What’s that then?2022-11-11T12:34:09+00:00

Yoga originated in ancient India. It is a practice that incorporates the physical, mental and spiritual bodies, the aim of which is to bring them together in harmony. Along the way we build strength and stamina, improve flexibility, coordination and balance, and learn to relax a little.

This description is the formal narrative and it is of course all those things. But let’s bust a myth or two for those who have never tried it. I hear people say ‘I’m not very good’, or, ‘I’m not bendy enough’. As some wise person once said, ‘Yoga

is not for the flexible, it’s for the willing’. Don’t label yourself as anything that becomes an obstacle to trying something that could be the thing your body has been waiting for, don’t say ‘no’ before you’ve said ‘yes’.

I am not mega bendy, mega slim or constantly swathed in lycra, drinking green tea. Chuck out any stereotypical images you may hold and allow me to gently guide you, meeting you where you are. We will keep it real and focus not on how far we go but how we feel – another great yoga mantra that never gets old.

Yoga originated in ancient India. It is a practice that incorporates the physical, mental and spiritual bodies, the aim of which is to bring them together in harmony. Along the way we build strength and stamina, improve flexibility, coordination and balance, and learn to relax a little.

This description is the formal narrative and it is of course all those things. But let’s bust a myth or two for those who have never tried it. I hear people say ‘I’m not very good’, or, ‘I’m not bendy enough’. As some wise person once said, ‘Yoga

is not for the flexible, it’s for the willing’. Don’t label yourself as anything that becomes an obstacle to trying something that could be the thing your body has been waiting for, don’t say ‘no’ before you’ve said ‘yes’.

I am not mega bendy, mega slim or constantly swathed in lycra, drinking green tea. Chuck out any stereotypical images you may hold and allow me to gently guide you, meeting you where you are. We will keep it real and focus not on how far we go but how we feel – another great yoga mantra that never gets old.

1. Yoga

Yang Yoga2022-11-11T10:16:32+00:00

Yang yoga is active, targeting the muscles, building heat in the body, as opposed to Yin Yoga which is more passive and targets the areas of connective tissue.

Benefits: Mind body research has shown yoga’s effectiveness as a treatment for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and others.

Feedback: from one of my yoga community members: ‘The last two weeks have been a roller coaster of problems so thanks for this morning’s session. I feel more relaxed now and think I am smiling for the first time in ages.’

Yin Yoga2022-11-11T10:16:12+00:00

In Yin yoga a series of passive floor poses are held for up to 5 minutes. They mainly work the lower part of the body – the hips, pelvis, inner thighs, lower spine, targetting areas full of connective tissue – ligaments, joints, bones, the fascia networks of the body and the meridians (the energy super highways of the body). It is a quiet and contemplative practice. Someone has said it is like a deep tissue massage for the body.

Benefits: ‘calms and balances’ the mind and body, reduces stress and anxiety, increases circulation, improves flexibility, improves joint mobility, balance the internal organs and improves the flow of energy around our bodies.

Feedback: Thank you for this morning’s session. It really did me good physically and mentally and I feel so so much better now. I don’t think I realised how tensed up and stressed I was.

Yoga Nidra2022-11-11T10:20:22+00:00

Yoga nidra is a fully guided meditation practise, experienced lying down. It literally means yogic sleep and is an ancient technique where the practitioner enters a deep state of conscious relaxation between the state of sleeping and waking. It is a systematic practice of moving awareness from our external world to the inner world where our senses, intellect and mind relax.

Benefits: It helps in relieving muscular, emotional, and mental tension. Yoga Nidra relaxes the mind by relieving stress and anxiety. It treats insomnia, psychological disorders, and psychosomatic diseases. It trains the mind and helps in enhancing memory and increasing learning capacity.

Quote: ‘There beneath all the thinking and doing, you are at peace. You ARE peace. YOU are the peace you’ve been looking for all along.’ Tamara Verma

2. Laughter

Laughter Yoga2022-11-11T10:27:27+00:00

Laughter as therapeutic exercise! Movement and breathing exercises that promote laughter. Adopting a playful attitude, lightening up, smiling, giggling, snorting (yep) – you would be amazed how it can create a shift in us. Perhaps change us to live more playfully, less seriously and therefore less tense. We live in a highly left-brained world. Exploring the right side is where the creative, holistic side of us is waiting to be accessed and invited out to play!

