Jade Lizzie

Sharing the yoga love

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Navigating Life Transitions with Yoga

In the run-up to my maternity leave, knowing my time for writing would soon be limited, I drafted a blog post ready to refine and share after my baby was born. Except that was 18 months ago, and I’ve never posted it, because I got it so wrong.

Pregnancy yoga at 38 weeks

The draft article was called “What happens when you do 10 minutes of yoga per day?” It was inspired by one of the most popular articles I’ve ever written – “What happens when you do 3 hours of yoga per day?” I thought my new blog post would be a nice complement to that article and the ideal one for my first piece of writing post-baby. And in my naïveté, I was sure I’d manage 10 minutes of yoga per day as a new mum. I mean, babies sleep, right?! If you’re a seasoned parent, and you’re reading this with a wry smile, know that I also believed I’d be able to carry on my PhD research while on maternity leave because, again, babies sleep. It makes me cringe now.

As a small aside, I want to acknowledge here that plenty of people manage to have babies and maintain a yoga practice. I believe some even manage to bake cakes, look after other children, keep on top of laundry and write books. I was not one of those people.

Failed attempts to get on my mat

I tried many times to do some yoga with my daughter Fenn lying on my mat, like the yoga mums I saw on Instagram. It never worked. Fenn would cry with outrage at being put down until I gave up. She did sleep; her preferred positions were on me, or being pushed by me in her pram. Neither was ideal for doing yoga. I couldn’t even put her in the sling I’d imagined she’d love, like the baby-wearing mum I thought I should be. She hated it, and it usually made her very sick, down both of us. I know now that Fenn had terrible, undiagnosed reflux, which probably explains her intolerance for being anywhere other than propped up on me or on the move. Once we had medication, life changed dramatically. But in the first few months of her life, there were no easy yoga slots. When I got some respite, my priority was sleep, or eating something with two hands, or trying to regain some semblance of control over our home.

But although my physical yoga practice took a hit, I’m so grateful I spent years practising yoga before welcoming Fenn. Navigating this life transition would have been unimaginable without the grounding yoga provided. All that practising, reflecting and connecting with my body and mind were like payments into a personal wellbeing account. And for the past 18 months I’ve been withdrawing from it, reaping the benefits of the groundwork yoga laid. 

The power of reframing

One of the simplest ways has been the countless hours I’ve spent comforting my daughter and helping her get to sleep. Sometimes rocking, sometimes cuddling, sometimes just sitting and waiting. I am not, by nature, a very patient person. I want to do everything faster, to fit more and more in. But yoga and meditation have taught me practical techniques for resisting the urge to rush and surrendering to the moment. I’ve reminded myself in those moments to breathe, relax, soften into it and to see what happens. And I’ve changed my relationship to these times. Now, my time getting Fenn to sleep is when I write articles in my mind, or rest and enjoy the cuddles, or let my mind wander and see what comes up. I’ve started to recognise it as really precious time, reminding myself how powerful it is to reframe “I’ve got to do this” to “I get to do this”. When it’s harder to just sit, I count my breaths or focus on a mantra. All these strategies come more easily thanks to the times when I had a consistent meditation practice

With the fam

The meditation has also helped me to be less reactive, or at least to give me some space between my reaction and my response. Take, for instance, a particularly challenging night when, after soothing Fenn back to sleep at 3am, she threw up all over the bed. Teetering on the edge of frustration, I caught myself, recognising how tired I was. I took a breath and realised I didn’t need to waste energy on irritation, choosing instead to stay in a calm, quiet place within myself while I changed the sheets. The ability to notice my reaction, then make a deliberate choice to follow a more peaceful path, was a gift from my meditation practice months and years before.

And then there have been the times that were emotionally rough. The times when I was exhausted and questioned all my life choices and missed my old life and freedoms so much that it hurt. The times that no one warns you about. Here it was the yin yoga practices that helped. They have taught me to lean into the discomfort, to do tonglen, where you breathe into the space that feels hot and dark and uncomfortable instead of pushing it away. Because by sitting with them, allowing them, even welcoming them, I was much better able to process the feelings and move through it. 

