Leslie's Blog

after early bird yoga

2011-04-27T16:09:00.000+02:00

Not a completely natural early bird it has been refreshing to have committed to teaching early bird yoga at 7am on Wednesday mornings. My reward is being up and about at an hour that is still relatively fresh. After this mornings class followed by a wholesome breakfast, the bike ride through the park on my way to a meeting was a rare view of these magnificent trees newly dressed in spring foliage. My senses are not fully accustomed yet to such a dramatic change in all the trees here in Malmö. A few days of warm sunny weather has worked it's magic. I love my new bike! I love spring!

Experience, research, imagination (a yoga tool box)

2011-04-26T21:50:00.000+02:00

I've just completed Tony Parsons book "Starting Over". In an interview at the back of the book he reflects on what makes a novel. Experience (life as you have lived it), research (life as others have lived it) and imagination (life as you can imagine it).
I believe that with a little creativity these qualities apply in yoga. We rely on the experience of our teachers, the experience of a lineage or tradition and our own experience We are able to constantly investigate and research the immediate effect of yoga in asana during a class and finally with imagination and vision we can alter our perception. So what does this mean? Our yoga toolbox is not so unlike the writers toolbox!

Day 6 post earthquake

2011-02-27T13:32:00.000+01:00

How do you describe the devastation and the tragedy of a natural catastrophe. A day hasn't gone by since Feb 22 when I haven't checked TVNZ updates and bulletins. I have only spoken to my niece Renee and have had news via FB and my sister in the North Island. I know they are safe, I know they are together. Their lives will never be the same again. They have the arduous task of rebuilding their city and their lives. I know my countrymen are made of strong stuff but it is still heartwrenching and agonising.
There are natural disasters all over the planet, all the time. This one feels personal. I feel compassion for all living beings but this disaster has penetrated to the deepest parts of me.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/video-earthquake-montage-my-city-ruins-2-35-4041073

enough of this violent shaking!

2011-02-22T18:07:00.000+01:00

Woke this morning to hear on the Swedish news that Christchurch has had another earthquake and although the magnitude was not as severe as the September quake the damage is more devastating and this time many fatalities! A sick feeling in my stomach as I try to skype family in Christchurch and finally get through to sister, Sandy in the north island. She has spoken to family and heard that everyone is safe and accounted for. Thank you God! of 300,000 people living in ChCh I have at least 12 close family members. I'm so thankful they are all safe. I know they have months of after shocks both behind them and in front of them. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10708094

virya yoga workshop with Åsa Åhman

2011-02-08T23:11:00.000+01:00

After 6hours of virya yoga and feeling great. Åsa is a confident, structured and playful teacher. She embodies enthusiasm and joy.

I love workshops and I love being a student. Our next workshop is with Karl Straub from the US. He will be with us April 16-17th.

http://studiofrid.se/karl-straub.html

Retreat time?

2011-02-02T22:51:00.002+01:00

It's that time again to begin to plan and book for Studio Frid's third retreat to the glorious Cas Bernats on Mallorca. This year we will be there from June 16-19. What a great way to begin the summer. I'm planning on travelling to Mallorca a couple of days before the retreat begins to do a little sight seeing and a short cooking course. I hope both my sisters will be joining me! Check out www.studiofrid.se/cas.bernats.html

This time of year when the weather is so bleak I love to have something bright to look forward to!

What a tumultous time it is right now. Egypt in a turmoil, Queensland, Australia being battered

by a huge hurricane, snowstorms causing chaos in the US. Peace within can be challenging! Yeah....it's retreat time. It sounds a bit like a frivolous luxury but really you can retreat even briefly anytime and nurture inwardly.

Sesame oil

2011-01-28T09:17:00.002+01:00

This cold dry weather makes my dry skin drier than it usually is. I've started using sesame oil for a 15min self massage before my shower in the morning. If I have time I heat the oil first. According to Ayurvedic practices this wonderful oil is healing and nourishing for not only the skin but penetrates deep to the very core of the body. Besides effectively moisturising it is inexpensive. Just have to get used to smelling like a marinade! It has a distinctive nutty aroma!

Thanks to yoga!

2011-01-25T19:28:00.001+01:00

Thanks to yoga for being the constant and understanding friend that it is. Thanks to yoga for letting me weep a little in savasana. Thanks to yoga for letting me express the deepest part of my heart. Thanks to yoga for giving me so many yoga friends. Thanks to yoga for so much love and joy in my life (well not only thanks to yoga but one of the reasons I have so much love and joy in my life!). Thanks to yoga for getting me back into a routine again.

