Buddhism at the British Library

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Buddhism British Library, Buddhism exhibition London, London Buddhist, London exhibitions, yoga Buddhism, yoga meditation, yoga mindfulness, Yoga With Paul

I recently had the chance to visit the Buddhism exhibition at the British Library and it was a moving experience that took me back to my Sangye teacher training.

Photo: Paul Dobson

The exhibition — which runs at the British Library till Sunday, 23 February — amasses an incredible collection of art, manuscripts, devotional materials and even audio.

According to the British Library website:

Encounter the outstanding beauty of Buddhist manuscripts and artworks in the largest exhibition of its kind ever held at the British Library. Explore rare treasures from the Library’s collection including colourful scrolls, precious artefacts and stunning illuminated books spanning 2,000 years and 20 countries.

Meet the women whose stories are told through Buddhist scripture. Admire artefacts made by hand in a setting inspired by a Buddhist temple. From sacred texts written on tree bark, palm leaves and gold plates to exquisite silk scrolls of major sutras, follow the life of the Buddha and his previous incarnations. Find out how Buddhism was pivotal in developing writing and printing techniques, transmitting ideas and stories across Asia. Lose yourself in a natural soundscape.

Buddhism and yoga share many philosophical and spiritual connections. Naturally, it has been something that has attracted my interest and enriched my practice over the years.

In the past, I’ve blogged about my time at the Samye Ling Buddhist retreat in Scotland and the opportunity to visit Bhutan. These experiences connected me to Buddhism in a real way and brought it to life for me.

The core tenants of Buddhism — compassion, mindfulness, making effort for good — are applicable to our daily lives, regardless of our spiritual or religious views.

I urge you to visit the British Library if you have a chance, and immerse yourself in the powerful, transformative mindset of Buddhism.

Read more: Baldwin & Buddhism – summer reading, What ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ means

Photo: Paul Dobson

 

 

Seasonal Yoga Adaptations

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autumn yoga, healthy living, hot yoga, seasonal yoga, sustainable living, vinyasa yoga, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

After a beautiful summer marked by two amazing Yoga Holiday With Paul retreats it can be hard to get into an autumn/winter routine.

As you may have noticed from my previous blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to navigate rainy days and other winter hazards! The secret is, I think, to embrace the seasonal changes and adapt our yoga (and hence our lifestyle) to them.

How do we do that?

The first thing is to release expectations. Those sticky, stubborn expectations creep up all the time. We promise ourselves we’ll do things a certain way, tick a certain number of items off our to-do list, look a certain way.

Instead of trying to maintain a summer schedule, let’s slow down and focus on what is important: yoga, friendship, hot cups of tea and cosy evenings with loved ones.

Winter can be a time to recharge and rejuvenate. It is an opportunity to rest, eat warming hearty whole foods, maybe clean out those cupboards you’ve been meaning to get to, or catch up on those books you’ve been wanting to read.

Let your yoga practice adapt to the season. Do more warm or hot yoga, make sure to do breath of fire on cold mornings! Treat yourself to a toasty new jacket or leggings for that dash to the studio. Relax, embrace the season and savour the changes.

Read more: Sustainable winter warmth, Winter yoga – wrap up warm

 

Chill! 6 Tips to Cool Off

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cool yoga tips, healthy summer eating, hot weather yoga, hydration, London events, summer recipes, summer yoga, Yoga With Paul

Apparently, July is on track to be the hottest month ever recorded on earth.

With August around the corner, it is definitely time to think about strategies to keep from boiling over. Start with these six tips to cool off.

Divide your day

Other parts of the world have long embraced the afternoon siesta. While the UK might not be quite ready for that, it makes sense to be strategic about your routine. If you’re out and about, hit the shops early, or wait till evening, rather than bustling around in the heat of the day. If you’re working, timetable your day so you can work at a more relaxed pace during the hottest part.

Dress for success

Now is the time to break out the light, cool, natural fabrics and colours. Tightly woven cotton, linen, hemp and even silk are great options. Think loose tops, trousers and skirt.

