THE BLACK STUFF
One of Dublin's best yoga teachers, Mari Kennedy, who teaches in The Yoga Room and Clonlea Yoga Studio, introduced the idea of settling onto your mat like a pint of Guinness. Such a lovely image and one which the class of predominantly Irish students wholeheartedly identified with, even if it was only 9:45am! The idea, she goes on to explain, is in the ritualistic pause that follows after a Guinness is drawn before you can savour it. There is a savouring in the period of anticipation too, similar to the anticipation at the start of a class, and the sense of achievement at making it onto your mat. We would all benefit from starting our practice by pausing, and letting everything settle – letting go of all the busy thoughts of the day and clearing a space for the present. It leaves an inner smile when you look around the class and visualise all the little pints of Guinness practising their Sun Salutations, without even spilling a drop!

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru