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The sporting brilliance that is Tom Brady has recently come to my attention.  At 40 years of age he is considered to be the Greatest Of All Time in the American Football League (NFL).  As a young player he was considered too light and scrawny to make the grade - easily pushed over.  However, his [...]

Different relaxation techniques soothe different people, in different ways. Visual imagery seems to appeal to me, it helps me to "place myself"  within a context that promotes rest and (hopefully) relaxation.  I noticed this when being taught by a yoga teacher who is also a painter - she "painted" the scene of how our bodies [...]

A recent bout of "lurgy "forced me to rest and recuperate.  I had ignored warning signs of an impending malady and  paid the price.  I cancelled all classes and whilst resting had time to think. I was learning how not "to do". Seems odd that it's so hard to avoid the "busy bug" that we [...]

Some very useful contributions from students have added to our theme of balance and breathing.  In our classes we spend initial moments practising controlled breathing to free up the respiratory muscles so that our breathing can adapt to our movements. In the core of the session, we practice movements noticing how the breath adapts - [...]

In our yoga practice we try to ensure that our feet are stable and flexible so that they can adapt to movement in different directions and over different terrains.  We use "sprinters" (Sprinters – the challenge? The vote?) to develop healthy foot-ankle-knee-hip alignment. We move our toes to ensure that our feet remain alive and [...]

This graphic representation of co-operation versus conflict was given to me by a highly experienced teacher (Ruth) when I was training to be a yoga teacher.  I filed it and it has taken me quite some time to look at it again - to notice it in the light of my attempt to practice with [...]

    Have been contacted by some known to me and, pleasurably, by others not known to me following the last post on mindfulness.  The irony of providing a list of resources to be used on devices which, notoriously, distract us,  did strike me, - even more so when after completing the post I read about [...]

Was tempted to title the post as "Minefield of Apps" since the proliferation of resources to support mindfulness present a dizzying array of choices. The term "Mindfulness" derives from the Pali language language word sati meaning “to remember” but it generally signifies the presence of mind.  A 2003 paper by Brown and Ryan defined mindfulness as ....receptive [...]

Staying in an area in which the locals say (and follow through): If there's a job to do....do it slow.. Reminds me that our sessions begin with a relaxed approach to settling the body and exploring a sense of ease.  When we lie down in semi-supine we slowly develop awareness about how we move our body [...]

Always wise to check with students the understanding of an oft repeated piece of information in the yoga room.  Love it when they say something along the lines of "..no idea.." and then.."..we just nod along with you...".  Great stuff! In our sensory yoga practice, it is hard enough to learn to tune into our [...]