we need to live in the world not of the world

What is the connection between flossing and meditation…..?

We are not just our physical body……

A ‘tool’ of meditation practice is wearing a shawl. What are meditation tools and why are they helpful?

1 2 3 Relax. ☺️

I am going to be completely honest with you. I find relaxation hard! Like anything in life, it is a practice. As someone who has practiced yoga for a number of years and someone who teaches it, I will tell you that it’s the practice I resist the most and one I often see students struggle with.

Why is that??

My Dru yoga colleagues, fellow teachers and senior teachers will tell you that the Dru 4 stage relaxation is one of the essentials and if nothing else, one should make an effort to practice this regularly.

What are the benefits of relaxation anyway?

Breathing: You know how to, but do you?

The first thing we do is inhale, the last thing we do is exhale.

The “bookends” of our life could be defined by our breath.

In fact our breathing is so vital to all aspects of our health and well-being, yet for many of us, we don’t even consider how important it is until we struggle with it.

Breathing is our silent partner for life, it nourishes and energises us and carries vast potential many of us have not tapped into. The ancient yogi’s believe our breath connects us intimately with the divine intelligence of the cosmos.

We know we can survive for some time without food and even water, but not without breathing.

One of the ways breathwork impacts us significantly is its influence on our nervous system. Through breath techniques, we can regulate the nervous system.

By breathing in specific ways…

Why meditate?

Training the Mind (Western)

Put most simply, meditation is a way to train the mind. Most of the time, our minds are wandering - we're thinking about the future, dwelling on the past, worrying, fantasizing, fretting or daydreaming. Meditation brings us back to the present moment, and gives us the tools we need to be less stressed, calmer and kinder to ourselves and others.

"Meditation is a training of our attention” says Tara Brach.

Meditation (Eastern)

In order to be able to meditate you have to be able to concentrate. In order to concentrate, you need to be able to draw the senses inwards as a tortoise draws in its limbs. Before you can do this, you need to have stabilised the ‘life currents’ in the various layers of your being. (Example, breath, thoughts, emotions) and to do this, it’s is helpful to have strengthened, balanced, relaxed and harmonised the body too.

Meditation and Mindfulness, what's the difference?

What does 'Dru' mean?

“Dru comes from the Sanskrit word dhruva, which refers to the stillness that can be experienced in Dru Yoga and Dru Meditation. In this stillness, we are able to sit back from anything that may be happening around us, and see and act from a point of clarity and inner calm.”

My personal experience of Dru.

Dru was my third yoga teacher training, which I Embarked on in October 2014 whilst 7 months pregnant with our third child.

I was searching for a more therapeutic style of yoga to learn and teach. I was also missing community!

I had completed 500+ hours over two previous trainings in Australia and India. Both of these had given me a fantastic grounding in physical safety and also opened me up to the science, spirituality, and mystery of yoga as an ancient and modern modality for healing, a self-care tool kit, personal transformation, and development…..

Click ‘Read More’ for continued personal experience, key elements, tangible benefits, the seven principles & the five stages within a Dru class.

Nurture Soul - Rebecca Foster

Balancing Breath VIDEO

Tara Brach Resource - VIDEO

The acronym RAIN – Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture – guides us in bringing mindfulness and compassion to difficult emotions. With practice, we can find our way home to open-hearted presence in the midst of whatever arises.

For more information and resources on the practice of RAIN, visit: www.tarabrach.com/rain

Dru Yoga Resource - VIDEO

Energy Block Release - Druteam

EBR 1 is called the 'Foundation Energy Block Release Sequence' because it provides an excellent foundation for all Dru Yoga students. Not only will this sequence provide a full body warm-up but will also help balance mind and emotions. This Foundation Sequence is a great way to get energy flowing more freely through the body and bring you to a place of deep inner stillness.