When we think of yoga poses that take our body upside down, headstand and shoulderstand probably spring to mind first.
But there are lots of yoga poses that take our head lower than our heart that are much more accessible, and provide the same benefits.
In this blog post I show you 5 simple and accessible inversions and explain the benefits of going upside down.
Read MoreIn this blog post I continue to celebrate 10 years of teaching with 10 ten minute practices suitable for all (except pregnancy).
You can watch the 10 minute videos direct from the blog - great for beginners to get a feel for yoga movement and practice. Good for experienced yoga students to get ten minutes of breathing space in your day.
Do one or more of the practices to suit what your body needs. Enjoy!
Read MoreYoga nidra means ‘yogic sleep’. It is an effortless yoga relaxation and meditation practice that anyone can do, by themselves with an audio recording or with the guidance of a teacher in person.
Yoga nidra brings you to a deeply relaxed state of mind and body, whilst you are still awake. This is the state between sleep and wakefulness (called the hypnogogic state in psychology), where you float between consciousness and unconsciousness, being aware of the resting state of the body and mind as it is happening in the moment.
Yoga nidra has been shown to be effective in supporting and healing many areas of body and mind including stress, tension, anxiety, insomnia, pain, trauma, addiction and PTSD.
I have found yoga nidra to be one of the best ways to relax and release my body completely, and one of the easiest ways to enter the meditative space. It really is effortless.
In this blog I offer ten reasons why you should try yoga nidra, and a link to ten free yoga nidra practices on my website.
Read MoreWelcome to 2023! I'm looking forward to the year ahead with its seasonal rhythms, annual events and of course the unknowns, how will this year unfold?
A quick new year post for you where I share Michael James Wong's beautiful 'A Travelling Prayer' to inspire a gentle and mindful start to the new year.
Senbazuru - learn the Japanese tradition of mindfully folding paper cranes.
Folding a paper crane is said to bring peace, hope, healing and happiness. The practice of folding a crane brings mindfulness and pleasure through creating a little bit of time in the present moment.
Find out about Michael James Wong’s beautiful book about the tradition, and learn step by step how to fold your own paper crane and bring some mindfulness to your day in this blog post.
Read MoreEver since I can remember I have spent time on the beach looking for shells, pebbles, sea glass and treasures. It was a holiday ritual with my family every summer when we visited the Moray coast in Scotland, many happy hours were spent marvelling at what the tide brings in.
One of the little shells I look for is the European Cowrie, or in Northern Scotland the 'Groatie Buckie.' The process of gentle and mindful searching for these little shells brings peace and calm.
In my latest blog, find out how beach combing is yoga practice, and the significance of the cowrie shell world wide.
Read MoreI'm sure you've heard of the yoga Sun salutation. If you are a yoga student you've probably done a few of them in your yoga practice. But have you heard of the moon salutation?
Find out more about the moon salutation in this blog post and there’s a free 40 minute class where you can try out 3 variations!
Read MoreI've recently started to swim a couple of times a week. I've always loved swimming, but never made it a regular hobby. I took my boys to baby swimming classes from about 6 months old as I know how important it is as a life saving skill, and also how much fun children (and adults!) have splashing around, jumping in and generally mucking about in the water once they are competent swimmers.
But there's something else that I notice when I swim, it's a quietness, a focus and an ease. When I swim it takes me to that quiet space of being that happens in meditation or deep relaxation. My mind quietens and I can just be with the action of 'swimming', of being in the present moment.
In this blog I talk about how we can use the hobbies and activities we lobe to drop into meditation, we can all do it, find out how…
Read MoreWhat I have always known is that yoga is not about touching your toes, despite the images we see of yoga in the media. There's a famous quote 'yoga is not about touching your toes, but what you learn on the way down'. Being flexible is not what yoga is about (although you might become more flexible in time) you might never be able to touch your toes (and it's fine whether you can or you can't) but yoga will teach you about where you are in your body. With each pose/position (done in the way that suits you best) you learn more about what your body can do, what it can't do, what it likes to do, what is a challenge to do, what is calming, what is energising, what feels good, what doesn't feel good.
In this blog post I talk about how I study, practice and teach yoga to suit each individual and why you don't need to be able to touch your toes to do yoga.
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