Yoga as a reservoir of strength

What I’ve realised is that the quantity of your practice doesn’t diminish its quality or impact on your life, and the physical element doesn’t need to be a constant. I’ve come to see the yoga I’ve done as a reservoir of strength, patience, and resilience that I can draw from in times of change. So, to anyone navigating major life transitions, unsure of how to maintain their practice or integrate it into their new life, know this: the yoga you’ve already done, the time you’ve dedicated to it, continues to work within you. It becomes a part of you. 

I suspect I’m still mostly in the withdrawing from the wellbeing account phase, but I am finding ways to top it up a bit too – lots of journalling, the odd online yoga class and plenty of walking and running outside. When I do a physical yoga practice, it feels reassuring and grounding. Like a catch up with a really good friend, it’s still the space that lets me be fully myself. I know life will cycle back around, and I’m sure at some point I’ll get to do 3 hours of yoga per day again, but for now I’m loving what I can do. 

How I’m getting on with reformer pilates…

As someone who has made Beeston their home, I’m always happy to see lovely new places opening up locally – restaurants, cafes, shops and most recently, a beautiful new pilates reformer studio – Elevated Pilates.

I’ve been reformer-curious for a while, but never enough so to make the effort to get myself to a class.  But with a studio opening up on my doorstep, I got myself along to a class and I’m already hooked. 

Here’s what to expect from a class at Elevated Pilates in Beeston, based on my own experience… 

It’s beginner-friendly. 

Despite the straps and springs, it’s much less scary than it looks. I started with the Core Principles class, which is an ideal one for beginners. It guides you in how to build a foundation of strength and movement with simple but powerful exercises, and this helps you to get to grips with the reformer carriage. Sarah was my teacher for the first class, and her approach was super-inclusive and accessible.

It’s surprisingly mindful.

I’ll admit, because yoga is such a mindful practice, I didn’t expect to get the same centering, calming benefits from something that’s not… well, yoga. But what surprised me about the first class was how immersive it was. The motto seems to be “control the carriage” and it’s a useful one, because the moment you lose focus and either under or over-power your movement, the carriage lets you know by springing back with a bit of clunk! It’s a compelling reminder to keep your mind focused on what you’re doing…

It helps you build strength, in different ways.

This was a big one for me. I’ve been strength training a lot recently, so I wasn’t sure whether I would feel much after a reformer class. I definitely did. There were a couple of main aspects to this:

  1. Strength in range of motion. In teaching yoga, I talk a lot about building strength in your whole range of motion – building endless flexibility without the stability to support it is a bad idea for everyone, but especially for folks who have a tendency towards hypermobility (which is often those of us who are drawn to yoga!). But there are quite a few movements on the  reformer where you’re moving into your full range of motion – for example doing leg circles with legs in straps (my favourite). You’re working into and building your hamstring and hip mobility, but you also need to maintain muscle engagement because you’re working against the resistance of the springs. So it’s fantastic for releasing tight muscles while maintaining stability. 
  2. Core. I knew Pilates is good for core strength, but on the reformer, it’s a level up! 18 months ago, I had a caesarean section and I’ve done a lot of work since to help my core recover and rebuild the mind-body connection – not easy with muscles that were first stretched through pregnancy, then cut. I wish I’d found reformer sooner.  Everything on the carriage comes back to core strengthening – when you’re working legs you’re also engaging your core, in working shoulders, you need to stabilise through your abdominal muscles.  I come out of every session feeling stronger and more connected to my core.
  3. Identifying weak spots. This has been another surprise, but much like yoga, reformer pilates is very good for highlighting your weaknesses, and making you work on them. For me, it was feet and lower legs – I’ve not got the strongest ankles and I know this can be a weakness in my running. During my first class, I could really feel the engagement and work through my feet and ankles. It’s been great for helping me to work this area in a way that I’m clearly not naturally doing at the gym. 

It’s a lot of fun.

In case it’s not obvious, I’ve really enjoyed the classes. After years of struggling to find a perfect space to teach yoga locally (super grateful for the students who have stuck with me through rooms that are too hot, too cold or have horrible fluorescent lights – you are amazing!), it’s so lovely to be in a space designed specifically for the classes – it’s a beautiful, welcoming place.

As someone who works on my own for most of the day (and also works out alone, does yoga alone and runs alone – are you sensing a pattern?!) I’ve really enjoyed joining classes, being taught by a great teacher and making connections with other students.

