Yoga is an ancient practice that is designed to bring peace, health and harmony to the body and mind. It was developed thousands of years ago by sages that recognised that our mind is not always our best friend, and that we can find a path to peace and happiness through stilling the mind and its constant ‘chatter’.
Those of you that already have a yoga practice will know that there is more to it than the mere physical. For me, yoga was a lifeline when I was suffering chronic stress as a result of a busy corporate career. The peace that I found on the mat was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and it gave me the impetus to change my life radically, for the better!
Many people think you need to be ‘bendy’ to do yoga but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Yoga is an integrated practice that combines physical exercise with focused attention and deliberate breathing. It is a simple practice that brings profound benefits, including:
- Helping you manage your reactivity to stress and daily worries
- Improving your flexibility and capacity for daily living
- Boosting mental well-being and improving mood
- Improving your relationships
- Boosting your immune system
- Improving your general well-being
Private Yoga / Yoga Therapy
Contrary to the way we practice modern yoga in the West, the original yogi’s practised one-on-one. As each pose has a therapeutic effect on the body, an asana (pose) sequence can energise or calm, uplift or ground, cool or heat the body. As no ‘body’ is the same, there really is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. In a private yoga session I will design a tailored practice to treat you as an individual as part of an overall health plan to help you reach your health goals.
Yoga Therapy draws on Ayurvedic principles and involves personalised practices, poses and breathing exercises designed to bring a state of harmony to the body and mind. In this state we enter what’s known as our ‘natural healing state’. Yoga Therapy can therefore treat certain conditions such as anxiety, depression or more structural imbalances such as scoliosis. In a Yoga Therapy session I will design a tailored practice for your body and your current state of health.
Group Yoga
If you’re completely new to yoga you may want to try a group class first. Whilst yoga was originally designed to be taught one-on-one, a group class is still hugely beneficial and you can try a few different styles to see what suits you best.
Whilst I am moving more towards one-on-one sessions I still do teach a number of group classes a week. If you’d like to come along to one of my classes contact me for more details.
I’ve also included a number of short home practices on this site to get you on your way to peace, harmony and happiness. Enjoy!