For Mum

2011-01-20T11:51:00.005+01:00

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Rudyard Kipling

Lola Nora McInnes

25/6/23-30/12/10

I left my homeland in 1977.

Mum was the lighthouse that guided me home, my leading light.
a warming welcome and familiarity.
she was my roots, my heritage, my cultural identity,my inherited identity.
Mum was love, values, loyalty, duty, honour, dignity and pride.
She was determination and family.
Mum was grace and kindness, love and acceptance, humour and always a hankie in her hand.
She was determination and family.
Mum was openhearted and friendship, generosity and hospitality and unconditional love.
She was determination and family.
Mum was independence and tradition, a warm embrace, trust and expectations.
She was determination and family
Mum was music and humming (I hum, my daughter hums!), laughter and courage, faith and belief.
She was determination and family.
Mum was solidarity and fairness, respect and compassion. god dwelled within her.
She was determination and family.
The story teller, the rugby fan, ginger gems, pavlova, cheese scones and endless cups of tea.
She was determination and family, whanau.
Mum was a garden, muddy gumboots, of the earth, spade in hand. She was mother earth, she is the earth.
She was my Mum.
My leading light has been extinguished. How can I find my way home?

2010-12-20T11:33:00.003+01:00

Things I like about snow....the softer sounds the city makes when everything is muffled, a winter landscape dressed in white is much more appealing than a raw and naked winter devoid of snow. The light that is reflected. The longest night is Dec. 21st winter solstice when the sun begins it's journey toward the northern hemisphere.

Intentions intentions!

2010-12-19T22:20:00.003+01:00

This is a glimpse of the view outside of one my windows at Studio Frid. I love the way it's framed.

My intentions have not always materialised the way I intended them to. If only I could get a few of my thoughts written down to just remind myself that I do have intentions. I sometimes feel that I have so many thoughts, ideas and missions surging through my head that if I could just capture a few of them long enough and allow them to materialise then I would feel more truthfully aligned with my lifes purpose. Really quite nonsensical to believe that writing them down will make them materialise..... It's a dilemma moving from hobby to business with yoga. On the one hand I wish to be more authentic and walk the talk and on the other hand I have responsibilities that cannot be neglected. I'm still striving for the balance.....somewhat unsuccessfully at present.
The pending break over the Christmas/New Year holiday provides me with an opportunity to slow down, rest, reflect, process and importantly spend sincere time with those I love including myself!

Intense yoga weekend

2010-11-14T23:44:00.003+01:00

It's been à particularly Intense but gratifying yoga weekend with two days of beginners yoga. It's such à treat to teach à group of completely new yogis and to witness the application of seriously detailed instruction and......wow it works! Thanks to virya yogas intelligent system of teaching and practicing. À full week ahead including restorative class on Saturday.

2010-10-21T23:23:00.002+02:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-yxmz4u4DM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I am grateful for the simplicity of David's explanation in this clip entitled "why meditate?"

website struggle

2010-10-20T11:03:00.002+02:00

It is such a struggle for me to keep my website www.studiofrid.se updated. I am in a steep learning curve right now and mentally resisting.
Many new events need to be added and moved around. "This one woman show" called Studio Frid sure needs a director. I sometimes feel like Basil Fawlty running like a mad woman from one task to the next. Maybe Basil is not such a good role model!! It's just the feeling of chaos that grips me from time to time! What to do?.....just breath.

re-activated blog!

2010-10-15T17:21:00.003+02:00

It feels like the right time to re-activate this blog. It dried up completely last year.
It's just so much easier to write about the retreat at Cas Bernats than to talk constantly about it and each time I describe it, it loses just a little of the magic.
Saturday to Tuesday I was joined by 16 enthusiastic and energetic women for a retreat that I glibbly called "eat,pray,love". Cas Bernats is not a difficult venue to fall in love with. An environment that has all the ambience and beauty you could ever want (well in my world anyway). Located in the foothills overlooking Port Soller on the island of Mallorca. All rooms are tastefully decorated and scattered throughout this restored "finca". We spent our days doing yoga, meditating, eating superb vegetarian food prepared by the gorgeous Habiba and hiking in the surrounding hills. Oh yeh, I mustn't forget to mention that we talked, laughed and observed some silence and even had massages.

