Yoga, training and health inspiration for you

How do you make a difference between goals and visions? And how can turning from a goal oriented thinking to a more visionary mindset help us tap into our unique potential? Read more on the topic here!

Shifting from goal to vision

The airline pilot knows his duty is to get his plane full of passengers to the destination on time. If his time-measured task is not completed, it is deemed a failure. The athlete knows he won’t be picked in the team if he doesn’t get his track time under 12 seconds. The high school student needs to get her score in the top 1% of the nation to gain entrance into med school. Aahhh, the world of goals and striving.

The yoga teacher however, is encouraging us to step away from goal orientation in an effort to bring balance back into our lives.

This great paradox is worthy of honest inquiry. How much of your time is spent on the game of striving towards goals? And what happens when they aren’t reached? The world-wide pandemic of “I am not enough” being fed again and again.

What is suggested here is not to entirely give up the goals setting but, moreso, to step away from it at regular intervals. In its vacuum, you could possibly flex the other muscle of Visioning?

Goals are limiting – visions creates potential

Goals are realistic. They are also limiting, stressful, confined and mental. They can be consumed with your own or others’ expectations. They can be a headache.

Visions, on the other hand, are idealistic. They involve an unbound potential and are based on trust, a not knowing, being creative and intuitive and diving into what lights you up.

The strength of vision comes from believing in a life that is on your side. It is well known in neuro-psychology that mental states of goal setting utilise only 5-10% of the brain’s capacity. However when we begin to envision, imagine, sense and explore – welcoming our dreams and heart fuelled intentions into the conversation – another 90% of the brain starts to ignite.

Perhaps now is the time to flex the muscle of Vision?

What do you wish to be doing with your life in five years time?

See it, write it, feel it again and again and let life’s course take care of the rest.

Make this a regular practice, and … when life’s course starts to lead us … it is the call to listen, say YES and follow.  After all, it is a life current on your side.

With love,
Gwyn

Further reading

• On balance, unity and community – a chat with Gwyn Williams, by Yogobe
• Visionen, by Josephine Selander (in Swedish)
• Få koll på din tid och energi - investera i dig själv, by Cecilia Gustafsson (in Swedish)

Yoga online – classes on vision and with Gwyn Williams

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What is the relationship between yin, fascia and architecture? Yoga teacher Frida Starvid (former Boström) writes about yoga in relation to gravity. Learn more about why yin yoga can do wonders for your body and mind.

The architecture of the body

Before doing my own teacher training in yin yoga, I admit I was a non-flattering combination of ignorant and uninterested. I wouldn't say that I've completely switched personality since – my real forte is still more dynamic practices - but being a person who needs my experiences to take a detour through the intellect for ratification, acquiring a solid theoretical foundation proved essential for me to enjoy a Yin practice at all.

The coin dropped the moment I realized what kind of structure the human body is. There are reasons for why we consist of elements as different as small toenails and large intestines, and depending on what slice of the human experience you want to dissect, different body parts come into play. But for the sake of this particular analysis, let´s focus on what constitute the fundamental parts of our loadbearing structure; our muscles, bones and fascia.

So, the human body is a structure that firstly needs to be stable, and secondly needs to be able to move. Unless we had some rigidity in our bodies, we would be pulled down to earth by gravity and get dispersed into a jelly-like blob. And if we couldn't move, our particular genes would have been chewed up by a tiger a long time ago. What does the job of keeping us upright is our skeleton. We all know that if we manage to stack our bones on top of each other in a nicely aligned way, we need almost no muscular effort to stay in an upright posture. And to make this rigid bone structure move at will, we use our muscles. The muscles have the ability to contract, and when they do, they pull on the bones, initiating action.

However, the muscles have no shape-keeping property in themselves. What gives them shape is the fascia that surrounds the muscle and also surround each muscle fibre. A large part of the muscle mass is actually made up of fascia. If you're an architect like me (or just pretend you are for now) you can regard bones like columns (taking up compression forces) and fascia/muscles like cables (good for tension forces). As long as you stay upright and still, without defying gravity too much, you're ok. And as long as you're in constant movement, this column-and-cable structure will happily work along with you because that's what it is designed for.