But most of all, I find the classes themselves fun. Moving on the carriage feels playful and it’s so good to experiment with moving in a different way.

If you’re tempted, I highly recommend you give the classes a try. Let me know how you get on!

Life lessons from yoga in pregnancy

At 38 weeks pregnant, I’ve just started maternity leave and the busyness that usually gives my world structure has subsided. Everyone keeps telling me that the most important thing I can do is rest, which I’m sure is true. But given that I have a little set of feet presssing into my diaphragm, neither sitting nor lying for any length of time are very appealing… Thankfully, I still have yoga. I thought I’d share a little about how my yoga practice has been shaped by and shaped my experience of pregnancy in the hope it might help others, pregnant or not.

Everything feeling a little more challenging with a bump…

Yoga in the first trimester

I was lucky not to be too sick in my first trimester, but I felt lousy for weeks. I was plagued by nausea which refused to limit itself to any particular time of day. ‘Morning’ sickness is a lie. Much of the time I felt bone tired and a bit pathetic. Needless to say, my yoga practice changed a lot. When I managed to do a stronger asana practice I would feel much better for it. However, most days the best I could manage was a bit of cat-cow and some rolling from side to side.

Pranayama was my friend though – practising ujaayi breath and alternate nostril breathing (without breath retention) helped to keep me calm and centred. I can’t recommend it enough. Being able to focus on my breath also saved me during some tricky work calls when all I wanted to do was lie down with my iced water and dry crackers to hand.

Yoga in the second trimester

From about week 10 of my pregnancy, I started to feel much better. I had more energy, my body felt like mine again and the nausea subsided. I know I’m lucky in that and for many, symptoms last much longer and are far more severe than mine were. You have my utmost sympathy and respect!

But by week 11 or so, I was mostly back to doing my own vinyasa yoga practice, which just a few adaptations. As I didn’t have much of a bump until my third trimester, I felt quite unrestricted and it was great to feel strong and mobile again. I tried some free pregnancy yoga classes on Youtube, but found them a bit dull. I wasn’t ready to give up a stronger physical practice, so and I got frustrated with feeling the classes were so limited in scope. I ended up subscribing to an online service purely for a brilliant online pregnancy yoga series from Lauren Eckstrom. This gave me the physical challenge I was looking for while also having some gentler classes and pregnancy-specific yoga nidra classes thrown into the mix.

One of my favourite postures for creating space in the pelvis

Yoga in the third trimester

In my third trimester, I started to miss the connection to others of being part of a class. I couldn’t find any pregnancy yoga classes near where I live in Beeston, Nottingham (maybe something I can rectify in the future!) but I stumbled across some live online Triyoga classes led by an absolute guru of pregancy yoga, Lolly Stirk. Since the 70s, Lolly has championed women’s rights to free movement and choice in their births. She founded the Active Birth Movement which shaped medical practice through the 80s and 90s. The depth of her knowledge shines through in her classes, which combine community, gentle movement and breathing. At 36 weeks pregnant, when my midwife told me that she couldn’t find the baby’s head (!) and wasn’t sure whether they were breech, Lolly asked me what I could feel. She then reassured me, “Have the scan to be sure, but your baby is head down, your baby is fine.” She was right.

Lolly has taught me a way of practising yoga that will never leave me. It’s about repetitive, and almost hypnotic movements, tuning in to the natural rhythms of the body and working with the breath. I begin most classes feeling a little agitated and impatient, then at a certain point, my mind settles and I’m just there, in my body. I can’t imagine a better way to prepare for birth.

3 things that yoga in pregnancy has taught me

I’m a big believer in taking all the learning you can from an experience. Pregnancy has been a steep learning curve for me. The things I am hoping will stick are:

  1. Whatever else is going on, you can always come back to your breath. Focusing on my breath has anchored me through the sicky days, the energetic days and the anxious days.
  2. You practise yoga in a different body each time. For years, I’ve enjoyed yoga’s ability to help me tune into changes in my body. But pregnancy brings such accelerated transformation that every time I practise, something tangible has changed. I love taking time to notice, accept and appreciate it.
  3. Being able to do’ a posture matters less than you think. I’ve surprised myself by not really caring when I lost the ability to do certain yoga postures. Yoga has helped me to stay mobile enough to pick things up off the floor, tie my own shoelaces and get myself off the sofa. But when child’s pose got too restricted, I just grabbed a bolster. When handstands no longer felt like sweet relief, I stopped doing them. When savasana on my back made me feel like I was suffocating, I lay on my side instead. And do you know what, it was fine.

