This Is It

Written 22.01.22
The first (and only) time I visited Thich Nhat Hanh's monastery in upstate New York in 2013, I remember walking into the meditation hall. It was dark and cool and quiet, and had a nice church-y feel to it. On the wall was hung a large piece of his calligraphy. It said, "This is it". I was so surprised, I kind of wanted to laugh. I'd long associated churches with the promise of eternal life (don't worry, everything will be okay, etcetera). And here was a piece of writing, mounted on the wall as a precious thing, saying something seemingly very different from that. Now, nearly 10 years on, I think of that phrase pretty much every day in meditation. I acknowledge that there is no past that I can actually be in, and no future that I can inhabit – this is it. And when I do, I feel peaceful. I am in the room in a very different way.

The summer that I was lucky enough to be in Thay's presence, with many others, was something of a quiet transformation for me. I'd been having a hard time, just out of a breakup, and I received the invite to the monastery out of the blue. Thich Nhat Hanh would be making some calligraphy at a special event in Manhattan at upscale home emporium ABC, then giving a talk at Blue Cliff monastery, and a programme back in town the following week. The atmosphere at the event was very buzzy before he arrived, and Deepak Chopra was there (I remember his angular glasses). When Thay came in, the energy of the room shifted in a special way. People were clustered around him as he made his marks at a table. I was kneeling down, feeling like a kid. I really liked it when he smiled. I bought a print of his words, saying "no mud, no lotus", hoping it might be true – that out of the mud and the dirt could come something beautiful.

Later, hearing him speak at the monastery, I loved the sound of his gentle voice, the way he said the word "joy" so softly. I loved the lilies in the pond outside. At the talk he gave at the Beacon Theatre, Manhattan, he talked about the cyclical nature of all things – how a rose can die and turn to compost, and from the compost another rose grows... "and rose goes to compost... goes to rose... " I think about this all the time.

Over the years, I've bought his books. I like how often they say the same thing in different ways, as if he knows I'm a slow learner, that habits can be hard to turn. I've spoken his words in yoga classes. I've read his teachings with my partner, they have helped us both. Often when I am hugging someone I really love, I think of his special hugging technique, and either out loud or in my head I say "You are here, alive in my arms, and I am so happy".

When I read the news yesterday that he had left his body, I cried. I know that we all knew it might be soon, after he had a stroke in 2014. And so much of his teaching is around accepting death and releasing fear of that. Why was I crying? Because his life so moved me. Because I am so grateful. Because I've felt my life transformed by his teaching and presence, and I know it is true for millions of people all around the world – and somehow I feel this brings us closer together.

He writes, in No Death, No Fear:

"This body is not me; I am not caught in this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died. Over there, the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies all manifests from the basis of consciousness. Since beginningless time I have always been free. Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out. Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek. So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye. Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before. We shall always be meeting again at the true source. Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life."

I send you all the love in my heart. Breathing in, I arrive in my body. Breathing out, I am home.

Love, naps and radio chats

 

Hello friends in yoga!

It's been a while – almost a year since I last got in touch, at the beginning of the first lockdown. I hope with all my heart that you are well and in good health. I'm fine and have moved to Brockley with my partner, which we love – though even Hilly Fields is struggling to look its best in the straggly grey! I have been going deeper into my yoga practice after a bit of a lull (it happens) and I'm hoping to offer outdoor yoga classes in the park this summer, all being well. In other news, I'm now guesting weekly on Nicki Chapman's Radio 2 show in my other role as a journalist, chatting about uplifting things to do amid all the craziness – and this Saturday morning, we'll be talking about meditation and yoga. Tune in, if you'd like – it'd be lovely to have you there.

These are difficult times indeed. Living with the constant hum of anxiety during a pandemic is exhausting, as is the massive overload of information we absorb daily online and on TV. The news can be addictive, but also not very calming! With that in mind, I just wanted to offer a reminder to go gently on yourself; rest if you need to rest; please don't feel you need to push yourself. There's always a big drive in the new year to somehow transform your life dramatically, whether that's Veganuary or Dry January, or some other intense lifestyle reform. While eating well and cutting back on the booze are both fine things, I'm wary of the short-sharp-shock approach in winter. Each season has its own rhythm and energy, and you may find it more helpful to use this cold, dark time to rest and recover.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter is a yin season. The expansive, hot, exciting energies of summer begin to contract and move inwards in autumn, ready for the winter. Yin is associated with darkness, the feminine, earth, water, softness, moisture, night-time and slowness – so please don't feel you have to force yourself into some kind of full-on fitness regime! (Though of course, if you are already fit as a flea and your routine feels good to you, then go for it.) Part of the reason we need to rest in winter is to prepare us for the rushing, vigorous energy of spring; it may help to see yourself as a little seed in the soil, quietly germinating in the dark, ready to make your ta-dah! green-shoot entrance in the spring.

