Posts In: yoga

Finally the time has come and I can let you all know officially what I have been planning…. Not one, but two overseas yoga retreats! How exciting is that?

When I first offered myself as a yoga teacher, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be in a position to plan and host a yoga retreat of my own. But as my little yoga business has grown over the past few years, I am always guided by my yogis as to what they feel would help complete their yoga practise. I am, after all here to serve you. To make yoga accessible to my community, to those who choose to join me for classes, yoga events, day retreats and all the other fun activities I have planned. A common theme was that after Covid we all deserve some me-time.

That after a rather hectic couple of years you need some downtime, time to reconnect back in with yourself.

So after more research than I care to mention, I have found two incredible retreat venues. Originally I was only going to offer one next year, but after 50 of you amazing yogis decided you wanted to be added to the VIP list to be first in the know about a retreat, I had to make some adjustments.

I am inviting you to Alicante in May and Ibiza in October 2024.

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So you’re brand new to yoga, you may be feeling the effects of age creeping up on you as you bend down to slip your shoes on. Or perhaps after a few hours gardening you are laid up for the rest of the afternoon with a bad back. Or maybe even you have seen a few contortionists throw some handstand shapes on Instagram and think ‘I would love to do that!’  

Whatever your reason that brings you to yoga, know you’re in the right place. Generally 9/10 people that look for a yoga class, it’s because they would like a movement based practise and they’ve heard the hype surrounding yoga and would love to give it a go. But what they end up experiencing is so much more. 

Yoga has been around for many years. In fact some early traces were found over 5,000 years ago. But without writing an essay of the history (if you’d like some book recommendations, message me and I’ll be more than happy to provide some guidance), yoga has evolved. Especially for the western world. It’s said there could be over 300 million yoga practitioners in the world… isn’t that amazing?  

But what is yoga? Yoga in its essence means to unite. To unite body and mind.

But to practise yoga is not just physical movement. It’s how we conduct ourselves in our day to day lives. But again, I could waffle on about this for hours. What you’re here for is to reaffirm what you already know… that yoga will make you feel so much freer in your movements. It will increase your mobility, flexibility, balance. It will help prevent osteoporosis, it will lessen stress and anxiety. It will improve interoception which will in turn, allow you to respond to your body earlier so you will become more in tune with your body. You will change. Your body will change, your mindset will change. 

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My approach to yoga is simple… yoga is and can be accessible for everyone. I teach in a non-dogmatic way believing not every pose is suitable for every student with traditional alignment but with a few adjustments, it can be. In particular introducing those new to yoga to this concept, that the ‘prettiest looking’ option of the pose is not necessarily the right one.

Instagram, in this instance with the plethora of yogis showcasing their stunning variations of asanas are beautiful to look at, but in the great scheme of many body shapes, not a true reflection of what 99% of the population could ever achieve.

I believe it’s important to allow my yogis to feel and become aware of their body as I teach them the target areas of what we are trying to achieve so they can learn to modify their poses to their unique body shape or muscle function. I hope to set my yogis on a path of yoga for life, so learning what suits their body best will be paramount in securing their love for yoga and perhaps even a personal practise at home. 

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So what is Yoga Nidra? I have offered it as a freebie when you sign up to my Newsletter and it’s sometimes mentioned as an ‘extra’ within some Yoga classes, but what exactly is it?

Yoga Nidra is literally translated as ‘Yogic Sleep’. It is a state of guided relaxation which allows you to surf the border between awake and asleep. Not to be confused with Hypnotherapy where the aim is therapeutic intervention, for Yoga Nidra we are just allowing the different states of consciousness and feeling the body as it relaxes the mind.

Yoga Nidra is received lying down – it is not a practise for you to get better at. All you need to do is get comfortable and receive.

In my classes, I will guide you through some techniques paying particular attention to our body and breath.

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When I was still knee-deep in yoga philosophy and anatomy books earlier this year, it dawned on me that in order to have a professional looking website, I needed professional photos. Cue the inward groan and the mild (read – massive) panic that then followed.

I had heard of Sarah from Sarah Carmody Photography from her photoshoot with some of the yogis that are based in Eastbourne and arranged a date to meet. I knew from our first email that we’d get on well, that woman has an awesome sense of humour!

This photo above was one of her favourites from the day.

I was so unbelievably nervous to begin with but Sarah had an amazing way of just putting me at ease. I have to say, in the end it was the best fun I’d had in ages.

Her enthusiasm is unsurpassed, it literally radiates out of her and you can’t help but be inspired.

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