Most of all, yoga in pregnancy has been a lesson in impermanence and non-attachment. It’s been an invitation to dive deeper into an awareness that transcends the physical postures and to see that they never really mattered anyway. That said, I still defy anyone to focus on much at all when you’re literally being kicked in the ribs from the inside. Maybe there’s a lesson somewhere in that too?!

What happens when you practise yoga nidra every day?

About a month ago, I challenged myself to practise yoga nidra every day for a week.

What is yoga nidra?

If you’re unfamiliar with yoga nidra, it’s a practice where you fully relax and follow guided instructions to focus your mind on different things. The yoga nidra scripts vary, but they often include elements like a full body scan, conjuring up sensations and visualisations.

Imagine shows Jade resting in baddha konasana pose
Learning to take it a bit easier

Why yoga nidra, and why every day?

As any quick google search will tell you, yoga nidra is known for its relaxing benefits. It’s a great way to soothe the nervous system, destress and leave you feeling calm. I realise that none of that sounds very challenging. And in itself, it’s not. The practice is easy. You choose a recording – I like Ally Boothroyd’s videos on YouTube – or make one of your own, you lie down and make yourself comfy, and that’s it. But for me, it’s not the doing it that’s the problem, it’s making the time for it.

I work full time, which unfortunately equates to a lot of sitting at my desk, in front of a screen. I’m also studying for a PhD in education, which again, involves a lot of sitting at a computer. When I’m done with the screen, I’m desperate to move around. I’m ready for a strong vinyasa flow yoga class, a workout or at the very least a good walk. I find it hard to ‘justify’ relaxing in way that involves stillness, even when I sense it’s what my mind needs.

So this idea of practising yoga nidra every day came to me seemingly from nowhere, as the best ideas often do. I was out for a walk, reflecting on work and life, when it popped into my head – I should try doing yoga nidra every day. I’m not sure why this was the inspiration that struck me – although I’ve liked yoga nidra on the rare occasions I’ve practised it, I’ve never sought it out. If I’m honest, I’d probably taught more yoga nidra than I’d practised myself.

How was practising yoga nidra every day?

I loved it. I don’t think I should have been surprised by this, but I was. As the week went on, my enjoyment of the practice snowballed. I found it easier to settle in, easier to stay awake (mostly!) and easier to drop quickly into a deep state of relaxation. I also found it changed the way I felt the rest of the time. I sometimes struggle with anxiety, and yoga, movement and meditation are my main coping strategies for this. But after a few days of practising yoga nidra, I found myself feeling lighter. Some of the jittery undercurrent of my consciousness seemed to have dissolved away.

There were a few unexpected learnings for me too:

  1. Yoga nidra doesn’t need to take forever. I’m sure yoga nidra purists would disagree, but some of my most enjoyable practices were only 10 minutes long. I thought that I had to do at least 30 minutes for it to be a ‘real practice’, and I did enjoy a couple of longer practices, but the shorter ones felt just as beneficial.
  2. Yoga nidra isn’t only for bedtime. In fact, I found I was too tired to get the most out of it just before bed. Instead I tried:
    • First thing in the morning. Although I struggled to convince myself to do this when I could just be snoozing, it turned out to be a lovely, gentle way to start the day.
    • On my lunchbreak. This I found to be the hardest time. For me it’s always difficult to disconnect from work once I’m in the flow of it and knowing I had to get back into it in the afternoon made it hard to let go. That said, it definitely gave me a proper break in the day and let me reset my energy levels before the afternoon.
    • After work. This was my favourite time to practise. After work I’d do yoga or a workout, then give myself time to practise yoga nidra before I carried on with the rest of my evening. It worked perfectly. It let me transition from productive mode into something more restorative and put me in a great mood to start my evening. I was much less inclined to ruminate over work stress in the evenings afterwards.
  3. The effects of yoga nidra are long lasting and cumulative. After a few days of the practice, I noticed I felt calmer. At times I would notice with surprise that my anxiety seemed to have dissolved altogether, albeit temporarily. It wasn’t a dramatic revelation, but more a gentle unfurling of something sweeter and easier.
Image shows my ginger cat George curled up asleep on a blanket.
This little munchkin reminding me every day you can never get too much rest…

The Big Question: Will I keep it up?

