We hope you have had a lovely Easter Weekend.

There is much-needed blue sky and sunshine out of the window as I write this. As much as I appreciate all weather, the rain has been very testing and we are all ready for some sunshine. Despite the weather, there are beautiful signs of Spring.

Viniyoga Therapy Training

Our Yoga Therapy Viniyoga training group have finished the first 10 days of the second year. 

We always have a pink day, as part of our 10-day training, as it makes us feel so good, and here we are:

The closing ceremony at the end of our 10 days consisted of the New Zealand  “hongi “,  a traditional Māori greeting performed by two people pressing their noses together, and touching foreheads. The meaning of ‘hongi’  roughly translates to the “sharing of breath”. With this powerful practice of sharing of breath, we offered a flower or piece of fruit, to someone along with the offering of what we had learned from our yoga therapy practice that day. 

My Daily Mantra

From this, I have established a daily mantra, that before I get out of bed, (and when I go to bed and any other time I feel I need it), I say or feel my mantra. I am joyous and grateful for all I have and for the people in my life. And I don’t just recite this mantra, I feel it in my body – it helps to smile at the same time! I have encouraged some of my students to do the same and invite you all to try it. This is a powerful practice, the modern science of epigenetics describes it as revealing how our thoughts, emotions and environment can influence the activity of our genes, ultimately shaping our health, behaviours and experiences. Of course, the ancient yogis always knew that we are masters of our own destiny. 

Reiki Gokai (Principles)

I would like to say a big thank you to Wrio Russell who has been travelling a great distance to take our Reiki Share gatherings for the last couple of years. As well as sharing his great wisdom and experience of Reiki from his teachers, he introduced us to the Reiki Gokai (principles) which we chanted before our Reiki Share. They too make a lovely daily mantra:

Kyo dake wa (just for today)
Ikaru na. (do not be angry)
Shinpai suna. (Do not be anxious)
Kansha shite. (Be grateful)
Gyo o hage me (do your duty)
Hito ni shinsetsu ni. (Be kind to others)

Wrio feels it is time to hand the baton over, don’t worry our Reiki Share will continue, and details will be in the next newsletter.

New Classes

Early Morning Pilates

With the lighter mornings, the promise of Spring, and the clocks changing, it is the perfect time to try the new early morning Pilates session with Sharon Morgan (Wednesdays 8.00 – 8.45 am). This new 45-minute session is most suitable as an introduction to Pilates, a before-work session or to aid recovery from illness or life in general.

Mixed Ability Yoga

We also have a new afternoon class starting in April with Sam Stevens.  Some of you have requested more options in the afternoon as this is your only time between work and/or picking up children. Sam Stevens will start a Mixed Ability class on Monday the 15th of April at 1.30 – 2.45 pm.

New Teacher – Ellen Wells

We are also very pleased to welcome a new teacher, Ellen Wells, who will offer two monthly Sound healing classes with Crystal Bowls (a daytime and an evening class).

Two Special Events

As well as our usual monthly workshops we have two special events.

1. Embodying Menopause with naturopath Sarah Burt and Qoya teacher Victorai Smisek.
2. The Alchemy of Sound Healing, a chance to learn how to play Tibetan bowls, tone your voice and create your own sound journey. An amazing half-day special with Rj Noble – Sound Bowl Master/teacher and healer from Sweeping Sounds, and Magdalena Atkinson – singer/songwriter, music teacher and Shakti Dance yoga of dance facilitator.

Enjoy April whatever the weather, from all at Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre.

Sharon

Monthly Courses & Workshops

Friday 5^th  6.30 – 7.30 pm
Breathing and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button

Saturday 13^th 5.30 – 6.45 pm 
Saturday Soundbath with Bex Leonard

Sunday 14^th
Pilates Short – Men More to Core with Sharon Morgan

Sunday 14^th 10.00 – 1.00 pm 
The Alchemy of Sound Healing with AJ Noble and Magdalena Atkinson

Wednesday 17^th 11.00 – 1.00 pm
Mini First Aid – Sue Fisher

Friday 19^th 6.30 – 8.00 pm
Sound Healing With Crystal Bowls – Ellen Wells

Saturday 20^th 10.00 – 4.00 pm
Embodying Menopause – Sarah Burt and Victoria Smisek

Friday 26^th 6.00 – 7.30 pm
Yin Yoga with Toni Franklin

Saturday 27^th 10.00 – 12.30 pm
Gong Bath For Sleep – Arianna Puran Udini

Saturday 27^th 1.30 – 4.30 pm
Iyengar Yoga With Cheree Low

Sunday 28^th 10.00 – 12.00 pm
Restorative Yoga For Deep Rest – Tracey Boast

“True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.”
~ Aadil Palkhivala ~

There are snowdrops appearing, and the daffodils and tulips are shooting closely behind. With the excitement of Spring just around the corner, there is also dismay of our natural environment suffering.