Photo by Jose Soriano on Unsplash

Drink up!

Hydration is absolutely key to getting through a hot day. Be sure to increase your water consumption but also add some beverages with electrolytes, such as coconut water or diluted natural fruit juice with a pinch of salt. Beware excess caffeine and alcohol.

Dine wisely

Lost your appetite to the temperature? Remember, it is important to get the nutrients your body needs. If you can’t face a big meal try a glass of chilled soup, whiz up a smoothie, or a meal-in-a-bowl salad. Eating veg and fruit helps you stay hydrated.

Photo by Form on Unsplash

Decompress with yoga

Heat can be physically and mentally stressful so don’t skip yoga! If your practice is vigorous, perhaps choose a more meditative class that will calm your mind and body. Or, simply get in and do your regular class, gathering all its energising and uplifting benefits. Even doing some sun salutations or pranayama is a good way to restore your vitality.

Dive into your city

It might be tempting to hide at home with the air-con on (assuming you have it) but there are better ways to ride out a heatwave. There are loads of sociable, eco-friendly activities in our great city, so get out there! Grab your cossie and get to the lido for a cooling swim, visit the library, go to a gallery, or meet a friend for an iced coffee.

Read more: How to Sleep Through the Heat, Four Ways to Beat Heat Bloat

 

5 Benefits of Hitting the Beach

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beach fitness, beach health benefits, yoga abroad, yoga Algarve, yoga beach holiday, yoga detox, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

The first Yoga Holiday With Paul Yoga Holiday With Paul 2019 is coming up, 21-28 June in the Algarve. In addition to dedicating ourselves to yoga practice we will enjoy the chance to relax and rejuvenate our minds and bodies at the beach.

Spending time at the beach offers physical and mental perks to help you feel stronger, healthier and happier. Here are five health benefits of hitting the beach.

Photo by Lopez Robin on Unsplash

Stress relief

Our hectic lives and busy days create a lot of stress. Going to the beach removes us from the stress cues of our normal environment and replaces it with a scene designed to promote peace and calm. From the soothing lap of waves on the sand, to the chatter of birds, to the soft texture of the sand, the beach is a sensory experience that helps us relax both physically and mentally.

Detoxification

Sun and salt water are a potent detoxifying mix. The sun heats us so we sweat, releasing toxins while salt water flushes away surface dirt. When you spend an hour or two at the beach, enjoying the sun and cooling off by splashing in the sea, you are basically giving yourself a free spa-treatment!

Vitamin D

Our bodies need sunlight to produce Vitamin D and it isn’t always easy to get enough, especially living in the UK! Those of us with darker skin also need more sun exposure for optimum vitamin D production, so you can think of your time at the beach as an essential part of staying strong and healthy.

 

Cross-training

The beach offers lots of opportunities for expanding your fitness. Even a simple walk in the sand is offers your body a challenge, thanks to the shifting grains underfoot. If you choose to jog, it ramps up the benefits even more. Swimming, of course, is a wonderful total-body workout. Yoga and beaches are a perfect fit too: you can use soft sand to practice inversions like headstand, or to do sun salutations in the sun!

Photo by Ash Edmonds on Unsplash

Mindfulness

The beach is a perfect place to cultivate mindfulness. Walking, chanting, or sitting meditation amidst the serenity and natural beauty of the beach will help you clear your mind of every-day distractions. The is also rich in objects and views that inspire contemplation. Simply studying the infinite variation in a handful of sand is a chance to be inspired and uplifted

Read more: Yoga Holiday – 3 Ways to Get Ready, Do You Get Enough Vitamin D?

Yoga: The Best Things Are Free

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Dearbhla Gavin, free yoga, Guardian yoga, London yoga, yoga benefits, yoga budget, yoga classes, yoga cost, yoga studios, Yoga With Paul, yoga work

There was an interesting interview in the Guardian the other day with Dearbhla Gavin, who is a freelance journalist and dedicated yogi who scrimps on other things so she can spend money on yoga.

