Cape Men's Yoga

26 July 2015 - Ajna / Wisdom chakra yoga This week Duncan will be taking us higher. For several weeks Cape Men's Yoga has been working with the theme of chakra consciosness in our practice. The Indian belief systems posits that there are nodes of energy in the body related to universal elements and the characteristics of our existence. You can take the chakra idea as a metaphor, or as something more literal about the interface of energy, consciousness, character and transformation. Either way, it is a useful way to explore your ability to live in a balanced manner. This week we move up the chakra chain to the Third Eye, the ajna chakra, the site considered to be the energetic focus of our wisdom. All other aspects of our life, manifestation, conduct and understanding form a basis for growing our wisdom - the wisdom to understand ourselves and the universe, to learn from observation, to learn from our actions, to see the unity of the universe and where we fit in there. In ...

Duncan is freshly back from China and will be taking this week's class. For details contact us on capemensyoga AT gmail dot com or message 084 294 8309. Class starts promptly at 10am. Late comers won't be able to get access. Remember a sweat towel. Extra mats available but always best to have your own. Namaste

This morning I woke up feeling anxious. It was a combination of too much work, relationship problems, deadlines, elderly parents and just being in the middle of winter. On a winter's morning in the Cape, I am meant to jump out of bed and go meditate before the day begins. It is dark, more interesting to play with my smart phone and generally delay getting out from under the duvet. But I did get out of bed. I know from experience that doing yoga or meditating actually helps me understand mental states I am experiencing and gives me some angle on what to do with them. The reality is that life can weigh on us at any time, in a number of ways. A monk once told me a tale about cleaning the toilet at the monastery. He went away on a monastic pilgrimage and could not wash the toilet that he usually cleaned as a daily practice. When he got back, other people had not really kept it clean and it was a nasty mission to start cleaning it all over again. His moral was that meditation w...

New month, new cycle of the moon. Welcome to July, which brings us just six weeks away from our next retreat,  14 - 16 August 2015. One of the great truths in yoga is that our life is both unique and part of a much great whole. The energy that manifests to give us breath, personality, agency and options is that which underpins the whole of the universe - both the material world which we perceive on a daily basis, and the energetic or spiritual world which is not so easily perceived and yet informs all things. Yoga invites us to live authentically. To be who you are meant to be. This does not mean that you can do anything with impunity or arrogance. The universe has a moral and ethical character to it. This is the law of 'karma' - the moral law of cause and effect. If we turn our mind to be harmful to others - either in ignorance or by intention and anger - then we poison the mind, drag ourselves into a mental space that will cause suffering. Sounds like hard work? We...