If you would like to give or receive a gift of wellbeing... I have some beautiful card gift vouchers that come with envelopes - these could be for whatever you fancy - whether it's a block of yoga classes, a therapeutic home massage, a 121 yoga / mindfulness session, a mindfulness workshop or course, or a contribution towards any of these! Useful information about vouchers I am happy to write a personal message in for you and post it to your happy recipient, or can post it di

I am in the lucky and privileged position of embarking on my first house-buying adventure. Over the years I have witnessed my friends go through the stress of this, so I was anticipating some challenge. Trying to navigate what feels at times like a confused jumble of mortgage advice, surveys, solicitor quotes, paperwork, etc has certainly been daunting so far. It is interesting too that in England there is no guarantee you will actually get the property until you get your han

In Part 1, I explained how the type of movement I practice and teach has evolved. Here in part 2, I’ll explain why mindful awareness is a HUGE part of my yoga classes. Have you ever been to a yoga or meditation class and heard the teacher say things like: - “notice how relaxed you’re feeling...” - “clear your mind...” - “pluck out negative thoughts like weeds...” - “feel the prana moving down your arms...” or similar? In response to this guidance, you may find yourself wrestl

I'm ill and can't sleep, so decided to do some writing. I wish you well this season and hope that you have a happy and healthy holiday. This can be a very challenging time for many of us, when the shiny, glitzy images of Christmas perfection adorning adverts and shops can highlight our emotional or physical pain, or whichever of "the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to" (as Shakespeare put it) we may be experiencing in the moment. This was to be my last day of wor

Are you stuck for pressie ideas? Why not give something truly memorable and enjoyable?

A little story about how mindfulness tools support me to cope better with stressful situations and how I have developed greater confidence and self belief as a result. I met my husband 5 years ago. Ever since I've known him he's been passionate about scuba diving and trained as an instructor last year. I always said I could never ever scuba dive. Why? Well: I am scared of deep water, not a confident swimmer, have a phobia of drowning and also have asthma, so can get anxious

I was excited to find this gorgeous image of a bird flying free from a cage for the poster for my next course. It is a symbol that resonates with changes that I have been through. For 12 years I worked in desk-based jobs, including in a job I was really passionate about, in the NHS – supporting the monitoring and improvement of quality of care and patient safety. However I just couldn’t quite fit myself into the role, I kept trying but it just didn’t suit me, and I got very s

How often do we pay attention to sensation in our bodies? “Autopilot” mode is very useful. We can use “muscle memory”, so that once we've learned to walk, run, cycle, swim, we can do it without having to think about it. We can even drive and eat a sandwich and worry about how bad the traffic is at the same time! However in daily life, our bodies often get ignored and used in a mechanical way, and we can find ourselves with very little awareness of what is going on in the bo

Have you ever considered what physical movements we naturally do as a reflex response to danger? Subtle, key movements are: drawing the head slightly back; clenching the jaw; raising the shoulders, tightening around the diaphragm; and a slight drawing of knees towards belly – tightening the hip flexor muscles. This is a reflex which evolved to help us to protect ourselves – but is not so useful when it happens in response to everyday stresses and strains. Over time, this resp

Find your "feel-good"... All classes are back on from Thursday 1st September. Here's the full list, also check my calendar here "Feel-Good" Yoga Classes at GL11 Community Hub, GL11 5JS: - Monday evenings 7.45-8.45pm - Thursday evenings 7.30-8.30pm - Friday mornings 9.30-10.30am Class at King's Stanley Village Hall, GL10 3PN: - Monday evenings 5.30-6.30pm Mindfulness Meditation for Wellbeing - Monday mornings, 10-11am at GL11 Community Hub Gentle Chair Yoga - Wednesday morn