Archive Yoga Aylesbury

The Chakras

24/02/2017 by

Imagine a river with 7 swirling pools, the water is your life force energy and the pools are the chakras.  when you experience a state or emotion that relates to a specific chakra your energy flow becomes disturbed or blocked.

The first chakra, Muladhara Chakra, means root support, it is linked to the earth and your earliest experiences.  The modern way of life, with much time spent on social media, city living, supermarket shopping all contribute to a disconnection from the earth and blockages in the root chakra.

Whether you want to create better health, more abundance and passion or to remove challenges in your life, balancing your root chakra is the key.

b54af53f16424569d8dbb6c3508fc63dThe root chakra is associated with:

  • The colour red
  • Hatha yoga
  • Ruby, garnet and hematitite
  • The Adrenals
  • Legs, feet, bones and large intestine

Supporting your Root Chakra

Here are a couple of practices for you to experiment with.  Have fun!

foot massage

Massage helps reconnect you with the physical body:  Regular sessions are highly recommended.  Try massaging your feet between sessions. Ayurvedic foot massage uses warm sesame, brahmi, or jatamansi oil.

red
Meditate on the the colour red.  You can use a red candle, an image or simply bring the colour red to your inner awareness.  Start with a few minutes and gradually build up.

protein
Eat Protein animal or vegetable (avoid over eating though).

barefoot walking

Walk barefoot, feel the earth against your skin, let her support you.  Notice the sensations in your feet.  This focused awareness will calm and stabalise your body and mind.

 

relaxation

It is very important not to miss the relaxation part of a yoga session.  When you relax, focus on each part of your body, inviting it to let go, notice your breath. Your nervous system now has time to settle.

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: , , ,

“New Beginnings”

23/09/2015 by

“The whole world’s broke and it ain’t worth fixing,
It’s time to start all over, make a new beginning,
There’s too much pain, too much suffering,
Let’s resolve to start all over make a new beginning.
Now don’t get me wrong I love life and living,
But when you wake up and look around at everything that’s going down,
All wrong.
You see we need to change it now, this world with too few happy endings
We can resolve to start all over make a new beginning,
Start all over
The world is broken into fragments and pieces,
That once were joined together in a unified whole,
But now too many stand alone,
There’s too much separation,
We can resolve to come together in the new beginning.
We can break the cycle – We can break the chain,
We can start all over – In the new beginning.
We can learn, we can teach,
We can share the myths, the dream, the prayer,
The notion that we can do better,
Change our lives and paths,
Create a new world,
And Start all over.
The whole world’s broke and it ain’t worth fixing,
It’s time to start all over, make a new beginning.
There’s too much fighting, too little understanding,
It’s time to stop and start all over,
Make a new beginning,
We need to make new symbols,
Make new signs,
Make a new language,
With these we’ll define the world,
And start all over.”

 

Tracy Chapman

Filed Under: Misc

For a New Beginning

03/01/2015 by 
A Blessing by John O’Donohue from ‘Benedictus, A book of blessings’

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Filed Under: Misc

Reflection

27/05/2014 by

Look at me
You may think you see
Who I really am
But you’ll never know me
Every day
It’s as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
I am now
In a world where I
Have to hide my heart
And what I believe in
But somehow
I will show the world
What’s inside my heart
And be loved for who I am
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection
Someone I don’t know?
Must I pretend that I’m
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
There’s a heart that must be
Free to fly
That burns with a need to know
The reason why
Why must we all conceal
What we think, how we feel?
Must there be a secret me
I’m forced to hide?
I won’t pretend that I’m
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
~ Christine Aguilera, Reflection:

Filed Under: Misc

I am a Tree

14/02/2014 by

I am a tree

Which stands by the path you tread.

If you can learn something from me

Stay awhile.

I cannot take you my way

Because my roots

Are in my own piece of ground,

And my branches

Reach up to my own personal sky.

If you wish to lean

Against me for a time

And warm in the sun

Which filters through my leaves

Then share my stillness

And become one with me.

But do not stay too long –

Or part of yourself

Will become lost within me.

Do not take one of my branches

To use as a prop

For even I am unaware

Of which are strong or weak.