Use yin yoga to unlock your muscles

But, if you hold your arm out still in front of you for a long time, if you repeat the same ball-throwing movement a million times, or if you sit slumped over your computer with your neck in a forward-tilted position for hours each day, the body parts that are located outside the loadbearing centre start to be pulled down by gravity. The fascia, which reads pressure changes in the body compared to the surroundings (this is scientifically proven) will then start to lay down its fibers around the muscle that need most structural support. With time and repetition, the area at work gets hard and tense. The fascia has thickened, “locking” the muscle into its current position. And if this goes on for long enough, a bad posture, tightness or an uneven muscular pattern is created.

Unlike muscle fibres, fascia can't be stretched. In order to release areas of fascial tension, we need an “unpinning” to happen. The fascial fibres that have laid down and hardened need to be broken away from the tissue they are attaching to. Yin yoga is practiced in a slow and controlled manner so that this unpinning can happen safely, without the risk of unintentional tearing. That's why we don't do physical adjustments in Yin. Also, some claim that Yin is best practiced with a cold body, which, as long as you take is slow, makes the unpinning more effective. So, this is what I ponder on during five minutes in a supported Paschimottanasana. Some people think about the heart chakra, others about the colour of autumn, others again about Chinese acupuncture points, but not me.

In the larger perspective, it's not too bad to think about yoga in relation to gravity. Especially if you, like me, are distinctly interested in arm balances and inversions. To some degree, those asanas are about muscular strength and flexibility. But the bulk of the technique behind a handstand or a one-legged crow lies in understanding how to position yourself so the force of gravity flows through your body parts in the most balanced way. A useful thought, in other words, also for the yang-loving yogi!

About Frida

Frida Starvid (former Boström) is a Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Rocket and Yin teacher (200+140 hr), educated in India, Sweden and Spain. She started off as an architect but after a burnout she decided to shift careers. Her first trip to an ashram in India in 2015 led to many more, and evoked her already existing curiosity about philosophy and meditation, as well as fun and physically challenging yoga. Frida gives regular classes and assists at yoga teacher educations in Sweden and abroad. Frida also runs the brand Furö with her husband. Read more about Frida at her website or follow her on Instagram. 

Practice Yin Yoga on Yogobe

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More and more of us do it. We practice and practice to get the perfect one. Handstands. It's not a circus exclusive anymore, it's out there. Get some insight about all the parts of our bodies included in a handstand, and how we can prevent these parts from getting injured when practicing! 

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Yoga inversions – handstands for everyone

Wild guess, you haven't missed it. People are getting down and up into inversions everywhere. Downdogs, planks, handstands and more in a huge variety of shapes and styles. It's not a circus exclusive anymore, it's out there. 

We are fascinated with hand balancing. They defy gravity and intrigues us, we instinctually know it requires time and skills to conquer them. You need a brave both body and mind a big portion of character to stay in the training to conquer the more advanced poses. They are visually appealing and can express many different artistic styles and emotions. Beyond this, there's something with hand balancing that goes even deeper into how we humans are set up physically.

The photo shows the neuro sensory proportions and how much of the brain is used to control movements in different parts of the body. As you can see, we are hard wired to pick up information from our hands, and to use them in our daily life. Not only for hand balancing. This is why we can so many things from brushing our teeth to sending a text, handstand or play the piano.

Each hand contains plus or minus, everyone is different:

• 29 major and minor bones
• 29 major joints
• At least 123 named ligaments
• 34 Muscles which move the fingers and thumb
• 48 named nerves
• 30 named arteries and nearly as many smaller named branches

Handstand and injuries such as wrist issues 

Yes, obviously this is a complex area. I meet a lot of people with wrist issues. Not only when doing Yoga, handstands or in the gym, but everywhere, like the other day at dinner with friends. When they found out I work with my body and that I do a lot of handstands the following often happens:

• They tell me they have wrist problems, restrictions or pain and how they avoid things in life because of it. Of course, it also becomes a limitation to even start or to get good progression in movement training like Yoga, hand balancing and similar form of training.

• They tell me how they can't, won't or just don't know how to address it.

Preparations & build up – how to do a handstand

Well, you can't rest yourself out of this one. You need to start using your hands. More. Daily.

• Basic function and flexibility. Do an honest check in with the basics. Can you flex and point your wrists, circle them, spread your fingers wide, make a fist, connect with each finger. Massage your wrists and palms, play air piano, be creative and move your hands in as many different way as you can come up with.

• Add intensity and resistance. Once you have the basic skills it's time to add more resistance. Touch the floor, hang from something, carry things that are heavy. Basically do things that requires you to make an effort with your hands.

