Gone To Yoga Brussels

18/11/2020

focus

Childfocus asks to post as many pictures of cats on Insta today,in its fight against child abuse,a major problem all too often underestimated :

Did you know that for every picture of a cat 78 pictures of sexual child abuse are shared on the internet?

That is horrible.

Together against child abuse.

And therefore... meet Ferdinand,for those who do not know him yet. A sweet 4 year old black cat who loves sleeping next to me and understands the art of purring as no other. But don't you mess with him!

28/10/2020

Chair yoga to stay fit under lockdown

Most of us have encountered some kind of restrictions of movement for the last 8 months. Home has often become a poor substitute for a regular workplace. No ergonomic chairs. No desks that can move up and down to the required height. A laptop without additional screen...

As office workers,we weren't moving that much before but even less so under these corona restrictions.

Not moving equals aching body.

The remedy is simple! Move!

Chair yoga is a simple way to add movement to your work. Focus should be on some simple stretches to open up the chest,relax the shoulders,liberate articulations of hands and fingers.

Not having a quiet place with some soothing music and candle light is no longer an excuse for not doing yoga. All you need is your chair!

My favourites?

Using the back of the chair to twist to the sides.
And simply opening eyes and mouth wide,sticking out your tongue!

Smile!

Stay safe,stay happy!

10/10/2020

Chair yoga on the go

It has been a while since I had this much fun preparing a class. A client asked me to prepare a chair yoga class for its employees in the upcoming wellness week.

For me,chair yoga had always been the yoga you teach to seniors (which truly is a beautiful way to teach yoga!), but diving into the topic I discovered so many fun ways to pimp a chair yoga class.

The result?

A beautiful and funny class for office workers who will be invited to use all they have at hand. Chairs,but desk,laptop,phone,wall and possibly a masked colleague as well!

Cannot wait to teach this class! Lets rock 'n rrrrrrrrrroll!

27/09/2020

Open up

I am an office worker. And for the last 7 months I have been a home office worker with too low a table and too small a laptop screen. At times, my daily exercise was limited to walking up to the coffeemachine and back to the dinner table transformed into office table.

Needless to say I have had my share of sore neck,back,shoulders.

Then I remembered this easy sequence taught by yoga therapist Gunther Niessen,that helped me open up again.

Not only does it help you release tension in the shoulder girdle,it also invites you to regain a better posture,and confidence,drizzled with a warm feeling of gratitude.

So up to you!

Put aside your laptop,stand up,feet hipwidth apart.
Turn both shoulders backwards inviting them to open up and soften. You can do this as many times as you feel like. Now lift your arms sideways and open your hands stretching all fingers out wide,like sunrays. Stand breathing a couple of rounds.
When bringing your hands down to your heart region,imagine you bring the energy of the sun to your heart. Stand still for a couple of breaths,one hand on top of the other,eyes closed.

Feeling confident and grateful.



Photo credits: Andrew Neel

21/09/2020

Locked cabins for women travelling on board night trains?

I was deelply shocked when I read this article about the French railway company selling tickets on board their night trains for cabins that can be locked from the insight out. Their clients? Women travelling alone or together or with their kids.

Don't get me wrong,I am grateful to SNCF for the initiative and I welcome the offer.

However the idea that we women need to buy tickets for special cabins to ensure not being surprised by a male predator in the midst of the night,is clearly no less than outrageous.

I am sad to know that one day I will need to explain to my daughters how important it is to never ever take the small dark ally even if it is a clear shortcut.

Yet... I have seen men standing in front of other men to protect women too and I am grateful for all those men giving hope.

Non-violence. Ahimsa. The first one of the yamas of Patanjali s yogasutras.

Let's honour this yama in our deeds and thoughts.

11/09/2020

Chocoholic? 5 reasons to remain one!

1. Raw cocoa contains many vitamins and minerals
2. Raw cocoa is a great source of magnesium (often depleted because of the huge amounts of stress we get to digest on a daily basis)
3. Raw cocoa contains about 40 times more antioxidants than blueberries
4. Raw cocoa is a real treat for your heart and veins. It helps lowering blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol levels)
5. And in the very unlikely case you didn't notice... Raw cocoa works as an antidepressant !

