Have you every heard of the 2 arrows? It’s a Buddhist parable that allows insight into how we deal with suffering more skilfully. Being struck by one arrow that’s painful, but being struck by two arrows well that’s worse right. Things happen all the time, I spoke yesterday about how I could win every tennis match if the person at the other side of the net simply wasn’t there. But, if you start complaining, blaming yourself or worse still blame others, if you get angry for what’s happened you set off the second arrow.

So the pain of the second arrow can be a choice. Thich Nhat Hahn when asked about pain, despair and suffering answers beautifully. “The skill is how to lay down the burden in order to be light. Do not amplify your pain or exaggerate the situation.” I find it so interesting that the second arrow is not twice as painful but can be 10 times 20 times worse. You can watch his reply here.

On March 26th we will gather for the final time in this series of workshops. The theme this month is Compassion. We worked in January on reflection, taking note of how 2022 was, taking time to see how you needed to move forward. February was super powerful where we shifted out of habitual patterns of mindsets and behaviours. This third workshop will bring your learnings together and solidify all of this into Compassion for yourself. That’s where it all begins, happiness is an inside job.

The day will begin with a welcoming circle, we will then be together for a gentle Yoga Asana practice. Dr. Jane Uyger will then talk in depth about what compassion really is. The work she is doing in this field and share her research and insights on this topic.

Lisa Davies will then bring us her amazing food, which really is the most wonderful way to be together and round off the afternoon. The final places are available now and you can join us here.

Joining me in class this week –

Monday Eden One 12.20

Tuesday Eden One 7.30am & 11.30am

Wednesday YogaHub Camden Street 5pm

Online 7.30pm Evening Flow book in here

Thursday online 7pm WindDown Yoga book in here

Friday YogaHub Blackrock 6.15pm Flow

Saturday Herbert Park 11am Vinyasa flow under the Spring sky, book in here

For the days that feel overwhelming –

You’re a human being. In our quest to get everything completed, we’ve stopped hearing how we feel and what we need…. We’re on a conveyor belt, whirring around and around…..But we can press pause. We can. Really. Stopping doesn’t change our worth; we’re worthy whether we’re doing or not doing. The people who feel we’re not worthy when we stop, aren’t worthy of our attention, love or energy.

Pressing pause gives us that breather, that breath, that space to hear and heed what’s going on for us before we’re forced to stop, because nobody can keep on going without a break… You don’t deserve a break, you need one, guilt free. Some things in life can wait, but your health? Not so much. Take care, prioritise and protect.

Jayne Hardy, Kind Words for Unkind Days. A guide to surviving and thriving in difficult times.

So be kind to yourself and to one another

x Chris

Join me Sunday February 26th prepare for the next chapter in your life. This offering is a monthly meet up, a space to come together in joy, in practice. To share, be nurtured and be held within a safe space. We will begin with a yoga class lead by Chris Molloy. The class will be a Bhakti class filled with devotion for yourself. An offering of love and gratitude for the year that has passed and welcoming the light of the year ahead. The space will be there for you to rest, restore and recharge. Being together, practicing yoga together, supporting one another, showing up for every woman in the room.

The theme of February’s circle is Prepare. The separation of set patterns can be painful, we are used to feeling and acting in certain ways. This day will help you to reset patterns and mindsets that heal and allow you to experience life in a new way. We will sit in a healing meditation taking note of what comes up and moving from this space.

After our Ãsana class we will draw awareness to our breathing patterns with a Pranayama practice. Following this you will enjoy Mama Cacao to fully absorb and bathe in all that is shifted throughout the day.

We will then enjoy a loving, nutritious meal together by candlelight.

Book in here.

Joining me in class this week –

Today, Sunday is the January Gathering which is full, but you can join me in February see all the details above.

Monday 10am at BodyMindBreath book via MindBody app.

12.30pm EdenOne members only.

Tuesday 11.30am EdenOne members only.

Wednesday 7.30pm online build fire in your practice with a strong Evening flow.

Thursday 7pm online WindDown yoga, release tension and stress in your body.

Friday 6.15pm YogaHub Blackrock, this class is full each week so book today via MindBody if you wish to join me.

Saturday 11am Herbert Park, Vinyasa under the sky. It’s the best part of the week, the temperatures around 10 degrees so just wear a few layers and prepare to flow. If it’s too cold or wet we have the option of the indoor studio space in the Park. Park Yoga never disappoints, it’s truly transformative to receive all the gifts of Mother Nature.

Book in to the outdoor or online classes here.

Much love a chroí,

Chris x

When you wake up to a morning like today; a cold, wet January morning mindset is so important. The January Gathering is sold out and I am so happy for that. Sipping mama Cacao while reading and editing the Gathering notes for January’s gathering I choose to listen to the rain and am grateful to be inside my warm home.

Our cat Mittens is also grateful, she’s refusing to go outside and who’d blame her? My reading this morning is about what darkens the mind. The coming weeks tend to be quite hard for us all, the Christmas buzz is over, family has returned back to their homes, kids are back in school, we are back at work, it’s like a long hangover. Embracing each morning is a way that can allow you to notice the light rise a little earlier this week. The sun set a little later. Take a walk when the sky is blue (if you can get outside), if not go to a window and allow yourself to take in the blue sky for a few moments. Take time making your Cacao or tea in the morning and notice that first sip, embrace it.

A little bit of care for yourself first thing in the morning allows you to create a mindset of preparing for the day. Can you meditate for a few minutes, could you do 15 minutes of Yoga? If you can clear the mind, understand your direction of thought, move forward and keep your attention on what’s important the day will be better, your life will be clearer.

What am I watching this week? As you probably know I’m tennis mad so have watched all 5 episodes of Break Point on Netflix. It shows with big pink highlighter the effects of the mind. With every player struggling with the Monkey mind playing negative thoughts as they win or more often lose.

