Yoga with Helene

Are women really better than men?
I was watching the political news program “Have I got news for you”, last night and one of the guests said that we should remove all men from power.
Imagine if it had been said about women. Or about black people, or white, or Muslims…
Oh yes men have done and are still doing pretty horrible things. But if women had more power, were in power, would we be better? How can we say yes. Or no.
Some women have done amazing things when in power, others… not so much.
I am a woman, I am a feminist as in I defend women’s cause but not by putting down and attacking men. I am also a mother of a boy, and a wife. I know many “ordinary” men who are very decent. Most of them are, don’t you think?
So is it men who are bad or is it power that makes you bad?
But my point here today is that putting people against each other does not help our society. It does not help with our cohesion, our “vivre ensemble”.
The manosphere exists and is a terrible thing but I don’t think we will eradicate it by claiming we want to get rid of all men or by putting them down.
We need each other, don’t we? We need mutual respect, communication, exchange, real connections that can only help to understand each other. Blaming all men on national tv does not serve any purpose other than trying to be popular.
How is this post related to yoga you may wonder. It has everything to do with yoga. Ps: pictures absolutely random! 😚

I love teaching teenagers yoga. It gives them that little space where they can relax, be themselves with no pressure or judgement. Nothing to attain or achieve. And they get to learn about yoga philosophy they can then use in their life, like practising Ahimsa, non violence, or Santosha, gratitude. But many more concepts too. And they get to move their bodies in a safe way, sometimes strong, sometimes soft. They get to observe and notice. I am organising a session special exams in May for the 2nd year in a row. For teens doing their GCSE or ALevel but also young adults at university. A moment to learn techniques to destress, relax, focus, through strong postures, movement, breathing exercises. Open to all abilities and bodies.

A mat, a cat, a garden, blue sky and sun… practicing yoga : asanas, pranayama, meditation, relaxation and contentment / gratitude.

With end of year exams, worries about their future, stress about social media, Teenagers need a place where they feel safe, with no judgment, no competition. A place to rest, to feel healthy, to be themselves.

I am taking a few days off, from 1st to 8th April. No classes and hopefully very little social media! Mainly enjoying the south west of France, my son, my mum, my sister, … you get the idea. Real connections. Real people. Although to be honest, I am quite old school so there are many connections in my life, in my work, even when online. I speak to the people attending, I ask them how they are. I take an interest in their lives, their state of mind, their health. Because otherwise what is the point of teaching yoga, if there is no one in front of you? Teaching yoga is not just about making a living, it is also about all the human connections we make.

Such focus, such concentration for one hour! This week being the last class of term for the teens, I asked them what they wanted to do and mandala drawing had quite overwhelmingly the majority. In silence. To me this shows that our young people need calm, quiet, silence, peace. And given the right tools, and taking away the wrong tools, they are able to concentrate and achieve beautiful things. I have a couple of spaces in the Tuesday class at 5:30pm in .bymargot.

What a beautiful weekend!
What an amazing group of women, interesting, fun, warm, curious, open… I could not have hoped for a better group.
I seem to be very lucky with my clients / friends 😍.
Seville was amazing, the smell, the architecture, the food, the atmosphere, the flamenco show 💃, the weather…
Everything was perfect!
And I had a lot of fun preparing and teaching those 5 classes. Strong, mindful, slow, intense, tiring and restful.
All in all a treat and feeling very grateful this morning to be able to do a job that I love and sometimes feels like a hobby and a holiday. Although I am shattered today! But happy .
Stay tuned for the next weekend and also check my website for any upcoming event or class.
See you soon on the mat. ❤️

Do you know how hard it was to find an image saying International women’s RIGHTS day? Very. I did not spend too long either and did not find any in English. I am sure there are some. But not immediately. The 8th March has become women’s day. An other opportunity for big and small company to sell us something. To make money on our back. How is buying a hoover or a day out going to help our rights? Not sure…. So on this international women’s rights day, let’s remember all the women who fight for their basic rights, their freedom, their lives. Mostly of course in Afghanistan, in Iran, in Somalia, in all the countries where women are considered 2nd class citizens. And in Europe and the US, to a lesser degree but still we have to be vigilant and not let anyone take away what we have managed to acquire. Let’s educate our sons and our daughters about equality but also about empathy, kindness, strength and resistance. I wish you a beautiful life where your rights are respected.

Ahimsa: non-violence . This word I mention quite a lot in class, resonates today more acutely than ever.
For some reason that I cannot really explain, I have always felt very close to the Iranian fight and plight under the mollahs’ regime. And mainly the struggles of women in that country. I followed closely and supported their revolution “Women, life, freedom “ and also their uprising in January.
The violence used by the government to squash the demonstrators and kill any opposant scared me, repulsed me, outraged me, saddened me. I felt it in my guts. I just wanted Trump (whom I absolutely abhor!) to go in and rid the Iranians of these bloodthirsty dictators.
And now it is happening, I am scared! Scared and wondering.
Because violence calls for violence…
Were we right to let the Iranians be massacred by their government? Isn’t that some form of violence?
Are we right to go in and bomb them? That IS definitely a sort of violence!

As a yoga practitioner, a yoga teacher preaching non-violence, how do I react to the events in the outside world? Because it is all very good to decide to be non violent towards ourselves, even towards others in our circle from the comfort of our home (physically but also of course psychologically), but how do we reconcile our beliefs and the world we live in?
Do we let everything be and just worry about our little environment with the risk of being a bit selfish and cut off from the world or do we express ideas, opinions, support movements that can feel really violent and threatening to others?
Of course I don’t have the answer.
But I feel it is an important reflection to have as yoga practitioners trying to live by the Yama of Ahimsa. Do we act, do we stand back?
Do we stay silent, do we speak up? On reflection, I think I’d rather act and speak up according to my beliefs, my opinions. I want to feel I am doing something to make this a better world, even if it means others might differ, others might feel it is quite violent…
And of course, you are entitled to a different opinion. And that is quite all right. 😘 I wish you a day of peace and non-violence. 🕊️☮️🕊️