I was 43 days pregnant and the tiredness, aches, twinges and emotions were building each moment of each day. I was watching an episode of Grand Designs when things started to happen. I didn’t think much of the fact that I found myself crying my eyes out because the builders on Grand Designs overcame some construction challenges and made a nice house. However, I did notice that my usual Braxton Hicks cramps that I was accustomed to, did begin to feel a little bit different, a little more of subtle but certain electrical wave like, spasmodic temporary squeeze around the pelvis and lowe ..read more

Early Postpartum’ is generally considered to be the first 40 days after childbirth. It is a delicate and precious time of getting to know your new baby and your new body. Yet it can also be a confusing and overwhelming time.  Traditional Cultures around the world have long practiced and recommended that a new mother and baby stay home. Mexico, India, China, Iran, Morocco are just some of many of the countries that have their own postpartum traditions for rest and recovery, which is generally known as ‘confinement’ at home for the 40 days. Different cultures across the ..read more

0 0   CLOSE YOUR EYES Something you may not have considered before is how our 5 senses are stimulated or curtailed by modern life. Our built up urban environment with excessive time spent indoors and on screens generally places a heavy reliance on our sense of Sight in order to navigate daily life (see Hutmacher, 2019, for a review). Of the 5 senses, the sense that receives the least attention is our sense of smell. Yet there is an emerging realization that actually despite being underrated, our sense of smell is powerful (McGann, 2017). From an evolutionary psychological perspec ..read more

Is Veganism a part of Yoga? Do you need to be a vegan in order to be an authentic yoga teacher or practitioner?   For me Yoga has always been more than just a physical practice, it’s been a way of life, which very much influences how I consider what to eat. I was 14 years old when I first started yoga and when I first officially declared myself a vegetarian (as a child I always avoided meat anyway). I was vegetarian for the next 13 years until I was 27 years old and then became vegan for 3 years until the age of 30 years old. At 30 the cracks started to show and I realised that ..read more

It occurred to me that we have an epidemic in the over reliance and use of screens. Zoom has become a popular format in which to receive yoga classes along with the existing pre-recorded classes online.   This is all good but trying to keep your eyes on a screen to follow along with a sequence can detract from ones yoga experience and misses a trick in terms of cultivating deep listening skills and autonomy.   15 years ago before video was so prolific and easily accessible and when iTunes was a new thing I personally really enjoyed practicing yoga via audio file guided instruction so ..read more