• Advanced skills and programming. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again – Get a skilled professional. When you want better progress, when you get stuck, if it hurts or if you want something special, get the best professionals and teachers to learn from. It's a life long investment.

Touch the ground, the sky and your heart everyday.

Learn more 

• Learn about the benefits of headstands (in Swedish)

Yoga online – handstand practice

• Playlist: Handstand – step by step (English)
• Videos:
  • Handstand practice in the video library (English, also choose language under settings)
  • Handstand practice in the video library (Swedish)

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For yoga and meditation teacher Eleonora Ramsby Herrera, meditation is a sacred practice. It's a process without a means to an end. Meditation is there to remind you that you are perfect as you are. In this interview she shares her thoughts on meditation and how it can support you in life.

You are human and perfect

Eleonora Ramsby Herrera has taught yoga since 2008. She is developing and running teacher trainings in London, Stockholm and Lisbon and has also worked with trauma-adapted yoga. Eleonoras’ yoga classes are multi-dimensional and contemporary in nature. Movement, breath, touch, sound and poetry weaved together into a well-rounded embodied experience. We asked her some questions on meditation – and she gives her best advice on how to start meditating. Come join!

1. How did you start meditating?
I was introduced to meditation as a child through my parents. My mom works in holistic therapy and one of the things she does is to teach meditation. I would participate in her meditation retreats and she would also introduce me to CD´s with guided meditations that I listened to before going to sleep as a child.

For me, meditation is a sacred practice and there are many forms of sacred practices, religion being one of them. I attended both Catholic kindergarten and Sunday school growing up. Now, I was not their ideal Catholic student, far from it, nor do I consider myself religious and I don’t think you have to be to do any form of meditation, but I do consider myself to have a spiritual practice. Thanks to the Catholic practices, rituals became an important part of growing up. My father and I would pray and contemplate on the divine as part of our everyday life, and that too is a form of meditation to me. So, these early childhood years shaped my personal and professional practice that I have today.

Later on, as I had just begun teaching yoga in 2008, I came across Michael Stone’s book “The Inner Tradition of Yoga” which left a permanent imprint on my consciousness. I keep returning to his book, and I also include it as mandatory reading in all my teacher training courses. I was lucky to formally train for Michael in 2016 at Yogacampus in London, and that further contributed to the depth and breadth of what my practice consists of today.

2. How has meditation affected your life?
Meditation humbles me and helps me remember that I am human with all the nuances that entail. In moments when I feel disconnected, the practice is there to bring me home to myself. It reminds me that everything is a process and it’s important to let those processes take the time they need to take.

3. How can meditation be supportive when life feels hard? 
Meditation is not like a magic wand that take all our troubles away. However, it can help us broaden our perspectives and thereby change how we approach life’s challenges. Meditation can give us the space to sit with our discomfort and to stop fighting or fixing it, and instead, we can gently face our present moment with acceptance. Like a good friend, meditation provides us with a space to be listened to. As we sit with whatever emotional turmoil that we may be faced with in that moment, we give ourselves permission to be as we are. This can in turn help to ease any pressure we might put on ourselves and thereby cultivate more compassion and acceptance into our lives.

4. Your best advice on how to start meditating? 
Find a meditation method that works for you, whether it is guided or not. Feel free to try out a few practices and teachers before finding a method that resonates with you! There is not one way of doing it, so keep an open mind.

Locate a place in your home that you devote to your meditation practice. Perhaps keep a candle and a photo of someone you care for next to your seat. Lighting the candle can become part of your own sacred ritual and the photo can remind you to feel love.

Keep a steady yet relaxed seated posture, use the props needed to feel comfortable. You do not need to endure too much physical discomfort and if it becomes a distraction then mindfully change your seated position to feel more at ease.

Meditation is a process without a means to an end. You are perfect just as you are, meditation is just there to remind you of that.

Read more about Eleonora here and see her classes online here!

Read more

• Exploring the breath – part 1, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• Managing hardship through connection, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• What is my path cultivating? by Luke Bache.

Meditation online with Eleonora Ramsby Herrera

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Each of us have our own way of coping with the stressors that we are faced with. This last part of a mini blog series on self-care strategies is about action. On how to move from reflection towards action. Take my suggestions and develop your own self-care toolkit! Remember that you are not alone nor helpless in this.

