The Mindfulness Mantra

Eight week course on Minfulness Based Stress Reduction at Dragonfly

Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. It is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practising mindfulness involvesbreathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.

While it can be said that mindfulness is innate, there are a few ways in which one can cultivate mindful practices as well. These are some proven methods- seated, walking, standing and moving meditation or the short pauses we insert in our everyday life. The merging of meditation practice with other activities such as yoga or sports also enhances our mindfulness.

The benefits of mindfulness are immense. When an individual is mindful the amount of stress is minimum, this enhances our performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind and increase our attention to others' well-being.

Mindful meditation gives us time in our lives when we can suspend judgement and unleash our natural curiosity about the working of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness. Also, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is said to benefit individuals dealing with the following health conditions or problems like ADHD, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress, fatigue, anger, headaches, high blood pressure and sleep problems.

There are a few facts about mindfulness which everyone should know.

1. It is not a special added thing that we inculcate. We already have the capacity to be present, and it doesn’t require us to change who we are. But we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and neighbours, the people we work with, and the institutions and organizations we take part in.

2. It is nothing obscure or exotic. It is familiar to us because it is something wealready practice yet we don’t realise it. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.

3. You don’t need to change. Solutions that ask us to change who we are or become something we’re not have failed us over and over again. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.

4. Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it’s easy to learn.

5. It sparks innovation. As we deal with our world’s increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.

Mindfulness helps to deal with stress. It can reduce a lot of your mental pressure and make things clearer for you. When we practice mindfulness we become more aware of our thoughts. We can then step back from them and not take them so literally.

That way, our stress response is not initiated in the first place. We don’t immediately react to a situation. It is because of mindful exercises which prevent us from being impulsive and not rush while acting.

There is a “being mode”; inside every individual. Mindfulness switches us to that. It is associated with relaxation. Our "doing mind" is associated with action and the stress response. When one is mindful, the person becomes more aware and sensitive to the needs of their body. One may notice pain earlier and take appropriate action.

It is difficult to find people who are emotionally intelligent. With mindfulness, we become more aware of the emotions of others. As our emotional intelligence rises, we are less likely to get into conflict. This increases our level of care and compassion for ourselves and others too. This compassionate mind soothes us and inhibits our stress response.

Amygdala is the part of the brain that is central to switching on our stress response.

Mindfulness practice reduces activity in that of our brain called the amygdala. It is so effective that our background level of stress is reduced. We are better able to focus.

We complete our work more efficiently, we have a greater sense of well-being, and this reduces the stress response. Rather than just seeing the negative consequences of feeling stressed, mindfulness offers you the space to think differently about the stress itself. Observing how the increased pressure helps energizes and has a positive effect on our body and mind. Thus, it is very healthy for the human mind and body to practice mindfulness.

This October Dragonfly Yoga Studio is coming up with eight week course on, “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction”.

The 8 week course in Mindfulness based stress reduction is a well-researched program developed to alleviate a wide range of health needs, including chronic pain, anxiety and depression as well as enhancing general wellbeing and engagement.

The course will be held on a weekly basis on Tuesday evenings. The course includes daily meditation and activities that can be incorporated into daily life as part of the home practise. A practise day will be held near the end of the course to help students integrate the course’s primary practises.

It’s a rich, dynamic course that has proven to be quite beneficial to a large number of people.

Here is the link for the application form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fnWwtWI4VfX_0z6M9SM4TbY9NLPjWCb5CzGB0JR2 RlQ/edit .

If you have any doubt or any question regarding the course please feel free to contact us.

We are always happy to help.

Nida Zakaria

MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION

Eight Week Course at Dragonfly Yoga Studio

Being mindful entails just recognising what arises and, as much as possible, letting it be.

Mindfulness training teaches us how to be happier and calmer in the ups and downs of life, as well as how to minimise stress and manage panic attacks. When we get caught up in thoughts about the past or the future, we can miss out on present pleasures or make our problems worse. We can notice things if we are mindful.

Mindfulness Meditation

Meditation is a practise that involves focusing our minds on a certain object, topic, or activity in order to be present with our current experience. Many people want to know what mindfulness is, what meditation is, and what the difference between mindfulness and meditation is. Simply said, we meditate to assist us develop a state of attentive awareness.

Learning different styles of meditation as well as mindfulness skills is part of Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction training. Meditation is a type of mind training, and there are numerous reasons why it is beneficial to your health.

