Join me for a short 6 minute practice designed to help you tune into your postural habits and develop a sensitivity towards the alignment of your spine. Through this gentle inquiry I will offer you some prompts to help you uncover the movement of your spine in ways that can be opening and spacious, steady and calm.
Join me for a short 15 minutes of yoga taken with the support of a chair and exploring creative ideas around movement, breath and thought to help you feel invigorated, joyful and supported.
I’ve been releasing new video content on my YouTube channel and thought it would be a good idea to add what I’ve been up to here on my blog, as that is what it was originally intended for! My latest practice is only 15 minutes long and includes some useful ways to incorporate stability and mobility for your spine and hips.
I am just coming to the end of what has been a pretty action packed summer for me and my family. We’ve been coasteering on Anglesey with Time for Experience, glamping at the Big Sky Hideaway in Lincolnshire and supporting global competitors at Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games! It leaves me feeling a little exhausted just writing it all down.
The real adventure for me though started on the 28th July when I supported 2022’s Women’s Trad Festival as yoga practitioner and Bamboo Clothing #BAMambassador.
Where Snowdon stands before me now
As clouds begin to break,
Llanberis still the morning light
Now rests upon the lake.
Extract from Snowdon by Andrew Blakemore
“We do not learn by experience, but by our capacity for experience. ”
Gautama Buddha
I was recently invited by @f22aop an all female photographic group, to offer some mindful yoga practices for their audience through instagram videos. These sessions were targeted towards photographers and those working within the creative sector, but I see them as being accessible general practices that would benefit you too!
Enjoy them as an opportunity for you to experience what it means to sense movement that is invigorating and uplifting, experience breath-work as a means towards cultivating greater focus and clarity, and experience the amazing benefits of relaxation to assist in the release and softening of deeply held tensions.
To gain further insight into my thoughts around these practices read on. If you’d like to jump straight in and practice, head to the videos below. Each practice is around 30 minutes and is designed take you on an experiential journey exploring postures, creativity, focus and rest.
And into the forest I go,
to lose my mind
and find my soul.
John Muir
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Arthur Ashe
When I approach a yoga class as a teacher I invite people to connect to their breath and notice what their starting point it “Start where you are.” Then I will ask people to notice how they feel, to connect to their body in a mindful, creative way “Use what you have.” And then I will offer ideas around what may be possible from there…there is no expectation to do what I ask, rather I ask “Do what you can.” Quotations by Arthur Ashe.
In this article I offer a short insight into chair yoga and what I love about taking support in our practice with this versatile prop. My hope is, should you wish to take it along with me, that you are able to notice more fully the above prompts in an accessible, comfortable and enjoyable way.
“Our posture can be a reflection of our current state of mind as well as our past experiences.”
Jivana Heyman
When I invite people to practice yoga with me, it is an invitation to explore shapes, movements and pauses that can provide a sense of opening and softening, structure and support.
“Clothes could have more meaning and longevity if we think less about owning the latest or cheapest thing and develop more of a relationship with the things we wear”
Elizabeth L. Cline
I am continually evolving.
“Each day is filled with lessons and new experiences. Each day we have the opportunity to connect with those lessons and experiences in ways that will further our growth.”
Manifest; Kelley Carboni-Woods
This practice was inspired by the coming of Spring and an enriching conversation with Kezra of Conversations Worth Having whereby we delved deep into yoga, movement, stillness and our capacity to work with nature as medicine, and as a tool towards reconnecting us with our ability to be and think creatively.
“Go where it feels best, where your energy flows best. Exercise your ability to sense this.”
Erich Schiffmann
When I invite you to practice yoga with me, I’m inviting you to explore shapes, movements and pauses that can provide you with openings and softenings, structure and support.
Learn about yourself and the in-built mechanisms you have in place to connect to your breath, movement and your ability to slow-down. This is where the real learning happens.
Know what it is you need for your shoulders, and then for your whole body as you re-integrate what you discover for yourself during the practice.
“Perfection is having the greatest range possible of comfort.”
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
When I invite you to practice yoga with me, I’m inviting you to explore shapes, movements and pauses that are as Bonnie so simply puts it within the “greatest range possible of comfort” to yourself. So when you take this mini series of practices with me, please do honour yourselves fully and listen to your unique experience of the practice.
Learn about yourself and the in-built mechanisms you have in place to connect to your breath, movement and your ability to slow-down. This is where the real learning happens.
Know what it is you need for your hips, and then for your whole body as you re-integrate what you discover for yourself during the practice.
“It’s more than just a shape, it’s how your breathing in that shape…What is your intention whilst you’re in that shape? What is the quality of presence whilst you’re in this shape…?”
Theo Wildcroft in conversation with Jivana He-man Episode 32 Accessible Yoga Podcast