What a wonderful event: the very first Expand gathering, at The Shed on the far side of Spier last Saturday, where like-minded people came together for a day of yoga, talks on Ayurveda, EFT (emotional freedom technique) and home-sprouting, and to eat a healthy, organically-grown lunch.
It was an opportunity to catch up with friends, and make new ones, and to reinforce my love of yoga as a discipline that is a mental, spiritual and physical practice that helps me to stay centred, and encourages strength and flexibility, both of mind and body.
Its origins are traced to India in the sixth century BC, and it has experienced a renewed interest in the West. There is now an International Day of Yoga, and it is used from board-rooms to prison yards as a form of relaxation and complementary healing.
In addition to the three mass yoga classes, I also attended the laughing yoga session, and my tummy muscles are still aching from the unaccustomed mirth.
The Acra (partner) yoga, shown right, was a bridge too far for me, but it was wonderful to watch people working together to achieve the poses, amid much laughter.
And it was mesmerising to witness the aerial yoga; the sinuous movements as the practioners swung from silk ropes, attached to roof trusses, taking themselves perpendicular and every position in-between.
The nutrition lectures were also a clear reminder of how essential the role food and water play in health, as is the origin and means of farming – the planet is increasingly beleaguered by the rampant use of chemicals in food production, and there is a great price that is being paid (and it is growing exponentially).
Thank you to all who collaborated in putting together this wonderful initiative, which is set to be held every few months. I’ll keep our readers posted.
Carolyn Frost: Editor