Dearblha estimates she spends around £3,000 per year on classes, equipment and events. To balance that, she rarely eats out and survives on £20 a week in groceries. 

“I haven’t had a holiday since I moved to London three years ago and I don’t miss that. I can never switch off – in fact I don’t want to – when I go away. Yoga allows me to retreat from the world if I need to,” she said.

“The yoga community in London has become my second family in an otherwise anonymous city and the disciplines of yoga and journalism overlap. One produces and one requires empathy, cooperation and the ability to listen.”

I can definitely relate to Dearbhla’s statement that yoga is a great way to make friends and find a community. And I think most of us would agree that yoga can help us in our daily work, whatever it is.

#freeyoga

While I really enjoyed the article, my only concern was that it makes it sound as if yoga is super-expensive or inaccessible. You don’t have to spend £3,000 a year, or any particular amount, to get the benefits of yoga.

Taking classes is obviously a great way to learn, enhance your practice, and meet people. But you can supplement studio classes with online classes, home practice, or simply doing yoga wherever you are. The joy and benefits of yoga are available to everyone.

What would you give up for yoga? Share in the comments!

 

 

Meet @Smiley_Vegan

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Bikram yoga, Bikram yoga food, Fat Gay Vegan, healing yoga, hot yoga, London vegan, London vegan market, Smiley Vegan, vegan food, vegan products, yoga vegan, Yoga With Paul

I’d like to introduce you to Rekha Pankhania, creator of a fabulous artisan vegan food company called Smiley Vegan (@smiley_vegan on Twitter). She makes some of the most amazing healthy food and snacks you’ll ever try.

Rekha, who began practicing Bikram yoga in 2011, also has a great story to share. Here it is, in her words. 

 

What impact has hot yoga made on your life?

It has improved my health and aided my recovery from breast cancer; physically and mentally. It has allowed me to help myself more through increased physical fitness and in turn gives me more independence as I find it is easier for me to get out and about. In general, happier and healthier.

 

How did Smiley Vegan begin?

At the beginning of December, my daughter Meera and I went to the Fat Gay Vegan Christmas pop-up market. We started talking to Sean (the Fat Gay Vegan) and he offered me the opportunity to sell my Christmas edition, ‘Christmas spice’, of my chocolate.

 

How do you come up with the recipes?

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and experimenting. When I eat something that I like, I’ll ask and find out what’s in it, then usually add my own twist to it. Or most days, it may just depend on my mood and what’s in the fridge/ cupboards.

 

How does your yoga practice connect with your work?

It gives me a clearer mind and allows me to help my patients more. As a dental nurse, I often get very nervous patients and so I find I can help put them at ease with breathing exercises and by talking to them prior to treatment.

 

What is one thing you wish people knew about the relationship between what we eat and how we feel?

By having the right diet e.g. being vegan, it makes you realise how important it is for your well-being.

 

Who or what inspires you most in your daily practice?

My daughter Meera inspired me. She was the reason I started yoga after my cancer through her encouragement. I hated the first six weeks, but after that, she committed me to an annual membership and I have never looked back.

Follow Rekha on Twitter @Smiley_Vegan and Instagram the_smiley_vegan

Spring Forward (but Don’t Be Afraid to Fall Back)

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#yogaeverydamnday, daily yoga, mindfulness, overcoming obstacles, spiritual growth, yoga, yoga practice, Yoga With Paul

The recent changing of the clocks got me thinking about one of the biggest fallacies we can get caught up in, which is the myth of perpetual progress. We live in a culture where success and achievement are prized. We learn to continually set goals, aim higher, and push ourselves harder.

There is nothing wrong with aspiration or hard work, but we need to remember that not all progress is forward motion. We are so trained to think of “climbing the ladder” or “taking the next step” that sometimes we lose sight of the fact that growth happens in all directions. Even “backwards”.

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Grow with patience

Yoga is an opportunity to study and meditate on this truth. In the studio, it is tempting to push harder every day, to always want to go a little deeper, to hold the pose a little longer. But that’s not how our bodies (or minds) work. When you practice regularly you have the chance to observe that each day is different. Some days you’re strong, some days your flexible, some days you’re none of the above.

