling safe, we swam out past the waves to the calmer point and relaxed and chatted for a while.

STUPIDLY I decided I wanted to head back to shore a little earlier, and I swam back to the point where I could put my feet down and was walking away from everyone, when I turned around to check where they were as  I could hear some shouting, a huge wave was above me and it took me down and threw me around. I was getting rolled across the bottom of the ocean bed and I remember thinking “this is it” which was quite terrifying. Somehow I managed to stand up and I was near the shore line so I crawled up and out of the sea with my bikini misplaced to say the least. I was covered in cuts and scratches from various things on the sea bed but I got myself and my dignity sorted and headed back to my room to calm myself down. Thank god I had Yoga in the afternoon! 

The day I graduated was a whirlwind of emotions but mostly of pride. It had been a while since I’d felt that good. Working in a job where you are only measured on your success by how much money you earn hadn’t been doing it for me for a while, this however, felt amazing. The feeling I have in my heart when I am writing about this is sort of an ache because I long for that feeling again but after comes a sense of comfort, knowing that I actually achieved that.

Our ceremony was beautiful, we all got dressed up and headed to the Yogashala. I hadn’t looked in the mirror for a month so I popped some make-up on and plucked my insanely overgrown eyebrows and put a dress on I bought in Kovalam with all of the jewelry I’d bought too. We all spoke about what it meant for us, and to be honest before the trip I would have died if I had to speak in front of people about how I felt, however this felt empowering. We received our certificates and then I went and had a big cry.

Graduation with Shiva and Padma

The next day was one I will never forget, my friend Kylie and I got a Tuk Tuk to a 5 star luxury resort to spend the day there, keep in mind I had struggled to spend £200 in the month I had been there so we thought we’d treat ourselves. We had a private cabana looking over the ocean and a couple of cocktails which went down a treat. We then ate a delicious lunch and headed down to a private beach where we popped some champagne to celebrate more…

Keep in mind we haven’t had anything to drink in a month, probably a bit giddy in general so to be frank, we were quite tiddly. Also, I was leaving that night at 12am so this wasn’t ideal. It got dark, people were having dinner around the pool in the gorgeous hotel and we decided we’d like one last dip in the pool. Truthfully we ran and jumped in fully clothed. It really didn’t go down very well, we left pretty quickly, soaking wet and headed back to Kovalam where I spent a few hours packing and crying, not wanting to leave. 

I know a lot of people go on these trips to ‘find themselves’ and obviously my goal was to become a Yoga Teacher. I think I am still searching but I definitely got closer to who I really am and worked out what I wanted to do in my life. Lows and highs are ample if you spend a month anywhere so different to your normal life. All I am saying is, go out and do lots of things that scare you and test you. It’s a great way to gain confidence in yourself and also to realise a lot of the things we worry about are completely pointless.

And on that note, I am going to go and google further Yoga Teacher Training Courses!

Love and light,

Emily

x o x

Tips for Kovalam if you are visiting for Yoga or just a holiday:

• It is about ½ an hour from the airport, it is typically called Lighthouse Beach

• Visit Padma Nair for some Yoga: http://www.padmakarma.com/

• Buy precious stones when you are there and get some jewelry made.

• There are no cash machines in Lighthouse beach so you have to get a tuktuk up the road where sometimes the cash machines have no money in them so just think ahead!

• If you want to have excellent searfish in a banana leaf, look no further than The Crab Club.

• Get as many spices, essential oils etc as you can to bring home! 

1)    Write down a list of your goals and although this can be overwhelming getting them down on paper will help you clearly understand whether you are being realistic and honest with yourself. I recently bought a CGD diary and planner for 2020 and it is amazing because you plan your monthly goals but then you can split them up into weeks! Things are much more achievable when you’re not looking at a massive list! This isn’t an advert but I just really like the product! 

2)    Start small. Meditating for an hour every day and drinking 5 green juices a day is unrealistic. Why don’t you start by saying I’ll have a green juice on a Monday, Wednesday and a Sunday and then when you’re actually achieving this, the feel-good factor will follow!

3)    Meditation, we’re all talking about it but how many of us are actually doing it? I started by downloading one of the many apps available, however now I am able to sit without any cues. Find a place in your home where you can sit comfortable and quietly. Commit to doing 5 minutes a day for a week to start with. I suggest doing it first thing in a morning or last thing before you go to bed.

4)    Create a 5 -10 minute Yoga routine for the morning or evening. If you come to one of my classes in Hexham,  just ask me for some help! I am always happy to advise on a good routine to help you sleep, or wake up! Otherwise, Youtube will always deliver! 

5)    It annoys me how everyone says in order to be successful you have to be up at 5am…not true. I am not a morning person, however getting up half an hour earlier than I would normally, gives me time to jot down my plan for the day, make a celery juice and to get on my mat for whatever remaining time I have left. Half an hour is definitely achievable.

6)    Plan something that doesn’t involve going to the pub on a weekend but also, pop to the pub if you feel like it! Personally, I am all about balance therefore I will spend my weekend trying out a workshop, buying a new book and finding a new coffee place to go, watching a documentary, baking or go for a long walk! And then popping to the pub! 

7)    Rest as much as you need, and a little bit more. I am a firm believer that if your energy pot is low you're likely to get sick or just not cope as well with normal situations. 

8)Create a mantra. I find this really helpful when I am worried. Short and simple is the best, but repeat it to yourself during tough times and you can use it as a focus for your meditation. "Handshake your fear" and "This too shall pass" are helpful for me! 

9) Did I mention I recently turned 30? My skin is still pretty good but it needs some extra TLC. I do love products but I am also trying to be mindful of not overbuying. Therefore, I created a very 'doable' skincare routine. One for the morning and one before bed. Morning - wash skin, moisturise skin, prime skin. Evening, cleanse skin and then pop a night cream on. Also, once a week I do a mask, a foot spa and pop some tan on! Coco and Eve is great tan and Vegan too (again this isn't an ad but I am impressed with their product!).

10) Delete any Instagram or Facebook accounts that make you feel unhappy or insecure. Ask yourself, does this account have a positive effect on my mindset and how I feel about myself? If not - click delete! You just don't need that! 

Love and light,

Emily

x o x