We strive each day to help the mind move in a straight continuum, but know that when you fall off the path of conscious awareness dust yourself off and reset. It’s the time of year to reset and so we begin again.

Join me in class this week –

Monday 10am BodyMindBreath, Embodied flow. Book via MindBody

12.30pm EdenOne, Yin Yoga

Tuesday 7.30am EdenOne, Hatha Yoga

11.30am EdenOne, Hatha Yoga

Wednesday 7.30pm, online Evening flow

Thursday 7pm online, WindDown Yoga

Friday 6.15pm YogaHub Frascati, flow. Book via MindBody

Saturday 11am Park Yoga, Herbert Park, book into these classes here

Sunday 3pm January Gathering.

The January Gathering is completely full but February and March are open you can book your place here.

These Gatherings are a way of being together, each month has a theme covering Reflection, Preparation & Compassion. You can find out further details on each gathering here. In the words of Ram Dass we are all walking each other home.

Much love a chroí,

Chris

I hope you had a peaceful and calm Christmas with an abundance of love from those around you.

Wow the pressure this time of year, it’s post Christmas pressure and stress and everyone is focussed on what they can give up or what they can change to better themselves. Everyone I talk to is joining some gym, giving up something, abstaining from something it’s just purge purge purge.

Want to change for real growth? Then simply sit, meditate in quietness. See what comes up when you do this. Write it down, how can you make it happen. Be with the people who align to this growth, let others fall away. Commit to the practices that align with this growth, others fall away.

That’s it, then you need to commit. Don’t admonish yourself if you fall down, dust yourself off and restart. Be kind to yourself and to others. And remember the kind words of Ram Dass –

We are all walking each other home

Ram Dass

Join me for 30 days of Yoga begin when you can in the month, 30 days of access to live classes that focus on inner work, strength and Vinyasa. You can join me here. Classes include Monday online 7am, Wednesday evening flow online 7.30pm, Thursday online WindDown 7pm, Saturday Park Vinyasa 11am.

If you are a regular Park Yogi you can save money by getting the 6 park yoga pass here.

December brought a shift in awareness that we all need more ceremony. So each month I will hold a gathering, this month it is January 22nd, please join me for a celebration of this new year. A celebration of what you have achieved in your lifetime. We will celebrate through Yoga, Cacao and food. You can join me by clicking here.

Much love

x Chris

Thank you so much to those who gathered with Christine and myself yesterday morning. We began by honouring the dark. Our ancestors knew exactly how much power the darkness held over us humans, lighting the black candle we honour the crone aspect of the triple goddess. Helping us to focus on inner strength & help clear obstacles for the light of the new year. Newgrange and Stonehenge are testament to how important this festival was to our ancestors and so to us.

We gathered to welcome the light into our lives for 2023, to welcome longer days. We burn in fire what we no longer need in our lives. We allow it to release, we let go. This has been a powerful ritual for me. I vividly visualise what I am releasing, I write it down and I burn it. Give it a go, it’s powerful.

The full moon in cancer is inviting us to be nourishing and nurturing towards ourselves. Capricorn season is all about our roots, a time for deep inner reflection. Cancer is the sign of the mother and the energy of this season should be all about self care. So take time to rest over the coming weeks.

I will sign off 2022 with this quote –

‘In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer’.

Albert Camus

Looking forward to seeing you in 2023.

Final class of 2022 is online Monday 7am it’s a mixed class of Cacao, Journalling & some movement. For this final class it’s free come along by joining here.

Have a wonderful Christmas break, spend time with those who love you and will nurture you.

Be well my love,

Chris

Gratitude, it’s that simple. To recap this year to sum it up in one word it would be gratitude. Gratitude for you who show up for outdoor classes in the sunshine and rain. For you who show up for online WindDown & Vinyasa classes. For you who join me on Retreats or in ceremony at live events. My deepest gratitude to you my love ❤️.

To end 2022 I hope you will join Christine Higgins & myself Sunday 18th at Sandycove for a sunrise Solstice welcoming ceremony. If you follow me on Instagram you will see my many reels and photos of sunrise over the past few years. For me each sunrise is an opportunity to reset how I show up. How my thoughts and actions influence my life. Sunrise happens each day but around the 18th (the 21st actually) the light will get a little brighter, the days a little longer and Mother Earth will begin her shortest day and longest night. Our gathering will be a journey into the light of the year to come, set intentions of how you wish to greet the light. It’s a time to celebrate with those you love with dancing and fire ceremony. What we will do is some fire yoga, reiki healing, drumming. We will make you a tea from our native Hawthorne which has very many healing & magical benefits.

Have you been to any of Christine’s full moon healing circles? She’s a powerful person who will elevate this event. We will meet at the green area by Sandycove around 7.45am to set up and get your place. It will be cold so please wear lots of layers. There will be a light ceremony also, if you have joined me for previous Solstice events you will know how important this is to honour those who have passed on during the year.

The event is free but you please register your place here.

Have a wonderful Sunday, enjoy the cold snap. Sunrise is out there take a look xx

Join me for class this week –

Monday 7am online, Cacao Journal Move (The perfect way to start the week and beat the winter blues). Join me each Monday of December to celebrate the start of each week. This online class is a welcoming of light into your soul each week. Join up here.

10am Flow at BodyMindBreath Dun Laoghaire, book via MindBody.

12.30pm EdenOne

Tuesday 11.30am EdenOne

Thursday 7pm online WindDown Yoga

Friday 6.15pm YogaHub Blackrock, book in via MindBody

Saturday 11am Park Yoga Herbert Park

Come to more than 1 class a week? Try the 30 days of Yoga pass here.

Want to book into any of my classes above click here.

Much love, x

Chris