Report on CYTA Training Day 24th September 2022
Our annual Training Day was held at Wilmslow Methodist Church and attended by 14 people. It was a full morning of Chair Yoga, Laughter Yoga and Yoga Nidra. And not least a scrumptious shared lunch and enjoyable “chin wag” afterwards.
“Chair Yoga with a difference” aimed to develop teachers’ and students’ interest in the range of uses of the chair as a support in yoga practice from remedial therapy, through beginners to more advanced students. I hoped to demonstrate in this introductory session that chair yoga can add accessibility but also be challenging and fun. After a breathing exercise and warm-ups we moved on to seated sun salutation then standing leg stretches, tadasana and balances using the chair seat and back as potential support to improve the execution of postures and to enhance leg/hip strengthening. We discussed other chair postures such as cobbler, reverse trikonasana and warrior poses. Some of these require 2 chairs. We concluded with a fun seated triceps dip (with Anne Goldstraw’s help.) I then outlined how I had planned this session and some of the resources I used. Thanks to everyone’s contributions. I also learned an important lesson myself. I normally ask participants to place their chair legs on their yoga mat in case it slips. On this occasion, in a bid to save floor space, I suggested the mat was folded in half. Inadvertently I unfortunately introduced another safety hazard as one participant tripped over the fold in the mat. My sincere apologies and from now on I will certainly keep the mat spread flat on the floor to avoid this potential problem.
We moved onto “Laughter Yoga” – a fun workout ably led by Anna White. We started with hand clapping, focussing on stimulating the nerves in the fingers to prepare us. Anna explained the need for us all to be more childlike, to enjoy laughter, have fun and thereby improve our immune system. We moved on to greeting each other with a laugh. We were encouraged to be variously a champagne bottle, bubbling up and popping, rubbing soothing cream on our bodies, mixing drinks, flinging our arms out then laughing and practising shy and silent laughter, amongst other techniques. There was lots of physical movement and interaction with each other. We finished with a shared laugh which was passed on in 2 groups and then shared with the whole group. It was interesting to see how it started and ended up as it was passed on to the end of the group of participants. Anna told us we could integrate one or two of these activities in our teaching sessions. Examples were when re-energising after relaxation or perhaps as an alternative to the lion pose. Anna said she, like me, would have finished our sessions with a relaxation had it not been for Diana’s planned yoga nidra. This is especially important after laughter yoga to calm down the laughter you have experienced.
The third session on “Yoga Nidra” was professionally presented by Diana Davidson. As one of our members said it was delightful. Diana explained a little about what to expect and that this form of meditation delves a little deeper into our innermost feelings and fears to help us deal with them effectively. Her chosen theme was of summer moving into autumn and how best to deal with these changes. Personally I sometimes find aspects of Yoga Nidra quite challenging eg feeling changes in temperature and visualising a series of images without hanging onto them. However Diana on this occasion guided us clearly through all aspects and kept our attention. (No snores in the house!) The repetition of the phrase “I shift beautifully into the season of letting go” kept us focussed on our personal sankalpa associated with the season, giving us ample opportunities and strength to fully commit to our intentions. I also enjoyed Diana’s conclusion of the session with the chanting and the loving words to speed us on our way. She tells me it is the huki – a traditional Japanese 3 lined poem:
“Rise in Peace
Walk in Tranquility
And stay in Harmony”
“Rise in Peace
Walk in Tranquility
And stay in Harmony”
Many thanks to our tutors, to everyone who attended the session and also to the Cyta committee for organising the event.
Namaste
Article by: Judith Lynch