This blog article is the third and last part in a blog series about self-care for yoga teachers in light of Covid-19. Read the first part about Recognition here!

Take action as a yoga teacher

As we have reflected on one’s professional role and responsibilities towards oneself and one’s profession, part three of this article series sheds a light on how to move from reflection towards action. Reflection and action are not seen as two completely separate concepts, instead they interrelate and co-exist with each other in a continuous and evolving process. When combined together they generate a momentum which can drive us forwards from a place of substance and wisdom.

Without a grounded foundation upon which to stand, one in which the yoga teacher is aware of their professional role; responsibilities; and, duty of care within that role, what comes next would be nothing but superficial “how to’s”. However, if the yoga teacher remains integrated in themselves and their purpose, then they can approach these suggested coping strategies as well as developing their own, in a way that carries more weight.

This article takes into account that not all individuals respond to stress in the same way. Therefore, each person will also have their own unique way of coping with the stressors that they are faced with. As a yoga teacher, you can draw from your vast experience to develop your own self-care toolkit. The suggestions in this article are just that, suggestions. They are not dogma nor are they complete instead they aim to serve as a spring-board form which you can develop your own creative solutions.

Remember that you are not alone nor helpless in this. Even by asking for help you are taking initiative into your own hands and off-loading some of the professional pressure that you may be experiencing right now.

Lean on a trusted network

Your social environment will impact how you feel therefore it is important to surround yourself with meaningful influences. Lean on a network of a select group of colleagues that you know and trust. This is your platform of support where you can vent in a constructive way and follow up with problem-solving where solutions are co-created through the brainstorming between colleagues. Use this network to ask for feedback and/or have your work ideas validated. Have a think about who you would like to include in this network and reach out to them.

Key words: social, trust, support, constructive, problem-solving, brainstorming, validation

Compassionate adaptation
With the drastic change of work environment and moving from teaching in person to online, many teachers are at risk to start doubting their abilities and some may experience a drop in confidence. Ask someone you trust to tell you one thing they like about your work. If you feel unsure about something, ask them for constructive feedback. Small boosts of confidence and guided support are important to keep you going.

There may also be a sense of loss and loneliness as a response to the limited interactions that you are now faced with as you teach your students through a computer screen. There is a lack of physical- and personal contact which the teacher would normally feedback from and not having that to lean on can make one feel a bit astray. Make sure to explore other ways to connect with your students in which you can still experience a sense of uplifting community and connection. Perhaps by setting up an informal book club or a weekly meditation practice where the role of the facilitator is shared between the group members. This is where community matter more than ever!

This period of adaptation and uncertainty is where managing your expectations and practicing compassion becomes highly important. Give yourself a realistic amount of time to adjust to the new changes and have courage to try different things while you navigate this new turf.

Key words: manage expectations, compassion, adjustment, confidence boosts, navigation

Structure your finances
Financial difficulties can be scary and overwhelming, and the strong emotions that come as a result of this can make it difficult to think clearly when having to make important decisions that concerns money.

Give yourself space and time to detach a bit from the emotional turmoil that may come with this. Once you have calmed down slightly it is time to get practical and work towards finding both short- and long-term solutions that can support you financially. As you do so, remember to moderate your energy so that this does not lead to excessive amounts of work. Stay calm and tactical.

A basic template for yoga teachers and their business

You may have probably done much of the above already, but it can still be useful, even if it is just to validate your own process and to know that you are on track. Here is a basic template to get you started: 

• Ask a trusted friend for help, whether it be practical or emotional support.

• Inform yourself about any governmental aid that you are entitled to. If needed, ask your supporting friend to help you apply.

• Get your basic budgeting in order and reduce unnecessary expenses and find new ways of generating income through yoga.

• Diversify your income. Are there any other professions you can gain an income from during this time?

• Contact everyone from your bank to your landlord and inquiry about possibilities to reduce relevant fees.

Key words: calm, practical solutions, moderation, tactical, budget, diversify income

Categorise your job tasks
Most yoga teachers are in charge of several other job tasks that come with the territory. This has been elaborated on further in part one of this blog series.

As a self-employed it is easy to get into the habit of doing as much as possible oneself, but this is a time where it is more important than ever to thoroughly evaluate one’s responsibilities and priorities.