Now before you jump up and run over to the kitchen to unwrap and eat 5 snickers in a row,please do note the word "raw" at the beginning of each of the 5 arguments.

Most chocolate bars you buy in the supermarket have been processed in ways that destroy many of the beneficial effects of raw cocoa.

Nowadays you can easily find raw cocoa and raw cocoa chocolate bars in reform shops. They tend to be more expensive but are usually delicious and because they are so rich in flavour,you will feel satisfied much faster than with the regular milk chocolate bar that makes you scream for more.

If you don't want to make this step just yet,a transitional phase could help you get there : try picking chocolate bars containing over 70pct of cocoa. Less place for sugar and thus much healthier already!

O. And for the foodies amongst you : you can find some beautiful recipes of cocoa creations of Marjolein Dubbers' website!

For the expert chocoholics among you : Belgian chocolate is better than Swiss. No brainer indeed.

04/09/2020

High-heeled shoes?

We practice yoga barefoot to be in touch with the mat,the earth underneath it,its yin energy. To feel grounded. To keep balance.

No one would really consider doing yoga on 8 cm high stilettos just for the sake of having the illusion of a rounder bottom or longer legs...

(The challenge is on: who sends me a picture of herself, or himself,we are openminded indeed,wearing high-heeled shoes, say... in garudhasana?!)

Yet we do so in 'real' life and ignore all the signals our screaming body sends us.

Let it be clear,wearing high-heeled shoes is not a neutral thing to do.

The higher the heel,the stronger the impact... On your feet to start with,as you put far too much weight on the balls of your feet. Next on your ancles,shortening certain muscles and tendons. The same goes for your calfs and oh those knees are pulled forward as well! Not to mention the strain put on your lower back!

Yet...

Italy would not be Italy without high-heeled shoes,now would it?!

So it did not come as a surprise when Italian urologist Maria Cerruto in 2008 pleaded in favour of high-heeled shoes. Dr Cerruto claims that 5cm high heels actually strengthen your pelvic floor.

Yay!

So wear them... But wear them wisely! (And send me that garudhasana pic! )

Enjoy the weekend all you lovely ladies out there,high-heeled or barefoot!

17/08/2020

Balance your female hormones

It has been a while and for good reasons. Together with Kata from we have been working hard to establish a covid-19 proof e-learning platform on hormone yoga therapy!

We are not quite there yet but we are very excited about it,and especially about being able soon to bring hormone yoga therapy to you all... right into your living room ! All you'll need to do is to switch off your phone (shouldn't we all need to do this more often?!) and hop on your mat!

Wishing all of you a beautiful day full of energy!

25/07/2020

Chairs and backache

I have been doing home office for the last 4,5 months and this is the chair I was sitting on most often. Just one of the chairs of our dining table (*special print: dirty hands kiddos,very fashionable indeed 😂).

I don't care about getting me one of those (mostly expensive) ergonomic chairs because the way I would use it doesn't make it worth the investment:

with some rare exceptions, I avoid using the backrest of a chair,instead sitting only on the first part of the seat.

That means my backmuscles have to work.
That also means I do not get tempted to hang in my chair putting unnecessary and above all unhealthy strain on my spine.

We differ from our friends mammals in that we are not on all fours. Our spine is designed for it yet we treat is so badly and then complain about backache.

How are you seated? I invite you to ask yourself that question a couple of times this week. When you feel your position is sluggish,see if you can make some adjustments.

Sitting straight up will allow you to breathe better,will improve digestion,energy circulation as well. There is a lot to win from this small gesture.

17/07/2020

The weekend starts here 😊.

Wish all of you a beautiful resourcing weekend!

13/07/2020

Fly baby fly!

Fun postnatal yoga practice with babydoll Leonie from

- For you,gentle workout for your abs that have been stretched 9 months long.

- For your baby,feels as if flying when you move your legs up and down.

- For both of you,eye contact = oxytocin flow = ❤❤❤❤❤.

How to get there?

Lying on your back,hold your baby gently under her arms and lift her onto your shins. Softly swing your legs up and down. To tone the abs even more, tuck in your chin and lift your head a little on every exhalation.

24/06/2020

Teken mee!

CODE ROUGE : sécheresse et pénurie d’eau