So this month saw my half birthday!!! For those of you who were in class the other day I mentioned I was going to be like the Queen and have a second birthday. Not that I particularly like birthdays but I got excited about the prospect of having a summer birthday. Over the course of the weekend I visited Ibiza (in my head as I sat in the garden listening to Ibizan tracks), Sycamore Gap by Hadrian's wall and then a visit to see my family in Scotland. Although I was still teaching it felt like an actual weekend....freedom from the norm and medicine for the soul. This got me thinking...what is your 'medicine?' For me, aside from my practise, I am loving taking long, slow walks around my local area. I am very fortunate to live surrounded by some farmer's fields, a country park and the racecourse. I put on a podcast, my trainers and off I go breathing in the good old fresh air. Over the past few months I am sure you will have found the things that have really helped keep you (sane!) centred and alive! For many of us it has been the mat! We also have to thank technology for giving us a way to communicate. Zoom has been a saviour- even if you are a technophobe you have embraced it and used it as a means of connection. Our in depth work on the chakras and at present the Vishuddha or throat chakra highlights that 'communication is a way of extending ourselves beyond our ordinary limitations'. It is a uniting and expansive quality as we have seen with some of our participants joining us from California, Greece, Bristol and Glasgow which wouldn't happen in a 'normal' scenario! It is a way of shaping our reality and creating our future, and our future (or at least for now) has to be Zoom. It is my responsibility to keep you safe just as I would in a class setting and I can do this by Zooming into your home (thank you by the way!!!). It would be great to physically see you all so let's keep communicating and see when this can happen- even if it is to gather in a park for a chat and not just for class. If anybody is interested in doing meditation in the park in Gosforth this Sunday (9th August) let me know as the weather looks good at present! As for the lunar cycle well we had a full moon in Aquarius (hence my half birthday!) reminding us with the female water bearer that we are all on this planet together and it is up to us to nurture the land. Under this full moon, we feel more connected to the wider community and humanity as a whole. My connection to you in some ways has never felt stronger and yet we are just seeing glimpses of each other....anyone else feel that way?? On another astrological note, The Lions Gateway Portal on the 8th August is about fully awakening your Divine Light and embodying Divinity within a physical form. We will use the heart centred Leo energy in our practise this Saturday morning as well as moving our awareness through the upper chakras. When this astrological alignment occurs it is said to be extremely transformative almost like a surge of intense light is awakening us.