It may be helpful to categorise all your different job tasks that are part of your profession and dedicate each category a title and an estimation of time spent on each category. Once you have a broader overview of your scope of tasks, it will become easier to decide you’re your priorities need to be. Once you pin down your priorities, it is time to delegate, reduce and/or eliminate certain tasks. This is an important part of the process and remember, less is sometimes more!

Key words: evaluate, prioritise, categorise, delegate, reduce, eliminate, less is more

Summary of all three articles

To maintain a sustainable and constructive lifestyle, yoga teachers need support to sustain good health and work-life balance while offering their services.

• Recognition of a problem is the first step towards constructive solutions.

• Burnout is often caused by the social- and organisational structures in which someone works. Most of the time it is not solely down to the individual themselves.

• Define your job description to get an overview of what your professional role entails.

• Decide on what your priorities are, what is the most important to you?

• Categorise your job tasks and then reduce, delegate and/or eliminate!

• Set professional boundaries when caring for others.

• Identify and tend to your own needs.

• Community is more important than ever, lean on a trusted network for support.

• Look for solutions where they are needed.

• Manage your finances in the most practical way possible.

Final notes from the author
It is with conflict that I write this article series, because these suggestions put the majority of responsibility on the individual teacher. As the first article in this series suggests, the underlying issue, which is systemic in nature, remains and I do not think any individualistic approach will suffice in creating long-lasting change. What this article suggests are mainly coping strategies that helps the teacher to deal with the symptoms, but the change needs to ultimately stretch further.

I therefore reach out to all yoga teachers, studio owners and entrepreneurs in the business of yoga, and invite you to share your ideas, thoughts and comments on how we can together find ways to contribute towards a more equal work environment in which we can all thrive.

E-mail me at [email protected] to share your insights. These may then become selected, with your approval, for publication in a follow-up of this article series.

Inspiration for yoga teacher

• Self-care strategies for yoga teachers in the light of Covid-19 – Part 1 & Part 2, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• (In Swedish) Vad händer när all yoga går online? av Johanna Alvin.
• Living after cancer – growing after cancer, by Sara Ivarsson.

Videos on power and taking action 

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Research shows that caregivers are at risk of experiencing caregiving burdens – therefore is important for the yoga teacher to reflect on what they consider their professional role to be. Doing so could help to confirm what their current job description is and to act accordingly. What is the duty of care within your role?

This blog article is part two of three about self-care for yoga teachers in light of Covid-19. Read the first part about Recognition here!

Introduction

The stress that yoga teachers are facing in light of Covid-19, both personally and professionally, is high. Despite this, yoga teachers continue to show up to do their job by providing a (mostly virtual) space to support the wellbeing in others. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that yoga teachers apply sustainable coping strategies to ensure they can maintain their workload while also caring for the upkeep of their own wellbeing.

This blog article is part two of three, of Self-Care for Yoga Teachers in Light of Covid-19. The last two articles in this series will suggest some basic coping strategies that aim to support yoga teachers’ wellbeing while they continue to provide their services to students. Rather than presenting yoga teachers with a “how to list”, these two articles invites the yoga teacher to take a more in-depth and reflective approach to inspire them towards developing their own sustainable coping strategies.

Teaching yoga is a caring profession
An important factor to consider when developing coping strategies, is that the yoga teaching profession, in the broadest sense, can be considered a form of “caring profession” that aim to serve others. It is important to make the distinction that teaching yoga is certainly not a caregiving profession in the sense where one provides care to someone who would not be able to function without the care, like in the case of a dementia caregiver or a medical doctor. Nevertheless, the profession offers a significant degree of care to students of yoga whenever yoga is taught in a manner which supports the yoga student’s wellbeing in some way or form. It is safe to say that no yoga teacher wants their student to finish class feeling worse that what they did before class started!

One may argue that the responsibility of care lies solely in the hands of the student as they are “caring for themselves” by showing up to your class (in person or online). Nevertheless, the teacher is still providing a space in which the student can do so, thus the teacher is contributing directly and/or indirectly towards their student’s care. Whether this care is on the lower- or higher end of the scale is another question, but regardless of that, the so called “caring space” created by the teacher is still of significant importance. This is why teaching yoga can and should be acknowledged as a moderate form of caring profession.