I think I will. Beyond these little challenges I like to set myself, I avoid giving myself too many ‘must-dos’ each day. But I do intend keeping this up as part of my regular practice. I’ve got too much from it to stop now…

Ready to incorporate more relaxation time into your own practice?

My free yoga teaching resource pack contains a couple of scripts, one for guided savasana and one for meditation which you might find useful to add a bit more relaxation into your own practice. Download it here.

Online Yoga to Help You Through Tough Times

Wow, what strange old times we’ve found ourselves in…

I’ve got some time off work at the moment, and I’ve been quite hard on myself for not being creative enough with that time. I had all these ideas that I’d make yoga videos, try new recipes, write a book, learn a craft, plan my PhD etc etc. In reality, what I’ve wanted to do is play with my cats and read in the garden. So far, so unproductive.

But I am grateful for yoga, and the fact I can access amazing yoga teaching from home. A few people have asked me for online yoga recommendations, so I’ve collated some of my favourites. In time, who knows, I might get around to adding my own content to this list. But until inspiration strikes, I’m happy to share a few of my own “go to” places for online yoga…
If you have your own suggestions, please add them in the comments below.

Online Yoga Recommendations

  1. Suryalila Cyber Yoga Retreat – my love of this amazing retreat centre in Andalucia, Spain is no secret. I blogged about it here. Sadly, their business has been hit hard by the pandemic. But, wonderful folk that they are, they’ve come up with a cyber yoga retreat. This means they can keep sharing their teachings, love and sense of community with the world, while hopefully generating enough income to keep the retreat centre alive. You can buy a day, week or month pass, and they’re also offering “compassion passes” for those in financial difficulty themselves. Their classes have given my days much needed structure and there’s something for everyone with a range of different yoga, meditation and philosophy classes. See here for full details.
  2. Ekhart Yoga – this has long since been my favourite source of online yoga. I let my membership lapse a while ago, as I was drawn to the flashier, LA-based AloMoves, but in all honesty, I regret it! The platform on Ekhart Yoga is more intuitive so it’s easier to find what you are looking for, whether that’s a 15 minute meditation, or a 60 minute strengthening class. I also find the teachers seem more approachable… I know the yoga is online, but I still prefer practising with a teacher I feel I’d have a good chat with! At the moment, Ekhart Yoga have made some free classes available here, and they also offer a two week free trial.
  3. Youtube offerings – I’ve spent a long time sifting through various Youtube yoga channels. There’s a lot of yoga on there, but the quality is variable. However, I’ve found the following to be safe bets:
    • Finlay Wilson – also known as the “Kilted Yogi”, Finlay shares his Forrest Yoga teachings, and I’ve yet to try a class of his that I didn’t like. He also has a lovely voice, which helps.
    • Yoga with Adrienne – with a huge online following, Adrienne is firmly in YouTube Star territory, but it’s well deserved. She has an incredible range of classes from the generic, such as Yoga for Beginners, to the highly specific – Yoga for Risk Takers, anyone?! Her manner is warm and reassuring.
    • KinoYoga – I’ve loved Kino MacGregor’s teaching since I first discovered Ashtanga Yoga, and I still seek her out when I want something a bit more challenging. Her teaching is precise and full of helpful alignment cues. As well as full length classes she has some really nice (read: painful) yoga strength drills and advanced posture tutorials.
    • Core Connection Mini Sequence – I recommend this particular YouTube class from Denise Hopkins so often, I’m giving it a bullet point of its own. Those who come to my classes in real life know how much I love core work, and this class has it all: elbow to knee, abs with a block, an excruciating hold of Dolphin Pose. You are welcome.
  4. Last but not least, it’s hard to beat live teaching. This is the perfect time to support yoga teachers and studios if you can. Many yoga studios are offering Zoom or other webinar-style classes, so check out any that you usually visit and see what they are doing. You can also practise with yoga teachers whose classes you’d never normally make it to (2021 update: I recently got to take an online class with my wonderful friend Stephanie of Kalpana Yoga in Canada – lockdown has some advantages!).
Photograph of Jade doing yoga at home in a in standing forward fold, uttanasana.
Home yoga practice

My final little reminder (which I’m also telling myself often!) is to be kind to yourself and keep things simple. This time is stressful enough without putting undue pressure on yourself to make over your life, become an artist or learn a new language. All those are great if they’re what you’re compelled to do, but honestly, if you manage each day to move your body, eat food that makes you feel good, and send a kind message to family or friends, I reckon you should be pretty proud of yourself already.