Since the 1930s there has been a steady decline in biodiversity in this country. According to the charity Plantlife, 97% of UK wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s. A lot of that would have happened during and after the war, and land that might previously have been left as meadows would have been given over to intensive farming and pesticides.

Now we are not used to seeing wildflower meadows, something that would have been so common to our grandparents. Wildflowers are the food plants for so many invertebrates, and they in turn provide food for birds and mammals. Without these plants, there is no life. The functioning of the planet and our survival depends on plants. Encouraging wildflowers to grow on our own patches of green, however small, is a wonderful way of keeping in touch with the wild on our own doorstep. 

Whats grabbing your attention?

We live in an ‘attention economy’. Attention is now a prime commodity, which can be bought and sold by advertisers and corporations. Everybody wants our attention. Intention follows attention. Our attention shapes our perception of the world, our actions, and the reality that we want to create. With our attention, we decide who we want to hear, and see, and how we want to spend our time. Our ability to respond to the earth’s suffering demands a capacity to keep returning to it, even when there is so much to distract us from it.

Yoga helps us reclaim our attention, attention thankfully can be replenished. Mindfulness practices encourage us to experience the sights, smells and sounds of our immediate surroundings. Training our attention in meditation deeply enriches our experiences of life. When we look with different eyes at the already familiar, it generates wonder, and compassion, which in turn generates more attention, more love for the world and more joy in relating to it. Deep attention calls us into deeper relationships, which leads to a great sense of belonging and connection.

There is an urgent need to understand ‘attention’ as a valuable resource for social and environmental regeneration. Where we can and do place it, matters more and more.

So decide where you want to place your attention, maybe start with flowers in your garden, on your window sill, or in the pavement cracks as you walk along. Notice the wildflowers that grow in any tiny scrap of spare land, let your attention wander in nature all around you, feel the joy, the compassion, the wonder…

New teachers and classes

We are pleased to announce two new teachers who are joining us. They are both newly qualified but come with lots of enthusiasm and eagerness, and step into previously popular classes that have been missed.

Claire Jones will be offering a Sunday afternoon class, and we know that many of you enjoyed a late Sunday afternoon class previously so I am sure it will be popular. A Yin and yang class offering a stretch but also some quieter poses to end with to prepare you for the week ahead!

And Fred Burnham is offering a Men’s Yoga Class on a Wednesday from 4.45 to 6.00 pm. Our previous Men’s class came to an abrupt halt due to personal reasons so I am sure there will be great delight that there is one back on the timetable, we welcome you both to the team!  

A special class new fortnightly class with our therapist Melina James, called Sister Circle, will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6.00 – 8.00 pm. This is a unique opportunity to receive ongoing support throughout the year from a group of women committed to growth and self-empowerment. See our website for more information.

In the journey of the Wheel of the Year, it is Imbolc or Candlemas, a time to look back at what has served you well and be rid of anything that hasn’t and then look forward to Spring, and the year ahead.  We have two wonderful workshops celebrating Imbolc:

Breathwork, Yoga Nidra and Gong Bath with Tracey Boast and Arianna Puran Udini
Friday 2^nd February 6.00 – 7.30 pm

Honouring Imbolc Workshop with Sian Lalita Alcock
Saturday 3^rd 2.00 – 5.00 pm

Enjoy the lighter days and the awakening earth throughout this month.

Sharon and the team!

