September 2022: On Surrender

It is cold in Glasgow. Today, as I was venturing into the pouring rain, from the Conservatoire where I work, I pulled a face. ‘It’s autumn. It happens every year’, said the man behind the front desk. He is right. I have seen a fair few of them and I expected autumn to happen. Why do I always fight this particular, inevitable, seasonal change? There is a funny quote in Scotland that goes: there is no bad weather, just the wrong clothes.

I was assisting my teacher Kia in Sweden at the end of September. Her teachings resonated with me more than ever. I am paraphrasing, but she said something like: you can live the moment you think you ought to live, or the present moment, but not both. I add my own reflections: one is happening, and the other one is not.

Around me change is evident in the weather, food, light, temperature. I have different energy levels. I need to surrender. I need to soften into this different rhythm in everything. Hardening around an idea of what I think things should be like, or how I want them to be, will only create suffering. Let’s be honest, rain will still fall in Glasgow, and autumn will come every year. Contracting, bracing, will not allow me to move with the current. And all currents have beauty in them. Blink and you miss it. In Sweden, the red and yellow trees were spectacular. And that was happening right there, in front of me, the yellow bouncing off Kia and Anne’s faces as we walked through the park, as if they were glowing like lit candles …

Not both, Kia said. I have a choice. I cannot walk around in sandals now. Little by little I need to let go of the expansive and outward energy of the summer and draw inward. This surrender can happen like the one in nature, to the winter: one leaf at a time, rather than all at once, gracefully falling into earth supported by the power of the wind.

Laura x

What I have been reading

My husband Neil Scott has been writing an amazing weekly Substack. The themes are diverse, depending on what takes his attention and I am inspired by his ability not only to carry out this work diligently but also by how he surrenders and explores his preoccupations. I particularly enjoyed his writing on Cool last week. I love this style of writing. There is also a podcast with me (where he does not let me get away with anything), a reflection of a beautiful month of Kia’s teachings in Mairena, and thorough research on Glasgow’s urban planning.

What I have been listening to

Twice I have missed Guillermo Gomez-Peña in Glasgow. Once, I had to put myself in his shoes and deliver a lecture in his place, as he could not travel. Another time, I was due to do a workshop with him but someone ran away with all the funds and it did not happen. His work means a lot to me on so many levels, but particularly in its experimentation. One cannot experiment without surrendering to what is truly happening, opening the senses to what is there, even to one’s unconscious, as he does in his spoken word pieces. If you don’t do that there are biases, bad science and partial knowledge.

Something might be happening in 2023 that might rectify those two previous missed encounters. I am not saying more for now, but I am inviting you to listen to some of his Audio Art Anthology.

What I have been looking forward to

Kia is offering an online morning immersion on 24, 25, 26 October. Together, we will do the most nourishing practices: meditation, pranayama and philosophy, chanting, asana, sangha and deep listening to Yotam’s soundscapes. This is the most complete programme, a re-set of the systems. It is a held care-of-the-self, in community. I sometimes find self-care – as in me caring for my self – hard to do and surrendering this very special group of people, led by Kia’s compassion, teaches me that other people can support the process.

I go into Kia’s classes with curiosity, and I always come out full of the most wholesome love. And, of course, this brings about an incomparable healthy glow.

MY YOGA CLASSES

Join me at the Arlington Baths for Yoga Moves Glasgow’s classes :

Yoga (Mysore) | LIVE |
Tuesdays, 07.15 – 09.00
Thursdays, 07.15 – 09.00

Led Primary | LIVE *and maybe online after a trial in October. Watch this space! |
Thursday 10 November, 07.15 – 09.00
Thursday 08 December, 07.15 – 09.00

Pranayama | LIVE AND ONLINE |
Tuesday 11 October, 07.15 – 08.30, optional Q&A until 09.00
Tuesday 08 November, 07.15 – 08.30, optional Q&A until 09.00
Tuesday 06 December, 07.15 – 08.30, optional Q&A until 09.00

All classes are available for booking here.

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland classes for students are LIVE on Wednesdays 5-6pm and Fridays 1-2pm. Check out the RCS Sports social media for details or get in touch with Meg Baker at the RCS Student Union.