Every summer for the past five years, I've been going to Saeter, a small village in Sweden, where I've been teaching five-day retreats together with my friend and colleague Helena Atkinson. Helena is not only a yoga teacher, but also a linguist with a keen interest in literature. This year we've combined Forrest Yoga and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I enjoyed taking the themes from Alice and bringing them into Forrest Yoga. We picked several intents, but one quote really stayed with me. It's the following:
 
'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'
 
Through my work as a teacher and therapist I often see that people isolate themselves, because they feel that they are alone in their issues. Frequently, there is a believe that everybody else has sorted their stuff out and that there is something wrong with oneself. However, coming back to the Cheshire Cat, we all carry our madness. We all have our problems and work on our process. It's good to know that we are not alone and there is a community of mad people where we can be heard, seen and supported.
 
Walk in beauty and in your madness! 

The teacher training has been a very transformative and intense experience and I would like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to making this a big success. Thank you also for sharing the space with the teacher trainees who are now fully fledged Forrest Yoga teachers and who came from all over the world to take part in the training.
 
For me personally, the training was an opportunity to explore a different side of myself that is not so serious and has a lighter and more playful quality to it. I feel that as human beings we have a choice of what facets of ourselves we nurture and foster and which ones we decide not to invest energy in.

Being German, the older sister and generally from a family that promotes ethics of working hard and being busy all the time, I have neglected the aspects inside of me that are more creative, care-free and playful. The training has given me the opportunity to explore the side of myself that actively takes part in life and enjoys it rather than just endures it. Even though the hours were grueling, I managed to find lightness, delight and joy!

August is a very big month for us at the Peterborough centre! We're very excited that Ana Forrest is here to teach her incredible month-long teacher training. We'll have 60 yogis and yoginis from all over the world who will be participating in this amazing event.  
 
It also means that you will be sharing the space with many more practitioners than normal. We've made every attempt to keep things running as usual and to keep changes to a minimum. We had to cancel our Monday to Friday day time classes, but we still offer our Saturday and Sunday sessions.

Our evening timetable is unchanged - with some teacher substitutions. If you are craving some day time sessions during week, why not try our studio in Huntingdon? Classes there run as normal - again with teacher substitutions and passes and memberships are valid across both centres.
 
We hope you will support us in August by coming to class! We also offer free community classes in August. Please have a look at our timetable.  

After having handed in all my course work for my Body Psychotherapy course last month, I'm about to have my last weekend with my group in Cambridge. I've felt for the last three months that I've been in a state of major transitions where endings are very prevalent.

I'm finishing my course after five years of training, I'm ending my relationship as it is now with my psychotherapist whom I've seen for six year and I'm redefining my work. However, I'm not very good with endings and tend to move on to other things very quickly. I normally don't allow myself to feel what happens in that space where I need to let go of something, as I am too busy to plan my next project.

Endings can be very painful and often feel uncomfortable. I feel more at home with beginnings and going deeper, but I have a harder time to create space around when courses, projects, relationships, etc. finish.  
 
My intent is to stay in feeling during this important period of transition, as I know that being spacious around endings is absolutely vital to live an authentic life and to be able to honestly connect to the people and the environment around me.