Your yoga practice is a personal journey inwards, an interiorization. One concept connected to that is the inward turning of the mind and senses, pratyahara. It is often misunderstood as pushing away experiences and shutting the world out, forcing yourself into avoidance and isolation, believing this is true withdrawal. Kaya Mindlin poses a beautiful question…
Triangle pose I always teach with ‘lightness and lift’ cues rather than sink down, dump down and reach ideas, thinking about up rather than down but for as many different ways to approach the shape there are different ideas around its symbolism too. There is the tale of Parvati inspired by her reflection to adopt…
Hear me out. Has consent clouded our reasons for adjustments in yoga? Of course personal choice, agency and respect are important, as are the deeper elements of trauma, triggering and the freeze/fawn response- but what about the really, really simple and most obvious reason? Is there merit to weight loading a body that neither you,…
Here is a great pocket sized handy yoga class planning hack and yoga teacher tip: MY ADDITION SUBTRACTION METHOD We often feel we need to be endlessly creative in our class planning but sometimes life takes over or we are just generally tanking too much time into planning. * This tip isnt for sustainable planning…
It’s quite easy to make someone physically exhausted. It’s not impossible to set difficult physical feats or challenges. Indeed these have an important place in health & movement but in YOGA there is a warped message in making a class physically tough then offering relaxation or savasana as a reward for our exertion. Its stealth…
I can promise you that the toes are not the goal. I can confirm that there are multiple directions of travel, not just down. I can guarantee that there are good things to discover with lightness and lift, not just depth and down. It can be a beautiful approach for both the body and mind…
Desire Paths Whilst walking the British coast & countryside with my little Flossie, I notice two main types of path: a bridleway/trail and a desire path. The first path has been deliberately made and often laid with the clear intention of getting you from A to B. Not only is it intended to make the…
When movement isn’t punishment or goal orientated what could it be? Potential Informative Curious Reassuring Discovery Nurturing Therapeutic Joyful What would you add?
Consistency. Is it one of the most toxic words in the wellness industry? Consistency requires extreme privilege. It is patronising, patriarchal and has negative consequences, suggesting that if we only made the effort things could be different for us… And we all know that there is a plethora of research around the impact of language…
In a fast-paced and demanding world, maintaining good mental health is crucial. While there are various approaches to achieving this, one practice that has gained significant recognition for its positive impact on mental well-being is yoga. Beyond its physical benefits, yoga offers a multitude of advantages for mental health. Let’s explore some of the ways…