June 21st is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In India, the first full moon after the Summer Solstice is known as Guru Purnima where the Guru or teacher is honored. According to yoga legend, the first transmission of yoga by Shiva (the first Guru) is said to have begun on this day.
The United Nations has declared June 21st as International Day of Yoga, following a proposal by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and with nature.”
Yogawest is open as usual on Sunday (and as it’s also Fathers Day, we are expecting a bumper crowd of Dads coming to classes during the day!). Sam is teaching her 10am general class and her 11.45am intermediate class; Diana is teaching the Sunday evening general class at 6pm.
It’ll be worth making it to class on Sunday if you can: the knowledge that many thousands of yogis around the world will be practising at the same time will lend a special something to the energy of the classes.
If you can’t make it, then you may be interested to see the sequence that Geeta Iyengar has suggested… you could choose elements (or all!) of this and practice at home instead. Sunday coincides with the Iyengar convention in Exeter this weekend, and many of our teachers and students will be there following this sequence led by Birjoo Mehta from Mumbai.
Download poster from IYNAUS (US Iyengar Association) showing poses in silhouette: IYNAUS-Intl-Yoga-Day-2015
Download list of Geeta Iyengar’s suggested sequence