Awakening Pursuits with Elisa Holman

Morning

Just a little reminder about our next Women’s Circle on Sunday the 6th of September.

If you joined us last time at the Swan Inn, you'll know how special it felt and, well, we were honestly spoiled with that afternoon tea. So, we’re doing it again.

Yep ,scones, cakes, gorgeous sandwiches, sausage rolls, all the lovely trimmings, plus our usual mix of breath work, meditation, sound, and connection.

Spaces are really limited and last time sold out, so please don’t leave it till the last minute. I’d love to see you there.

to book visit https://bookwhen.com/awakeningpursuits

Have beautiful day 🙏♥️xx

✨ Ancient teachings… very modern problems ✨

One of the things I love most about studying yoga philosophy is realising that although these teachings are thousands of years old, human beings really haven't changed that much 😂

We still get stuck.

We still repeat the same patterns.

We still know what we want… and somehow seem to keep putting obstacles in our own way.

We overthink. We compare. We cling to things that aren't working anymore. We avoid things that feel uncomfortable. We tell ourselves the same stories over and over again and then wonder why nothing changes.

And this is exactly what the ancient yogic teachings of the Kleshas explore.

The Kleshas are five ways our perception can become clouded — through misunderstanding, identification, attachment, aversion and our deep instinct to cling to what feels safe and familiar.

And honestly, once you start looking at them in relation to your own life rather than just reading about them in a yoga book… they become incredibly relevant.

Maybe you keep saying you want something to change, but never quite take the step.

Maybe the same patterns keep appearing in different relationships.

Maybe you know something isn't making you happy anymore, but the familiar still feels safer than the unknown.

Or perhaps it just feels as though there is always something in the way of the life you say you want.

Sometimes the obstacle genuinely is outside of us.

But sometimes — and this is the interesting bit — the obstacle is a pattern we're not yet able to see.

That's what we'll be exploring over my new 5-week Kleshas course.

Not learning ancient philosophy for the sake of knowing it.

Using it as a mirror.

Looking at our own reactions, attachments, fears, identities and habits and asking:

Is this actually true?
Why am I holding onto this?
What am I avoiding?
And what might become possible if I could see it differently?

We'll explore all of this through yogic philosophy, Kriya/Kundalini Yoga, breath, meditation, self-inquiry and conversation.

Because yoga was never just about what we can do with our bodies.

Some of its greatest teachings are about learning to see ourselves clearly. 🤍

✨ 5-week Kleshas journey
Thursday evenings from 27th August
7.00–8.30pm · Zoom
£60 for the full course
Recordings available

Now available to book on Bookwhen 🤍

Elisa xx

✨ A NEW 5-WEEK JOURNEY — THE KLESHAS ✨

After Learning to Exhale, some of the group said they weren't quite ready to stop... and actually, neither am I 😂🤍

So I've been thinking about where we could go next.

This time we're going a little deeper.

Over 5 weeks, we'll explore the ancient yogic teachings of the Kleshas — five patterns that yoga teaches can keep us stuck, create suffering and cloud the way we see ourselves and our lives.

But don't worry... this isn't going to be five weeks of sitting around talking about ancient philosophy 😅

We're going to experience it.

Through Kundalini/Kriya Yoga, breath, meditation, self-inquiry and plenty of conversation, we'll explore:

✨ Avidya — the stories and beliefs we mistake for truth
✨ Asmita — the identities and roles we become attached to
✨ Raga — what we continually reach for
✨ Dvesha — what we resist, avoid or push away
✨ Abhinivesha — what we hold onto through fear of letting go

And really, underneath it all is one big question...

How are these patterns playing out in MY life?

Not someone else's.

Not something we need to fix.

Just learning to notice ourselves a little more clearly.

Because that's where yoga gets really interesting for me.

It's not about how flexible you are or what shape you can make with your body.