Tuesday June 16th London and Donna Farhi's Yoga Intensive

2009-06-16T22:38:00.001+02:00

Tomorrow is the last day of Donna’s intensive workshop. I woke this morning feeling heavy with exhaustion. I have slept fitfully most nights since I arrived. I’ve chosen to walk to the yoga venue at Primrose Hill each morning. It takes about an hour walking at a brisk pace. On my arrival at Triyoga I entered the large yoga room where around 50 people would be gathering yet again for a day of yoga in the hands of a very skilled teacher. It may sound like an impersonal environment with such a large group but Donna manages repeatedly to create an atmosphere of intimacy. With a combination of seriousness interspersed with lightness and humour she has guided our group of yoga practitioners to places that some of us reluctantly journeyed. From the strictest and most disciplined ashtangis to those practising freer expressions of yoga we are offered the opportunity to question her methodology. As well as experiencing my own trepidation it has been so valuable to listen to many of the participants sharing their feelings, doubts and awkwardness. Each day has been demanding, enlightening and at times downright confrontational. One of the many gifts this intensive has offered me is the opportunity to talk with other teachers and students as many express their fears and doubts. We come from so many different social, cultural and yoga backgrounds and yet again I am reminded of what we all have in common. We are human beings with our strengths and frailties meeting on the mat to continue on our quest for greater knowledge of ourselves and human nature. I again feel an internal turmoil and wonder where I am going to place myself and this knowledge. We have been encouraged to seek the truth of ourselves. To raise enquiries instead of being told what to do is a profound concept as we cultivate an ability to sense and honour our own experiences. This is yoga’s purpose.
I’m thankful to have a long summer break ahead of me to process the experiences from Donna’s teachings as well as the teachings of Jonas Westring from his Anusara workshop last weekend. We shall see what developments are made in next terms yoga teachings!!

5 day Intensive June 12-17th 2009, with Donna Farhi at Triyoga, London

2009-06-14T22:08:00.001+02:00

Sunday evening in London and I am halfway through a five day yoga intensive with Donna Farhi at Triyoga, Primrose Hill, London. I registered for this intensive in February and didn't spend a lot of time contemplating what the course would contain or what I was hoping to learn. The description of the intensive spoke to me and the timing was perfect for me. My expectations were high considering the enormous respect I have for Donna's writing in the three books that I have read written by her. At this stage I have experienced a spectrum of emotions from feeling mystified and confused to a deep feeling of surrender. I am slowlybeginning to feel the shape and form of what this training is teaching me. Donna is unconventional in her approach to yoga (by my standards) and guides us to question our own practice and perception of what yoga means to us. I frequently feel ill fit and spend a lot of time throughout the sessions trying to make sense of what I'm hearing. We do very little asana and when we do it is asana I have never experienced before. Deeply moving and demanding on a level that I intuitively know is so right. There is an insistence to remain present and focused despite the lack of dynamic asanas. All in all I'm experiencing a yoga practice that I have been unconsciously craving for a long time. Deep guided yoga nidra, savansana and restorative yoga have offered me the space my yoga practice and subsequent teaching needs.
This yoga is opening the opportunities for who I can be. Being fluid enough to adopt a change in spite of the internal turmoil and conflict with my perception of myself.
In contrast to this quietening and slowing of the senses I have at the end of the last two days walked from Primrose Hill to Camden Town to the weekend street markets that are a rude contrast to the slowpaced environment at Triyoga!! I love being here on my own and having the time and space to digest the content of each session and being bombarded for a few hours by wandering through the market as a silent observer!!

Delhi Last night in India

2008-12-15T16:43:00.003+01:00

My last night in India before heading back home to Malmo and I'm looking forward to getting back to my family and sharing with them, all that I have encountered and experienced during the two and a half weeks I've been away.

Two and a half weeks in India is far too short a time to grasp a shred of what goes on in this vast country seen through the eyes of a tourist, although I prefer to refer to myself as a visitor. I struggle to align with all the poverty, squalor, misery, injustice, filth, superstition and tradition. How does yoga fit into the scheme of things? And on the other hand enjoying the luxury of staying with my dear friends in their home, being taxied around by private chauffeur, doing yoga in the privacy of my friends home under the guidance of a local Iyengar teacher, golfing on Delhi's oldest golf course, and then travelling to Rishikesh and Varanasi on my own to explore the environment and yoga scene in those places. So many contrasts that I knew I would be dealing with before embarking on this trip I was unprepared for my reactions and have tried to identify what it really was that I had hoped to find during this visit to India.

It's been a journey searching for inspiration, depth, authenticity and truthfulness in my yoga practice and the yoga that I wish to teach.