Now why is that important? Research demonstrates that professional- and informal caregivers are at risk of experiencing caregiving burdens such as stress, fatigue, pressure to perform. These burdens can have a negative impact on a caregiver’s psychological health. Although these caregiving responsibilities far exceed that of a yoga teacher, one can still assume that a certain level of burden may emerge for the full-time yoga teacher that risks putting their wellbeing at stake. This is especially the case if both the professional- and personal world of the yoga teacher is under great strain.

To shed some light on this, it can be helpful to reflect on the following questions:

• Can you identify any caregiving burdens within your profession? What are they?
• How do these caregiving burdens affect you?
• How do you respond to them?

What is the role of the yoga teacher?
With the aforementioned in mind, it is important for the yoga teacher to take inventory and reflect on what they consider their professional role to be. Especially since the yoga teacher’s job most likely include various tasks. One’s professional role is something that can easily be taken for granted which risks one to bypass the more subtle aspects that make up one’s profession. Any yoga teacher, no matter their experience, would benefit from regularly reflecting on what their professional role is and what it entails. This can help clarify their job description and then act according to that.

• What is the duty of care within that role?

Once you have a clearer picture of what your role as a yoga teacher entails, you can begin to identify areas within your professional role which include elements of care towards the students. Doing so can clarify how you express care for others within your profession. As you acknowledge your current picture, do your best to keep an open mind towards any questions or concerns that may appear.

• What degree of care, and what kind of care, do I wish to provide to students?

Write down short and precise answers in a bullet point format. Limit your answers to 3-6 points. The more specific you are, the more useful it can be. This brings you to the next question, which is key in putting things in action:

• How do I choose to provide care towards yoga students in my class?

You can then use these points as a framework which you operate within to help you maintain clear boundaries within your own personally designed “duty of care protocol”. These professional boundaries become an important navigation tool when managing your time and energy.

Holding space for students and oneself
Once you have reflected about what your duty of care is for your students, place yourself in relation to that and consider what your duty of care is towards yourself.

Let us assume that one central aspect of a yoga teacher’s role is to hold space for others in the context of a yoga class setting. In a yoga class the space is shared between teacher and student, yet it is still the teacher that serves as the anchor in the room. The teacher provides a space where each student can have their own experience and then guides them through a class from beginning to end. What is important is that once the teacher have finished teaching the yoga class, they step back into their own personal space and hold this space for themselves. This is an opportunity to recharge your batteries and nourish yourself in ways you know best. With this in mind, what can be worth asking is:

• What can you do to hold space for yourself?

One option could be to write up a duty of care document for yourself, and another one for your students. Oscillate between refining the two until you feel that they are both in harmony with each other.

Why is reflection important?
The purpose of developing and conducting coping strategies, is to re-learn certain actions and behaviours in order to live life in a more constructive, fulfilling and sustainable way. However, our learning will bear little fruit if we do not apply reflection into the equation. Learning does not solely happen by doing. In fact, we learn best when we reflect on our own experiences. Without reflection, a coping strategy risk to become just another superficial list of “how to’s” which does little in creating a deeper change of longevity and substance. Additionally, having a strong sense about who we are within our profession and what our role entails, can help us to approach and develop strategies with greater integrity, wisdom and depth.

Read more

• Self-care strategies for yoga teachers in the light of Covid-19 – Part 1, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• Creating a space for the wild birds to settle down, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• What I talk about when I talk about yoga, by Frida Starvid.

Videos on reflecting, breathing and assisting

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Our surroundings may affect how we feel, think and live. How can nature change your yoga and meditation practice?  Follow yoga teacher Frida Boström and go outside to meditate, find a favorite place, sharpen your senses and just breathe.

Go into a different physical space

It takes a particular collection of skills for one to be able to get lost in one ́s own apartment. Think about it; it is a place where everything is known – each squeaking floor tile, every crack in the ceiling, every single door and window opening. It is a place in which you can manoeuvre your way effortlessly onto the toilet seat in the dark of night if needed. Which is all good and well – in the best of worlds your home is a place of security, of comfort and peace. But in other circumstances, this zone of comfort can also be a zone of confinement, of set expectations, and of limitations of mind.

I once picked up a collection of essays by Rebecca Solnit, an author who amongst other things explores the theme of wandering and venturing into the unknown. She suggests that going into a different physical space can provide a new psychic space, which made my mind travel to the practice of meditation. As opposed to the well- established image of a philosopher/thinker as a person in confined solitude, Solnit argues that in fact, “introspection is an outdoor pursuit.” I could not agree with her more.

