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I practise and teach yoga with an emphasis on embodiement and presence.   Qualified in traditional Hatha yoga with the British Wheel of yoga, I have developed my practise to incorporate  Traditional Chinese Medicine as I am also a Shiatsu practitioner. The postures incorporate meridian stretches, which stimulate the relevant organ ki, chakras are aligned, and strength, tone, balance and flexibility are achieved . This approach means that we are working directly with our state of mind as well as our physical bodies.

 

How we occupy our "asana" or personal space, and how the body hold itself is the key to unravelling deep seated psychological patterns.  Our bodies express so much of our story and how we feel and respond to the world. Through feeling our way into our own alignment, our psyche is freed up as the body is freed up.  Parts of the body that have become locked up, or numb come to life and that part of ourselves is woken up.  Movement is the key to the mind. Whilst talking therapies have their place, body work can free us from trauma, and unhelpful habits without having to think about "why".  The postures, which have evolved with the yoga tradition  over the last century, are accessible to everyone as well as challenging to the fit and healthy.  Feeling the movement and breath  rising and falling together into  movement or stillness with the asana is uplifting and cleansing.  After a good yoga practise we feel spacious, clear, relaxed and present.

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Our breathing patterns are unique. We are born breathing fully and freely.  Over the years, as we experience life, we block and restrict our breath until commonly the breath is shallow and does not draw in the prana, the nourishment and the vitality we need to live fully. Indeed,  how we breath tells a story of our lives. The correlation between how we breath and the state of the body and mind has been made for thousands of years in the yogic scriptures and ayurveda, also Taoism and chinese/japanese martiql arts.  Buddhist mindful techniques were developed from ancient Yoga breathing practices.

 

A deeper, softer, relaxed breath will go a long way to alleviating headaches, hypertension, epilepsy, asthma, panic attacks,  menopausal symptoms, insomnia and heart disease. Relaxed breathing and full breathing boosts our immune systems and lessens pain.  I teach breathing exercises, some traditional, some which are  more relevant and effective for modern living and dealing with stress.

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In yoga the breath is also much more. In Greek 'psyche pneuma' mean breath/soul/spirit; in sanscrit 'Prana" means life/breath/spirit./energy; in Japanese 'ki' means energy/spirit.  In yoga via the postures and the breathing and meditation, we can access a deeper connection to spirit and soul and so a sense of belonging to a greater higher purpose. Through yoga we can be the change we want to see in the world today and get a sense of belonging to something far greater than our own experience.

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