seaside and yoga

I have not updated in a while, in truth this is because of my previous post on going out when its sunny; Cleethorpes has had a couple of weeks of amazing weather.  From 5am the sky has been a piercing blue with not a cloud in sight and as the afternoon comes, then so does a cooling wind and some light cloud.  Have I been keeping up with yoga?  This probably leads into a discussion about what yoga is, if the question is have I been doing yoga on my mat every morning like I thought I would do then the answer is no.  I have done yoga with my mat on many occasions but I have found that outside the studio, my mat time is greatly reduced.  This has led me to realise the full potential to a yoga studio as going  allows a dedication that for the next one hour and a half that is where you are; within the home there are other influences, the telephone, someone knocking on the door etc. that can make it harder to practice for as long.  This to me is probably the biggest benefit to a studio in that once you are there, you are entering a place of relaxation, a place absent from distraction and one in which provides helpful guidance and direction.  So although my practice times directly on my mat have been reduced, I am still enjoying the peacefulness of 10-20 mins in the evening before bed and also some time in the mornings to start the day.

Alongside yoga on the mat, I have found that part of the yoga practice is in my daily walks and my running that I am doing.  This time of year, the English summer is in full swing and my runs take me alongside riverbanks, round lakes and fields and onto the wide open beach that are all around me;  here I am running with the wind, the sun and on an occasion some rain, alongside old oak trees and past singing birds, families of swans and ducks.  Yesterday while out the wind was causing the reeds to swish and sway along the riverbank and as I stopped to listen to the sounds a grey heron came appeared, searching for food.  It is out here that I am really enjoying practicing concentrating on by breathing, and also on the beauty of the things around me.  It is out with nature and the elements that I can truly connect and this is what I carry with me onto the mat.