I hope this helps. Let me know how you get on with online yoga!

Yoga For People Who Don’t Like Yoga

Yoga for people who don't like yogaI realised recently that many of my yoga students are people who “don’t like yoga”. Or at least, they didn’t think they liked yoga, until they were coerced into giving it another chance. These anti-yogis are now some of my most regular students. You might relate to them if…

  1. You think yoga is for hippies. Is being told to soften your pelvic floor so that fire energy can rise from your root chakra, infusing your spiritual being with celestial light not really your thing? No, me neither. I’m a big fan of yoga minus the bullshit, and it is possible to find it. Trust me, when you take away the pseudo-scientific narrative that accompanies far too many yoga classes, on a physical and mental level, yoga has a huge amount to offer.
  2. You reckon yoga is just relaxation. This is a tricky one because some yoga classes are. I once covered a class for someone whose style was evidently more passive than even my most gentle practice. I was asked afterwards whether I could make it easier. I politely explained that to me vinyasa yoga is a dynamic, physical practice, and one which has maximum benefits when it requires some mental and physical effort (notice, I said effort, not struggle – there is a difference). I’ll always, always offer modifications for students with injuries or limitations, and I make it clear that it’s good to rest whenever the practice becomes too much. But actually, I teach yoga to help people become stronger, more flexible and more self-aware. Relaxation is an important part of that, but it’s not the whole story.
  3. You don’t think your kind of people go to yoga. Considering points one and two above, you may well fear that a yoga class will be full of hippies, or people coming for extended nap time. However, as more and more people give yoga a try, and find a style that works for them, the yoga demographic broadens. I teach yoga to men, women, athletes, cyclists, those with disabilities, climbers, students, office workers, artists and builders. Oh, and a few genuinely lovely hippies. I don’t exclude.

If you’re a yoga-hater, I’d encourage you to give it another chance. And if you can get to Nottingham, come to my class… I like a challenge.  For those further afield, I’ll also be compiling a list of good quality, bullshit-free yoga videos online in the new year (I may even add a few of my own), so watch this space.

5 Great Reasons to go to a Yoga Workshop

Yoga Workshop I’ve been a fan of yoga workshops for a long time, and recently my obsession has reached new levels. 2016 has been the year of the yoga workshop for me – I’ve been on a mission to attend and teach as many workshops as I can. Why? Here are my top five reasons to go to a yoga workshop:

  1. Yoga workshops have a specific focus. Whether that’s improving your handstands, exploring meditation, or learning how yoga can help you cope with the colder months, with yoga workshops, there’s a clear and honest objective. Even when you go to a yoga class led by a teacher you love, there’s no guarantee that they’ll cover the thing you’re curious to know more about. When you choose a workshop though, you know exactly what you’ve signed up for and can make sure it’s something you’re into.
  2. Yoga workshops deepen your learning. Unlike in a 60 or even 90 minute class, yoga workshops give you the luxury of dedicated time. There is time to get proper instruction on a topic, to have it demonstrated and explained fully, then to try it out for yourself. Say you want to learn yoga techniques for cyclists, you get chance to explore these in detail, rather than gleaning the odd happy gem of relevant information from a general yoga class.
  3. Yoga workshops can answer your questions. Do you have a burning question about how to strengthen your core? Do you want to know what to do about the fact your right wrist bothers you every time you take weight into your hands? Or would you like a teacher to check your alignment in full wheel pose and give you feedback? You probably won’t want to ask those questions mid-flow of a yoga class, but yoga workshops are the ideal time to do exactly that. I recommend going with a list of questions, and checking at the end for any that haven’t been covered so that you can run them by the teacher.
  4. Yoga workshops are fun. If you’re looking for a great way to spend an afternoon, evening or day, you can’t go far wrong with a yoga workshop. You get to learn interesting things, play with yoga, and dedicate a couple of precious hours to developing yourself and your own yoga practice. Also, yoga workshops tend to be more sociable than yoga classes, and are a great chance to meet and interact with some lovely like-minded people.
  5. Yoga workshops are an investment in yourself. The couple of hours and the money that you invest in a yoga workshop directly benefits you. After most yoga workshops, I come away with lots of useful “takeaways” – new learning, things to try and ideas to incorporate into my own yoga practice. Workshops are also a great way to get re-inspired, especially if you’ve hit a bit of a plateau. I usually leave a yoga workshop motivated to get back on my mat, practising and learning more stuff.