At first, it can be frustrating or daunting to feel like you’re falling back, but with time and practice we discover that the “bad days” are part of a larger pattern. The times when we struggle and feel weak are part of getting stronger.

Next time you feel you are “falling back” in some aspect of your practice, or career, or relationships, or finances, or whatever else, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t get stressed. Growth happens organically, in all directions. Let yourself be where you are…

How do you embrace difficult periods in your life? Share in the comments!
photo credit: Emilio K Little dreams via photopin (license)

Yoga and the Big Freeze

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hot yoga, London snow, London weather, seasonal yoga, yoga benefits, yoga London, yoga mindfulness, Yoga With Paul

I’ve been away recently and hoped, optimistically, to come back to a warmer city than I left. Not to be! The whole of the UK and even Europe has been hammered by cold. The snow is beautiful but it has disrupted life across the whole country.

 

Occasions like this remind me that no matter how hard we try we are, ultimately, not in control. We have our schedules, routines, routes, jobs, plans, and so forth yet all it takes is a blast of winter weather to turn everything on its head.

This can be very frightening to some people. It is natural to want to feel in control, to feel like the masters of our destiny. However, if we look at it through the lens of yoga, we gain a different perspective.

Our world, our environment, and even our daily routine, is at the mercy of forces way beyond our power. The only thing we can change is ourselves. We may not be able to make it to work, or to our appointments, or even to yoga, due to circumstances beyond our control. What we can do, is approach whatever life throws at us with mindfulness and flexibility.

Yoga teaches us that what matters is not the outcome, but our effort. Wherever we are, whatever situation arises, we can always do our best to maintain a loving, open, creative heart and mind. If we do that, nothing can derail us — not even a blizzard!

How did the Big Freeze affect you? Share in the comments!

 

Your Essential Accessory?

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self-rolling yoga mats, yoga equipment, yoga gear, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga mats, yoga studio, Yoga With Paul, yoyomats

One of the great things about yoga is its simplicity. All you really need to practice is a mat. If you’re on one of my Yoga Holiday with Paul retreats, you can even skip that and simply do some poses right there on the beach!

That said, we all have accessories or gear that we enjoy using, whether it’s a great water bottle or that perfect pair of shorts. One piece of gear I’d love to try is the Yoyo Mat. It is a self-rolling yoga mat based on the model of those slap-on bracelets (remember those?)

It rolls itself up and stays rolled without needing straps or bags. And when you unroll it to use, the “snap factor” keeps the edges flat. This sounds like a brilliant invention. I’d love to hear if you’ve tried it.

What is your essential accessory? Please share your recommendations in the comments or Tweet @YogaWithPaul. It would be great to compile a list of the best clothing, mats, props and other gear that we can share with all our fellow yogis.

Celebrating 2017

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Bikram yoga, daily yoga, hot yoga, meditation, mindfulness, new year 2018, New Years Resolutions, vinyasa yoga, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga practice, Yoga With Paul

Happy New Year!

Chances are, you’ve made some resolutions. New Year’s resolutions imply that we need to fix things; that our lives are there to be tidied and perfected.

I suggest before starting on resolutions, however worthwhile, we take the time to think about all the ways life is rich, fulfilling, rewarding and blessed.

Make a list of the amazing things that happened in 2017. Ask yourself

• How did you grow?
• What did you experience?
• How did you invest in your well-being?
• What relationships did you nurture?
• Where did you go?
• What are you grateful for?

My 2017 held incredible moments, like the Yoga Holiday With Paul retreat and my trip to Bhutan. But highlights don’t have to be big adventures or foreign excursions. Some of my most cherished moments were the joy of seeing students grow in their practice, deepening my bonds with family and friends, simply cycling through London and taking in all this city has to offer.

Take the time to celebrate 2017 and please, share your happy moments in the comments or Tweet @YogaWithPaul!