Teacher Yoga

Going up, going up, going up!!!

This asana simultaneously strengthens & stretches your shoulders.

It loads the arms behind you in extension, which builds strength in the upper back & shoulders.

It helps to also build core strength while challenging and improving balance as well.

It is excellent for building strength in the postural support muscles in the back and is a welcomed crunch for the back body.

Overall, it strengthens the arms, upper back, legs, glutes & wrists; and stretches the chest, abdomen, tops of the feet & ankles.

It’s a cracker!

CAUTION:
People with wrist injuries or carpal tunnel syndrome and additionally, those with high blood pressure should avoid this posture.

For me, faith is synonymous with inner trust & confidence. Taking a leap of faith is essentially a personal willingness to take a chance. The most difficult part is trusting in one’s own strength & ability to handle whatever that leap might bring because, let’s face it, change can be terrifying. It’s like jumping into a fire! Although as terrifying as change may be, I want to take chances. I dream of making big changes because whilst it’s scary to leave what’s safe, it’s even more frightening to contemplate a life unfulfilled.

If any of this has spoken to you in any way, you may already be contemplating a personal transformation. Maybe, you are already half leaping, but not quite there yet. Either way, we can all use a little inspiration as we contemplate acting on our dreams, wishes & goals.

Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: Could have! Might have! Should have! Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive? Then go and do it. What the world needs is people who have come alive. Don’t be afraid of growing slowly. Be only afraid of standing still!
Take that leap of faith!!!

A pose that makes me feel alive from head to toe, strong & energised whilst in the peaceful sanctuary of my garden. Challenges show up in our lives, of that we know, it’s all part of the experience & journey. How we tackle them mind you, is a mindset unto ourselves. After this pose, (being the 3rd or 4th in the Warrior Sun Salutation series), I feel like I can take on the world! Reverse Warrior is a challenging posture. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of little alignment issues to think about. However, practiced with a little mindfulness & awareness, this asana is & feels incredible for my body. This pose strengthens my legs, improves the flexibility of my spine, ankles & inner thighs, stretches my groin, hips & thighs. It builds strength in my lower body and increases my blood circulation throughout. Warrior poses battle inner weakness & win focus. You soon learn that there is no war within you. You're on your own side & you are your own strength. What's not to love 🙌

Dhanurasana or Bow Pose is very beneficial for the whole body. This pose can look a little intimidating at first glance. It may make you feel like you have to have super human flexibility in order to reap the benefits it offers. The truth is, no matter how deep you are able to go in this pose, it is going to offer your body amazing opening & amazing strength building! Many of us spend a large portion of our days sitting with our shoulders hunched forward while we drive & while we work at our computers. All this hunching can cause very tight shoulder girdle muscles & some overly stretched upper back muscles. Bow will help reverse this hunching & help to invite some gentle yet powerful opening for the shoulders. Along with tight shoulders, having a tight chest is another epidemic in our society. Bow Pose can open you up all the way from the tips of your shoulders down to your hips, which means your entire chest is going to be reaping the rewards of the opening this pose provides. It also opens the hip flexors. The added benefit of practicing Bow Pose as a hip opener is that you get to open both hips at the same time. While you are in your Bow, it can be very tempting to get all your ‘lift’ by kicking your legs back with all your might, & holding onto them for dear life with your hands. However, if you are to practice this pose with a balance between engaging your legs & engaging your upper back muscles to get your chest off the ground, you need to ensure that you are not overly exerting too much pressure on either end, having a balance between both, which will correct any hyper openness that may be going on in your upper back. As mentioned earlier, because many of us hunch forward all day, we have overly tight chests & overly open & weak upper backs. This pose, when practiced with care & attention, can help create new strength in your upper back, which can mitigate back pain & neck pain as well. .
Do you practice this pose often? .
What benefits do you notice when you do?

Inversions help with focus, balance & brain function.

It may take you a while to adjust to, and to feel comfortable being upside down, but over time, you will begin to notice that your brain does feel more alive.

This may not be too surprising once we understand that our brain is the largest consumer of oxygen in our body, which ultimately means, more blood means more oxygen, which results in better brain function.

When I'm upside down, I'm at my most focused💫

Try it

What does it mean, to just be?

Let those words ring in your mind for now.

It means:

To Be Present.
Be in the Here & Now.
Don't keep worrying about tomorrow or the next task or person you have to see.
It means being present with those you are present with.
It’s okay to be present with just you too…
Time & space is a beautiful thing.
The silence in non chatter is powerful.
Try it 🙏

We learn in life that the road is not always as one expects & can be made up of the most unexpected twists & turns.

With yoga, its practice, an open mindset & breathing techniques, it helps us to recognise that no matter what twists & turns life offers, we have the ability to be adaptable, flexible & stay open to all of the hidden gifts that each twist & turn may present, helping one to become more resilient & stronger with not just our external, but inner strength.

Inhale & lift
Exhale & twist
Who knew the power it holds

Lunge away…

Anjaneyasana is a deep & low lunge.

It provides a powerful stretch to the groin, quads & iliopsoas of the back leg.

The front leg receives a different but still deep stretch, along with strength work.

If you wish to build leg strength, this is a good ground asana to start practicing with.

You can deepen the pose with a variation by opening up the chest & the anahata, (heart chakra), squeezing the scapulae together (back of shoulders), whilst interlinking the hands & pulling the arms down towards the ground behind you.

It’s an invigorating variation & works many areas, all at once.

Namaste 🙏