I hope I’ve inspired you to consider investing in yourself with a yoga workshop. In the past I’ve run workshops for yoga for cyclists, yoga to beat the winter blues, introductions to Forrest-inspired yoga and many more, but I’m always keen to know what you would most like to see. Let me know in the comments below!

3 Brilliant Yoga Poses For Cyclists

After clocking up the miles cycling, yoga is the ideal way to release tight muscles, keeping your body healthy and functioning at its peak. These are 3 brilliant yoga poses for cyclists. They’ll improve your range of motion, flexibility and strength. Practise them after a ride, or on their own after a bit of a warm up. Hold each posture for at least 5 breaths (practising in dungarees is optional – if I’m completely honest I’d run out of clean yoga leggings when I took these photos!).

  1. Downward Facing Dog

Yoga Pose for Cyclists Downward Facing DogHow to do it: From all fours, tuck your toes under and lift your hips back and up so that your body forms an inverted V-shape. Press into your fingertips and externally rotate your upper arms.  Bend one knee at a time to take the stretch deeper into your hamstrings and calves. Keep lifting your hips back and up and take the gaze to the big toes. Hold for at least 5 breaths

Why it works: Downward facing dog is a great yoga pose for cyclists because it releases the back of your legs, especially your hamstrings and calves which riding tends to tighten. It also helps to bring your spine back into alignment and strengthens your upper body and shoulders.

  1. Crescent Lunge

Yoga Poses for Cyclists Crescent LungeHow to do it: Lunge forward with one leg and bend your front knee, taking your front thigh towards parallel to the ground, but not letting your knee come forward of the toes. Lengthen your stance if necessary. Keep your back heel off the ground but press it away to deepen the stretch into your hip flexor. Engage your core, lengthen tailbone towards the ground and reach your arms overhead. Remember to repeat on the other side!

Why it works: Crescent lunge deeply stretches and releases your psoas and hip flexors, which are often super-tight for cyclists. It provides a much needed opening for the front of your body, while building stability in your legs.

  1. Bridge Pose.

Yoga Poses For Cyclists Bridge PoseHow to do it: Lying on your back, bring your feet in, positioning them parallel and hip width apart. Press into your feet to lift your hips. Interlace your hands under your back and draw one shoulder at a time underneath you. Press the sides of your arms, wrists and hands into the ground to lift yourself higher.

Why it works: Bridge pose is the ideal counter for a rounded forward cyclist’s posture. It takes your arms into external rotation, opening the front of your shoulders and chest. This encourages your upper body to return to a healthy, neutral alignment after a ride. It also strengthens the muscles of your back and glutes while releasing your hip flexors, abdominal muscles and chest.

Why I Love Yoga to the People

Yoga to The People Brooklyn

Important Update: I wrote this post originally in 2016. I was recently made aware that Yoga to the People closed down in 2020, and with its demise, a range of allegations emerged regarding abusive and damaging practices that were a part of the culture of the organisation. I am deeply saddened that the place that struck me as so community focused and humble in fact caused pain for many people. I’ve left my original text below, because it’s a valuable reminder that things are not always as them seem. Sadly yoga is far from immune to abuses of power and I think we all have a role to play in making it a more kind and inclusive space.