One thing we all want to keep a careful eye on is our immune system, and how best to boost it. There's a great BBC programme you can catch on iPlayer regarding just this. The upshot: fibre, Vit D, moderate exercise, massage, and even a quick dose of mild peril (turning the shower to cold for a few seconds) can really help. Prolonged stress, however, is not so good. With this in mind, I'd like to share a couple of resources I've found really helpful in easing stress.

First, a chanting and restorative yoga class on Zoom. You might remember we did a little bit of chanting with the harmonium in our classes at Lee CHC, and it's a real love of mine. If you enjoyed that, I think you'll find this hour-long group class very soothing. It's taught by my brilliant yoga and music teacher friend, Seth Lieberman, who lives in upstate New York, and features a couple of chants to sing along to (with your mic on mute, don't worry!), and then we all get to lie down in a restorative pose while Seth improvises beautiful music. There are three weekly sessions remaining, on Mondays at 5pm our time. I will be there for my rest and reset – it would be lovely to see you there, too!

Secondly, guided meditations. The seasoned meditation teacher Susan Piver offers guided meditations via the Open Heart Project, and also on YouTube and Instagram. I've been doing a daily 10-minute meditation with her every day for the past year or so and it's made a huge difference to the way I go into my day. She is so kind and clear – two essential qualities for a meditation teacher, I think! I highly recommend investigating that.

Other helpful apps:
-Calm has daily guided meditations, plus bedtime stories from the lovely likes of Stephen Fry
-Headspace is great for beginners, and has a free basics course
-Insight Timer is free and has 30,000 guided meditations!

And finally, some great resources for kids, if you're homeschooling right now:
-Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube, and Happy Tent Tales on CBBC
-Goldie Hawn (yes really!) offers meditations for children on YouTube, called Brain Break
-Smiling Mind is a great free app from Australia, designed for kids and teens, and for parents struggling in lockdown
-RelaxMelodies is a great bedtime app, which lets you make your own lovely mix of peaceful sounds

Okay, that's it from me for now. I hope you're eating plenty of lovely warm soups, remembering what makes you happy (and doing that, where possible!), and rewarding yourself for getting through all this.

With lots of love,

Sophie x

Looking after yourself during self-isolation

Dear yoga-loving friends,

It's been a long while since I've been in touch, and I hope that you've been doing really well. I'm writing because you've been in my thoughts a great deal at this very challenging time, and I thought I'd share some resources I've found valuable lately – for myself and for my loved ones – including yoga, meditation, Chinese herbs and support groups.

Firstly, of course, yoga practice. Here's what I use generally:

Glo

This is an American yoga website that's subscription based – but in my opinion, definitely worth it. There's a huge variety of teachers, classes, time durations, styles, and body part-specific classes. It's particularly good if you just want to get a 15-20 minute practice in every day. The site is also currently offering nine free classes. The teachers I love are:

-Jason Crandell – Great for careful alignment, clarity and precision

-Jo Tastula – Flowing vinyasa classes, lovely kind manner

-Kia Miller – Vinyasa and kundalini classes, warm and kind

https://www.glo.com/

Downdog

This is an app, usually subscription based but now free until April 1 because of the current situation. It's automatically generated, based on the exact time you want to practice for, and what your focus is. You can pick the kind of music that plays in the background, and the poses are demonstrated by a real person! 

https://www.downdogapp.com/

Yoga teachers are really rallying to provide as many free classes online as possible, including some of my favourite teachers from New York.

Julianna Takacs

Julianna was one of my first ever yoga teachers, and I still think and feel what I learned with her, deeply. She's now based in New Mexico, but offering online classes – which of course, I highly recommend.

https://juliannayoga.com/

Tara Glazier

Tara is an exceptional teacher based in Dumbo, NYC, who runs a studio called Abhaya. The schedule is here, and you can book online for Zoom classes. Note: if you have any techy glitches, just email them and they'll sort it out for you! Here's the timetable -- look for Tara's classes specifically:

https://abhayayoga.com/classes/schedule/

Meditation

Meditation is such an incredible support at times like this, when there's a climate of general anxiety. As I'm sure you know, there are some really good apps including Insight -- where you can either just sit with a timer, or choose a guided meditation. I highly recommend Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Jack Kornfield does a wonderful podcast series of talks called Heart Wisdom. They are so incredibly calming and lovely, and you can get them on Spotify, or at his website, here: https://jackkornfield.com/podcasts-dharma-talks/ 

