Blog
Being a Yogi is an Action, Not an Achievement
It’s easy to think that if we just practise hard enough, at some point we will nail it, complete yoga, become the ultimate guru. The reality is that yoga is a continuous practice, it is extraordinarily diverse and it changes as we change.
Three Things That Don’t Matter When You’re Doing Some Yoga
When I talk about starting yoga with my newest students, they often mention the same concerns. In this fourth instalment of my How to Start Doing Yoga series I run through the things that really don’t matter as much as they seem to in a yoga practice, and the one thing that does matter.
What do you actually need to practice yoga?
It seems from the outside like a pair of expensive leggings is an entry requirement to any yoga class, this is not true. The truth is you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in for yoga, and use any kind of mat. In part three of my ‘How to Start Doing Yoga’ Series, here’s a quick guide on what you need for yoga and what might make your practice more comfortable.
How to Choose Your First Yoga Class
The yoga world is vast, and as Colin Hall says ‘there are as many yogas as there are yogis’. So how do you figure out where to start? In this second part of my How to Start Doing Yoga series I’ll give you some guidance on how to choose your first class and how to figure out if it was right for you.
What to Expect from Your First Yoga Class
It is my mission as a yoga teacher to bring yoga to people who feel excluded from the yoga world. To that end I’m starting a new series on ‘How to Start Doing Yoga’. I hope it will help dispel myths and misconceptions, give you some tips for navigating the vast universe of yoga and yogi-speak, and encourage you to give yoga a try. First in this series, what can you expect from going to a yoga class?
Who’s In Charge of Your Yoga Practice?
Yoga teachers say it all the time ‘listen to your body’. It’s a lot easier said than done when we spend 95% of our yoga practice listening to the instructions of the yoga teacher, with a couple of options thrown in for the most challenging poses. Read on for some suggestions on how to trust what your body is telling you and let it guide your practice as much as your teacher does.
Becoming a Body Positive Yogi
Having just finished reading Body Positive Power , by Megan Jayne Crabbe, I’m fired up, I’m inspired, and I’ve got a lot of thoughts about Body Positivity and yoga to share. Read on for the knotty ways body positivity interplays with a yoga practice and 5 things that I’m doing to become a truly body positive yoga teacher.
Yoga Doesn’t Judge, You Can Do Some Yoga
I know that yoga can help everyone in some way, it’s why I teach. Yet so many people are put off from giving it a try due to the myths and misconceptions that surround the practice. I want to break down the walls around the western yoga world, here’s a few thoughts about how.
No Matter How Much Time You Have, You Can Do Some Yoga
It often feels like to be a ‘good’ yogi we have to dedicate hours of time (and spend lots of money) to a physical practice. In fact even 5 minutes of yoga can have remarkable benefits, so we shouldn’t be put off by the time commitment perception. However much time you’ve got to do some yoga, that’s enough to get started.
Yoga Doesn’t Care How Flexible You Are
I hear it all the time, “I could never do yoga, I’m not flexible enough”. I think this is the most pervasive misconception about yoga, and its a great shame because it is putting so many people off giving yoga a try. Read on to discover how you can be too flexible for yoga and where the idea of flexibility in yoga even came from. I hope this provides some inspiration to give some yoga a try.
How to Create a Mini-Sanctuary At Home
Right now the vast majority of us are confined to our homes. Suddenly a place generally reserved for rest and relaxation has become an office, a gym and perhaps even a classroom. We’ve most likely carved out enough space to work and learn effectively, but have we made enough space for our mental health? Here are seven tips to help create a mini-sanctuary at home, no matter how much space you have to spare.
Why We Need to Keep Moving Right Now
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the vast majority of us are social-distancing, at home, and going through a really challenging time. Here are 7 reasons why its never been more important that we stay active and keep moving. For our physical health, our mental health and our relationships.
How to Start a Meditation Practice
We hear it all the time, meditation will change your life. It can improve your brain-function and focus, it can relieve anxiety and depression, it can lift your mood, reduce inflammation, even help heal your gut. We hear these benefits evangelically shouted from the rooftops, but knowing all this is not enough to get many of us to give meditation a try. Or to stick with it once we’ve tried it. Here are some ideas about how to change our thinking around meditation practice, with a 2 minute how-to guide to get you started.
When Goals are Counter-Productive – How to Start Doing Yoga
Setting goals can help us achieve wonderful things, but if we are too focused on external validation and arbitrary results, we risk losing sight of our goals altogether. Here’s what I’ve learned about setting goals that we can stick to, without assigning our self-worth to our achievements.
How to Slow Down: Finding Peace in India
Spending a full week on your yoga practice is a great privilege. Here I share some lessons I learned on a week’s yoga retreat in Goa, India. How to slow down, a new approach to Yin yoga and how to be quiet.
“I Should Try Yoga But…”
People tell me all the time ‘I should try yoga but…’ or ‘I want to try yoga but…’. The reasons they give me vary, they are personal, but almost every single reason given comes back to the same root cause - a mismatch between an idea of who yoga is for (spiritually enlightened, time rich, actually rich, able bodied, flexible, gym bunnies in trendy leggings), and who it’s actually for (absolutely everyone).
#yogaeveryday is not serving us, let’s just do some yoga
There is not a single person I know who couldn’t find some benefit from yoga, but we’ve all got that “I should do some yoga but…” on our minds. My own struggles with motivation helped me understand how we can break down the barriers to trying yoga, and it’s got nothing to do with #yogaeveryday.