Listen mindfully

When I came to the Sivananda ashram in India the first time in 2015, I arrived late at night. Aided only by the dim light of a lamp post high above, I climbed the front stairs and knocked on the gate to be let in by the night guard. Soon I was hurrying after him along a winding stone-laid path, making out the ashram temples and office buildings only as deep shadows. When we came into the dormitory with its long row of beds, people were already asleep under the faint humming of ceiling fans and low noises of snoring. As discreetly as I could, I shuffled my backpack into a corner and slipped out of my sweaty clothes. I had been travelling for a day and was exhausted. None of the noises coming from my neighbours could disturb me, and I was asleep within minutes.

Before night had turned into dawn, me and my dorm companions were brutally awakened by the ringing of a loud bell. It was 05:30 and still pitch dark as I hustled outside, passed through a garden and walked up the massive entrance stairs into the main meditation hall. The floor was already filled with people, all silent, their eyes closed in the dark. But in the hour that passed, as we sat meditating, the sun began to rise. Outside the high, open valves of the large hall, birds I couldn ́t even imagine the names of, were waking up and starting to sing. Suddenly there was a different sound, one that made me open one eye into a half squint. Had anyone else heard that... a roar? Could it have been a lion? The thought seemed totally absurd. And since no one else reacted, I closed my eyes again.

Get lost in nature

To me, the change of soundscape is one of the major fascinations of meditating outside. If you go outside and close your eyes - anywhere outside - you ́ll notice the vast difference from being in an indoor space. And while the eventual goal of meditation is to withdraw from all sense impressions, you surely know that being present in observation is the first step on the journey towards letting go. I find this much easier to do surrounded by the sounds of nature.

I used to think that in order to change one’s pattern it would not be enough to travel. I thought that one had to move, probably far away and forever. Now, back home, I realise that while not everyone will get the chance to meditate accompanied by roaring lions (they were in fact lions I was told later) there ́s usually somewhere one can go. Being outside always contains venturing into unknown territories to some extent, of getting lost in the space that nature provides. If that happens to be in a distant country or in your own backyard makes no difference. The perk is that once you ́ve been out there, especially while in observing meditation, that experience will always stay with you.

Video recommendations to practice outside

Why not take your practice outside?

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Playlist with mindfulness meditations

Here you'll find a playlist with sequences in both English and Swedish, to calm the mind, reduce anxiety and to find your focus: Playlist Mindfulness.

Read more

• Flyg utomhus i din yoga (interview in Swedish with Milla Floryd).
• Research: Grow your brain with meditation.
• Kom i kontakt med naturen (in Swedish), av Bianca Barck

About Frida

Frida Boström is a Vinyasa Flow and Ashtanga instructor (200 hr RYS), educated in Goa, India. She started off as an architect but after a burnout she decided to shift careers. Her first trip to an ashram in India in 2015 led to many more, and evoked her already existing curiosity about philosophy and meditation, as well as fun and physically challenging yoga. Frida teaches Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Rocket and Yinyoga classes in Sweden and India, and assists at yoga teacher educations in both countries. Read more about Frida at her website or follow her at Instagram: @frida_bostrom

Many yoga teachers are now experiencing high stress levels and financial pressure – yet are still showing up to teach (virtual) classes in support of other people’s well-being and to maintain some income. In this first part of a blog series about self-care strategies for yoga teachers, I write about recognition. The industry is not perfect, and one yoga teacher cannot change it alone. Recognition is an important step in moving towards constructive solutions.

Introduction: Self-care for yoga teachers

Research and personal experience show us the positive influence that yoga can have on people’s general wellbeing. Therefore, it is understandable that many people are now leaning on yoga as a way to cope and care for themselves in the light of the stressful circumstances brought by government measures due to Covid-19.

While we know the positive affect that yoga can have on the practitioner’s wellbeing, there is little inquiry into how the wellbeing of yoga teachers is affected by their profession, especially when being under a lot of stress themselves. The implications due to Covid-19 has impacted on peoples’ lives in multiple ways and it has fundamentally changed the way in which everybody live their lives. In the context of yoga teachers, they have had to face a period of adjustment as they are continuously adapting to these changes in both their personal- and professional life. Many yoga teachers are now experiencing high stress levels and financial pressure, yet they continue to show up to teach (mostly virtual) classes in support of other people’s well-being,

This blog series seeks to address this issue in three articles.