This October Dragonfly Yoga Studio is coming up with eight week course on, “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction”

The 8 week course in Mindfulness based stress reduction is a well-researched program developed to alleviate a wide range of health needs, including chronic pain, anxiety and depression as well as enhancing general wellbeing and engagement. The course involves training in a variety of mindfulness meditations and techniques, including gentle physical exercises, all designed to bring about awareness of habitual thought patterns that lead to stress, anxiety or depression, as well as how to transform these into positive states.

The course will be held on a weekly basis on Tuesday evenings. The course includes daily meditation and activities that can be incorporated into daily life as part of the home practise. A practise day will be held near the end of the course to help students integrate the course’s primary practises.

It’s a rich, dynamic course that has proven to be quite beneficial to a large number of people.

Meet Your Team for Mindulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR):

1) Erick Rinner: Erick has had a daily mindfulness practice for 11 years and is regularly in silent retreat. He trained at Bangor University and is delivers the MBSR program in English and in French. Erick is also a mindfulness and life coach, training leaders and executives in global companies for corporate mindfulness techniques.

2) Cynthia Bonell:

Cynthia had been meditating for 35-40 years and have studied the Vedic, Buddhist, and Christian traditions, as well as Christianity. She began teaching mindfulness 5 years ago. She completed her 8-week MBSR course and then moved on to Bangor University to complete a week-long intensive level 1 teaching course. She continues to meditate and attend retreats on a regular basis.

3) Ros Boughflower :

Ros has been meditating and practising mindfulness for a long time and attends retreats on a regular basis. She is a certified coach and MBSR teacher who received her training at Bangor University. She employs mindfulness with her coaching clients to help them become more aware of themselves.

She has a pleasant and sympathetic demeanour and draws on her Buddhist background to provide a secular approach that is both accessible and current.

4) James Milford:

James is a mindfulness teacher who received his MSc in Mindfulness Studies from the University of Aberdeen, where he improved his personal practise and theoretical understanding. The training includes mindfulness, compassion, insight, and wisdom. James used his education and research to create a unique method to mindfulness that is deeply rooted in the traditions and teachings of mindfulness.

5) Jane Sill:

Jane is UK Mindfulness Network listed instructor and have been associated with the London Centre of Mindfulness since 2012, assisting in the coordination of its activities, particularly the administration of the 8-week MBSR courses both in and out of house.

6) John Bonell:

Since he was a teenager, John has been interested in meditation. John began his meditation studies in London and has since studied under a variety of instructors and traditions in the Burmese, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Tibetan traditions. His main focus is on mental stability as a way to delve deeper into the nature of the mind.

7) William Walker

William completed his mindfulness training in 2018 and is listed as a Mindfulness Teacher in the United Kingdom. For the London Centre of Mindfulness, he has led and co-directed a number of 8-week Mindfulness for Stress Reduction courses. MBSR Application Form

Please ensure you have read the course content and are aware of the amount of commitment required to participate. Please think about whether you'll be able to devote enough time to the programme and whether now is the ideal moment to start. You’ll need to practise at home to get the most out of it.

So, are you up for it?

Here is the link for the application form:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fnWwtWI4VfX_0z6M9SM4TbY9NLPjWCb5CzGB0JR2 RlQ/edit

If you have any doubt or any question regarding the course please feel free to contact us.

We are always happy to help.

Nida Zakaria

EVERYDAY ASANAS AND THEIR BENEFITS

Are you always fatigued and lethargic, despite the fact that you have no underlying medicalcondition? A 10-minute yoga programme might help you feel more energized and regain body-mind harmony on a regular basis.

While many people believe that yoga isn’t as effective as cardio or heavy-duty high- intensity interval training, studies has shown that yoga can help with anything from weight loss to period pain relief, heart health, and digestion. Plus, yoga positions don’t necessitate any specific equipment or studio space.

Today we will talk about ten everyday yoga asanas and how they and how they might benefit you if you practice them regularly.

1. Standing Side Bend: As you inhale, stand tall with your feet and legs together and stretch both arms straight up overhead. Exhale as you lower your right arm down the right side of your body and lengthen your left arm over your head, gently bending your body to the right. Repeat on the left side, inhaling to return arms overhead to center and exhaling to return to the right side.

Standing side bend strengthens the side ab wall while targeting the external and internal oblique. This exercise tightens the core, sculpts the waist, and improves posture and stability.