It's about becoming aware of the things running quietly underneath the surface... our reactions, habits, beliefs, attachments and fears.

And then creating enough space that maybe, just maybe, we don't have to automatically follow them.

✨ Starts Thursday 27th August
✨ 5-week course
✨ Investment: £60

I've deliberately kept the cost of this course as accessible as I can because I want these teachings and practices to be available to people who feel drawn to explore them, without cost becoming a barrier.

Five weeks of practice, curiosity, movement, breath and looking a little deeper.

If this is calling you, message me to join 🤍

Elisa xx

✨ NEXT 11 DAY SADHANA — WHO AM I? ✨

Starting Monday 17th August 🤍

Our next 11 Day Sadhana is going to explore one of the simplest questions… and probably one of the biggest.

Who am I?

Not who am I as a mum, partner, friend, teacher, daughter…

Not what I do.

Not what’s happened to me.

Not even all the things I’ve come to believe about myself over the years.

But underneath all of that… who am I?

Over our 11 mornings together we’ll use breath, movement, meditation and the beautiful mantra So Hum — “I am That” to begin peeling some of those layers back.

And this isn’t really a question we’re trying to find an intellectual answer to.

Actually, quite the opposite.

It’s about getting quiet enough to experience what’s there when we stop trying to define ourselves.

A little less this is who I think I am…

and a little more I AM.

✨ Starts Monday 17th August
✨ 7.00–7.30am
✨ 11 days
✨ Live on Zoom
✨ Recordings available if you can’t make the live
✨ £11 for the full 11 days

Half an hour each morning to come back to yourself before the rest of the world starts asking you to be everything else. 🤍

book via https://bookwhen.com/awakeningpursuits

✨ CONSCIOUS CONNECTED BREATHWORK ✨
Purpose — Beneath the Noise

I wanted to tell you a little more about what we’ll actually be exploring in Tuesday evening’s breathwork session… because when I say purpose, I don’t necessarily mean finding the one big thing you’re supposed to be doing with your life.

Before we breathe, we’re going to spend a little time looking at purpose, karma and dharma from a Vedantic perspective.

And particularly this question…

Why is it that we can seemingly have everything we need and yet still have this low-level feeling of discomfort running underneath it all?

That little sense of there must be something more.

We can have the job, the family, the home, the holidays, the busy life. We can tick so many of the boxes we were told would make us happy
and yet something can still feel unsettled.

Vedanta offers a really interesting perspective on why that is and on what we’re actually searching for underneath all those things we think we want.

We’ll explore the difference between karma — our actions, patterns and conditioning — and dharma, the deeper nature and direction of our life.

And then, rather than trying to think our way to an answer, we’ll breathe.

Through Conscious Connected Breathwork we’ll begin to move beneath some of the noise, the roles, the expectations and the stories of who we think we should be.

Because maybe purpose isn’t another thing to chase.

Maybe it’s what becomes clearer when some of the noise falls away.

You don’t need to come with any answers.

Just yourself, your breath and a little curiosity. 🤍

✨ Conscious Connected Breathwork
🌿 Tuesday 18th August
⏰ 7.00–9.00pm
💫 £20
📍 Temple of Tara

Small, intimate group — book via Bookwhen.

Elisa xx

✨ WHAT’S COMING UP IN TARA… ✨

Two lovely evenings coming up in my little space this month, and they’re both quite different. 🤍

First up…

🌿 CONSCIOUS CONNECTED BREATHWORK — Finding Purpose Beyond the Noise

Tuesday 18th August | 7.00–9.00pm | £20

What if your purpose isn’t something you need to find?

This evening we’ll use Conscious Connected Breathwork to move beyond some of the noise, expectations and stories we carry and create a little more space to hear that quieter wisdom within.

A chance to breathe, release, explore and reconnect with yourself.

And then something a little different for a Friday night…

🌙 FRIDAY NIGHT IN TARA — Sister Circle

Friday 28th August | 7.00–9.30pm | £25

Think mini women’s circle… cosy, intimate and a lovely alternative to the usual Friday night.

