Yoga has been in my life since I was 19 years old.  My friend’s mother invited me to join her yoga class.  I thought she was so old and yet so supple, I was very impressed.  She was probably the age I am now!  After many years of weekly practice and many different teachers, I now find myself happily playing on my mat each morning, not always doing what would be officially called yoga postures but enjoying the feel and movement of my body in myriad ways.  

I love to feel the floor beneath different parts of my body and sensing tension dissolve as I negotiate the ground to the spine and observe the changing parts.  I love the spirals of my joints, spaciousness around my breath, the lightness of my limbs and the opening up of the body in small ways as habitual muscle tension falls away.  I continue to explore ways to open and engage my feet, to release my heels and to move up through the ankles towards the ever beckoning spine.

For me, Yoga is an exploration of the body.  A chance to listen in, to be quiet with myself, to soften and let go of trying for I am a very good trier!  Sometimes, lying on my back with knees bent, feet on the floor and arms overhead while I release into the breath is enough, it is plenty, it is nourishing.  

Other times I feel more adventurous and move as my body guides me from one position to another, hardly knowing where I am being taken.  There is an inner strength and full absorption to the inner and outer space as I move. 

This is yoga asana for me at the moment.

Sitting and breathing is important to me.  With my spine settling long and resting comfortably into my pelvis, I close my eyes and watch the breath flow.  I sometimes move my torso a little to free up restricted places, I release the ribs from a holding pattern.  I then move into single nostril breathing, Nadi Shodhana, breathing fully out through the throat before the next in breath arrives. I finish, and sit in peace and contentment as this is the gift of the practice for me most days.

With this practice, I love ritual.  I light a candle, I sound my Tibetan bowl and I open a window.  It is purely for the love of doing it and acknowledging to myself that my space is sacred - as I am.

​I first began shaking at the end of 2004.  I had heard of a visit to Dorset, England by a Balinese energy master called Ratu Bagus.  While Ratu and his practice sounded a bit strange to me, I trusted those who were so inspired and excited after meeting him.  So I joined a group and began to shake every day until in July 2005 when  I flew to Bali and spent 3 weeks with Ratu in the ashram, shaking, meditating, eating wondrous exotic foods and beginning the long journey of emptying, releasing into laughter and clarity. I continue to feel lighter.  I visit the ashram in Bali generally once a year now where I notice the practice is continually evolving.

Shaking is as old as the hills.  Ancient tribes shook when in trance, animals shake after encounters, Quakers shake when with spirit and shaking is a spontaneous and important part of human trauma release.  Many people to this day practice shaking around the world.

The effects of shaking and the way we shake are unique to each person.  It is not something that is easy intellectually to understand, it needs to be experienced.  However, I will attempt to share my experience with you.

As I relax through my feet, deep into the earth and up through my spine, I allow my body to find its own shaking rhythm which I augment in order to feel energy wake up inside me and heat my whole being.  This universal energy or electricity, creates a vibration which seems to wake up the body and motivate healing, clearing and strengthening on all levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. As well as shifting any stagnated energy in the body, it invigorates the lymphatic system, tones the blood and energises every cell of our being.

It is a practice I do almost every day for 20-30 minutes.  In the early days at the ashram we would shake to music but now we shake and sing the Gayatri Mantra and this combination is a potent and exhilarating start to my day.  The image below shows the last 20 minutes of each ashram shake where we hold hands in concentric circles with one person in the middle.  It is incredibly powerful and connecting.  

There is no need to analyse this simple practice.  Just do it and do it every day, like you would clean your teeth - 10 minutes is still enough.  This is a simple gift that promotes wellbeing, harmony and happiness.  Watch out - you may notice your life beginning to change.

'Shaking becomes meditation.
Shaking brings change.
The impossible becomes possible - that is energy!'
~ Ratu Bagus