2. Downward Dog: Downward Dog is an excellent pose to rest the spine. Begin by kneeling on your mat with your hands right under your shoulders and your fingers extended wide. Now push your torso up off the mat, leaving only your hands and feet on the mat. Tuck your toes under and engage your abdominals as you do so. Moving your chest gently toward your thighs and your heels gently toward the floor, press through your hands.

The upper body, arms, shoulders, abdomen, and legs are all strengthened. Back of the body, ankles, calves, hamstrings, and spine are all stretched. It relaxes the mind and blood circulation is also stimulated.

3. Cat & Cow Pose: Begin by forming a “tabletop” position with your hands and knees. Make sure your knees are directly underneath your hips. Your wrists, elbows, and shoulders should all be parallel to the ground. Maintain a neutral position for your head. Lift your chest toward the ceiling as you inhale, allowing your belly to drop toward the floor. Raise your brows and look straight ahead.

Exhale and return to your original position. This asana warms the body while also allowing the spine to be more flexible. “This asana strengthens the abdominal organs while stretching the back torso and neck,” says the author.

4. Boat Pose: Lay on your back with your legs crossed. On the floor, keep your hands on your thighs or near to them. Take a deep breath and elevate your head, arms, and head off the floor at a 30-degree angle.

This asana improves the function of abdominal muscles, improves digestion, and lowers belly fat. It also strengthens abdominal organs and leg muscles.

5. Cobra Pose : Lie down on your stomach on the floor. Place your hands on your shoulder and close your eyes. Raise your head and gaze up towards the sky. The stretch in your midsection is palpable.

This position increases back flexibility while toning the abdomen, neck, and shoulders. It promotes blood circulation and relieves weariness and stress.

6. Legs Up The Wall: Lie completely flat on your back. Bring both legs together and raise them up. To elevate your lower back, take your legs slightly behind you. Place your palms on your lower back and your elbows on the ground to support your back. Maintain a 45-60 degree angle between your back and the floor with your legs perpendicular to the floor. Take a normal breath. Begin with one minute of practice and gradually build to ten minutes.

Practicing this activity on a regular basis helps strengthen your digestive system. Your appetite will grow stronger. it can prevent premature greying of hair and heal disorders such as swelling of the feet, and blood-related ailments such as boils, pimples, and itching.

7. Pigeon Pose: One of the most effective hip stretches available. Do pigeon posture as a hip opener, using padding beneath your hips if necessary. Bring your right knee forward to the floor on the outside of your right hand, starting in downward-facing dog.

Allow your left knee to fall to the floor. Your hips should be squared to the front of your mat. Bring your torso down into a forward bend over your right leg if you feel steady.

This position emphasizes on opening your hips, which promotes hip mobility and flexibility. Pigeon Pose also extends your hip flexors and lower back, which can become stiff from sitting for lengthy periods of time. Stretching these muscles on a daily basis can help to relieve minor lower back and hip pain.

8. Happy Baby Pose: A relaxing stance! Your groin, inner thighs, and low back will also be opened. Start by lying down and grasping your big toes with your index and middle fingers. Pull knees toward shoulders by gently drawing toes down. Knees should be gently pushed open with elbows. Relax and take a deep breath. Hold the position for 30 seconds.

This pose reduces lower back pain by opening the inner thighs, hips, and groin; realigns and extends the spine; relieves tension and anxiety; and improves exhaustion and lethargy.

9. Cow Face Pose: When most people think about hip openers in yoga, they imagine poses with their legs spread wide apart. However, hip stretches like Cow Face, in which the legs are brought together, stimulate the musculature surrounding the pelvis in a different way.

This position may aid in the correction of your posture and the beginning of flexibility equalization. It’s a terrific posture for folks who sit for long periods of time at work since it opens your hips and chest, which helps to offset the slump that many people develop while sitting. It’s a grounding and relaxing stance.

10. Corpse Pose: Rest in corpse pose for a few minutes to allow your body to absorb the benefits of your practice before continuing on with your day. Adding objects to this stance might make it more comfortable and soothing.

There’s one thing we all have in common, no matter where we are on our fitness journey: the urge to stretch. Why? There are a variety of causes, as it turns out.

Practicing these basic poses for 10 to 15 minutes a day will improve your yoga practise.You’ll notice that completing these stretches on a regular basis has a favourable impact on your longer practice sessions over time.

Dragonfly is always there to help you in your yoga journey. Feel free to contact us for any support or guidance.

