Report on CYTA Summer Festival at Dunham Massey 9th July 2022
On Saturday 9th July 2022 CYTA held their Summer Festival at Dunham Massey Village Hall.
The Festival began with “Greet the Morning Garden” taught by Sue Hargreaves, assisted by Lisa Hargreaves. We focused on the breath thinking about our own sanctuary and what you could see, smell, hear and feel there.
Limbering in followed, with standing asanas which included tilting the body and loose fling. The seated asanas were taken from the Pawanmuktasana series. Throughout the session Lisa demonstrated modified asanas for those who had difficulty.
Following on from this we lay down and started work on the lower back and hips using breath retention in the bridge pose. Next we knelt in Marjariasana and moved up into Adho Mukha Savanasana. To end the class we stood up and performed the Egyptian Sun Salute followed by Vrksasana working in a circle holding on to the next persons shoulder. Thank-you to Sue and Lisa.
Our second session “Ease out those Gardening Kinks – Knee and Back Yoga” was taken by Anne Goldstraw. Our first pose was using a block for lower lumbar problems and this involved lying on our backs with a brick placed under the sacrum on its lowest edge. We rested for one minute before progressing to the side edge of the brick and then moved on to the highest edge which was quite a challenge! We then moved on to pelvic tilts incorporating dry backstroke before Sphinx, Salabhasana and Chaturanga Dandasana.
Vyaghrasana balance and a version of Virabhadrasana One followed with attention on our hamstrings. Knee strengthening standing twists came next and our posture practice ended with moving the spine in various ways. A reading entitled “Please Touch Me” was then read to conclude this session as we relaxed . Thank-you Anne.
We took an hour for lunch and enjoyed the lovely sunshine picnicking on the grass lawn outside.
The Tombola Yoga session with Jackie Hudson followed and this is covered in a separate article. Click here.
At the end of the Tombola Yoga session we were given a seed packet with an individual quote printed on it. These had been kindly made and donated by Lisa Hargreaves. With this gift we could take home a piece of our Summer Festival.
Christine gave us all a flower and an oak leaf, as in Celtic Astrology it is the Oak tree which is ruling at the time of the Summer Solstice. Christine told us about the Summer Solstice which included how this was a special time for brides to marry and how nature was at its fullest at this time. Christine led us through a thanksgiving service of nature in this session. First, we gave thanks for the earth with Christine leading us in a prayer and we touched and smelled the earth as we passed around a container. Second was water, a prayer and as we passed round a goblet we touched our faces with the water.
Next came fire, a prayer before we passed around a lighted candle to feel the fire. Then it was a prayer for the air and we smelled incense as we wafted it toward ourselves. We were invited to feel each element within us as we concentrated upon it.
We placed our flowers and leaves next to the candle which stood in water surrounded by floating flowers to represent the elements as we felt in tune with nature.
We danced around in a circle and spiraled around the room in a line holding hands. Our right hand facing down to earth and our left hand facing up to the sky with music playing.
A prayer of thanksgiving ended our session. Thank-you Christine.
The class began with Anne showing us how to massage our own faces by using a couple of scraping techniques. Firstly we placed the fingers of both hands in the middle of our forehead and scraped towards our ears, then we placed our fingers on our chin and scraped back to our ears again, this was done three times. Next the six of us divided into three pairs with one leading and the other participating. There were a selection of oils and each student selected an oil to rub over the hands in order to make the massage easier. Anne then showed us a number of hand massages starting with the elbow and then massaging the lower arm with the thumb. The person leading then held the hand of the other student and began massaging their fingers, then the palms, interlocking the fingers and loosening the wrist with a rotation in both directions. Finally the leading student placed their hands above and below the hand of the other student before moving onto the other hand. Everyone commented on how relaxing this session had been and some said they felt sleepy. A very enjoyable class and we all learned a lot. Thank-you Anne
The afternoon continued with Jackie Hudson leading us outside into the sunshine for “Cool Calm and Collected”. We started by working on our feet feeling where the weight was and working up the body. Jackie then led us into a gentle Uttanasana curling our body and hands down the outside of our legs and curling up bringing our hands up the inside of the legs and arms up into a gentle back bend. Jackie talked about our “Kangaroo Tail” keeping the pelvis level. This was followed by walking on the warm grass mindfully using our breath. Coming back to the mat we came to a semi supine position for Supta Padangusthasana, using resistance with out belt around our foot, bending and straightening the knee. We moved onto a standing sequence of Virabhadrasana Two followed by Savasana . A very enjoyable afternoon. Thank-you Jackie.
We ended our day with “Focus and Relaxing in Your Sanctuary” with Christine Royle. This was a guided meditation which began with a focus on breathing into the space of Manipura Chakra with our fingers in a triangular shape on our navel. Christine talked about our balance centre which is three fingers below our navel. Other elements were mentioned throughout the relaxation. A lovely way to end our day. Thank-you Christine, Sue and everyone who made the day such a success.
Sue ‘s class notes are available on the Lesson Plan page under Resources menu.
Article written and photographed by Kathryn Smith.