Before leaving tomorrow I need to conclude by saying that I really love this place. It's complex, frustrating, infuriating, generous, selfish, judgemental, accepting,

full of sadness, full of joy, hospitable, recognisable, full of contrasts,.....probably all the things we experience in everyday life wherever we are but to the power of 20 or more. Confronting is how I would choose to sum it up for the moment. Again, I feel like a novice in the face of this experience.
The yoga I've found here has been diverse. From classic yoga at Swargashram in Rishikesh to, in my opinion, groundbreaking yoga taught by Diane Long in Varanasi.
I will be back in Malmo again tomorrow.

Varanasi India

2008-12-12T15:54:00.002+01:00

This morning I decided to rise early (0530) to head down to the river and take a boat out to view the early morning activities taking place on the steps leading down to the water. The air was foggy and hazy and even with the increasing visibility as the sun came up the light was filtered through the haze of fog and smoke giving an air of mystery and enchantment. Thousands of pilgrims and religious devotees from all corners of India visit Varanasi to perform rituals of devotion on the great Mother Ganges. Tourists are here to witness the rituals in all their peculiar glory and try to make sense of what it is we are witnessing. Everything from the public cremation of the dead to the morning immerson in the chilly waters of the Ganges. Making sense of it all is more than I can pull off but it sure makes for an exciting and colourful environment!! India is in the midst of the wedding season right now. In the early evening the streets are blocked by huge wedding parades with an assortment of hired supporters accompanying the bridegroom and his family. Musicians, fireworks "specialists", rice throwers and the most peculiar of all, a group of men women and children carrying flourescent light bulbs (tubes) balanced on a platform on their heads!! The power source for this is a noisy generator pulled on a cart behind the procession. There is a real sense of carnival in the early evening and sights that just have to be seen to be believed!!
Many of the foreigners are here for 6-12months to study music, Hindi or Sanskrit or all of the above. It seems that the schools in Varanasi are particularly well known.
In a conversation with one of the chatty vendors here I heard about an ashram at the southern end of the river. I met the yoga teacher who owns and runs the ashram and decided to try his yoga this afternoon. I practised on his dusty rooftop overlooking the Ganges with two other women. Although the air is never completely free from haze it's still dramatic to have the sun set behind us and see the full moon rise over the river and in the background an orchestra of sounds from the settlement right below us. Oh yeah...and dust!!! At least he had yoga mats!
Tomorrow morning another early start to join the class at 0700 at the Sri Mandira Ashram

Varanasi

2008-12-11T12:11:00.002+01:00

I arrived in Varanasi at around 2pm today after a twohour delay leaving Delhi airport due to heavy fog. The drive into Varanasi took over an hour through the chaotic traffic comprising mostly of motorbikes and rickshaws. It seems like the tonnage rule applies here, the biggest has right of way!!! I checked into my little hotel which is again adequate and centrally located. I took a wander down to the Ganges through a labyrinth of alleyways with school children calling out their greetings. Once down at the river the hectic atmosphere of the busy streets and alleys was replaced by a sense of calm. It's possible to walk stretches of the river just people watching and taking in the atmosphere. It is very beautiful but at the same time everything seems to be in advanced stages of decay. The alleys and streets leading down to the river bear witness to filth and squalor. Life just goes on with everything taking place on the streets that are a mixture of farmyard and heaving city. An assortment of domestic animals, goats, cows and sheep parked outside buildings and the constant tooting of car, motorbike, rickshaw, bicycle and horns.
Well, I'll see what the river has to offer at sunset. Hopefully a little reprieve from the street madness and time for a little reflection!!