In looking at me

Reflect on what you didn’t know

And make it your own truth,

I will not impede the path you tread

But I hope I have helped

To make your journey

Worthwhile.

 

The Teacher by Barbara Griggs

Yoga healing meditation addiction parent addict

Filed Under: Misc

Yoga Therapy Sessions

29/01/2014 by

A Yoga therapy session will be tailored to the need and interests of the client and may include:-

  • Postures
  • Meditation
  • Relaxation
  • Affirmations
  • Visualisation
  • Mantra
  • Sound/Chanting
  • Study of yoga texts

Sessions can be entirely chair based or mainly lying to make it accessible to all

Chair based is ideal for those with restricted mobility including wheel chair users, the spine is upright and movement is available in all major joints.  Many practices such as meditation are usually seated so unaffected

Lying practices are gentle, supported and relaxing ideal for those with balance issues, they allow for a good range of movement in a safe supported way

A typical session – There are different approaches depending on the desired outcome.

Sessions may start in a relaxing way gradually introducing movement and breathing techniques or may start in an energetic way and gradually slow down creating a sense of calm and well-being.   The postures, breathing and additional techniques in a session will depend on whether the focus is energising, relaxing or balancing

Session format:  A session usually starts with a short period of stillness to settle the system and notice your starting point, (any aches and pains, how the mind is etc.), Movement is co-ordinated with the breath to help calm and focus the mind.  Clients are advised to work with their body as it is, avoiding pain.  Periods of rest and relaxation are included.  Towards the end of the session there may yoga breathing techniques, meditation/visualisation/sound/affirmation etc. as appropriate   

chair twistsemi suppine

Filed Under: Yoga Therapy

The Benefits of Therapeutic Yoga

29/01/2014 by

The appropriate practice of yoga unifies all aspects of the system.  It works on many levels and can be adapted to suit a wide range of needs.  The key is REGULAR practice – The more regularly you practice the sooner you will see results

Physical – improves:

• Posture
• Breath length which helps with lung function
• Balance – helps prevent falls
• Improve or maintain mobility
• Improve or maintain strength and flexibility
• Improve or maintain bone density
• Rehabilitation, can reduce pain including chronic pain, especially effective for reducing low back pain
• Energy levels
• Sense of well-being
• Digestion/elimination

Reduces:
• Heart rate
• Muscle tension
• Flight/flight syndrome
• Blood pressure
• Stillness and pain

Cognitive – improves:

• Concentration
• Focus
• Mental clarity
• Memory
• Staying present
• Dexterity
• Co-ordination
• Reaction times

Emotional – improves

• Mood
• Resilience
• Awareness
• Anger control
• Mind-body connection

Reduces:
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Fear

Social

• Reduces sense of isolation
• Group support
• Make new friends
• Improves confidence

The Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council states that “Yoga can help with a wide range of disorders and stress related problems. Including back and joint issues; breathing disorders; issues during PMS, pregnancy and menopause; emotional issues such as anxiety, depression; injuries, surgery and illness. It may also enhance the quality of life for patients with chronic diseases”.

I am currently working with clients experiencing fibromyalgia, MS, ME, cancer, arthritis, back/neck pain, stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, IBS, osteoarthritis, & crohns disease

Yoga therapy can be used alongside conventional medicine and other complementary therapies.

back pain forward bend semi suppine chair twist

Filed Under: Anxiety, Fatigue, Stress, Yoga Therapy

Yoga Therapy

13/01/2014 by

Yoga Therapy – Viniyoga approach

Yoga therapy is a holistic therapy to optimise our health and well being on a physical, energetic, mental/emotional and spiritual level.   Often when thinking of yoga it is the physical aspect and perhaps breathing that comes to mind, however, yoga incorporates a wide variety of tools, as well as postures and breathing these include: diet & life style advice, meditation, relaxation, affirmations and visualisation; personal ritual, mantra, chanting and study of yoga texts which date back thousands of years.