My absolute favourite meditation teacher is called Susan Piver. Again, she's based in the States, but operates a global network called the Open Heart Project. Susan has been studying and teaching Buddhist meditation for decades, and has written some incredibly insightful (and funny, and kind) books, including The Wisdom of a Broken Heart. If you subscribe to the OHP, you get a new guided 10 minute meditation every day, as well as lots of free courses. But you can still get a free weekly meditation if you don't sign up. And right now, Susan and some truly brilliant, renowned Buddhist meditation teachers are doing daily free meditations on Zoom -- there are four every day! I have found so much peace and clarity through her daily meditations, so I do hope some of you might give it a go.

Open Heart Project: https://openheartproject.com/

Daily meditation schedule, including link to join Zoom meditations (you will need to set up Zoom on your computer!) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I8UzukDDelASQfRE57k2Y7nuejK5lNkmUx2tUZIvWS8/edit?__s=c4zuh3snweoydpn6zim6#gid=0

Health

For those of you with lung conditions, I've been in touch with an acupuncturist friend in the States for some practical advice on supporting your health and specifically your lungs. Here is what she suggests:

"Astragalus and Isatis Root are both good for defending the lung and keeping it strong. Zinc and Vitamin D are also good. This virus in particular has a cold damp quality, so initial treatment principle is expel and purge while staying very hydrated, and keep nasal passages open. So, a fresh ginger tea with thyme and oregano, gargle with warm salt water, do Neti or steam with eucalyptus or oil of oregano. Don’t eat any cold or raw food, sugar or milk to keep the cold damp from penetrating further."

Hand sanitiser

As you will know, it is like gold dust right now! To be really clear, for hand sanitizer to be effective against Covid-19, it needs to contain at least 60% alcohol (note, vodka is usually around 40%). The Neal's Yard spray is 70%. They're out of it right now, but trying to produce more, as well as refills, which should be available soon. Meantime, it is possible to make your own. I used Amazon to get hold of rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel, and am about to start making my own – I'll let you know if I'm successful! 

Gel recipe: Mix 3 parts isopropyl alcohol to 1 part aloe vera gel. Add a few drops of tea tree oil.

There's also a recipe here for spray, based on WHO recommendations: http://theconversation.com/homemade-hand-sanitiser-recipes-that-could-help-protect-against-coronavirus-133668

Sunlight

Sunlight and fresh air really do help boost your health! At last, I have found scientific research to prove it!

https://medium.com/@ra.hobday/coronavirus-and-the-sun-a-lesson-from-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-509151dc8065

Rest

Please take the opportunity to rest. And don't feel you have to launch into some gigantic, sonnet-writing project just because Shakespeare did. Most of us work pretty darn hard, and could use a little break -- and our immune systems need all the love they can get right now. Be kind to yourself. 

Support

Finally, there's a network of amazing Mutual Aid groups, all around the UK that you can join via Facebook. The Lewisham group really is fantastic -- lots of people offering to help with shopping, dog-walking, emotional support and such. The list of links to different groups is here:

https://freedomnews.org.uk/covid-19-uk-mutual-aid-groups-a-list/

Okay, that's it from me, for now!

Much love x

✨Come in✨ What a time of difficult news it is. How shaken we are, often, by what is going on in our worlds. I would like to share with you some thoughts about practice here.

I took this photo in Sri Lanka last month, at a Buddhist temple. You can see how the tiles by the front door are softly scuffed, from people coming and going and going and coming. One time you open the door, not much happening. Ten times, hundreds of times, thousands of times, something is happening.

Spiritual practice can be like this. Often -- so often -- it is a question of simply showing up, in the knowledge that something might be happening that you're not wholly aware of in the moment.

Yesterday morning I felt so flat and so sad; just at the beginning of comprehending what happened in London on Saturday night. I didn't really feel like practicing or moving. I felt like... doing nothing. But from years of experience with myself, I knew that starting by just showing up is helpful. I sat in meditation, just for ten minutes, and let myself soften into something that felt... real. I practiced on the mat for an hour and felt my energy and emotions move around. I was where I was. I am where I am.

The door opens, again and again. And it is a sense of opening that helps me feel available to myself and others. I am able to support, when I am open. So I practice opening, even when (sometimes especially when) it starts from a point of going through the motions.