We’ll share cacao, move and breathe with Kundalini, meditate, connect and then finish the evening tucked up with some gorgeous sound healing.

Nothing heavy. Just women coming together, slowing down, chatting, laughing and enjoying being in good company. 🤍

Tara only holds a small number, which is part of what makes these evenings feel so lovely and intimate.

✨ Two evenings. Two very different experiences.

Come to one… or come to both.

Booking is now open 🤍

via https://bookwhen.com/awakeningpursuits

✨ THE NEXT WOMEN’S CIRCLE — SUNDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER ✨

After the success of yesterday’s circle at The Swan, I’m so happy to say… we have a date for the next one! 🤍

It was just such a lovely day. Women coming together, sharing, moving, laughing, connecting and of course enjoying that gorgeous afternoon tea.

So we’re doing it all again.

🌿 Sunday 6th September
📍 The Swan
10.00am- 2.30pm

Expect another beautiful morning and afternoon of connection, Kundalini, meditation, sound, sharing, good food and all those little bits in between that seem to happen when women come together in circle.

I’ll share more about the theme and what we’ll be exploring very soon, but for now… save the date! ✨

And thank you to everyone who came yesterday and made our first circle at The Swan so special. 🤍

Book via https://bookwhen.com/awakeningpursuits

🌿 RELEASE

How often do you catch yourself saying...

"My shoulders are up round my ears."

Or realise you've been clenching your jaw all day?

So many of us carry stress without even noticing it. We get used to the tight shoulders, the aching back, the heavy legs and the constant feeling of being "on."

RELEASE is a full body Swedish Massage created to help your body do just that... release.

Gentle but effective massage techniques help ease muscle tension, improve circulation and encourage your nervous system to slow down.

But honestly, it's not just about the massage.

It's about giving yourself permission to stop.

To take an hour where nobody needs anything from you.

Where you can switch off, breathe a little deeper and let someone else take care of you for a change. 🤍

RELEASE may help to:

✨ Ease muscle tension and stiffness
✨ Encourage deep relaxation
✨ Support better sleep
✨ Improve circulation
✨ Calm a busy mind
✨ Leave you feeling lighter in both body and mind

🌿 RELEASE
Full Body Swedish Massage
60 minutes · £40

Don't forget, if you book during July and secure your appointment with a £10 deposit, you'll pay just £25, even if your appointment is in August. 🥰

Just drop me a message if you'd like to book.

🌿 DEEP RELEASE

Sometimes an hour just isn't enough.

When your body has been carrying tension for weeks, months or maybe even years, it takes time to let go.

DEEP RELEASE is a 90-minute Full Body Swedish Massage, giving us the time to slow everything down and really focus on what your body needs.

Rather than feeling rushed, we can spend longer on those areas that need a little extra attention, whether that's your back, shoulders, neck, legs or anywhere you're holding onto tension.

Every treatment is a little different because every body is different.

Some days your body needs firm pressure to work through tight muscles.

Other days it simply needs a gentler touch and permission to relax.

We'll work with what your body needs on that day.

But honestly, it's about more than easing tight muscles.

It's about giving yourself the time and space to properly switch off.

To stop rushing.

To breathe a little deeper.

And to leave feeling lighter than when you arrived. 🤍

DEEP RELEASE may help to:

✨ Ease long-standing muscle tension and stiffness
✨ Improve circulation and encourage better movement
✨ Calm your nervous system and encourage deep relaxation
✨ Help reduce the physical effects of stress
✨ Leave you feeling restored, balanced and more comfortable in your body

🌿 DEEP RELEASE
90-minute Full Body Swedish Massage
90 minutes · £55

If you've been feeling like your body has been asking you to slow down for a while, this is your invitation to listen.

Just drop me a message if you'd like to book. 🥰