Nida Zakaria

YOGA AND ITS EIGHT LIMBS

Being a yogi , you must have heard at least once in a class that yoga is more than simply fitness. Of course, some styles of yoga can be physically taxing and aid in the development of amazing strength, but there’s a hint of something more, something deeper, and something rooted in ancient wisdom, alongside the sweating and stretching.

With each passing day more and more people are joining and learning yoga which indeed had transformed the lives of many. However, as yoga has become a more accessible and modern practise, the ancient roots of yoga appear to be gradually fading amongst new genealogies.

PHILOSOPHY PROVIDES CONTEXT

It may appear at first glance that learning something so ancient is unimportant in today's modern and forward-thinking society, where yoga practises are combined with mindfulness, mind-body medicine, and progressive anatomy understandings.

Why would we want to look back at something cocooned in dogma and Sanskrit language, with all this new information and exhilarating advancement?

And the only reason to dig into some ancient history is because philosophy provides context. The ‘Ashtanga Yoga System; or ‘Eight Limbs of Yoga; is described in Patanjal’s Yoga Sutras as an eight-fold route leading to freedom. And it explains why yoga was created in the first place, what was going on in the world at the time, and where the meanings of yoga poses come from. It transports us to a time when the gods and goddesses were a part of everyday life, and where yoga was so revered that thousands of writings were written about it.

The Patanjali Yoga Sutras are a favourite source of inspiration and direction for modern yoga practitioners on how to live a balanced and ethical life both on and off the mat. Many of our understandings of the Yoga Sutras have been filtered through multiple commentators on the original verses, according to the history of the work.

Our interpretation of the eight limbs takes into account the historical context in which they were created before attempting to adapt them to modern life.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (which are obligatory reading in most Yoga teacher training programmes) are considered to be a road map that leads you to Samadhi, which is sometimes referred to as bliss or enlightenment. Each of these eight limbs might be thought of as a rung or step on a ladder, with each level intensifying the yogic practise. It's critical to realise that this particular yogic practise. It's crucial to remember that yogic philosophy is just one of many; other philosophies include Buddhism and Tantra, both of which are as rich and fascinating.Starting with morals and guidelines and progressing via numerous meditation practises, techniques, and states, the practitioner is supposed to eventually arrive at Samadhi, the final limb of joy.

THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA

• Yama

• Niyama

• Asana

• Pranayama

• Pratyahara

• Dharana

• Dhyana

• Samadhi

1. Yama: Yama is the first limb, and it refers to vows, disciplines, or practices that are primarily concerned with the world and our interactions with it. The five yamas (nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, correct use of energy, and non-greed) are universal moral pledges and observances that apply to everyone and everything. These five morals apply to them, us, and everyone around us, regardless of where they come from, their social level, current life situation, or previous experience. Yama’s can be viewed of as little disciplines or constraints that we can all practice in order to be better individuals. These tiny disciplines, in turn, have a cascading effect, resulting in a more harmonious community and a more peaceful planet.

Ahimsa (non-violence),

Satya (truthfulness),

Asteya (non-stealing),

Brahmacharya (right use of energy), and Aparigraha (non-greed or non-hoarding).

2. Niyamas : “Ni” here denotes that these five observances are more about how we engage with ourselves, how we direct our consciousness inward to our own acts, and how those actions may affect those around us. While the yamas are universal, the niyamas are only for people who seek to further their personal and spiritual development.

Saucha (Cleanliness),

Santosha (Contentment),

Tapas ( Burning of desire),

Svadhyaya (Self-study or self-reflection),and Isvarapranidaha (Surrender to a higher power).

3. Asana : The physical part of yoga is the third step on the way to freedom, it refers to the seat you would assume for meditation. It is said in the practice of Asana that the posture for meditation should have the attributes of steadiness and ease, meaning that it should be sturdy enough to sit for a long time yet relaxed enough to allow the breath to flow easily.

Hundreds of physical postures and movements have been developed over thousands of years to aid in the clearing and revitalization of the body.

4. Pranayama : Prana is a Sanskrit word that means “energy” or “life source”. It can be used to express both the essence of life and the energy that pervades the cosmos around us. Prana is also used to describe the breath, and dealing with the way we breathe has a direct impact on the mind.

These strong techniques are a vital aspect of yoga, from the gentle practises of alternate nostril breathing to the more rigorous Kapalabhati and long breath retentions. Extended breath holding is reported to have been practised by the Buddha, and all physical yoga practises in pre-modern India were largely concerned with breathing techniques.

