It’s Been a While…

Eloise Handleigh
Aug 14
4 min read

Hey everyone,

I’ve had a couple of weeks off writing the blog because sometimes life happens! So, here’s a little recap of the past few themes we’ve explored in class, along with a few life updates from me.

Hope

Hope, to me, means seeing the light and the good things amongst the darkness. This world can be a crazy place, but cultivating a sense of hope can give us faith in what we cannot yet see and help us move through life’s challenges.

Hope encourages resilience, patience and trust in life’s unfolding. Bringing a sense of hope onto the mat can mirror life, reminding us that healing and change are possible, even when we can’t see exactly how we’re going to get there.

I’m currently experiencing hope in my own life. I’m hoping my ankle nerve injury keeps healing and my overall health keeps improving. And, zooming out, I hope for the health and happiness of the people around me too.

Intention: I choose to see potential even in uncertainty.

Community

I feel like this one is fairly self-explanatory, especially because one of my biggest goals in teaching yoga is to bring people together. I hope that, through yoga, we can feel better within ourselves while meeting like-minded people along the way.

I think the role of community has become even more important since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yoga is a shared practice, and there’s something really special about coming together in a room, moving, breathing and simply being present alongside other people.

It’s so lovely to all come together and share the practice of yoga, and I’m incredibly grateful for all the lovely people I’ve met along this journey.

After dropping out of university for health reasons and moving back home, I didn’t feel like I really had a community here. So, I’m so happy that I’ve been able to create my own and continue getting to know people and hearing their amazing stories.

Seeing people recognise each other between classes, chatting before and after, and watching friendships develop makes all of this feel so worthwhile.

Intention: I soften into a sense of belonging.

Finding our centre

In yoga, we use our core muscles in almost every pose. Focusing our attention on our core helps us build strength and stability, particularly when practising balancing postures.

But our centre isn’t just about core strength or physical balance. It’s also about returning to ourselves.

Life can pull us in so many different directions mentally, physically and emotionally. If we don’t take the time to pause, we can feel disconnected and easily overwhelmed.

Finding our centre is ultimately a practice of remembering that we don’t always need to seek stability outside of ourselves. Sometimes, we need to pause and reconnect with the steadiness that is already within us.

Some of the core-strengthening poses we explored were bear pose, tabletop crunches, high and low plank, and boat pose.

Intention: I return to my centre and honour the stillness within me.

A Deeper Stretch

This week in class, I introduced the mantra Om Namah Shivaya, alongside a beautiful song by an artist called Chantress Seba. I hope you enjoyed listening to it during Savasana!

Mantras are words or phrases that are repeated, often as a way of focusing the mind and creating a sense of calm or intention.

Om Namah Shivaya can be translated as “I honour Shiva” or “I honour the stillness within me.”

Shiva is a principal deity in Hinduism and is often associated with transformation, change and the natural cycles of life. However, you don’t have to connect with the religious meaning of the mantra for it to have value in your own practice.

As with so much of yoga, you can take whatever meaning resonates with you and leave whatever doesn’t. I love the idea of using this mantra as a reminder to pause, reconnect with myself and accept that change is a natural part of life.

Here’s the link to the song I played in class. I hope you enjoy listening to it whenever you want to unwind:

Listen here

Life Lately 🌸

My love language has always been gift-giving. I’m sure you all know this from the little gifts I hand out in classes and workshops!

But I’ve recently come to the conclusion that my ultimate love language might actually be picnics.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had quite a few picnics, and honestly, that’s when I’m at my happiest! There’s something so simple about sitting outside with good food, good company and nowhere you need to be.

I highly recommend planning a chilled picnic with friends or family while the weather is still lovely. It’s such a nice way to slow down, enjoy being outside and catch up with the people you love.

I’ve also been celebrating my sister Jasmine’s birthday with family dinners, spending time with my nephew and, last weekend, going to a festival in Milton Keynes called Electronic Paradise.

We saw The Odyssey, Sister Sledge, Candi Staton, Cameo and Kool & The Gang, and they were all AMAZING. Before going, I admitted to my mum that I didn’t know anyone on the line-up, but as soon as they started singing, it turned out I knew EVERY song!

I’m very lucky to have been brought up with music playing all the time, karaoke machines, my parents constantly blasting out music and lots of impromptu dance parties!

I also had a lovely day with both sets of my grandparents. It’s not often that I have everyone together, so I really cherish these moments and always make sure to take loads of pictures.

My favourite part was dancing in my grandad’s beautiful garden with both my nans💕

Next week’s theme: Appreciation

I’m looking forward to bringing this one onto the mat and exploring the little things we can notice and appreciate, both within our practice and in everyday life.

As always, thank you for being part of this little community of mine 😊

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See you on the mat next week,

Eloise x

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