Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation, also known as “psychic sleep”.
In the practice of Yoga Nidra we shift our attention inwards. Our breath balances, our mind settles and becomes quiet; and our brain begins to move between Beta brainwaves, the awake state, and Alpha brainwaves, deep relaxation.

We move effortlessly into deeply centred awareness; a state of harmonious, restful being where our physical and energetic body and our mind come to the natural state of equilibrium (homeostasis).

I believe the practice of Yoga Nidra helps us to heal on a cellular level on all levels of our being.

Yin Yoga is a slow paced yoga, that is associated with the principles of Chinese meridian theory.
Asanas, physical postures, are held for longer periods of time. That means in Yin Yoga it is not the effort we make that allows us to sink deeper into our practice, but time itself.

The sequence of asanas, physical postures, stimulate subtle energy channels in our body, called meridians or nadis. This initiates physical, emotional, energetic and mental shifts.

In the yin yoga class you have time to explore what is going on inside you.
We work with a sense of softness and surrender.
This is a perfect time to train your 7th sense, the sense of intereoception.

We are all familiar with our five senses; sight, hearing, taste, touch & smell.

Proprioception is our 6th sense.
It is the perception that tells us where we are in space, an internal system that orients us in space. It functions below the level of consciousness. In yoga we train our proprioception through conscious movement.

Interoception is our 7th sense, the sense of the inner state of our physical body, including mental, emotional and psychological aspects. Information is send to our brain via the nervous system and consequently the brain initiates regulation responses within our whole system. Interoception also lies below the level of ordinary consciousness.

Its purpose is to direct us towards homeostasis, inner balance. This is achieved by either maintaining our internal state or by adapting to changing conditions to move us back into balance. It motivates our behaviour, i.e. we feel hungry; we eat. Often we don’t even think about it, it is what we do.

If our interoceptive awareness is not accurate, and our brain is not able to read our internal state correctly, our response to a situation can be too strong or deficient. Putting undue stress on our system.

However by taking time to consciously tuning into what is going on inside us, we train ourselves to be mindful; in movement and in stillness, increasing our ability to sense inwardly.

We befriend our nervous system and start to discern when and how to regulate our stress response into a place of calm and centred awareness.

We learn to listen to our whole being, rather than telling it what to do or feel.
It is as if we are putting the volume of listening within us to a higher, more perceivable level. Our perception becomes more nuanced.
We discover subtle sensations in our physical and energetic being, building a more responsive and adaptable nervous system.

Through this process we create the possibility of sensing unconscious patterns of tension. Which we can now start to untangle and let go of. Helping us to move back towards innerbalance, the dynamic equilibrium, that is our natural state of balance and wellbeing on all levels of our Being.

Moving inwards – finding peace

The name Amalin was given to me in an Indian yoga ashram in 1989,
and after receiving it, I researched its meaning.

Amalin is an Indian, Sanskrit word. Its direct translation is ‘without stain’, meaning pure, clean, purity.
In Islam it means loved, clean, pure and in Malaysia and Japan, hope.

For me Amalin is not about perfection or striving.
For me it has always been an immense inspiration:
– for purity of heart in my practice
– about living and acting with integrity
– taking responsibility for my actions
– living by my conscience
– making decisions that do not create disturbances within but let me live in peace