I am sending us all a big hug and lots of tenderness. Lots of love from London.✨💛

Posted Jun 5, Instagram

Cup your hands

It never fails to move me, when I think about how completely united the acts of giving and receiving are – or at least, they can be. I remember as a kid hearing the solemn phrase, "it is better to give than to receive," which carried the idea that one might be a brat for wanting to receive things, and that one should give things very nobly, as a matter of valor. In fact, there can be a deep and moving joy to giving and receiving, and in my experience, the key to finding that joy is realizing that giving and receiving are both the same. When we give a gift to someone who is touched and happy with the gift, isn't it the best thing? And when we receive a gift from someone who has really thought about us and loved us in that way, isn't it wonderful? I remember after some years of yoga practice, realizing that the hands are in the same position for both gestures. That realization made me laugh and feel full of wonder.

The reason I raise this with you today is because I was saddened to hear the news of a 17-year old Iranian boy who was very badly attacked yesterday in London. He is now in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Yesterday I had been thinking about how grateful I am for my community here in London; when I moved back here from New York after seven years, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but old friends and a new yoga community have been springing up around me. I am very, very lucky. So then I heard this news, about this young boy, and the fact he is here in England as an asylum seeker. Can you imagine?

I feel strongly that I wish to support him and his family, and others like him. There is a JustGiving page set up to help. If you would like to give something, you can find it here: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/17yr-old-asylum-seeker-subject-to-brutal-attack

It is a very simple act, to give in this way, and I believe the heart calls for it. Sending love to you all.  

Offering

I found these beauties on the street this sunny afternoon and now I am offering them. Offering them to whom? To the divine. To the universe, the force of love and creation that runs through our veins and energetic channels as surely as it runs through the green grass. I really love the act of offering. It's like saying, "I get it -- I understand that nothing really belongs to me. And I am so grateful that I get to touch these things, or eat these things, or love these things. Thank you!" With the offering, I am humbly saying thank you. It's a nice way of not getting too attached to things, too. 

Sometimes I offer up something delicious I've just cooked. What tickles me about doing this is that quite often, part of me will be thinking, "But I'm hungry! I want all my dinner! What if I'm not full when I've finished, having given away the best bit?". And then I eat, enjoy, and by the time I remembered I offered up a little bit of it, I am completely full anyway. 

I notice that generous, kind hosts, when offered a gift of food by a guest, will offer the gift back to the guest before eating it themselves. I like this. Offer it back. See how much sweeter it gets.

Thoughts of love on International Women's Day

Hello my lovely friends! Happy International Women's Day to us all! I was thinking to myself, what does it mean to me? And my mind goes back to the first time I visited Spa Castle in Jersey, years ago. 

For those who don't know (ie anyone who doesn't live in NYC), Spa Castle is a giant Korean health spa place. There is a women's floor on the ground floor, a men's floor on the 3rd floor, and a mixed floor for hanging out all together in the middle. On the single-sex floors, everyone is totally naked and there are big showering areas and saunas and pools. To go on the mixed floor, you put on these pajama-y shorts and t-shirts (pink for the women and white for the men). On the mixed floor there are more saunas and pools and lovely restaurants, and by the time you get there after you've already been baked and showered and relaxed, you feel a bit like you're in heaven, eating kimchi. 

Anyway. I remember going to the women's floor at Spa Castle for the first time, quite nervous and not really knowing what to expect or how I'd feel. And then going into the main shower area -- and I remember so clearly how happy and deeply moved I felt when I went in. There were women at every stage of life imaginable there. Old ladies. Little girls. Young women, middle-aged women, large women, small women, women who'd had mastectomies. And we are all together. Women helping each other out with the showers, women going about their business. Everyone looked so beautiful in this way that was just so outside the box of TV sexualization, beyond the whole navigating-the-gaze thing. Just beautiful, wonderful women. 

It still fills me with such joy and spirit to think of it now. I think it moved me so deeply partly because I saw myself in each of those women: the little girl I was, the teenager, through to the the old lady. One rarely gets to see the panoply, and all together, and naked! And it felt so natural, and like it should be available to us all. I think I also liked that nearly all the women there were Korean and not speaking English, so I didn't feel like I had to fit into any particular western ideas about femininity or nudity. I could just be.

While I do believe that we all share the same pure consciousness or spark of divinity, regardless of what body we're in, I feel such a body-soul-wide connection with my women in this way. So I am just letting you know here, women: I love you, I support you, and also, yay!

And one last thing: To all you wonderful, brilliant men, who are also loving and supporting us, and each other — Thank you. 

Love to all!