Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Class Schedule 31 Oct - 10 Nov


FoYD Class Schedule
31 Oct - 10 Nov 2012
prebooking essential: fieldsofyoga@gmail.com

Wednesday 31 Oct & 7 November
8am Vinyasa Flow @ Fraser Suites, SZR, DMC (covering for Mandy Wright)
7:30pm Hatha Flow @ home studio in Umm Sequiem 1

Saturday 3 & 10 November
7am Sunrise Beach Yoga @ end of 23A St in Jumeirah 2
9:30am Yoga Plus! @ Taaleem bldg. Warqa'a
1pm Ladies Only Hatha Flow @  home studio in Umm Sequiem 1

Monday 5 November
6:45pm Yin Yoga @ home studio in Umm Sequiem 1
8:15pm Hatha Flow @  home studio in Umm Sequiem 1

Tuesday 6 November
6:30pm Sunset Hatha Flow @ Fraser Suites, SZR, DMC 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Eid Mubarak!


Happy Eid to all of you out there who are celebrating this season. I hope that the time with friends and family is joyful and rejuvenating.

I'm happy to have a few days off to spend time with my husband and friends and just breathe! Even yoga teachers can have a very hectic schedule, which doesn't seem very 'yogic' at all.
Due to the holiday, this week's class schedule has changed slightly. (See below)

Monday 29 October is a full moon and I'm offering a Full Moon Yoga class on the beach in Jumeirah 2. We'll start off with pranyama (breathing techniques) and meditation followed by asana practice (Moon Salutations!) and then wrap up our 90-minute session with twists and stretches and a delicious shavasana. We'll do all this bathed in the light of the big round moon and serenaded by the rhythm of the waves of the Arabian Sea. Is there a better way to end a Monday? To add the icing on the cake, I'm offering this class FREE of charge. All you need is a mat, a bottle of water and a towel.  Pre-booking is essential: fieldsofyoga@gmail.com

FoYD Schedule of Classes 28 Oct - 3 Nov
29 Oct MONDAY
Full Moon Yoga 7pm-8:30pm @ end of 23A St in Jumeirah 2
Yin Yoga 6:45-8:00pm CANCELLED TODAY
Hatha Flow 8:15-9:30 CANCELLED TODAY

30 Oct TUESDAY
Sunset Hatha Flow 6:30pm-7:30pm Fraser Suites, DMC, SZR Hessa St. West exit.

31 Oct WEDNESDAY (Happy Halloween!)
Morning Vinyasa Flow 8:00am - 9:00am @ Fraser Suites, DMC, SZR Hessa St. West exit.
Evening Hatha Flow 7:30pm-8:45pm @ home studio in Umm Sequiem 1

3 Nov SATURDAY
Sunrise Beach Yoga 7:00am-8:00am @ end of 23A St in Jumeirah 2
Ladies Only Hatha Flow 1:00pm-2:15pm @ home studio in Umm Sequiem 1
Pre-booking essential: fieldsofyoga@gmail.com



Friday, October 12, 2012

New Classes on Offer!

I'm really excited to be able to respond to the requests that I have had for more classes. Adding to Monday night's schedule I'm now offering Yin Yoga (6:45pm-8pm) and on Saturdays Ladies-Only yoga is offered from 1pm-2:15pm. Both new classes will take place at the home studio in Umm Sequiem 1.

Yin Yoga (a.k.a. Decompress for Athletes) is fantastic for anyone with tight hamstrings, hips, shoulders or back. This is a passive yoga practice. All postures are seated or prone and are held for 3 to 5 minutes each. Yin Yogis will get a deep but gentle stretch of the muscles and connective tissue. You'll leave the class with a fantastic feeling of lubricated joints and increased flexibility as well as a deep sense of peace and relaxation. This is the perfect compliment to running, weight lifting and team sports such as football/soccer and rugby. (Mondays 6:45pm)

Yin Yoga class


Ladies-Only Yoga is a wonderful environment filled with like-minded ladies ready to get their yoga on! We will strengthen our core, firm up our legs and arms, increase our flexibility, sweat-out the toxins and enjoy a renewed sense of inner peace through this Hatha Flow practice. (Saturdays, 1pm)

Want to try one of the new classes? Email me at fieldsofyoga@gmail.com

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

MONDAY
Yin Yoga, 6:45pm @ the home studio in Umm Sequiem 1
Hatha Flow, 8:15 @ the home studio in Umm Sequiem 1


TUESDAY
Sunset Hatha Flow, 6:30pm @ Fraser Suites, DMC


WEDNESDAY
Hatha Flow, 7:30pm @ the home studio in Umm Sequiem 1


SATURDAY
Sunrise Beach Yoga, 7am @ the end of 23A Street on the beach in Jumeirah 2
Ladies-Only Hatha Flow, 1pm@ the home studio in Umm Sequiem 1
(pre-booking essential for all classes fieldsofyoga@gmail.com)
Sunrise Beach Yoga in Jumeirah 2

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Why Yoga?


I am often asked why I practise yoga.  I find it difficult to give the answer as it is multi-layered and very personal.  I suppose the quick and easy answer is that practising yoga makes me feel good. In truth, there is so much more that the practice does for me.

Whether in the stillness of meditation or whilst sweating through various asanas and vinyasas, yoga forces me to become aware of my breath, my heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, muscles and the other vital functions of my body. I've learned to listen to my body. This, in turn, has helped me to slow down off the mat, to become aware of what is happening in the environment around me.  Countless times during the day we ask those around us, "How are you?" But how often do we listen to and hear the answer? Yoga helps me not only to listen to my body, but to listen to and hear others. It clears my mind so that I can take the time to be open and receptive to those around me.

Another reason that I choose yoga over all other forms of exercise is my back. For the last 10 years I have struggled with disc problems in my lower back. I had chronic pain for years and have been to countless physio-therapists, orthopaedic surgeons, chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists...you get the idea. Regular yoga practise has been the single most effective 'treatment' of the compressed discs in my back.  The movement and freedom I feel with regular practise is unmatched. In fact, if I go more than a week without doing yoga, the pain in my back is a shocking reminder that I need to unroll my mat and do some sun salutations.




The emotional benefits of doing yoga are what I find the most difficult to explain.  During and immediately after the practice I feel euphoric; it's almost as if I have taken some sort of drug. My skin glows, I can't stop smiling, the tension in my neck and shoulders release and I just feel love and light and happiness emanating from my very being. Sounds crazy, right?  Several years ago while attending Mass, our priest asked the congregation to sit quietly with their hands in their laps, palms up, close the eyes and become aware of God's presence within each of us. You can call the presence God or the force of the universe or the essence of good but whatever you call it, I believe that we all have this light -as well as darkness- within us.  What yoga does for me is to help this light, this presence to brighten and strengthen and spread throughout my mind, my body and my soul so that it dominates my very being.  As granola and hippy as it all may sound, these feelings of light and love make sense given that the word 'yoga' means 'yoke' or 'connection' of the mind, the body and the soul. Through my yoga practice I feel that the various areas of my being become reconnected and work together on the same path, toward the same goal.

Now as a yoga teacher, I get to share this light and connection with others. In a previous post I shared that I was struggling to decide what to do with my career path as yoga teaching brings great satisfaction but little financial reward. I think I have now found a good blend of yoga teaching and classroom language teaching. I feel blessed to be able to share a practice that has made such a profound and positive difference in my life. I hope that my students also benefit from the happiness, light and love I feel.