If you haven’t heard of ‘sitting disease’, it is a scientific term for the sedentary lifestyle a lot of us live nowadays. Long hours in front of computers, or jobs that require sitting for long periods can contribute to the hours you spend sitting down each day. I realised recently that I spend a lot of my time seated – sounds weird for a yoga teacher, right? But with a lot of admin / marketing work moving online, many of…
Get ready for a series of blog posts covering all of the different kinds of pranayama (basically – yogi breathing techniques) out there. Today we’re starting with Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breath. Sounds glamorous, no? Nadi Shodhana helps to calm the mind, keeping us focused on the present moment. Beyond that, it serves to cleanse the Nadis, which are the subtle energy channels of the body. When the Nadis are clear, we allow for a smooth, unobstructed flow…
I LOVE using props in my yoga practice. From using blocks to bring the ground up to you in a wide legged forward fold, to that bolster that feels so good under your legs in Savasana at the end of class, they have so much to offer. At a studio we’re spoiled for choice with blocks, bolsters, and blankets galore, but then our at home practice can start to feel like it’s missing something. If you don’t want to go…
‘I’m not flexible enough to do yoga’ is something I hear all the time (mostly from my dad), and honestly? That’s like saying ‘I’m too sick to go to the doctor’! It doesn’t matter how flexible you are when you step on to your yoga mat. What matters is that yoga can help you to build flexibility over time – especially in our pesky hamstrings. Maybe you’re a runner, maybe you have a job that requires a lot of sitting,…
What is Kundalini? First thing to understand is that there are several types of yoga. Some are completely physical, some are all about meditation. Kundalini is somewhere in the middle. But with an added emphasis on consciousness that activates energy centers throughout the body. To read more about Kundalini, check out an interview with YogaHub teacher Emer here, or check out AnnaB’s blog about it here. And what is a Mantra? A “mantra” is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound,…
I am often told by people who are new to yoga “I just don’t get the whole breathing thing, I don’t think I’m breathing correctly.” It’s really common to be getting into the practice of yoga, but feeling a little unsure or even frustrated if you feel you are not ‘getting’ one of the main aspects of yoga – the breath. Matching breath to movement is one of the key differentiators of yoga when compared to other forms of physical…
We’ve all been there. Annoying as it is, comparison is one of those traps that almost every human will fall into at some point – even in the yoga studio. And nothing will take the joy from your practice than comparing yourself to the people on the mats around you. So here are some tips to help you come back to yourself when those intrusive thoughts start coming. Get curious about your thoughts When you have a mean thought about…
Hot yoga is really popular at the moment and a lot of people are trying it out as a way to work up more sweat in their yoga practice and get some heat into their day. I teach hot yoga and I really enjoy the feeling of a total workout along with tension-release. I love the satisfaction I feel when I walk out of a hot yoga class – my muscles are physically more relaxed from the heat, but they’ve…
At the core of Flow yoga classes is vinyasa – which you’ve probably heard your yoga teacher mention more than a few times. If you’ve never had the phrase explained to you, it can be a little confusing! But no worries, we’re here to clear it up for you 🙂 But what exactly does it mean to ‘take a vinyasa’? Very literally, vinyasa means: to place in a special way. In a vinyasa based flow class, that means linking movement…
The snow is back… and it’s a bank holiday Monday. Is there anything sweeter than a lazy day in when it’s snowing out? Add a sprinkle of yoga in there too and you’re living the dream. So stay in your PJs, put the kettle on and get yourself a few pillows and a blanket, this is going to be yummy. You’ll need about 20 minutes for this. Turn your phone off and put on some relaxing music. Make the most…
