When Alex asked me to be a regular guest here at Gypsy Girl’s Guide she suggested I write about aid, human rights and humanitarian issues around the world – like my recent post on questions to ask yourself before you volunteer overseas – and also about yoga.
Because as well as being a human rights and development consultant, I’m a joyfully devoted yogini. And my practice on the yoga mat is intimately linked to and influenced by my practice off the mat, including my human rights advocacy work.
What links it all together is this -
The root cause of so much suffering in the world is the illusion that we are all separate. And part of the solution to this problem is simply to wake up to the truth that we are not only all connected, but that we are all the same.
So – part of my mission in life is to help people connect to themselves, other people and everything around them through yoga. As part of this, I’ve created an online yoga course and today I’m giving away a place in the January 2011 term.
Whether you’ve never practiced yoga before and want to get started, or have attended classes regularly for years, 30 Days of Yoga is an online program designed to support you to begin a regular practice of yoga in the comfort of your own home. I’ve crafted it lovingly to meet the needs of people who are not getting what they need from large yoga classes or mass-produced DVDs.
My approach is grounded in a radical form of self-kindness because I believe that we all respond better to kindness than criticism and because kindness works. It’s a powerful and transformative force. Never under-estimate the power of kindness!
The approach in this course works because I’m teaching what I know best. I’m the expert on struggling to get into a steady home practice of yoga because I’ve struggled myself. I’ve tried bribing myself into it, nagging myself into it, forcing myself into it. None of them worked. What works – for me and for hundreds of others – is the simple, transformative, compassionate approach that I set out in this course.
If you are a beginner then you’ll be pleased to know that the January course of 30 days of yoga is going to include a brand-new beginners version. You don’t need to have any experience of yoga at all, nor do you need fancy yoga pants. That’s the beauty of yoga at home, you can do it in your underwear if you like!
The 30 days will begin on 4 January 2011 (the first new moon of the new year). Read more here.
To enter - simply leave me a comment telling me why you’d like to join the 30 days of yoga course this January. The giveaway will close on Sunday 12 December so leave your comment by close of day Sunday.
If you’d like to leave a comment without entering the giveaway, that’s also totally fine. Feel free to tell me why you don’t want to join the 30 Days of Yoga course this Janaury as well!
Namaste,
Marianne