February Courses & Workshops

Breathwork, Yoga Nidra and Gong Bath with Tracey Boast and Arianna Puran Udini
Friday 2^nd 6.00 – 7.30 pm

Breathing and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Friday 2^nd 6.30 – 7.30 pm

Sun Salutation Workshop with Kim Mackie
Saturday 3^rd 10.30 – 12.00 pm

Honouring Imbolc Workshop with Sian Lalita Alcock
Saturday 3^rd 2.00 – 5.00 pm

Pilates Men Only with Sharon Morgan
Sunday 4^th 10.00 – 11.00 am

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Sarah Ryan
Saturday 10^th 10.30 – 11.45 am

Vedic Chanting with Sarah Ryan
Saturday 10^th 12.00 – 1.00 pm

Iyengar Yoga Workshop with Cheree Low
Saturday 10^th 1.30 – 4.30 pm

Pilates – Balance and Bone Health with Sharon Morgan
Sunday 11^th 10.00 – 11.00 am

Tuning Forks For Stress Relief with Nicki Greenham
Friday 16^th 7.00 – 8.30 pm

Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Sunday 18^th 1.30 – 4.00 pm

Gong Bath – Overcoming Depression with Arianna Puran Udini
Saturday 24^th 10.00 – 12.30 pm

Sacred Space Workshop – Sharon Bentley
Saturday 24^th 2.00 – 4.00 pm

Mini First Aid with Sue Fisher
Wednesday 28^th 10.00 – 12.00 pm

“You are the gardener of your mind, and you are sowing seeds every moment of every day with the thoughts you think and the actions you take. The seeds you plant today will determine tomorrow’s harvest. Choose mindfully.”
~ Unknown ~

Happy new year to you all!

I would like to start January’s newsletter with an ancient universal prayer, which is part of the Pavamana Mantra from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. The translation of the entire mantra is: 

“Lead us from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light and from death to immortality.” It is used as a purifying prayer which is chanted for the wellbeing of oneself or for humanity.

Om asato ma sadgamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya
Om shanti shanti shanti

ॐ असतो मा सद् गमय
तमसो मा ज्योतिर् गमय
मृत्योर् माम्रतं गमय
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

What’s happening in nature?

Our December newsletter began with an observation of what was happening in nature, and this newsletter continues with the same theme. There can be a lot of pressure to jump into the New Year with new resolutions and suggestions to try new things, new diets, get fit… with lots of energy, and push, but this is just getting back onto the treadmill.

We are still in the depths of winter, take a moment between times to look back at the year that has passed and to let go of what is no longer serving you. It is a time to look forward to what you would like to see in your life ahead, a time for observation and introspection. Nature is still sleeping, it throws up the odd snowdrop, and primrose, but there is still a long time before Spring is here. Take your time, there is no rush, keep your yoga practice slow, and nourishing and supportive, there is no need to end your period of rest and recuperation. Our workshops this month still offer plenty of opportunity for this. And our weekly classes are trickling back to a full timetable by the time we are half way through January.  

New therapist Lauren Watson

We offer a big welcome to Lauren Watson, who is joining our wonderful team in the therapy room. She is offering her Spirit Ayurveda. Ayurveda is considered by many scholars to be the oldest healing science. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “The Science of Life.” Ayurvedic knowledge originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is often called the “Mother of All Healing”, and naturally goes hand in hand with yoga. It stems from the ancient Vedic culture and was taught for many thousands of years in an oral tradition from accomplished masters to their disciples.

Ayurveda allows us to access our inner healer, change our actions, and, in turn, transform the world! We are so pleased to have Lauren offering her skills at the yoga centre. You can read all about Lauren here.

New Class: Well Woman Yoga

Kim Jones is offering a new weekly evening yoga class for women.

Well woman yoga offers women tools to stabilise fluctuating hormones, build pelvic strength and improve vitality through every cycle of life. Whether its menstruation or postnatal recovery to the menopause and beyond. Experience a blend of restorative yoga postures, gentle flows, and rejuvenating breathing and relaxation techniques to help harmonise your mental, emotional and physical states.   

• Teacher: Kim Jones
• Day: Mondays 7.30 – 9.00pm
• Cost: £9 
• Book Now

We look forward to seeing you soon at Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre

Om Shanti

Sharon and the team  

January Courses & Workshops

Breathing and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Friday 5th January, 6.30 – 7.30pm

Tuning Forks for Stress Relief with Nicki Greenham
Friday 12th January 7.00 – 8.30pm

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Sarah Ryan
Saturday 13th January 10.30 – 11.45am

Vedic Chanting with Sarah Ryan
Saturday 13th January 12.00 – 1.00pm

Iyengar Yoga with Cheree Low
Saturday 13th January 1.30 – 4.30pm

Mini First aid with Sue Fisher
Monday 15th January 10.00 – 12pm

Restorative Yoga for Deep Rest with Tracey Boast
Friday 19th January 6.00 – 7.30pm

Gong Bath – Free yourself from Fear with Arianna Puran Udini
Saturday 20th January 10.00 – 12pm