The Original Post…

I recently spent a couple of weeks in Brooklyn, writing and yoga-ing, and generally falling in love with the place. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen a lot of photos from my rooftop. There are still more to come. I can only apologise. The view was incredible though…

Yoga to the People

While I was in the US, I wanted to get some experience of NY yoga classes. I was lucky enough to stumble across the incredible Yoga to the People. I can’t recommend this studio highly enough. In Brooklyn, a city where I spent 2 dollars on an apple, and 9 on a teeny tiny beer (it was really good beer though…), and yoga classes are often $20 drop-in, their ethos is all about keeping yoga accessible. The classes are donation-based, with a suggested donation of $10. If you can pay more, they ask that you do, and if you can’t pay $10 they ask that you pay what you can (if anything) and just keep coming back.

Sharing the Yoga Love

I love this approach. To me, the elitist yoga scene is off-putting and distracting. I love yoga for its accessibility – you don’t need expensive equipment, just your own body and a mat. And even the mat can be optional. Yes, if you want to spend a fortune on expensive designer yoga leggings, coordinating props and luxury studios, of course you can. But none of it is necessary. The power of the practice is in its simplicity.

The Class

So on a seriously hot Tuesday morning in Brooklyn, I found myself rolling out my mat in the studio of Yoga To The People, along with at least 20 other dedicated yogis. In that first class we were put through our paces in a gorgeous, sweaty vinyasa flow class. The theme seemed to be accepting yourself as “good enough”, which I liked. The encouraging teacher managed to tread that fine line between fitness trainer and spiritual guru with grace. Delivered with less skill, his guidance may have bordered on preachy, but it was full of warmth and peppered with humour, so even my repressed British self couldn’t get too cynical.

The Best Bit

What stood out for me most about that class was the atmosphere in the room. It was a group of motivated, focused people, all there because they love yoga enough to want to go to class, even in the middle of the day when it’s almost unbearably humid. The sense of community was like nothing I’ve experienced before in yoga, and I loved it.

What Next?

Now I’m back in the UK I’m incredibly excited to share all my US yoga learning with my UK yoga family. Watch this space for details of upcoming yoga workshops, classes and retreats…

Getting Back Into Yoga

Getting back into yogaDo you find it hard to get back into something after a break? I’ve experienced this recently with yoga (and blogging actually, oops…) It’s not that I stopped practising, I just hadn’t been doing as much, which I’m ok with. But it was when I found myself getting genuinely cross because my bus was 3 minutes late that I realised it I needed some yoga love back in my life (yes, doing yoga makes me a nicer person.)

But actually getting back into yoga wasn’t as easy as I expected. Here’s what I found helped:

  1. Clarify your motivations. I made a list of all the reasons I wanted to get back into yoga. They included everything from, “I’ll get better at keeping things in perspective,” to, “My back won’t hurt as much after I’ve been sitting writing.”
  2. Make a plan and keep it simple. In the past whenever I’ve wanted to get back into yoga, I’ve gone back to Ashtanga yoga, because it’s disciplined, I know it well, and I can just follow the set structure. But this time I wasn’t keen to do that. Instead I chose an online yoga class from Meghan Currie (look her up – she’s amazing) on Ekhart Yoga. It was an hour long and incorporated lots of stuff I wanted to work on – forearm balance, handstands and backbends. I decided to do this every day for a week. Simple.
  3. Stick to it. Once I’m into something, I’m pretty good at sticking to it, but I find the first few days of a new routine the hardest. So I refused to let myself skip a day or shorten the practice, because that would only make it harder to do it properly the following day.
  4. Remember to enjoy it. During the yoga class, I’d try to focus on the bits that felt good, and really notice them. I’d find ways to make my sessions nicer – lighting a candle, wearing my favourite leggings (in the picture – I actually love them) and hanging out for a little bit longer in postures I was enjoying. And at the end of the practice, I’d take time to acknowledge all the positives that came from it – strength, flexibility, mindfulness etc.
  5. Review it. After my week of doing the same thing every day, I wanted to mix it up a bit. I’m over my Ashtanga phase of making myself do the same thing repeatedly just to see how far I can push it. Variety is more fun. So my plan is now to do that class twice per week, and other kinds of yoga on the remaining days. I’ve added in some yin yoga, some core strengthening classes and sessions where I just play and see what I feel like doing.

Has it worked? In a word, yes. I can already feel the difference in my flexibility and strength. And crucially, I’m loads more patient waiting for buses. Or at least I’m working on it…

 

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