Benefits: laughter has been shown to have beneficial effects on aspects of our biochemistry, reducing stress hormones, bringing pain relief, boosting communication, enhancing positive thinking and creativity, increased energy and wellbeing.

Quote from the founder of Laughter Yoga, Dr Madan Kataria: ‘The more you laugh for no reason, the more life will give you reasons to laugh’. Dr Kataria gets two quotes! ‘When you laugh you change, when you change, the whole world changes’.

3. Nature

Nature walk and art in nature2022-11-11T10:34:56+00:00

Find inspiration in the natural environment from mindful walking and observation of what is around you, tuning in with all your senses. Instead of rushing through we move slowly, stay a while, with the option to also create a piece of transient art in situ, amidst the forest. Mindfully choose from twigs, feathers, rocks, leaves, whatever you find around you and are drawn to, then create with it. Perhaps a mandala? A nature mandala is a circular and non-permanent symbol using patterns to represent the circle of life. They are made with organic materials found in nature.

Benefits: tapping into mindfulness, connecting with nature, slowing down, allowing your inherent creativity to flow.

Quote: from Saraha, Buddhist Yogi: ‘Each person’s life is like a mandala – a vast, limitless circle. We stand in the centre of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think is the mandala of our life.’

4. Tree Bathing

…and finding your nature sit spot2022-11-11T10:36:30+00:00

Forest bathing is an ancient Japanese process of relaxation – known in Japan as shinrin yoku. It evolved as a stress prevention intervention. Enhancing your physical and mental well being could not be more simple – essentially being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply. Sitting, standing, lying down, your choice (note, you do not have to take your clothes off to tree bathe!).

A sit spot, or secret spot, is simply a favourite place in nature that you visit regularly to cultivate awareness, expand your senses and gradually acquire enhanced sensitivity to nature.

Benefits: for ten minutes or 2 hours, forest bathing can be deeply refreshing, calming, de-stressing. Stress hormone production is reduced, feelings of happiness promoted, heart rate and blood pressure lowered and the immune system boosted.

Feedback: ‘Who knew that just lying down in a forest (on a ground sheet, phew) and breathing, could be so restorative and wonderful. The simple things in life, eh?!’

5. Energy Balancing

…via tuning fork techniques2022-11-11T10:38:20+00:00

Sound has long been known to be a source of healing therapy. Albert Einstein said, ‘future medicine will be the medicine of frequencies.’ Frequency healing for body, spirit and mind was also endorsed by Nicola Tesla, a famous scientist and inventor, who was alive between 1856 to 1943. Science has shown that everything that exists in our universe consists of pure vibration. So that includes us!

Tuning fork techniques offer a very gentle, powerful modality to treat the body and mind and restore inner balance and health. When the tuning forks are applied on and around the body, the specific frequencies remind the body of its natural resonance pattern. As the sound waves travel through the body’s energy field a vibrational shift begins, triggering a re-patterning at a cellular level. Simplistically put, sound frequencies emitted from the tuning forks encourage the body to change vibration back from disharmony to harmonic balance.

Benefits: It works with the nervous system, the tissues and the more subtle energies of the body. It is deeply relaxing and restoring and can offer long-term benefits. It balances the left and the right brain, increasing mental clarity and brain functioning. It can increase physical energy and concentration and release stress.

Quote: Nicola Tesla, ‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration’.

6. Food

…something new perhaps?2022-11-11T10:39:26+00:00

I have included this because I wanted to explain my personal definition of healthy food for the benefit of a guest who spends time with me. A guest’s own dietary needs will always be the priority, but if there is a desire to try something new and make some tweaks, our time together is the opportunity.

Over time and testing, and with the assistance of a nutritional therapist, I have found what suits my body type; what helps my hormonal balance, the foods to avoid to support the tendency for heat to increase in my liver, plus other things, personal to me, which give me more energy, allow me to carry less weight and generally feel the best I ever have. My point is, we are all different! It is not one size fits all. Professional guidance tailored to you might be the best way to make change, change that is supported emotionally, physically and wisely!

I am not that professional guidance, but I can help you reflect where you are now, guide, encourage, and start you on a journey if desirable. We can make treats together if treats are your thing and you don’t want to give them up but would like them to be a little healthier; or we can try cooking some foods you’ve not yet tried but would like to incorporate into your diet. I will provide a safe place to chat and explore; I find most of us have a ‘food story’ and that is a good place to start.

Go to Top