 Yoga postures are adapted to suit individual needs rather than forcing the body into various positions.  This can help develop strength, flexibility, ease and balance in the body; reduce weakness and structural pain according to need.  Moving in time with the breath helps spinal movement; it can ease spinal compression and lengthen the spine increasing range of movement and comfort.  This emphasis on the spine has a positive effect on the nervous system, it helps calm the mind and reduce anxiety which is further developed with seated breathing practices, meditation, chanting etc

What is involved?

Yoga therapy involves taking an active part in your own healing process.  The therapist devises a practice, taking into account physical, energetic, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs interests, lifestyle and living arrangements.  To gain maximum benefit, you are encouraged to practice at home on a regular basis.  It does not need to be as long as a group class, just 20-30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week will be very beneficial.  In acute cases you may be given a shorter practice to do twice daily.

How quickly does it work?

Positive results are often seen within a few weeks, sometimes within days, the key is regular practice. The more regularly you practice the sooner you will see results.

What conditions can Yoga therapy help?

The Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council states that “Yoga can help with a wide range of disorders and stress related problems.  Including back and joint issues; breathing disorders; issues during PMS, pregnancy and menopause; emotional issues such as anxiety, depression; injuries, surgery and illness.  It may also enhance the quality of life for patients with chronic diseases”.

I am currently working with fibromyalgia, MS, ME, COPT. scoliosis, PTSD, cancer, arthritis, back/neck pain, stress, & anxiety.

Yoga therapy can be used along with conventional medicine and other complementary therapies.

Further information

http://www.suzanjoywells.co.uk/2014/01/the-benefits-of-therapeutic-yoga/

 

http://www.suzanjoywells.co.uk/2014/01/yoga-therapy-sessions/

http://www.pranamaya.com/blog/special-features/qa-gary-kraftsow-on-yoga-therapy-and-your-mood/http://www.cnhc.org.uk/

http://www.viniyoga.com/about/what-is-viniyoga

http://www.viniyoga.com/about/what-is-yoga-therapy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwK7AAo7VxI

http://www.viniyoga.com/_blog/American_Viniyoga_Institute_-_Blog/post/Viniyoga_for_Low_Back_Pain_New_Study_Results_Released/

Filed Under: Anxiety, Fatigue, Stress, Yoga Therapy

How Healthy is Your Heart ?

06/11/2013 by

Latest news and research about the heart, click on each link for more information

  1. Is it a HEART ATTACK or CARDIAC ARREST?
  2. Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer
  3. Most deaths from heart disease are caused by a heart attack
  4. Heart disease kills more women than breast Cancer
  5. An under active thyroid, can raise blood pressure and so be an issue for heart health
  6. Men who don’t have breakfast are 27 per cent more likely to suffer heart attacks or heart disease
  7. ’Broken heart’ syndrome usually occurs in women, and can be triggered by stresses such as bereavement
  8. The UK spends nearly £2 billion each year on the healthcare costs of treating coronary heart disease
  9. heart in bodyCarbohydrates/Sugar, is the Root of Heart Disease
  10. Saturated Fat Does NOT Promote Heart Disease
  11. Taking exercise, eating a healthy diet and being aware of dangers such as smoking, drinking, high blood pressure, and stress are all important for your long term heart health, whether you currently have heart disease or not.

 

Filed Under: Stress

Staying Grounded – 3 tips to keep you centred

16/10/2013 by

images

Getting back to nature and following the seasons as in days of old really helps us stay connected, grounded present and aware.  Our routine and diet should reflect the season

Ayurveda is considered a sister science to yoga.  It is one of the world’s oldest healing systems, originating around 3000 years ago in India; it was used alongside yoga to support the body.

It says that our constitution and stage of life, the seasons and time of day comprise one or a mixture of dosa:- vata, pitta and kapha – the tridosa.

In autumn vata predominates.  Vata is linked to the elements of air and ether; it is light, subtle, dry, mobile, rough and cold.  If vata is predominant in the body autumn will aggravate it further.  You may feel off balance or ungrounded.

Suggestions to help ground and balance include:

1.  Eat foods that are warm and moist (soups, stews, steamed vegetables) to reduce and calm vata.

2.  A warm oil massage

3.  A slow, steady, grounding, consistent yoga asana practice.

Filed Under: Anxiety, Healing, Stress
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