The Chai Sessions - Merchant City Yoga

Our annual Candlelit Meditation here at MCY is a really magical event. I love it because it offers us the opportunity to slow down for a short while to connect. Something very magical really does happen in the room when we all get in there. Listen for advice on meditating, what to expect and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debbie is the founder of Yogability, a wonderful charity who provide free yoga to children and adults with special needs, their families and carers here in Glasgow. At MCY we support Yogability with fundraising every year in the form of our 108 Sun Salutations challenge. Debbie shares what your generous donations have helped them do over the years and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

James is a good friend and regular visitor to MCY. He’s a gifted yoga philosophy teacher, sharing these ancient teachings with us in a way that makes them really relevant and valuable to our modern lives. We begin by considering what yoga poses, have got to do with yoga... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jules has been travelling to MCY from Edinburgh to share her magical massage skills since 2016. To start I ask Jules how she describes what she does. It's not just physical body work, what Jules offers is something quite special. We then get chatting about how talk therapy and body work go together... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I first met James in 2011 in Mysore, South India where I took some of his yoga philosophy classes. I was a little bit hesitant but what James very quickly did was show me how practical and relevant texts like the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras could be. These texts and teachings are not separate from what we think of as yoga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pranayama is a vital part of the intricate web of practices and tools we call yoga. We discuss why you would consider doing a more formal breathing or pranayama practice. We breathe anyway, why do we need to give it extra attention? We also ask the question, "Is thinking about pranayama as just a breathing practice actually too small?" It's a whole lot more than just breathing... Hosted on Acast....

How do we shine a light on our yoga practice and be present to whatever is coming up? Scott, co-founder and senior teacher at Stillpoint Yoga in London, says it's all about awareness and enquiry. "What do you notice when you do this thing? When you let everything else fall away…fear, pain, joy. What does that mean? Let's explore that.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt’s hand-standing practice started around the same time as his yoga practice. They’ve paralleled over the years and taken Matt places he didn’t expect. Matt says, “There's nothing that brings you more into the moment than being upside down and trying to control your body.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These past few months every time Ana and I get together we end up talking about injuries! In particular, we've been comparing notes on our own shoulder injuries and chatting about how injury has not only changed our practice but also the impact it's had on how we teach yoga postures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know for sure that I wouldn't be where I am today without June. She's the owner and course director of the Classical Yoga School which encompasses three yoga teacher training programmes. One I lead here in Glasgow. June has been practising and teaching yoga since the 1970s and has some amazing stories to share... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie and I chat about how we transition forward using the tools of yoga and self care to support us. Practice, whether 5 minutes or 55 minutes, can help us gather our energy and our thoughts. Help us ground ourselves and find steadiness amongst the change. And self care isn't all bubble baths and glasses of wine, nice though they are. It's a practice just like yoga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Ema was 7 months pregnant when the country went into lockdown and had a beautiful baby girl. She's a dedicated yoga practitioner, student and teacher. So having come from a strong practice, through pregnancy, to everything that followed during these uncertain and challenging times… I couldn't think of anyone better to chat to about the ups and downs of yoga practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Nicole teaches our Ashtanga Yoga Beginners Class here at MCY. We chat about what brought Nicole to yoga, her experiences now as a teacher, respecting where we and others are, her charity work, her doing good to feel good philosophy and, of course, the JOY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rose Ann teaches our morning and Saturday Mysore classes here at the studio. We chat Ashtanga - where to start, commitment to the practice, the struggle, challenging postures, the difference between guided classes and Mysore-style, managing your energy and taking ownership of your practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicola really understands what it's like to be a beginner and even shares her own funny story about an experience she had in our chat. There's so much out there about what yoga should look like - perfect, strong, healthy bodies effortlessly bending and balancing in all manner of positions. But the reality is quite different and that's just not the way it is for most of us. Hosted on Acast. See aca...

When I first started yoga the classes I went to were Hatha Yoga but it seems to me now that Hatha Yoga has fallen a little bit out of fashion. Patricia is passionate that the long established practices of the Hatha tradition are relevant and effective even for the most modern yoga students. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.