Yin Yoga Workshop with Chrissie Haskett
Sunday 21st January 10.00 – 12.30pm

Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Sunday 21st January 1.30 – 4.00pm

Yin Yoga with Toni Franklin
Friday 26th January 6.00 – 7.30pm

Holistic Yoga Workshop with Duncan Hulin
Saturday 27th January 10.00 – 4.30pm

General Yoga Workshop with Hannah Lovegrove
Saturday 27th January 11.00 – 1.00pm

Reiki Share with Wrio Russell
Saturday 27th January 1.30 – 3.00pm

Restorative Yoga For Deep Rest with Tracey Boast
Sunday 28th January 10.00 – 12.00pm

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow; so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”

~ Dalai Lama ~

Winter: time to rest and renew…

What’s happening in Nature in the Winter?

Many of our workshops this month, such as the Restorative Workshops, the Yin Workshops, and the Yoga Nidra (sleep), connect us to what nature is doing – resting. This ‘wintering’ or hibernation is a crucial activity, giving the earth and other living things time to rest so that they can renew themselves again. These times of darkness can give us refuge and a moment to pause.

Wintering invites us to strip back our own layers, just as the deciduous trees shed their leaves and reveal their form. It can be a time for us to contemplate who we are, who we present to the world, and then maybe make some changes with our new year resolutions or our sankalpa as we do in yoga nidra. Nikki Greenham’s workshop“Let Love Shine” is a unique event that combines the power of meditation, tuning fork sounds and the therapeutic practice of journaling. This is a lovely way to enter a state of deep relaxation, allowing you to release stress and tension, and get clarity for any worries or life decisions you may be facing.

Many of us may still have to work, but we can have more time under the duvet, eat nourishing soups and stews, switch off the tv, sit and read or just stare at the firelight.

Be Reminded of Natures Lessons

Light is such an essiential part of well being, so if you struggle with the lack of it, enjoy the xmas lights, light candles, decorate your home with twinkling lights and make sure you walk outside each day, for the little light there is and to be reminded of nature’s lessons.

We have a Candlelight Yoga class with Kim Jones, and two wonderful workshops: Winter Solstice Drum and Chant with Magdalena Atkinson and Honouring the Winter Solstice with Sian Alcock. The Winter Solstice is a celebration of the light returning, the days growing longer and the strength of the sun returning.

Many of our teachers and therapists will take time to rest over the Xmas break so do check the calendar for your weekly classes.

Seasons Greetings to you all, we hope you have a nurturing Winter time, with lots of festive cheer too.

From Sharon and all the teachers and therapists of Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre

December Courses & Workshops

Breathing and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Friday 1st December, 6.30-7.30pm

Let Love Shine: Angelic Healing Meditation and Journaling Workshop with Nicki Greenham
Saturday 2nd December, 10.00-11.30am

Restorative Yoga For Deep Rest with Tracey Boast
Sunday 3rd December, 10.00-12.00pm

Yin Fascial Yoga: Roll Release Relax with Dominique Preston
Sunday 3rd December, 2.00-5.00pm

Tuning Forks For Stress Relief with Nicki Greenham
Friday 8th December, 7.00-8.30pm

Iyengar Yoga with Cheree Low
Saturday 9th December, 1.00-4.00pm

Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra with Sharon Cox-Button
Sunday 10th, 1.30-4.00pm

Winter Solstice Drum and Chant with Magdalena Atkinson
Friday 15th, 6.00-9.00pm

General Yoga with Hannah Lovegrove
Saturday 16th, 9.30-11.30am

Yin Yoga Workshop with Chrissie Haskett
Sunday 17th, 2.30-5.00pm

Candlelight Yoga with Kim Jones
Friday 22nd, 7.00-8.15pm

Honouring The Winter Solstice with Sian Lalita Alcock
Saturday 23rd, 10.00-1.00pm

Yin Yoga Workshop with Toni Franklin
Friday 29th December, 6.00-7.30pm

Looking ahead to January

We have Duncan Hulin visiting on Saturday 27th January with his familiar Holistic Yoga day: breath-only kriyas, sopana & asanas (both held and dynamic), satsang (meditation followed by philosophical discussion), miscellaneous practices, and pranayama. A day not to be missed so book early!

“Winter is the slow-down. Winter is the search for self. Winter gives the silence you need to listen. Winter goes gray so you can see your own colors.”
~ Terri Guillemets ~