…and I don’t just mean free pens (even though I took a few home too) but inspiration, things I learnt and what to consider for next year!
I was very excited to get a day off from Mummy-life on Saturday, when my husband stayed home entertaining the kids while I was allowed to go to the Yoga Show at Olympia in Central London! My friend and I spent almost the whole day at the show, really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. At 4pm I was completely exhausted though and ready to leave the world of scented candles and smoothie makers (there seemed to be a lot of them…) to go back home to my kids. Here is my top 10 list of yoga items, inspiration and thoughts I took away:
1. Yoga Books that I couldn’t get on Amazon
As I’m doing my yoga teacher training course at the moment, I’ve got a pretty long reading list of books that I need to get and was quite excited to tick some of them off, as I found them on the Sivananda Centre stand (I took their last copy of Hatha Yoga Pradipika) and Yogamatters. I would have liked to see more stands selling books though, as most of the companies were obviously mainly trying to sell their own DVDs and books – I’m sure people would appreciate a good yoga book retailer stand – just putting it out there!
2. Must look into pregnancy yoga teacher training
There were two stands as far as I could see, that were offering specific pregnancy yoga teacher training. On one of them there was nobody there (probably had gone off to get a peppermint tea) and the other one was Yoga Mama, where the lady was very helpful. They offer 6 day courses in South-West-London, which are aimed at both yoga teachers and midwives, which I think is lovely because it helps to get a different perspective when taking the course. Once I’ve finished my current training I will definitely look into it further!
3. Chanting… interesting
I took a class with Claire Weatherley (my teacher trainer) in the morning and she started with a little lecture on Durga, the Warrior Goddess and tought us the mantra Om Dum Durgayei Namaha which we were chanting throughout the 30min class. I have never been into chanting at all, mainly because I didn’t know much about it (other than that it helped Tina Turner to get the courage to get away from her nasty husband). I have to say I did enjoy it though and look forward to learning more during my teacher training. I was actually chanting Om Dum Durgayei Namaha to my kids all day on Sunday…. they thought it was hilarious… but still prefer The Wheels on the Bus I think.
4. Headstand Yoga Stool
I didn’t get one but I want one for Christmas!! My husband is always a bit concerned, when he sees me doing a headstand and this thing will mean I can probably do it for hours! (So, Bertrand please have a look at Yogamatters…)
5. I’m not ready for the Mind Body Soul Show
This is a separate show but when you attend the Yoga Show you can enter it for free. Not for me though… Sorry but the first stand I saw was a lady doing psychic readings and a guy doing funny hand gestures around people’s heads to… I don’t know why actually… so walked by very quickly.
6. Need to go to more business talks next year
My friend and I (we did our Management degree together) went to one of the business talks, which was with an American guy called Andrew Tanner, who talked about the importance of setting goals and writing a business plan when you want to set up a yoga business. This was very interesting and one of the most inspiring things I got out of the yoga show. I was running out of time and couldn’t stay for more but next year I would definitely go to more business talks.
7. I need to set my goals (… and I love Americans)
Andrew talked about different ideas on how you can set your goals, decide where you want to take your business and things you have to consider. He has owned and managed various businesses and yoga studios and is a dedicated yogi himself so definitely knows what he is talking about. The Americans are just very good at the business stuff! Whereas us Europeans like to say things like “one day I’ll open a business… when I have enough money” or “I think I’ll just start writing a blog…” the American say “I’m going to write a good business plan and get people to invest in me” and “I will take my blog global and get millions of daily hits within the next three months”
So three things I took away from the business talk: I need to set my goals, I need to start a vision board on Pinterest (after learning how to use Pinterest) and I will need to find a good webdesigner and SEO person in the near future!
8. Attend more yoga classes and workshops next time
We only had time for one class unfortunately, but if I’m going again next year I would definitely try to attend some more. They are all free and mats are provided so it’s a great opportunity to try different things!
9. Bring your own food
Yes, some yoga enthusiasts are very thin and might only live off Chia seeds and wheatgrass juice, but some of us do need to eat! And I mean a bit more substantial things than smoothies and salads! I had about three different smoothies on the day (all lovely of course), but afterwards I just wanted a slice of pizza to be honest! There were not enough food stands and the queues were horrendous so I would either go out for lunch next year or bring my own food!!
10. Go for two days
Should I have the opportunity to attend the show again, I would definitely try to go for two days. The stands are great and it’s nice to browse through books, yoga clothes (yes I spent some money), yoga blocks, mats etc and enter competitions to win a yoga holiday, but what really makes it great is all the classes, workshops and talks that you can attend and inspiring people you get to meet!
