Are you listening? Working for Peace - how yoga helps us to respond rather than react.

What happens when we listen to someone we believe we could never understand? Just over 20 years ago I had the extraordinary experience of sitting in a room with Jo Berry and Patrick Magee – Jo, whose father was killed in the Brighton Bomb of 1984, and Patrick, the man who planted the bomb. Their story of meeting, talking, listening and finding a way to campaign for peace changed my viewpoint from black and white to multi-colour.

October is the anniversary of the Brighton Bombing, and Jo and Pat continue to share their story and ask people to listen to each other. Their courage, and their work for peace, has stayed with me. So has the question: are you listening? Because when there is conflict, we tend to think of two sides – one right and one wrong. Yoga offers us another possibility: it teaches us to pause, listen and respond from the present moment rather than react from our thoughts, judgements and habits. Maybe if we did that just 1% more of the time, it could change the world.

Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga Practice, Yoga philosophySarah CloverOctober 12, 2026yoga practiceComment

Reflections for your Yoga Practice at New Year

As we begin another calendar year we often feel the call for ‘new beginnings’. This can be refreshing – letting go of the year behind us and looking forward to the one ahead.

But remember that you are perfect, and you are enough - this may be a new year, but nothing needs to change unless you want it to.

I’d like to invite you to reflect at this point of a new year on your yoga practice.

Take a comfortable seat and maybe a journal or a paper and pen and see where these reflections take you…

Journaling, Meditation, Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga PracticeSarah CloverJanuary 12, 2026yoga practice, journaling

Journal Practice - Prompts for Winter Solstice Reflection

Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year and usually falls on 21st or 22nd of December and is the exact moment when half of earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun.

Solstice comes from the Latin Sol meaning sun, and Sistere meaning to stand still. It marks the moment the sun ‘stands still’, pauses for a moment at its lowest, before turning back to lengthening the days again. The moment between what is ending and what is beginning.

In this blog post I explore some of the history of Winter Solstice celebrations. I reflect on the qualities of Winter and how we can embrace the darker and quieter energies of Winter and set some intentions for the coming months.

There’s a beautiful poem by James A Pearson and some Winter Solstice journal prompts for you including a pdf download so that you can take a pause and mark this point in the year..

Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga Practice, JournalingSarah CloverDecember 11, 2025Wheel of the Year, yoga practice, journaling

Moon Salutation - 3 ways

I'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!

Journal Practice - Prompts for Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox marks the the start of Autumn and is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere between 22nd and 24th September. It is when there is equal day and night and signals the start of the decrease of light as days become shorter towards winter.

In this blog post I explore some of the history, stories and images of Autumn Equinox celebrations. I reflect on the qualities of Autumn and how we can use the transition point from Summer to Autumn to help us to reflect on our lives, take time enjoy the slower energies of Autumn, and to set some intentions for the coming months.

There’s a beautiful affirmation and poem and some journal prompts for you including a pdf download.

Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga Practice, JournalingSarah CloverSeptember 10, 2025Wheel of the Year, yoga practice, journaling

Journal Practice - Prompts for Summer Solstice Reflection

Summer Solstice marks the longest day and the shortest night of the year and is also called Midsummers Day. It usually falls on 21st June.

Solstice comes from the Latin Sol meaning sun, and Sistere meaning to stand still. It marks the moment the sun ‘stands still’, pauses for a moment at its peak, before turning back to shortening the days again.

In this blog post I explore some of the history of Summer Solstice celebrations. I reflect on the qualities of Summer and how we can embrace the light and energy of Summer and set some intentions for the coming months.

There’s a beautiful poem by Judith Hanson Lasater and some journal prompts for you including a pdf download so that you can take a pause and mark this mid-way point in the year..

Journal Practice - Prompts for Spring Equinox reflection

Spring Equinox marks the first day of Spring and is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere between 20th and 23rd March. It is when there is equal day and night and signals the start of the increase of light as days become longer towards summer.

In this blog post I explore some of the history, stories and images of Spring Equinox celebrations. I reflect on the qualities of Spring and how we can use the transition point from Winter to Spring to help us to reflect on our lives, take time enjoy the new energies of spring, and to set some intentions for the coming months.

There’s some beautiful poems and some journal prompts for you including a pdf download.

Going Upside Down

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.

10 Ten Minute Practices

In 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!

Ten Years, Yoga TipsSarah CloverAugust 9, 2023yoga tips, yoga class, Ten Years, yoga practice, yoga for menopause

10 Reasons to Try Yoga Nidra

Yoga 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.

Breathing Space Yoga Northwich - Occasional Thoughts Blog

07977093373• sarah@breathingspace-yoga.com