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Sadhana Yoga Centre in the Faythe in Wexford town is in the process of reinventing itself largely following events in the life of its founder Linda O’Grady. I had a chat with Linda to find out just what had brought her to this, what her background and modus operandi as a yoga teacher is and just what plans she has for Sadhana.
Linda has been working in the bodywork area for the last twenty years and what struck me was how rightly proud she is of her illustrious yoga lineage. She teaches Vinyasa Krama Yoga and was taught by Srivatsa Ramasami. Srivatsa Ramaswari in turn received the teachings from Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (November 18, 1888 – February 28, 1989), an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. Often referred to as “the father of modern yoga,” Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as one of the most influential yoga teachers of the 20th century. If close to source is good then Linda has it!
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The word yoga is said to mean ‘union’ originally in recognition of it’s being a time honored pathway to union between the individual and the universe/divinity or whatever you want to call it and, if you want it to be so, this ‘ultimate aim’ is a big part of what Linda is offering. Physical postures (asanas) and movements of yoga practice are paired with breath work (pranayama) and meditation practices to bring health and healing to body, mind and spirit. The desired effect is the taming of the chattering monkey mind (Rajas) and avoidance of Tamas (spiritual stagnation) to lead to a balanced state of calm happiness or Sattva.
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However if you only want an improvement in your frozen shoulder Linda’s quite happy to facilitate that too. She’s helped people get relief from everything from fibromyalgia to flat feet, from joint pain to stress and was at pains to stress that a good teacher is never judgmental, we all do what we can on the yoga mat, we all progress at our own pace. Yoga, according to Linda, can be a wonderful opportunity for self awareness and observation, we bring our personality to bear on yoga practice and, if yoga shows us better ways of dealing, these are lessons that can apply to life.
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Linda’s own story has served to put things into perspective for her. Following an accident she had ten years ago she found herself suffering from compression of the nerves in her spine. Over the years things worsened to the extent that she lost all feeling in her legs, not an ideal situation for a yoga teacher who’d recently started her own business! She underwent the necessary surgery to free the trapped spinal nerves but, unable to deal with the side effects of the pain killers she was put on, Linda put them aside four days after the operation. Instead she turned to the tools of her own trade gentle movement, breath work and meditation. Obviously this way she had to go through the postoperative pain but found it preferable to do so than to feel the way the painkillers made her feel. Amazingly three weeks later Linda was taking part, albeit in a limited way, in the yoga class that was replacing her own. The experience has doubtlessly deepened her compassion for others dealing with pain and restriction and her trust in yoga practice as a way of recovery from illness.
Currently Linda’s team of
fellow teachers working in Sadhana include Michelle Howlin (Buddhist Meditation and Mindfullness practitioner), Laura Roche (Hatha Yoga) and Brenda Harkin (Pre and Post Natal Yoga teacher) and, as mentioned above, one of her own teachers David Curtis will be offering training for those interested in teaching yoga, or in deepening their own practice, from late September. Sadhana’s full autumn class schedule kicks off from September 3rd and all information is available at
sadhanayoga.ie[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]However before this the team is planning to kick things off with an Open Day on Saturday 11th of August from 9am. If you think the ancient yogic way of life has something to offer you and, if you live in the modern world with all its associated stresses, believe me it does, this is your chance to meet all the Centre’s teachers and experience a class with any of them for just €5.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”12189″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Free Yoga in the Park!
Also the week after the Open Day Linda O’Grady and Michelle Howlin will be hosting Free Karma Yoga in Redmond Park!! No experience necessary, bring your friends, family. Bring a mat OR a towel or blanket.
This event takes place on Saturday 18th August from 11am. With Hatha Vinyasa Yoga from 11am to 12pm, then a break for 20mins and then Mindful Meditation from 12.20pm to 1.00pm. This sounds like a really lovely way to spend a Saturday morning and Linda and Michelle really hope to see as many people there as possible.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Time and time again I’m so impressed at the caliber of teachers and practitioners we have in Wexford and never more so than when chatting to Linda today.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
