I was totally overwhelmed by this fantastic feature in the November issue of the YOGA Magazine.  They published my articles about all of my outdoor classes, including beach yoga, yoga with alpacas, paddle boarding, my classes in Cuckmere and in the Yurt.  For ever grateful for this beautiful recognition. Have a little read and come and join me outside whenever you can!

I  was so so excited when the YOGA magazine featured my outdoor hip opening class in their February 2020 issue!

Here you can read all about it and give it a go! Enjoy the class and let me know how you got on!

With much love, Eva xxx

After spending lots of time indoors it feels so great to stretch the legs and test our balance. You can practice yoga literally anytime and anywhere, without a mat and props, even wearing trainers. As long as we can breathe we can practice yoga!
Practising yoga outside gives us a really great boost. All the fresh air, greenery, the sounds of nature and songs of the birds – so soothing and nourishing for our nervous system! Instantly we feel recharged and revitalised and this feeling is likely to stay with us for a while!

Why don’t you try it these yoga stretches next time you find yourself walking in a forest, park, fields nearby or in your garden! And of course at home too. All our postures are done standing, focusing on balance, strength and positive attitude. Let me take you through it:

To start with take couple of deep mindful breaths. Fill your lungs and your whole body with prana (life force, energy). As you exhale imagine that you are cleansing your whole system and releasing whatever does not serve you anymore.

Start to test your balance by simply transferring your weight from side to side and rocking gently forward and back. Feeling the ground underneath your feet, connecting with the Earth and exploring how balanced or unbalanced you feel.

Our first posture is Standing Knee to Chest pose. Transfer your weight to the right side of your body and slowly start to lift your left knee. Here you can either reach for your knee and take hold, or you can hold the back of your thigh. I chose to hold my knee and give it a squeeze. Notice how this simple balance feels for you – is it easy or perhaps slightly challenging? Remember that each day is slightly different. One day we might feel stable and next day wobbly. It depends on what is happening in our body, in our life, whatever might be on our mind, how we feel emotionally and so on. Just be as you are.
See if you can hold your knee or thigh for up for 4-8 breaths. Switch the sides whenever you need to. Please note – balancing outside is trickier than on a smooth surface of a yoga studio. Whilst in the posture say to yourself: ‘I am balanced’.

From here we enter one of the most iconic yoga poses – Tree Pose. To start we again transfer our weight to the right, feel the right foot grounding and connecting with the earth. Imagine that you are sending roots all the way down into the ground. Then lift your left heel off the ground. Here you have couple of options. You can either:
– Leave your toes on the ground and rest your left heel above your right ankle
– Bring the sole of your left foot to your right calf (avoid knee!)
– Bring the sole of your left foot to your right inner thigh
– Bring your left foot on the top of your right thigh (half lotus)
You can have a little play here and try all four options – see which ones come easily and which ones make you unsteady. Each side might feel slightly different. Chose one position that feels best for you and stay for several breaths. Focus your gaze on a still point ahead of you and say to yourself: ‘I am grounded’.

You can try a transition from the Tree Pose straight into the Dancer Pose – or not! If your legs need a little break give them a little shake! And when ready prepare for one more balance. We will start on the right side again.

Beautiful and graceful Natarajasana – Dancer pose.
I like to start with my right hand on my heart/chest. Slowly start to lift the left foot and reach for it with your left hand. You can either take hold of the outside or inside edge of your foot (why not try both variations). Hold your left foot in your hand and then slowly start to push your foot into your hand whilst tilting your upper body forward and reaching forward with your right hand. Don’t forget to smile and appreciate your strength and amazing ability of your body to balance. The Dancer pose is very uplifting – let it lift you! If you feel slightly off balance you can always use a wall or anything stable you can see around you or even a friend – use your right hand to hold on! As you feel your heart expanding say to yourself: ‘I am loved’.

Step your feet wide distance apart, right toes pointing to the right and left toes forward. Check that your right heal aligns with your left instep and that your hips are level. Lift your arm to the sides (shoulder level) and bend your right knee so the knee is directly above your ankle (Warrior 2). Then place your left hand on the back of your left thigh and reach up to the sky with your right arm, gazing up and creating a lovely back bend. You just entered Reversed Warrior! Feel your heart opening and say to yourself ‘I am peaceful’. This posture is also referred to as a peaceful warrior. Enjoy this beautiful pose and all the beauty around you.

After you practiced on both sides slowly fold forward into your Standing Forward Fold – soften your knees, relax your spine, shoulders, arms and jaw. When ready very slowly come up into standing again (Mountain pose).

Now shake your legs and arms and give yourself a big smile! Enjoy your day!