1. The first article aims to place the individual yoga teacher into a larger social context by recognising some of the professional challenges that yoga teachers are faced with.
2. The second article invites the yoga teachers to reflect on their own role within their professional context and how it may affect their personal life.
3. The final article of this series offers suggestions for constructive solutions that aim to support yoga teachers’ overall health both in their personal- and professional life.

This blog series is rich in content. Take your time to go over the material and to re-visit it. It is not meant to be a quick fix, instead it serves to encourage the cultivation of a process, and processes take time.

It is both personal and business

Teaching yoga as a profession is, to a high degree, tied in with the personal. Most (if not all!) yoga teachers are, through their yoga teaching, sharing a practice that is both personal and meaningful to them. The challenges that the yoga teacher is faced with professionally can easily pour over into their personal life. This is the case in many professions, but perhaps it is extra prevalent within a profession where one more personally invested in one’s work. The personal attachment that yoga teachers have to their profession, may also be a reason for why it can be difficult to know when to draw a boundary between; where one’s various professional responsibilities begins and ends; and, what those responsibilities should and should not include. When one is so passionate and personally embedded into one’s own work, it can be difficult to know when to stop and when to draw the line between personal and business.

It is much more than just teaching

The job title “yoga teacher” does not encompass the multiple aspects that come with the profession. In fact, the teaching plays a substantial small part in comparison to the hours spent on other job tasks. Some of these tasks may include marketing their work on social media; producing content for digital marketing; the upkeep of websites and newsletters; filming- editing and publishing yoga movies; writing blog posts; being an administrative- and project manager; keep track on bookkeeping; all while trying to maintain a self-practice and showing up in good form for when to teach a class. Not to mention, the added competitive pressure that the small-scale, local yoga teacher is facing against the large dominating yoga businesses and “yoga celebrities”. As a consequence, many yoga teachers are at risk of becoming overworked and burned out. In a wellbeing industry where the yoga teacher is expected to lead by example and model a healthy lifestyle, this can become a heavy burden to carry. This is especially the case during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the pressure for yoga teachers to perform and produce is perhaps higher than it has ever been before.

Constructive resources for coping is needed

This is a testing time for many yoga teachers whose income has been reduced next to zero and being self-employed does not provide the same financial safety nets that an employment does. In this moment, yoga teachers are eager to step in and offer their services, from a desire to support others as well as a need to find new ways to continue earning an income as quickly as possible.

Yoga teachers have been exceptionally creative in adapting their services and transferring them online as a way to maintain their professional activity, their visibility and a degree of income. They deserve to be recognised for their hard work and creative problem-solving. Yet what is even more important, is to offer yoga teachers professional coping strategies that can support their wellbeing in a work environment where the stress to perform and produce; and, the anxiety that comes with online exposure, can risk leading them to burnout. Never has it been more important than during these vulnerable and testing times. Thus, yoga teachers need to be provided with resources to care for themselves, both on a professional- and a personal level, in order to continue with their job in a way that is sustainable.

The yoga industry is not perfect

It is okay to recognise that the yoga teaching profession is one that comes with flaws and pressure. Recognising the reality of the industry is not the same as dwelling in negativity. Recognition is an important step in moving towards constructive solutions and it can further support the yoga teacher in feeling less alone and less helpless in their situation.

Burnout is often caused by the social- and organisational structures in which someone works, most of the time it is not solely down to the individual themselves. It is therefore important to put one’s experience into a larger context and view it with a broader perspective. This can alleviate the burdens and pressure and invite hope, agency and compassion towards oneself and one’s professional activity and development. The industry is not perfect, and one yoga teacher cannot change it alone. However, it is still useful to control what one can control, while making an active contribution towards changing the work culture that one is part of. Small ripples can travel far.

Continue reading in part 2 & 3 

The next two articles will invite the yoga teacher to reflect on their own role within their professional context and offer some practical suggestions that aim to support yoga teachers in establishing long-term self-care and coping strategies:

• Part 2 – Reflection
• Part 3 – Take action

Inspiration for yoga teachers

• Managing hardship through connection, by Eleonora Ramsby Herrera.
• What is my path cultivating? by Luke Bache.
• Att vara en vettig medmänniska (in Swedish), av Jopsephine Selander.

Online yoga classes for self-care

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Photo: Stu Bishop