Delhi

2008-12-06T10:27:00.002+01:00

Delhi seems to be living up to it's name for me right now with a mild case of Delhi belly!!! Who knows where it comes from considering I am at present staying with friends and have only eaten food prepared by their cook and nobody else in the house is feeling anything. May very well have been that cucumber I didn't peel!!
I arrived back in Delhi on Thursday night after a very comfortable journey by train from Haridwar which is about an hours drive from Rishikesh.
The day before I was due to leave Rishikesh I began considering returning to continue with more yoga at the Trika yoga school that I found at Swargashram. Once I left Rishikesh I decided against returning this trip but will be keeping it in mind for further trips to this region.
I was fortunate to find (after 2 days of looking and asking around) this yoga school, presently run by an Indian guy and an American girl. Each day comprised of about 6 hours of yoga and yoga philosophy. Two hours in the morning when a new asana would be introduced detailing the chakras related to the asana. Unlike any other yoga I have practised the poses are held for a minimum of 5MIN. Hmmm, not surprisingly my aching left hip seemed to like this form of yoga.
Rishikesh proved to be a place of supreme energy, considered amongst yogis to be the holiest of all locations in India.
I liked Rishikesh a lot with it's ashrams dotted in the hills and along the Ganges, with it's mixture of Sadhu (holymen) and beggars, backpacking seekers and curious tourists and vendors trying to sell an assortment of "spiritual paraphenalia". Here you can find the blissful and the destitute and the blissfully destitute. Ashrams offer a quiet refuge for meditation, reflection and contemplation.
Before joining the yoga classes at Swargashram I did an Iyengar yoga class with a teacher at the small Hotel I was staying at. the class was adequate but not really up to what I had in mind for my stay in Rishikesh. The next day I did a great Ashtanga class at a small Shala right down by the river. Great to do such an energetic class and the teacher was outstanding.
My original intention was to try and attend classes with the renowned Ushu at Omkarananda Ashram. Regrettably they offered no open classes. Classes were restricted to those attending the week long course at the Ashram. I am grateful to have found the Trika school where I attended classes for 4 days.
During my short stay in Rishikesh I decided to change rooms to a cheaper room and share a little of my prosperity with the beggars and Sadhus as well as with an assortment of vendors.
Now that I am again in Delhi I have an opportunity to do some much needed washing, enjoy Peter and Elisabeth's company and indulge in a few days of rest and recreation before heading off to Varanasi. Everybody tells me it's a little crazy there with vendors and beggars more aggressive in their attempts to grab your attention.

Rishikesh

2008-12-02T11:44:00.003+01:00

My first blog disappeared when there was a power cut and now I don't have the inspriation to rewrite it. I am off to see a prayer ceremony at a temple down by the Ganges at sunset. I will have to return to the blog later. I spent an hour writing my first posting only to have it disappear in a powercut. Ho hum..

Rishikesh

2008-12-02T11:42:00.000+01:00

Rishikesh India

2008-12-02T10:22:00.001+01:00

This is my first entry on this blog and hopefully not the last. I am a novice in the blooging world and am now initiated into the world of internet cafes.

I arrived in Rishikesh on Saturday after a comfortable journey by train from Delhi to Haridwar where I was met by a driver who drove me the distance to Rishikesh. I'm not even certain what the distance is and in fact distance says nothing, it's more about the time it takes to cover the distance and the car journey was about an hour. rishikesh lies on the banks of the Ganges river and is where the Ganges leaves the foothills of the Himalayas to continue it's journey across the plains. On either side of the river you can find an assortment of ashrams offering an assortment of accomodation. I have decided not to stay at an Ashram but instead at the guest house I had originally booked. I spent the first day and a half wandering, looking, taking in all the sights and sounds, smells and looking for prospective yoga classes or teachers. this is no shortage of classes. Everywhere there are signs offering yoga clases, meditation, massage, astrological readings, ayurvedic consultations and each place trying to outdo themselves on the credibility scale by calling themselves an institute or college. The classes I had been hoping to join and the teacher I had hoped to practice with was unfortunately unable to take drop in students. there is a week long course under way at the moment at the Omkarananda Ashram where I had hoped do some classes. Instead the first morning I practised with an Ikyengar teacher who the guest house recommended. It was OK but not realy what I am looking for. the second day I joined an Ashtanga class, which is always energising, at a wee shala on the steps leading down to the Ganges. A great class with a great teacher, full of energy and experienced. Yesterday morning I decided to check out the yoga a place advertising Trika yoga at Swargashram. The yoga is very different from anything I have practised before. Poses are held for a minimum of five minutes!! I have decided to participate in these classes that include yoga and a lecture every morning followed by an asana class and again in the eveing. I have jumped in on the second week of a four week course which they don't mind people doing. I have decided to continue attending these classes until I leave Rishikesh on Thursday. So far I have been introduced to a new perspective on yoga and like some of what I hear although I am not impressed with all the teachers. Now the third day of my stay here I am already beginning to feel like an old hand. Rishikesh is so tiny and the same people greet me every morning as I bustle off to yoga class. The assortment of beggars, holy men (sadhus) cows wandering the streets, people selling everything from bindis (marks for your forehead) to fruit and vegetable, hot chai, fish food for the fish in the river. The list gones on. I love the smiling greetings, the quick interaction as they all try to ply me with their goods and engage me in some kind of exchange t hopefully get a little cash out of me. I have decided that a small offering everyday to either a beggar, holy man, vendors selling stuff I really don't want is what I will do. Although that one offering is often multiplied many times over throughout the day. As a tourist from the first world visiting the third world I have an obligation to spread as much of my travel funds around to these people in need. I can't solve India's problems of poverty and injustice but I can with share some of my resources with a minute number of local people wherever I go and do so with a little dignity and humility and at the same time receive something in return and reward their efforts trying to sell some little thing to me.