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

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

Fad diets make you fat! Yep, there I said it! I hate the word 'diet', it's restrictive, it's controlling, it puts us into a corner like a little child and makes you want to eat that sugary doughnut even more! Ok, so now I've got that off my chest.....but let's understand some basics. When you cut down on food, your body feels deprived and starts conserving food and storing it for when it may need it. If you eat only when you are hungry, your body learns that when it is hungry

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

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

Original post: September 19, 2010 Reiki is a natural, gentle, powerful, yet non-invasive method of healing that is passed from practitioner to client by means of gentle touch. This ancient Japanese healing art originated many thousands of years ago and was brought to this country in the early 1900s by holy man and scientific scholar Mikao Usui. Since that time, Reiki has grown rapidly in popularity as an excellent form of complimentary and alternative medicine. The results

When you cut down on food, your body feels deprived and starts conserving food and storing it for when it may need it. If you eat only when you are hungry, your body learns that when it is hungry, it will get fed and this doesn’t mean shoving anything in when you want as often as you want just because you think you are hungry. Sometimes hunger occurs not because we are hungry but because we are dehydrated and it manifests itself as hunger pangs. By doing yoga 10 minutes a d

Original Post: May 2010 If you suffer from any form of pain, whether chronic or acute, it may not be necessary to rely on traditional medicine such as pain medication to relieve it. There are many natural pain management techniques that are available to try so it is just a matter of finding the best one for you. Some of the most popular are outlined below. Pain Management Technique #1: Acupuncture In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted into the skin in order to u

Imagine you could cure depression with a therapy that was more effective and long-lasting than expensive drugs, and which did not have any side effects. These are the claims being made for a form of Buddhist meditation. Last week, psychologists from the University of Exeter published a study into "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy" (MBCT), finding it to be better than drugs or counselling for depression. Four months after starting, three quarters of the patients felt well

Introduction - Ayurveda Ayurveda is the sister science to Yoga. Ayurveda is India’s traditional, natural system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word that literally translated means "science of life" or "practices of longevity." Ayurveda was the system of health care conceived and developed by the seers (rishis) and natural scientists through centuries of observations, experiments, discussions, and meditations. For sever

Airplane Yoga It's no secret that travel is stressful and airplane seats are tiny. Though you can't do much when you're squashed into the middle seat, there are a few little stretches that can help relieve your cramped muscles and reduce your stress without getting into your neighbour's personal space. 1. Neck Rolls After you get settled into your seat, take a few deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Then start with a simple neck roll.

Original post March 2013 Oh the stress! Well, I'm nearing the end of the Sun Power Yoga TTC course and I have to say, I have never felt yoga being so stressful! This is one intense course. It really does require you to have all your time available as the homework load is massive and to be able to fit it around all my jobs has been a struggle and sometimes a downright impossibility...my may concerns in the first place before even doing the course. Think this photo below

original post jun 2012 ABC of Yoga ABC of Yoga Here's a compliation of the posts that I was doing on Facebook a little while back with Leah Bracknell. A different day, a different letter of the Alphabet. 'As children we begin by learning our ABCs in order to read and write and communicate with one another and to express ourselves. So late last night in a playful and inquisitive mood I created an ABC of Yoga. My Yoga, personal to me. I let my mind wander thro the alp