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Namaste
Welcome to the Saraswati
Yoga Studio in Sutton, Surrey.
We offer a range of classes from beginners to
advanced levels at our studio in Sutton You can
just turn up without having to book! You will
also receive a free
relaxation CD at
your first class & Practice Manual at your
second class. Please see the 'classes'
page for times.
We hope you will find your journey into yoga to
be an enjoyable and fruitful one that will lead
to a more healthy, energetic and peaceful way
of life.
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| Featured
Postures |
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Cobra
This pose is called the Cobra because the raised
head and body resemble the raised hood of a Cobra.
In this pose the shoulder joints and upper back
are strengthened, buttock muscles toned and lung
capacity increased. The thighs, hips, abdominal
and chest muscles are stretched.
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| Yoga
Retreat at Buckland Hall, Wales. |
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Our annual yoga retreats
are a very special opportunity to learn, and live
the essence of Yoga without the distractions of
our daily lives. Such an experience can be transforming,
or at the very least give us a grounding for a more
peaceful and healthier way of being.
You will have the opportunity to take meditative
walks in the countryside, practice asanas (postures),
practice breathing exercises as well as having afternoons
to explore local beauty spots or simply just relax
in the grounds of Buckland Hall.
You can attend for 2 days, 3 days or the full five
days.
More details............................................................more> |
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 The
first words of the Dhammapada, the teaching of
Buddha says:-
"All that we are is the results of our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world. If we think
in a negative way then that negativity will follow
us, as sure as the wheel follows the ox that draws
the cart. If we think in an harmonious way, happiness
follows us as sure as our shadow, never leaving
us"
It is important for our own well being to train
ourselves to let go of our negative thoughts and
replace them with more contented positive ones.
This of course does not mean that we passively
accept life's injustices. Sometimes we MUST confront
bad situations, we must deal with things but then
we must let them go - Buddha also said "Letting
go is the secret to happiness". ................................................................................more>
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| Why
meditate? |
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 When
we are under pressure, living through stressful
situations, our body responds in a certain way,
called the flight or fight response.
In time this response of the body to an over load
of stress accelerates the rate of wear and tear,
or ageing of the body, and makes us more susceptible
to a wide range of diseases and disorders.
Sadly many of us only know a state of stress,
be it mild
or intense, and some of us feel that we never
really
relax, during our waking hours.
The practice of meditation triggers a different
response in the body, the opposite response to
the flight or fight syndrome, called the relaxation
response.
Fortunately an experienced meditator can relax
quickly and consciously, so diffusing the flight
or fight response whenever they need to
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| Yoga
& Diet |
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|  Yoga
philosophy teaches us that everything in our universe
is made up of three Qualities of nature, including
ourselves and our way of thinking, feeling and
behaving.
Everything has a mixture of the three qualities,
but there is
normally a dominance of one of
the three energies and this dominant quality can
greatly
affects us.
The three energies or attributes of nature
(prakriti) are called GUNAS (qualities). They
are:
- SATTVA - Quality of truth, purity, lightness;
- RAJAS - Quality of passion, energy, desire;
- TAMAS - Quality of ignorance, inertia and
darkness
In Yoga we are encouraged and advised to create
a
more Sattvic lifestyle by eating sattvic foods..........more>
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| The
meaning of OM |
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 Om
is called the root mantra and often precedes other
mantras. The Maitrayaniya Upanishad describes
it as "The sound of the soundless Absolute."
It is on the sound of Om that Yogins and Yoginis
focus their attention to when in meditation. "Just
as a spider climbing up a thread finds open space,
the meditator climbs up by the means of Om and
finds personal freedom."
The Mandukya Upanishad begins with the following
passage:
"Om! This syllable is the whole world, the
past, the present and the future...everything
is but the sound of Om..."
Made up of four parts representing the four states
of consciousness - waking, dreaming, sleeping
and the fourth state which is transcendental or
the true self beyond the desiring mind. The first
curve represents the waking state, the second
the dream state, and the third curve represents
the dreamless state. ........................................................................more>
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