5.  Prathyahara : Prathya means to 'withdraw’, and ahara refers to whatever we 'take in' on our own, such as the many sights, sounds, and odours our senses take in on a regular basis. When we sit for a formal meditation practise, we are inclined to focus on ‘drawing in' as the first thing we do when we think we are meditating. Focusing inward is a type of drawing within.

The five senses of smell, sound, sight, touch, and taste all contribute to the richness of life, but they can also pull our attention in different areas. An uncomfortable seat, a strong odour, or the beeping and buzzing of a mobile phone might make it difficult to focus on a meditation practise or simply being present in a discussion.

6. Dharana : It is the lingering moment of meditation in which the practitioner maintains their meditation object steadily, whether it is the breath, a mantra, a symbol, or a visualisation. It's easy to slip out of dharana and back into your thinking mind — you could notice this when you suddenly “realise” you’ve been meditating and are yanked out of it.

Dharana includes activities like candle gazing, visualisation, and focusing on the breath, and it’s this stage that many of us reach when we think we’re meditating.

7. Dhyana: The seventh limb is referred to “meditative absorption” which occurs when we become entirely absorbed in the subject of our meditation.

This is when we are truly meditating. All of the skills we learn in class, online, or from a teacher are only ways to assist each person calm, focus, and concentrate; the actual practise of meditation is not something we can actively ‘do’.

8. Samadhi : ‘Sama’ which means ‘same’ or ‘equal’, and ‘dhi’ which means ‘to see. It’s called realisation for a reason: achieving Samadhi is’nt about escape, flying away, or being ecstatically happy; it’s about realising the life that lies ahead of us. Many people think of enlightenment or bliss as a state that can be entered and exited. Free flowing consciousness is an excellent illustration of a Samadhi state, in which we are completely oblivious, completely focused on one thing, and completely content in the present now. Each day, you may have numerous moments of Samadhi, and the more we have via meditation and daily action, the closer we are to liberation.

After considerable study and reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that the word “Samadhi” does not necessarily imply a fireworks show of delight and bliss, but rather a calm and humble serenity that is available to everyone. The Sanskrit word

‘sama’ denotes ‘same’ or ‘equal’; while the ‘dh’ refers to an understanding or connection, as previously mentioned. We can see that the ‘end’ has a new meaning with this new definition.

Nida Zakaria

How to build confidence with meditation?

In today’s world which has people running and gunning against each other, often we find ourselves questioning our sense of self-worth. The question becomes even more profound in the face to tough times such as the ongoing pandemic that has forced everyone to work and live out of silos. The situation demands us to persist and believe in ourselves every day.

This is where we need engaging activities which help us build self-confidence. It is somewhat an easier said than attained feat and remains elusive in people. In such a situation, lack of self-confidence often leads to complex conditions like mental breakdowns and depression, pushing people to often take extreme steps. Meditation and mindfulness are proving to be tried and tested methods by which individuals can master their lost confidence.

Meditation is one of the most powerful ways in which one can their sense of our real and innate worth. Our inner genuine confidence comes from our innate sense of self-worth, which can be awakened using meditation. The tools and technique are our ticket to break cycles of negativity and co-dependency and look deeper into our own wellbeing.

But how does meditation really help you? To start with, it is not just sitting with your thoughts, but observing them, noticing every moment that you are thinking and then finally you come back to the breath. Each time, while meditating, you eventually revert to the basic sense of being in the moment, where you can introspect, cut down the noise from the outer world, and find some ‘Me Time’ for the soul. A regular practice helps you finally overcome your own thought patterns and you begin to distance yourself from those.

This is so because in meditation you can let go, and lead to a profound sense of wellbeing. The technique helps you return your calm, where you can take better decisions, and see the larger picture. This sense of being, helps build that lost confidence, which emerges out of your inner self. In one’s natural state of mind, you can relax, in the absence of the external confidence-eroding triggers, you can start finding yourself back, and build your confidence.

Meditation and mindfulness are becoming increasingly important in today’s times, to help individuals boost their confidence levels. It helps you be in the moment, with no references and you end up feeling fulfilled and happy. One can easily check out various online meditation courses and guides for success, happiness, and self-esteem. When one feels happy from within, this confidence will be translated into your life, your relationships, personal and professional growth etc. In the long run, a regular practice helps us distinguish from between healthy and toxic patterns and relationships, which ultimately leads to a higher sense of self belief.

