Yesterday I spent my twenty minutes of restorative yoga practice doing postures to facilitate my breathing: Supported Childs Pose - 3 mins (back lungs) Twist on Bolster - 3mins right side, 3 mins left side (side lungs) Downward Facing Dog - 1 min (all lungs) Supported Reclining - 10 mins (front lungs) Time-lapse video of… Continue reading Childs Pose Part 1
What we already knew about relaxation in 1986 Based on this wonderful article by Daniel Goleman (he also wrote a well known book called Emotional Intelligence). relaxation may help ward off disease by making people less susceptible to viruses relaxation training has been found to widen restricted respiratory passages for asthmatics relaxation can reduce the… Continue reading Evidence
I am extremely grateful to everybody who joined me live yesterday evening for "Moving Into Stillness". The recording is now available here. After teaching, I sat down to watch Her Majesty the Queen's address - I was very curious to hear what she might say, and was so heartened that along with all the expected… Continue reading Opportunity to Pause and Reflect
Blessing for Spring "May you find the balance You desire and need Light and dark Spirit and body Mind and soul May you recognise the gradual powerful rebirth Happening within you May you awaken to the potential And the blossoming of your own self. And like the wild geese, may you find your way home."… Continue reading Spring and Stillness
There are lots of reasons you might not want to lie down on your back for relaxation (not least the danger of being stood on by a toddler that I mentioned yesterday!) Sometimes lying on your back can just feel too exposed or vulnerable, sometimes it might be contra-indicated (like in third trimester of pregnancy), you… Continue reading Turn to the Side
Twenty minutes of relaxation every day is easy for most people, even if you are working and busy you choose when to stop, how to spend your free time what to let go of in favour of a restful practice to reset your nervous system. There is one group of people however who, in my opinion,… Continue reading Soft Eyes, Warm Heart, All is Well
Sharing today a smile from my yoga nest and a poem by the wonderful contemporary poetess Hollie McNish. he didn't know her but she smiled and he needed that today and he smiled back and she walked past and carried on the other way and he walked on and he kept pace and other people… Continue reading She Smiled
When the yogis are away the cats come out to play. I don't keep my love of cats secret, but did you know that in my early twenties I was absolutely allergic to my favourite animals? Even just to be in a house that contained a cat I would need to tank up on antihistamines… Continue reading Was it a miracle?
Artists Juan Delcan and Valentina Izaguirre created the animation Safety Match to demonstrate the power of social distancing in halting the spread of the corona virus. I think it also shows that when we step aside to look at our anger, our fear, our sadness, or our frustration (the stuff that burns us up inside),… Continue reading Safety Match
“Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word. I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I'm taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly… Continue reading Flying Low
