This is a difficult topic to write about because I don’t want to comment on the experience or qualifications of individual teachers. I know some absolutely brilliant yoga teachers who work in gyms, and I’m sure there are many others who are equally good. But I have also experienced the other side of it. On occasions when I’ve had a free pass to a gym, I’ve joined yoga classes that were excellent. I’ve also attended classes where poses weren’t named, there were very few alignm

Ancient practices for a modern world Traditions and Celebrations This important point in the sun's cycle has been celebrated all over the world for thousands of years. For the Norse and Celts, it was Yule, for the Romans, Saturnalia, and it has now been Christianised into Christmas. But all these celebrations have the same theme in common - the rebirth of the sun (or 'the son' in Christian terms). Our ancestors were very keen to honour this time of the year and designed so

Ancient practices for a modern world Lammas / Lughnasadh - 1st August 'Gratitude' Late summer is an important transitional season, a time to re-centre, create stability, balance and comfort, in preparation for the cooler yin stages of autumn and winter. In yoga we focus on core stability, connecting to the earth and feeling centred. The first harvest; and the corn is being brought in from the field and apples are ripening. During the season of harvest, we take time to

Ancient practices for a modern world Early Summer End of April – Mid June The energy for early summer is of calmness, feeling relaxed, joy, positivity, having a clear mind and having a feeling of wanting to be more social. An imbalance in energy creates the opposite of wanting to over work, shy away from social events and anxiety. Assess your energy levels, re-balance and find that happy medium where you are busy but not over-worked. TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) T

Ancient practices for a modern world Imbolc - February 1st (Candlemas / St. Brigid)​'Awakening' Winter into Spring Between now and the Summer Solstice in June the light will be expanding. The world is waking up after winter sleep bringing transformation and regeneration. Life is beginning to show again with new shoots and flowers popping through the cold ground. This is a time when the first lambs are born and ewe's milk is available again after the long winter. The year i

Ancient practices for a modern world Seasons and Cycles Life is full of cycles and change. So often we are too busy to be in tune wth them. The seasons are the most obvious to think of and they really can affect how we feel. We are creatures of nature with the same response to seasons as animals and in winter we slow down and feel like being in more (hibernating) and in spring our energy changes and we want to be out more and doing things. Some really feel the difference in

Ancient practices for a modern world. Ogham & the Celtic Tree Calendar The ancient Celts didn’t have a written language, but they had a mysterious set of symbols known as the Ogham, pronounced 'Oh-am'. The exact historical origin of the alphabet has been the source of arguments for many years between modern pagans, scholars and authors. The Celtic alphabet of Ogham is an undisputed ancient written form in Ireland from around the 4-10th Century CE found on giant stone monument

YOGA Kids often have this image in their mind (as do adults) that yogis quietly sitting cross-legged with hands in a gesture (mudra), eyes shut, and humming. Yoga can definitely have moments that look like that when we are focusing on breathwork, but yoga is also active, flowing and engaging while effectively introducing yoga and mindfulness to children, so they will have the skills and benefits hopefully for life. We have yoga games, challenges, themes, props and stories and

ANTENATAL / PRENATAL YOGA: 1-2-1 SESSIONS Yoga postures can be carefully adapted as well as breathing exercises to help promote fitness during pregnancy, both physically and emotionally as well as prepare you for birth. You are always only ever to do what feels comfortable and right for you as everyone is different. These simple exercises are shown and developed through Yoga Therapy or Antenantal sessions that you can then also practice at home during the different stage

Relaxation Therapies mostly involve techniques and tuition that can be learned and applied at home or as one off treatments or a course of treatments and tuition. YOGA THERAPY Yoga Therapy / Yin Yoga and Restorative yoga - a very slow meditative form of yoga for specific healing. Restorative and Yoga Therapy are usually done as 1-2-1 session or as course. --- BREATH THERAPY Breath Therapy - Is done as 1-2-1 tuition and although techniques can be learnt in one go, it may take

Yoga and sport are never really mentioned in the same sentence, sport is competitive and yoga the opposite by nature. Yoga is wonderful at complementing other training and practices as well as being a complete practice in its own right. If you think yoga is just for gentle relaxation, think again. More and more athletes and sports performers from different disciplines are learning that performance can be improved by adding yoga to their training. Runners can loosen up tight m

'Kirtan is the soul singing!' Why sound? Why chant? Why sing? Why Sanskrit? Sanskrit is a sacred ancient language that promotes a route to our true selves, a route to peace and bliss via the vibrations of the sacred syllables. You may be worried by the idea of chanting in another language and if there are any religious conflicts. I would answer that by saying that if any Indian deities are involved in the chanting, for me, personally, it is more to evoke what elements or qual

Covid-19 As we all now know, Covid-19 is no ordinary virus and everyone has an opinion or belief on it. I'm not writing this page looking for any debate on what it is or isn't. All I know, is that people are suffering and I have some tools that can help. I've known people who have had it mild and were fine after, I've known many who had it bad and ended up in hospital (and thankfully have since recovered fully), I've unfortuanately also known a few who have passed from it who

​I also do Reiki Facial massages. There are about 16 major muscles, 14 bones and assorted arteries, veins and blood vessels that help your face do the things it does. Like muscles in other parts of your body, your face muscles absorb and store a lot of stress and tension. Unless you relax those muscles, they get stiff and hard and look strained. Tense muscles also constrict blood vessels, limiting the flow of blood and nutrients to your face. What's more, the tension in your

Safely improve strength and flexibility Learn simple sequences using a chair Develop balance, focus and stability Ease stress and anxiety Relieve aches and pains, especially in the neck and shoulders This class is for EVERY body. Seniors, persons with limited mobility or injuries, office workers, individuals with disabilities, weight issues or inflexibility. ​ Looking for a safe and gentle, yet effective yoga practice that doesn't have you performing those “pretzel-like" yoga

Happy Feet, Happy Body, Happy Mind A foot consists of 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons. This is one massive clue that our feet are meant to move and be moved. They are designed to walk barefoot over uneven ground, not to be squeezed into pointy shoes and walked over concrete. I could get quite anatomically geeky at this point, but I will spare you for now. But, please remember that everything in the body is connected, and our feet play a big

Sciatica and piriformis syndrome is usually caused by abnormal movement in the sacroiliac joint (pelvis to spine attachment), which generally is an immobile joint. This movement has then caused the Piriformis muscle surrounding it to become over protective and thus pressing on the sciatic and possibly other nerves on the left side. We will only know if this is the case by testing out the stretches, manipulations and possibly massage to see if this helps the symptoms. Nerve im

In January 2024 I had an operation on my foot and I knew it was going to take a while to heal being that it's a weight bearing joint and it has to heal despite gravity always going to make it swell for a lot longer than anywhere else on the body would. The day after the opeation was pretty horrendous and that's when I needed something other than painkillers every 4-6 hours to get me through as they were super strong and not doing my tummy any good, so I wanted to limit them a

What is yoga therapy? Yoga therapy is a truly holistic modality in that it recognises that our health and wellbeing depends on a complex...

I’m now an Associate of the Newson Health Menopause Society set up by Dr Louise Newson @My Menopause Doctor I always want to try to keep up to date with the latest evidence based research and information along with offering fitness, lifestyle and therapies to support women through menopause and have been doing this long before the media frenzy around it in the last year. It’s good that people are talking about it but some headlines haven’t been entirely accurate. Along with t