Techniques like grounding oneself and vipassana meditation amongst others are some ways to make the most of meditation. It is also important that the right posture is maintained when one is practicing. In a nutshell, Meditation can offer plenty of ways to improve and boost one’s confidence levels, it is up to you as to how and what techniques we adapt to suit the needs and situations. For a healthy and balanced life, a healthy mind is a critical ingredient. Meditation for the mind is what food is for us. It is indeed imperative, that every individual takes to meditation, for higher thoughts, higher vibrations, and a successful life.

Advantages of Meditation (for confidence)

Meditation has numerous health benefits (all of which have been established in scientific studies):

• Boost immune system

• Lowers blood pressure.

• Improves digestion

Other studies have used MRI scans to discover that meditating can actually increase grey matter concentration in areas of the brain linked to emotion regulation, introspection, and empathy... while decreasing grey matter in areas linked to anxiety, fear, and stress. Simply said, meditating can change your brain to make you feel less worried and more confident!

Let’s get you started

STEP 1: Find a pleasant, quiet spot.

STEP 2: Sit comfortably in a straight-backed chair or cross-legged on the floor. Sit with your

back against a wall if you slump. The trick is to maintain a straight spine.

STEP 3: Use a chant to divert your attention away from your racing thoughts. It's best to go

with something simple like "Peace. Space. Calm." Now visualise (think) your ideal

atmosphere for “Peace, Space, and Calm.”

STEP 4: Place both hands on your stomach. Count to three and take three slow, deep

breaths. Take a deep breath into your belly button and feel your stomach push your hands

up. As you breathe, try to maintain your shoulders relaxed and loose.

STEP 5: As you breathe in, say the mantra “Peace. Space. Calm,” hold the breath for two seconds, and then exhale with the mantra “Peace. Space. Calm.” It’s as easy as that. Repeat this practise twice a day for 5 to 10 minutes each time.

Positive Talk

Spend a few minutes before or after your meditation sessions speaking pleasantly and compassionately to and about yourself. For this activity, I generally read some positive quotes and repeat it aloud.

It’s usually important to keep your statements short and simple. Say words that you can easily agree with so that your subconscious mind agrees with you.

For example :

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” – Winston Churchill

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt

So my friends,

• Try and keep your feet on the ground. A lack of confidence is frequently caused by a whirlpool of thoughts in our brains that cause us to doubt our skills or ourselves.

• Become aware of unpleasant feelings and thoughts.

• Raise your spirits.

• Visualize yourself achieving your goals.

• Face your fears head on.

When it comes to boosting confidence, meditation has a lot of alternatives. Choose the option that best meets your requirements and circumstances. Above all, employ meditation to enhance your efforts to boost your self-esteem. Outside of meditation, there are other strategies to increase confidence.

And for more such meditation exercises visit and join the Dragonfly Yoga Studio. Book your classes soon.

We are always there to help!

Nida Zakaria

Yoga’s Medical Recognition as a treatment for anxiety

In the fast-paced and uncertain world of modern society, stress and anxiety can often rise to debilitating levels. Chronic and unmanaged stress can impact our quality of life, and is responsible for an increase in health issues and disorders that span the globe. With the rise of COVID-19 that has only exacerbated matters. Negative emotions are not only traumatic but they also affect our immune system. Managing these emotions can be draining but is certainly doable.

Yoga as a treatment for the mind and body:

If anxiety increases it can start to interfere with your everyday activities and general well-being and can bring on anxiety disorders such as –GAD ( generalised anxiety disorder,) which keeps you in a state of exaggerated worry and the inability to relax. However a lot of the symptoms related to anxiety are physical, such as muscle tension, sweating and insomnia which is caused by the “fight” or “fight stress” response which prepares the body as if there is a real threat on the horizon.

Conventional medical treatments don’t always address the underlying causes of anxiety. Given that anxiety also appears in physical symptoms, it stands to reason that if an anxiety treatment is to be successful it should treat both the mind and body. This is where yoga comes in, it can provide you the strengthening tools which are needed for emotional regulation.

Feelings of anxiety can quickly become overwhelming, this leads to automatic reactivity with no interval for a response. By practicing yoga the patterns responsible for this reactivity behaviour can be broken through, the meditation component of yoga works on improving self-regulation and the attention networks in your brain. The physical component of yoga works on tackling the anxiety symptoms in the body, whilst also having an impact on the mind-body connection.

Overall having a degree of control over our emotional state and how we respond to stressful events is key to both our mental and physical well-being. The mind-body practice of yoga make it a powerful tool to have to help you become in a state of piece within you and your environment.

