I have been intending to post something about the Inner Silence Meditation workshop that I ran on May 31 (exactly one week ago) but for some reason or another I haven’t found the time to write. Blogging is one of those activities that require quality time, more so when you write in a second language (please bear with me 🙂 ).

During the Inner Silence workshop we were blessed with resolutely summery weather and we used the Salisbury Center’s beautiful garden to practice neti. For those of you who have not heard about Jala Neti, here’s a brief explanation: hatha yoga practice that clears the sinuses, stimulates ajna chakra (associated with the third eye of intuition) and makes you feel more awake. Being the day-dreamer type, neti is a practice that I enjoy because it immediately brings me to the here and now and it is very easy. Everyone should practice it from time to time (notice what a proselyte I am) if not to prevent colds, to breathe more freely and enjoy the summery scents.

I started practicing neti when I was living in London; to be geographically precise in super edgy (and perhaps equally super polluted) Columbia Road (it was not that trendy then), the street where there is a  flower market on Sundays. During the winter I was constantly suffering from colds, insomnia and all sorts of bad-vibe ailments so my flatmate Ingrid suggested I try neti. Man, was I lucky! Ingrid had Swami Janakananda’s Book Yoga and Tantra as well as the book, I mean that ever inspiring orange book that seemed endless. I read and read and read until I built a home practice; not because I was a disciplined yogini but because I was dead broke and couldn’t really afford that many yoga sessions; plus I lived in East London and my teacher lived in the South.

As I am writing this I am recalling that the first time I tried neti Ingrid was coaching me in the kitchen, with a tea pot, half a litre of lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon of salt and it worked well. I am such a neti enthusiast that I had to -at some point- teach people how to do it so on Saturday 31 May I had the pleasure to finally share it. Pranayama after neti is a totally different experience and I noticed that during the workshop people were more focused. Although jala neti is a tangible, physical cleansing experience, it is a great way to prepare the ground for the cultivation of more subtle and expansive experiences such as Inner Silence.

On 19 July I will be running the Yoga Meditation workshop Nurturing the self, which focuses on cultivating willpower and intention. If you would like to learn how to practice neti come along and prepare the ground for seeding intention with a clearer mind.