Little tips for your balances:
Fix your gaze – focus on a still point ahead of you (Drishti)
Connect with the ground – the standing leg is rooting into the ground
Slow down your breathing – make your breath steady, even and regular
Clear your mind – if your mind is full and busy you will find it difficult to balance, so try not to respond to your thoughts.

Benefits of this practice:
Finding balance and strength, connecting with nature and yourself, energising your whole system and releasing stale energy. Uplifting and bringing positivity to your day.

Be mindful of your mind – it can be positive and encouraging one minute and negative and looking for obstacles and ways to discourage you the next.  Deep down we all know that the mind is not always right, it can obscure the reality as it is trying to be our master.  Of course we need to listen to that inner voice too but let’s not be ruled by it.

The mind can put many fears and limitations onto you. For example

-you are not good enough

– you are too old for this ..

– you are not flexible enough, strong enough

– you will never succeed and so on

How about we say No to this self-judgement and our own negative self-talk.  We don’t want to let our mind stop us from following what we want to do and fully achieving our potential and life purpose.

I went for a run today.. My mind was stopping me from going for a long time. I’ve been running my whole adult life but last year there was a block.  My mind was creating reasons for me not to go.  After many months of saying to myself that I will go for a run, this morning I finally announced to my son that I am going for a ‘power walk’.  I didn’t think I would be able to run anymore as my mind was so negative.  My mind told me :

• You left it too late
• You put on weight
• It is not good for you
• You don’t have time for this
• It is not good for your knees
• You will never get fit anyway
• You will not be able to stick with it
• It is boring

Well this morning I decided not to listen to my mind and the limitations that I was made to believe.  I went for a run and it felt amazing! I started jogging with a smile on my face, the sun was shining, the birds were singing.

The run was up the hill.  Soon enough my mind started to resist, urging me to stop, walk or just turn back and go home.  It was very interesting to observe this, I chose not to listen and carried on.  I checked my legs – they were happy running, no pain and all ok there, my body was fine.  I checked my breathing – it was regular, even and well paced.. no problem there either. I checked my body – little bit of sweat but it felt good.

So.. I checked my mind. And just like a toddler having a tantrum or a stroppy teenager here it was.  My mind having a great time discouraging me and pushing all these negative and limiting thoughts forward.  It was actually a bit of a revelation.  Knowing that we all have a choice.  Do we listen to our negative mind and let it rule and control us? Or do we recognise it for what it is – and soothe and nourish that toddler/teenager within us.  Can we chose to listen to our heart more, our soul, our whole being?

I know it is not always easy. We all have our inner critic, sometimes it sits quietly and sometimes it shouts.  We can really explore this in our yoga practice too.  As we know Yoga is meant to be non competitive and all inclusive.  How many of us were told my our minds that we are not strong, flexible, as good as someone else, and so on.. Just watch that little voice and don’t give it the satisfaction of a response.. Allow your mind to become quiet.

I’ve been teaching yoga for few years now but still every now and then my mind pipes up with the most ridiculous thoughts and brings up my own insecurities.  The top ones being – who do you think you are; you are not good enough; you need to lose weight so you look better in that pose; you can’t do arm balances well, this is boring, when is the class going to end and so on.

Sometimes that negative self talk can throw us. But just pause and take a moment. Reflect on all that you do in your life that brings joy to you and to others.  All the things that you can do, how far you have come, and what you achieved. Reflect on all the wonderful people in your life and all the blessings.  You will be surprised – the positives outweigh the negatives by a lot!! Switch your mind set to positivity. Even crack a little smile, observe your thoughts and let those negative ones pass without response. Cherish the thoughts that bring you self appreciation and respect.  And you know, who cares that you cant hold the ‘Crow’ arm balance? Only you, nobody else, so let it go…

Taming our negative mind is a constant practice.  When we recognise it is just playing games with us because it wants our attention and to be in charge it can be the A-Ha moment.  And we will slowly start to turn a corner.

When we quieten the busy mind and become still and without thought, all the treasures that have been buried underneath all the chatter and activity of our mind will come to the surface.

When the water is turbulent it is hard to see through it.  But when the water becomes still it is clear to see. And it is the same with our mind. When it is busy and full of negativity we can’t see clearly. When the mind settles and becomes still and positive we will be able to see everything with much more clarity.

The silence is not empty

It is full of answers

(Rumi)

Many classical and modern yoga texts explore the mysteries of mind in a great detail (for example Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). This is just my musing drawn from my own experience.

Here are some techniques that help me with quietening my mind:

• Close you eyes and try to direct all of you awareness inward, away from the hustle and bustle of outside world. Dive into your own universe and try not to get distracted. Find your own inner sanctuary.

• Connect with your breath, feel each inhale and each exhale as they follow one after the other. Notice the length, depth, sound and rhythm of your breath. Notice the rise and fall of your chest, expansion and release of your ribcage, rise and fall of your belly, subtle movement of your whole body.