 Scientific Community Evidence:

Yoga’s positive impact on the world of anxiety and anxiety disorders has been supported by a growing body of research. Recently published studies have concluded that yoga can be a safe and effective intervention for those individuals who have an anxiety disorder or elevated levels of anxiety, this is a welcome development especially in the light of the fact that anxiety disorders are on the increase in younger people.

 Start practicing at home:

Whilst the research is continuing to make a case to the medical establishment for yoga to be seen as a treatment strategy, there is nothing stopping you from beginning the practice yourself.  No specialist equipment is required –though a yoga mat is useful- from starting the practice in your living room. The best way to start this practice is to join one of Dragonfly Yoga’s upcoming classes, click here to view the timetable for available classes, and start to awaken your potential today!

5 Ways Meditation improves Yoga

Yoga and meditation, both go together like hand in glove. With both these spiritual health practices increasingly becoming popular over the past few decades, we tend to combine both of them together. When we become aware of one practice, the other isn’t far behind.

 However despite the correlation between the two, many people choose either one or the other. The important factor to note, is that meditation helps to relax the body, which is an important part of the process to have a relaxed mind, this in turn makes it far easier to allow your body to take on the various yoga positions, such as the Lotus position.

 Below lists the five key ways that meditation makes us better at Yoga:

1.       Meditation assists in the focus of Asana

 Practising Yoga means exercising the body, however it is also important to exercise the mind at the same time. Every time the body is in an asana pose, the focus should also be on the pose itself. With the mind focused on the body only then can asana be experienced in full. Yoga Asana is known to possess many health benefits, but in order to take advantage of those benefits the focus has to be on what the body is doing.

 Meditation is widely known to improve focus and concentration, and as a result this allows complete mind-body immersion in the Asana.

 2.       Meditation lowers oxygen consumption.

A less well known fact is that meditation changes the way the body uses oxygen. Research has shown that meditation lowers oxygen consumption rate by 10%. This increases our control of our breath during and after meditation. For anyone who gets short of breath when practicing Yoga, trying meditation before and during your yoga session and practicing mindful breathing can help regulate your breath.

 Subsequently this helps in being able to practice Yoga for a longer period of time, and assert more control of pranayama.

 3.       Obtain the philosophical aspects of Yoga:

If you would like to truly embrace the yogic lifestyle, then it is, then it is important you get in touch with the philosophical side, meditation can be of great help in this aspect too.

 The Yogic system itself has many meditations, these include – Trataka (Still Gazing,) chakra meditations, mantras, and sound meditations (Nada Yoga). Not only do these meditation techniques help to train the mind, they also play an integral part in preparing the mind-body for more advanced stages of yoga.

 4.       Experiencing a lot of sweat during hot yoga? Meditation can help.

Anyone who practices hot yoga (Bikram Yoga) knows what it can be like to sweat a little too much. Meditation can change that by reducing your heart-rate and blood pressure thereby cooling your body down and reducing the amount you sweat.

 5.       Meditation improves balance

According to a scientific study, the power of meditation can help in increasing our level of balance. According to Professor Ying Kee from Nanyang’s Technical University (based in Singapore) a study was carried whereby 32 men were split into two groups, Kee requested all members of each group to stand on one leg while holding a basin of water, Kee asked one group to be mindful of their hands, and the other group to think about anything they liked. The balance of members of both groups were tested, the results showed that being mindful of the body increased the level of balance, where as those group members who were thinking about something other than what they were doing showed a much lower level of balance.

 Time for a change?

Anybody who is serious about getting better at Yoga should take on both the physical and mental exercises. By practising meditation not only do we embrace a more yogic lifestyle, but also we prepare our mind for success in the yoga studio.

Meditation for Building Trust

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Trust.

A word that many of us wrestle with at least once in our lifetimes, we often see trust as the key to our happiness. Having loved ones we trust makes us feel safe and gives us a sense of belonging that cannot be replaced by any material thing - alarm systems or membership cards. Betrayal can be one of the most challenging experiences that a person has. As a result of these betrayals - no matter how big or small - many of us experience times where we lack trust in others, sometimes dismissively labelled by others as “trust issues”, which can have a damaging impact on our relationships and wellbeing, lead to depression and anxiety, and even affect the way we see ourselves.

So what is the secret to building healthy trust?

There is no one-click fix and neither is there a one-size-fits-all approach: different methods of building trust work for different individuals. By meditating regularly, though, we can develop the self-awareness to nurture a healthy attitude towards trust - starting with our own trust in ourselves, before looking to extend this to our trust in others.

