Beyond the yoga class

March 24, 2018 Becci Curtis

Some resources for going inside and out

The time we spend in any yoga class is very limited. Self-study (Svadhyaya), and expanding our perspective, is integral to yoga practice and philosophy.

If you know me (are on my mailing list, or like my Facebook page), you'll know that I like to share things I find interesting, or think will be of interest. The following lists some resources that I have found particularly useful in developing, investigating, and questioning my personal practice and my teaching; or, more simply, how I am, and how I want to be, in the world.

Some resources are yoga-specific, others take a more sideways view. Make your own connections, be open and curious, and maintain a healthy level of skepticism: in the words of Danny Paradise, 'trust the message, not the messenger - the messenger always has their own problems'.

This list will continue to evolve. If you have questions, recommendations, or comments, I'd love to hear from you. Any suggestions for how this list could be most usefully organised are also very welcome.

Some tips for growing plants and people

January 29, 2018 Becci Curtis

Some tips for growing plants (and humans)

It was a just another rubbish orchid that refused to re-flower. I assumed that it would slowly die, and when I considered it dead enough, I would simply throw it away.

New Year, New You, and other nonsense

December 28, 2017 Becci Curtis

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash — Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

If you are thinking of setting any New Year's resolutions (especially of the yoga kind), my unasked-for advice is to keep them simple, long-term, and bullshit free. There is room for improvement in all of us, but nobody is getting an overnight transformation. We don't suddenly need a different 'bod' to the one we had yesterday; we don't need to punish ourselves for indulging in too many mince pies, and we certainly don't need to pay for a service, object, or miraculous foodstuff that claims it will sort our lives out for us (especially if an amount of days is specified).

I'm not trying to downtalk New Year's resolutions; sometimes a change, or a challenge, is exactly what we need. New Year, like the first, crisp, blank page in a fresh, new notebook (who doesn't love that?) can be useful for garnering the energy to take action. It's the pursuit of being somebody else, somebody we idealise as being 'better' than we already are, that I take issue with. Our 'goodness' does not rest on a conditional and projected sense of self. We can all be better, sure, but we don't need to defer our wellbeing to the completion of a self-appointed task.

Instead of "When I lose weight/drink less/quit smoking, I will be happy", we could think "I am going to lose weight/drink less/quit smoking because my health is important".
Instead of "When I can meditate for an hour, I will be content", we could think "I'm going to set aside some time to meditate because I am curious about my state of mind".
Instead of "When I can perform Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand), I will be good at yoga" we could think "I'm going to practise [insert challenging posture] because I am interested to see if I can redefine the limits of what I believe to be possible at this moment in time."

Perhaps this can be viewed as a lesson in self-marketing trickery - glass half-empty, versus glass half-full - but I can't shake the thought that a month spent 'detoxing' compels us to spend a month believing that we (or the lives we lead) are toxic. I struggle to see how this belief could help any of us in perpetuity. (Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt.)

Turning 30

July 23, 2017 Becci Curtis

My life didn't magically become easy when I discovered yoga.

I did not suddenly become wise, or at peace with myself. I do feel more at ease, more wise and more at peace with myself than I did at 15, but I expect that most people do - with or without yoga, we grow up.

A 15 minute yoga sequence for cyclists

May 14, 2017 Becci Curtis

Many of you will already know that I'm a keen cyclist. If you haven't seen me ferrying my yoga mats around Oxford atop my trusty commuter, you might have seen me riding in my club colours on the Cowley Road; attended one of the classes I ran at this year's Women & Bikes festival; read about my broken collarbone, or heard me relate yoga and cycling at Thursday night's class, which have evolved from the cyclist-specific Winter Training sessions I started running back in 2015. (More recently, I have been working on the launch of VeloVedic training retreats for cyclists - our first event will take place over the August bank holiday - you can sign up to our mailing list here.)

Last month I teamed up with Oxfordshire Youth Cycling coach, Jake Backus, to film a short yoga sequence with the aim to encourage young cyclists to complement their training with some targeted strength and flexibility work. We were very lucky to be joined by two of Oxford's upcoming talent: Florence Wiggins, who rides for the Zappi Junior Women's Team; and Charlie Quarterman, who was recently signed by Leopard Pro Cycling. Both Charlie and Florence practice yoga regularly - you can watch the three of us talk about the benefits yoga can have both on and off the bike here.

We developed this video with youth cyclists in mind, but the sequence can be of benefit to all types of cyclist - both young and old - and if you're not a cyclist, well, yoga is for every body, not just the cycling body, so why not give it a go too!

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