Friday 16th Feb, 2022 7-9.15pm
£40pp
Join Lisa and Jenny on their bi-monthly yin & gong sessions with a yin yoga workshop focused primarily on the heart chakra and meridians. We will explore the joy and healing powers of mantra and voice, a guided meditation throughout class will focus on self-love.
There’s a reason why yoga teachers love sequencing heart-opening classes — in fact, there are plenty. To start, us modern-day Westerners spend an awful lot of time contracting the front of our bodies (think of our posture as we sit in front of a computer or in a car), and it’s rare that we balance this behaviour with opening the eastern face of the body. The result? Short and constricted front bodies, less effective breathing patterns and a temperament that is closed rather than open and receptive to the world. Yin yoga can make a huge difference.
(TCM) and bodywork therapies all agree that the importance of the heart reaches far beyond its physical functions and plays a profound role in our energetic, emotional and spiritual lives. Yin yoga with its gentle, passive poses, is the perfect practice to encourage the liberating experience of opening the heart while also providing grounding and support.
Yin is a style of yoga where poses are held for several minutes in order to bring controlled stress within your connective tissue, which allows for deep release. No prior yoga experience is necessary! Each pose will allow you to relieve tension within your body along with a guided meditation to promote calm peacefulness within your mind.
The yin/restore yoga section with Lisa accompanied by a healing Gong Bath with Jenny-Ann, an immersion in sacred sound that can transport you to a deeply meditative state.
Gongs promote a deep sense of well being and inner peace, with participants bathed in the sounds of the gongs often experiencing feelings of timelessness, visions or colours.The deep resonance of the gongs affects the body on a cellular level, releasing tension and stress by sonic massage.
This workshop is not suitable for the following health conditions due to the powerful vibrations from the gongs: pregnancy, severe osteoporosis, epilepsy, sound sensitive conditions (tinnitus/ menieres/some migraine), recent surgery with plates/pins, pacemakers, unstable mental health conditions (schizophrenia/bipolar).
ABOUT CEREMONIAL CACAO
A little bit about Ceremonial Cacao, is much more than just chocolate. It contains health restoring, mood elevating and consciousness altering compounds such as theobromine, serotonin, calcium and magnesium as well as many others that when consumed generate a particular heart warming sensation in the body.
Its active ingredients include theobromine, which translates in Mayan culture as, 'Food of the Gods'. It has been used for thousands of years in ceremony and rituals as a way of connecting to ourselves, and opening our heart. Cacao is SELF LOVE, and self love is our greatest medicine.
It is made by fermenting the beans, slightly heating them and hand peeling them before grinding them down on a heated mill resulting in a powder that congeals to make a paste.
A ceremonial dose of Cacao is 25-40g it becomes a powerful plant medicine that calms the mind and reconnects us to feelings of love, peace and connection. Connecting to the spirit of cacao to release blockages around the heart and heal emotional wounds.
Cacao when consumed creates a heart warming and heart opening sensation, it brings a uniquely expansive, elevated, yet peaceful mental state. She helps us consciously explore our own inner world so that we can access healing, and lasting transformation, bringing us to our true nature and giving us a sense of joy.
Important information about a Cacao and some CONTRAINDICATIONS.
1. Antidepressants:
If you're on antidepressants, avoid Cacao or start cautiously with a homeopathic dose (5g) or only a sip.
Observe your body's response before considering an increase.
2. Caffeine:
Reduce coffee intake on Cacao consumption day to avoid potential discomfort.
Caffeine and Cacao clash may lead to issues like a rapidly beating heart and headaches.
3. Heart Conditions:
• Theobromine in Cacao significantly increases heart rate and lowers blood pressure. Unsuitable for those with serious heart conditions; seek medical advice if you are uncertain.
4. Fasting for Ceremonial Dose:
Consume Cacao on an empty stomach. Avoid eating for at least 2 hours before the ceremony for optimal effects.
5. Stimulant Sensitivity:
Cocao can sometimes act as a stimulant and may impact sleep (please note with the dosage I am offering this should not be the case, and you may find will allow you to sleep better due to the high content of magnesium.
6. Pregnancy Precaution:
Theobromine's stimulative effects increase heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Use a very small dose of Cacao during pregnancy, observing both your body's and the baby's reactions.
Seek medical advice if unsure.
7. Health First:
If you ae unsure please reach with a healthcare professional before engaging in a Ceremonial Cacao.
Benefits:
Gentle but powerful
Won’t push you through a door rather gently leads you there if you are willing
Can sit with her and feel the support even when not drinking her
Helps you understand yourself
Can aid clearing emotional blocks
Enables the letting go of past relationships
Connects you with your creativity
Enhances focus and mental agility
May find you no longer crave crappy chocolate
Cacao can be enjoyed as an alternative to coffee or tea
Sanitised props will be provided for this workshop but please bring a pillow case to cover my bolsters, an extra blanket for comfort, and your own mat if you prefer.
Aromatherapy, salt lamps, eye pillows, bolsters and lots of blankets set the scene for the extra long savasana at the end of the class!