So, once again I am on the brink of leaving my ‘regular’ life behind to leap into the abyss and explore some more of what this crazy, beautiful planet has to offer. It has been such a journey getting to this point, and it still feels strange. I am a bundle of emotions – sadnessContinue reading “I don’t understand – but I trust”
Category Archives: yoga philosophy
Bringing the niyamas to life – Ishvara Pranidhana
As a quick reminder, the niyamas are five personal qualities mentioned in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that we’re encouraged to cultivate within ourselves, to help us on our yoga path. In this article we’re looking at the fifth and final niyama: ‘Ishvara Pranidhana’, which means ‘devotion to God/ the divine/ the cosmos/ the universe/ the biggerContinue reading “Bringing the niyamas to life – Ishvara Pranidhana”
Bringing the niyamas to life – Svadhyaya
As a quick reminder, the niyamas are five personal qualities mentioned in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that we’re encouraged to cultivate within ourselves, to help us on our yoga path. In this article we’re looking at the fourth niyama: ‘Svadhyaya’, which means ‘self-study’. I warn you now, I may go off on one a bit inContinue reading “Bringing the niyamas to life – Svadhyaya”
A Conversation Between Mind, Heart and Spirit (AKA The Holy Trinity)
So, here’s a little story that ‘fell out of me’ the other day, following a very inspirational chat with a friend, who encouraged me to get onto paper some of the crazy stuff swirling around my head at the moment. Indeed it was very therapeutic! I hope you take something positive from it… 🙂 TheContinue reading “A Conversation Between Mind, Heart and Spirit (AKA The Holy Trinity)”
Detoxifying the mind
NB This article appeared in a newsletter to my yoga students earlier this year but at the time I didn’t dare to unleash it on the internet. But, today, I realised quite how pertinent it is to the topic of saucha, which I have just blogged about, and so again I man up and speakContinue reading “Detoxifying the mind”
Bringing the niyamas to life – Saucha
The niyamas are the second limb of yoga, as outlined in Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Along with the first limb, the yamas, these two limbs together form the ethical code of conduct that creates the foundation bedrock of the yoga path. If you use the analogy of the tree of yoga, the five yamas and fiveContinue reading “Bringing the niyamas to life – Saucha”
Introduction to the chakras – and a chakra opening yoga sequence
NB This sequence appeared in my most recent monthly Frond Yoga newsletter.  If you would like to join my mailing list and have information of upcoming UK classes, workshops, detox day retreats and international retreats then please get in touch via beckymay@frondyoga.com. In yoga philosophy, we are comprised of more than our visible ‘flesh andContinue reading “Introduction to the chakras – and a chakra opening yoga sequence”
Mistaking the stick for a snake
I am fascinated by the Vedas – these are a collection of four ancient Indian tomes covering a huge range of esoteric subjects, including some of the earliest known references to yoga. It is said that the wisdom that they contain was received directly from the divine by enlightened beings, or ‘seers’, and, for thousandsContinue reading “Mistaking the stick for a snake”
Expanding into sparseness
Today I woke to the monochrome beauty of a snowy morning and felt my usual childlike excitement at the world having changed so dramatically whilst we slept. I pestered my partner into wakefulness and soon we were striding through the cold air, red-cheeked and puffing steam from our mouths. We stopped and stood for aContinue reading “Expanding into sparseness”
Bringing the yamas into daily life
This summer I’ve been running monthly workshops to delve a little deeper into the subject of yoga. Â The theme of the workshop series has been the ‘yamas’ – the code of good personal ethics set out by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras text, which form the first limb of the eight limbs of yoga. Â AlongContinue reading “Bringing the yamas into daily life”