Articles & thoughts

What is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative yoga is a powerful practice that supports the body’s natural healing processes. By using props such as blankets, bolsters, and blocks, you are able to find a comfortable and supportive position for each pose, enabling you to hold each posture for longer periods of time. This allows your body to fully relax, release tension, …

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Boost Motivation and Focus with Yoga

Zero Motivation and Minimum Focus In theory, this is a busy time of year for yoga teachers. All those people wanting to take time for their health and wellbeing, and all ready to join yoga classes. And me? Staying up late and snoozing on the sofa, reading novels, doing puzzles. Zero motivation and minimum focus. …

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Looking after your mental health in challenging times

How are you? I hope you’re looking after your mental health at the moment. It’s tough to stay grounded and compassionate when the news is full of war. Our nervous systems have barely had a chance to recover from the panic and anxiety of the pandemic when we’re being activated again. The stress hangs around …

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5 easy yoga practices to naturally boost your mood

Recently my students have been asking whether there were any yoga poses to help them boost their mood naturally. There are definitely some poses that are more uplifting energetically and I share some movements below that I hope many people will find easy to do. There are also some breathing practices that can help, so …

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Self love rather than self care for me this week

How are you finding October? It gets very damp here on the coast in Co Kerry, Ireland and at some point the temperature will drop considerably as the leaves drop too. It’s too soon to get excited for Christmas (is it??) so as the nights get longer and we wait for the first storm of …

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Yoga for Yoga

I’ve been doing a lot of research in the past year, looking into the ways yoga can help with various health issues: from sleep problems, to long covid to anxiety. It’s been fascinating and regular yoga practice has an awful lot to offer anyone dealing with those issues. However, I had one of those moments …

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New Term, New Yoga Classes

I’m just listening to the most beautiful podcast from Tara Brach. She’s a fab meditation teacher, maybe you’ve already come across her? This talk is about imperfections in nature and in ourselves, and how we respond to them to increase/reduce our own suffering. There’s an anonymous saying…”Who is unhappy? The one who finds fault.” It’s …

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a red kite flying freely in the wind against a blue-grey sky

Finding freedom through yoga

The inspiration for my classes this week is kaivalya or freedom. This builds on last week’s idea of letting go. Sometimes we have to let go of something to experience greater freedom. Freedom as a goal of yoga You could say that freedom is one of the goals of a yoga practice. This might be …

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Can you do yoga when pregnant?

I’m afraid this is a ‘It depends’ answer for general classes. Unless you’re going to a Pregnancy Yoga class, it is better to play it safe during your first trimester and not attend class. This is especially true for people who’ve done no yoga before. Of course there are plenty of people who do yoga …

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