• Regulate your breath. Really nice and simple technique is introducing a count to your breathing. This ratio should be available to most: Inhale for the count of 4 (one, two, three, four) – pause (retain breath) – exhale for the count of four (one, two, three, four) – pause (retain breath). Give yourself several rounds.

• Check on your body – notice the meeting points between the body and the floor and where in your body you hold tension. Use your exhale to soften your body and release tension into the ground, away from you. You can do a little body scan here – starting with your feet, feeling your heels touching the floor, relaxing them into the floor. Feeling your calves touching the floor and releasing them into the floor and so on. Release the tension that you hold in your muscles, joints, bones, your mind and your heart. Your exhales will really help you along the way, they are really powerful.

• Visualise that you are beside a beautiful mountain lake. The surface of the lake is still, calm and peaceful. Your surrounding are serene and quiet. Now imagine that the surface of the lake is the state of your mind, completely still.  With no activity, nothing to do, no thoughts. Occasionally you will notice little ripples or waves on the surface of your lake, these are your thoughts.  Chose not to respond and simply watch those ripples or waves fade away. The surface of the lake and state of your mind is peaceful and still once again.  You can use the same imagery with the sea, imagining sitting on the beach watching the waves coming in and receding again. In that case fill your mind with the in and out motion. Nothing else.

• Present moment – our mind tends to constantly run away from Now. We find ourselves dwelling and going over past events or agonising and worrying about future. Try to bring your awareness to now. This very present moment. Your breath, your body, the sounds around you, the scenery, the scent.. For as long as you can stay here, in this very moment. The present moment is the only place where life exists.. so enjoy it.

You will find your own techniques that work for you –  these are my go to tips that I like to use.

To summarise – You are the master of your mind, not the other way round. Enjoy the little explorations of your mind’s mysteries and if in doubt, just breathe and trust the process.

Namaste, Eva xxx

Same as so many businesses around the globe The Yoga Life Studio in Eastbourne had to close their doors overnight due to the Covid19 pandemic. After the initial shock and fear of uncertain future and the health, mental and financial impact on our clients, teachers and the whole population there was no time to waste. We knew that we in some way still need to provide service for our clients, so many people rely on their yoga, breathing and meditation practice and for so many people their regular visit of the yoga studio is the highlight of their week. A time when they can recharge, refuel and clear their mind, ready for the daily challenges of our lives. We were determined to keep the studio open for our clients for as long as possible but that didn’t last very long.
Neither I nor the rest of the Yoga Life teachers are internet whiz kids so the prospect of teaching online was very daunting. Everything was very overwhelming and surreal but somehow overnight I managed to set up several online classes using Zoom, purchased a microphone and with the help of friends and family converted our studio into a recording space, complete with a big screen.
It was a steep learning curve for all of us! But with patience and determination we made it work. Our teachers set up a little support group and we all shared our online teaching experiences, dos and don’ts, had trial runs and asked our clients for feedback. We started to deliver several daily online classes, some from the studio and some from our teachers’ living rooms. We learnt so much! I cannot believe that only 2 weeks ago we didn’t know any of this and now we are all delivering classes to general public, online.
As well as our regular clients who were so happy to continue with their classes we reached a much wider audience. We could not believe the amount of people from all over the world who started joining our live yoga classes. We have participants from Guernsey, Denmark, France, Pakistan, Israel and even Australia! With numbers growing.
Our clients are so grateful that they can still join us online and be part of our fabulous community. After all that’s what people are missing most.. Contact with others and being able to connect. Now we feel that through providing online classes people can still see each other, wave and chat and take part in a class together. It is really important to me as a teacher that I can still help someone and make them feel better, calmer and happier.
We had some amazing feedback and so much gratitude from regulars and from complete strangers for us adapting to the current situation and still looking after our community that is now growing internationally. We will carry on uniting the international yoga community even after all this is over.
Looking for positives during this challenging time. Namaste

Eva Kristlova
Yoga Life Studio
www.yoga-life.co.uk
@yogalifestudio
For online class schedule follow www.yogaeastbourne.com/online-yoga-classes-timetable/

Dear All,

I am very happy to bring you LIVE ONLINE classes during these challenging times (sorry no face to face classes running at the moment due to current world situation).  I tested them in last couple of days and I am happy to report they were great success! Not only our regular yogis joined the sessions but we also had lovely new participants from all over the world, too!

My online classes are delivered via ZOOM platform. All you need to do is to download the App and join our ‘Online Yogis’ mailing list so I can let you know what classes are running and when. To register please email us on info@yoga-life.co.uk and I will keep you up to date.

Lets keep the community spirit strong and connect at least virtually if not in person. Wishing you all good health, strength and positivity. We will get through this stronger and wiser.

Much love Eva xxx