How To Meditate To Build Self-Trust

There are many meditations for trust that we love to practise here at Dragonfly - but we especially love Tamara Levitt’s meditation for self-trust. Here is our own guided meditation, with the wise words of many meditation leaders included along the way.

Start in a comfortable position - we find a seated position to be best, either with crossed legs on the floor or upright on a chair, with a small cushion placed between your lower back and the chair to keep you supported, and your bare feet flat on the ground.

Close your eyes. Notice any points of tension in the body, and breathe in to these muscles - avoid the temptation to force your muscles into relaxation, it is enough to simply notice where the body is tense and use the breath to encourage relaxation. Unstick the tongue from the roof of the mouth, and allow a soft smile to smooth the jaw. Breathe in the forehead; give the facial muscles permission to soften and melt.

We like to use box breathing to help us focus on our breath at the beginning of the meditation: breathe in for a count of four, hold for four, breathe out for a count of four, hold for four - then repeat. The breathing creates a kind of box pattern, with the holds at each end of the breath. 

Practise square breathing for four or five breaths, then allow your natural breathing pattern to return. Keep the focus on your breath - it can help to try to pinpoint the moment when an exhale turns into an inhale, and when an inhale turns into an exhale.

Maintain this focus for around two to three minutes - when the mind wanders and other thoughts begin to distract, don’t worry or berate yourself… remember that the mind is a busy place, so distraction is bound to happen, and gently bring your thoughts back to focus on the breath with no judgement or criticism for drifting concentration. Judging ourselves for not doing the meditation “right” is counterproductive; instead, offer yourself the self-compassion you deserve and keep gently tugging your thoughts back to the breath. Notice if any thoughts in particular create strong feeling or emotional reaction, but no need to feel the need to ‘fix’ these thoughts.

One great way to visualise passing thoughts, is by imagining you are sitting by the side of a motorway - which Andy Puddicombe narrates in his guided mediation app, Headspace. Your thoughts are the passing cars, and your role is simply to observe those thoughts coming and going. Some will be noisier and seem more dangerous than others: avoid the temptation to try to run into the road and control the traffic… if you imagine the effect of this in real-life, this would do far more harm than good! Instead, simply keep track of the thoughts as they pass, noticing if similar thoughts tend to pass with greater frequency or speed than others. This visualisation often helps us to distance ourselves from our thoughts, and understand that they are passing - we do not have to be defined by them, or allow them to control the way we feel.

At this point in the meditation, loosen your grip a little on your concentration, allowing the mind to go where it wants to for a minute. 

We often lose trust in ourselves through decisions or choices we make, which don’t have the desired outcome. It is much easier to remember when our choices have ended in an undesirable outcome, than it is to remember when our choices have led us to great things. One way to develop trust through meditation, is to practise the exercise of recalling times when your choices have led to positive outcomes, even unexpectedly so, and remembering in detail your feelings at the time of the positive outcome and how you made a choice that achieved it. 

There will always be times when you have made a good choice, but these can be harder to recall for some who really feel lacking in self-trust. If you feel you cannot remember any, then focus simply on the right here, right now: thank yourself for taking the time to make the positive choice that has led you to meditation practice and the intention to rebuild trust that this choice represents. After the meditation, it can help to speak to a loved one - ask them to recall a good choice that you made, and the impact that this choice had. You may find a choice you made had a profoundly positive impact on somebody’s life, without even realising!

To bring the meditation to a close, come back to the breath. When you’re ready, become aware again of the floor beneath your feet, the sounds in your immediate surroundings, and slowly open your eyes.

The Best Yoga Classes for Building Trust

It’s best to meditate little and often - the ten minutes you spend at the beginning of a day can go far to settle your mind for the rest of it. 

Meditation is included as part of yoga practice, and as meditation develops trust in the mind, yoga practice helps to root trust in your body. Our classes always include elements of meditation - why not try a Yin yoga class to help you begin your journey into meditation? Having an expert to guide you through the meditation can be a great way to begin the habit of meditation - we love Laura’s Sunday Yin yoga class here at Dragonfly to help us de-stress, and set us in the right frame of mind for the week ahead.

Above all, remember that in order to develop a healthy attitude towards trusting others, you must first trust yourself. This is not an overnight change: trust, as Brene Brown writes, is built in small moments, and once built, can be the key to a life of bravery and whole-heartedness.

Start your journey to building healthy trust today, by visiting our timetable to join a class - either in our newly refurbished studio, or online.