A Sky Full of Stars

from Clear Skies Yoga Banyo teacher Kylie Walker 

Every time I hear a Coldplay song it reminds me of a friend that passed away some years ago and in particular this one song “A sky full of stars”, which he never got to hear. It’s so poignant but so buoyant, it’s almost as though it was written about our loss of him, but at the same time it’s a dance party.

And that got me thinking about how the passing of someone significant is paradoxically full of both sorrow and celebration… for all the good times shared and for the loss of being able to share more together.
There’s a pulse between the two… between lightness and darkness – in Sanskrit that’s called SPANDA. Then in our practice on the mat there’s a pulse of grounding down then rising up, over and over again.

There’s a pulse between muscle energy and organic energy…

• In activating muscle energy we draw everything in to the midline and hug our muscles to the bone…
  
• Then we pulse to organic energy which extends first to your foundations then up and out through the pose.
  
• Everything expands away from the midline and from your bones out through your muscles to your skin and then beyond that, radiating your energy outwards to meet the universe!!

Organic energy

• Extends out from the focal point of the posture evenly on all sides
  
•  Lengthens the connective tissue in hips/legs
  
• Expands chest/back/shoulders

We ground down to rise up. We go in to go out. We grieve and celebrate. 

To experience Kylie Walker's unique approach to teaching join her at a Clear Skies Yoga class. St Oswald's Church Hall, Banyo, 8am Saturday mornings.