The Five Pillars of Health: More Than Pointers of Privilege? When we talk about health, it’s easy to slip into checklist mode—eat well, exercise, sleep eight hours, don’t stress, stay social. These are the “pillars” we’re told to build our lives around, and to be fair, they’re based on solid research. But health isn’t just…
How Does Yoga Teach Us the True Meaning of the Glass Half Full? Now I love being in a good stinking mood every now and again but have you ever caught yourself stuck in a cycle of negative thinking? Pratipaksha Bhavana—a concept from the Yoga Sutras (2.33)—is all about shifting perspective. It’s the ultimate “glass…
Consistency is a word I feel a bit icky using in regards to yoga as it has so many toxic connotations of working hard, gruelling schedules and well, it sounds like a drag. However, consistency can be the key to that elusive feel good quality you probably started yoga for in the first place –…
If yoga was dramatically anti ageing, something undeniably measurable and with guaranteed results for all, well, I’d be typing this from my retirement compound full of dogs with an ageing portrait of myself in the attic. However, there IS evidence that yoga in both its physical and philosophical forms does have some pretty positive impact…
Kirtan Kriya is a traditional meditation practice from Kundalini Yoga. It involves using the mantra (‘muntra’) “Sa Ta Na Ma” while touching the thumb to each fingertip in a sequence, but don’t lose interest just yet, you may be surprised at a modern application. There are lots of different types of meditation and landing on…
Let’s lower some barriers to meditation. Play around with what feels good, and manageable for you individually. And understand there is no rule book, no blueprint, and no way to get it right or wrong. You can meditate in the morning, or in the evening, or both – there are no rules. You can sit,…
Let’s talk about tissue healing, recovery from injury, and what that means to everyone, including movement enthusiasts. Tissue healing simply means the bodies regeneration and repair by replacing destroyed or damaged tissue with new living tissue. So what are these tissues of the body? They include fascia, tendons, muscles, ligaments and bones and we cannot…
I am an avid reader and love listening to Radio 4s Poetry Please because I wish I understood it more. So when I heard poetry read out loud reduces anxiety and depression it sounded like the wellness territory I wanted to do a dive in to find out more. It’s the reading aloud part that…
A large percentage of my private clients often find me originally with some sort of pain and injury after running the gamut of contradictory advice , money draining services and no change or improvement despite doing everything their physios say. That said, I work collaboratively with some fabulous physios and have even trained a couple…
One of the key things I ask a prospective new private yoga client about is their current activity and as soon as someone says they are a keen gardener it speaks volumes. Digging, lifting, raking, crouching, squatting, reaching overhead, leaning over, gardening has ninja warrior written all over it in my book. In fact an…