Nicole Stone Yoga Bliss

29/12/2025

How I build strength in Yoga … 🥳

We all know strength training matters — especially as muscle & bone density decline after our 30s .. loss that accelerates fast during & after menopause 🥲

✨ The good news?

Yoga can build real strength when practiced intentionally*

🔥 Enter: Isometric holds
This is when a muscle is activated (engaged) & held still - aka time under tension.

👉 The magic really kicks in after 30 seconds.

Why are isometric holds so powerful?

✔️ Increases muscular strength
✔️ Builds stability, endurance & resilience
✔️ Supports joint health
✔️ Great for post injury rehab when movement may be uncomfortable

🧘 Plank Pose is a perfect example.

It engages the core, lower back & quad while also helping stimulate bone density in the wrists & elbows. 👏

✨ Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is hold. ✨

Slow. Steady. Strong. 💪

* Reference: National Library of Medicine (PMC3285070)

StrongAfter30

06/12/2025

Having spent pretty much the first 32yrs of my life sitting - first education then a desk bound corporate career - I walked into my first ever yoga class aged 32 .. stiff, inflexible & with chronic back pain. 🥺

I hadn’t grown up sporty nor did I have a dance, athletics or gymnastics background but the back pain was costing me a fair fortune what with weekly visits to osteopaths & masseuse.

But here I am in this video 25 yrs later, teaching yoga in a lovely studio on the South Downs in West Sussex, UK (thanks for the vid & teaching opportunity 😘)

What you won’t know watching this is, prior to teaching this class, I’d not taught yoga for over a year having broken my arm & needing a loooong rehab. (Look closely & you’ll see how much muscle I’d lost around my upper back & shoulder 😢).

So really, all I want to say is …

Don’t give up if you’ve an injury right now & the healing / recovery seems to be taking forever.

There were many everyday tasks I wasn’t able to do with that broken arm. I had many a dark day waiting for the arm to heal. I genuinely thought I’d never be able to practice yoga or use my arm ‘properly’ again.😢

Though it might not seem so right now, your AMAZING body is slowly rebuilding on the inside. ⭐️

28/11/2024

18/12/2023

DRAWING INWARD.

Because that’s where the answers lie.

Hello 👋, I’m taking a break from running our yoga retreats in Spain at the moment. It means I’ve a bit more time to invest in ME!🥳

You see, teaching yoga is not the same as practicing yoga. When you teach, all your energy & focus is outward facing .. but when you practice yoga, youre drawing inward.

So I’m drawing inward at the moment and looking after myself with some self care rituals which I thought I’d share in case you’re looking for some new ideas. 😃

💫 BREATHE/MEDITATE. I use the app Insight Timer each morning for a spot of breathwork or meditation. It really affects the rest of the day if I start it with a good mindset. 🧠

💫 WEIGHT TRAIN 3-4 times a week. I’m still rebuilding muscle💪 lost from a biking accident but also because we ALL loose muscle after 40 😩. Plus, im hoping🤞 the weight training will increase my bone density to counter the chances of me getting osteopenia/porosis🦴 I workout @ home 🏋️‍♀️ using free weights & the fabulous videos on YouTube from

💫 PROTEIN. I’m consciously trying to increase my protein intake to help (re)build said muscles. As a vegetarian, I try choose foods naturally high in protein (tofu/tempeh/seitan/hemp/soya/eggs etc). But, to help me get closer to the recommend daily intake of 1.6g of protein per kilo you weigh 😳, I use a protein powder from It’s a complete protein - it has 25 amino acids - & 24g of protein per scoop. 👏 It goes in my morning oats, drink as a Shake, when I make pancakes .. basically anywhere I can!

💫 FACE MASSAGE. I’m following the routines from You’ll find many of her face massages on YouTube. They’re heavenly!

💫 MOVE. Most days I’ll practice yoga 🥰 @ home or I’ll follow a pre recorded YouTube class from or, if i want something a bit more spicy , I’ll use also YouTube. Im also trying to get out every day aim for a walk or maybe a jog/walk.

So this is me at the moment - it’ll change for sure - especially when I begin running retreats again in Spring 😃 .. but, for now, it’ so nice to have time to invest in me.

What are your winter self care rituals?

12/12/2023

Love this! Go Dame Judi! 🥳

20/10/2023

When I’m teaching yoga my attention is always focused outwards watching the people in the class .. doing my best to ensure my instructions are understood .

So when I get a chance to be the student & practice @ home on my own, to turn my attention inwards, it feels SO good to be able to switch off & drop into my body. I love it. I always feel calmer & restored afterwards.

(I just hope the people who come to my clases & retreats get to experience that same sense of calm & peace !🧘‍♀️)

I always begin my home practice with breath work before any yoga moves. So today I thought I’d share one of my ‘go to’ favourite apps for breath work & meditation - Insight Timer. It’s an app with many free practices - all professionally recorded & edited so the quality is excellent.

Here’s the one I practiced this morning .. a simple 15 minute breathing & meditation practice. Love to hear what you think:

By Manoj Dias

18/10/2023

As some of you know I’m pretty keen on including some strength building postures when I teach yoga … to help bone density & keep muscles strong.

Chataranga is a challenging pose that’s great at strengthening the upper body but it’s pretty important to get right to avoid injury … which I discovered myself a few years back & which took a good 9 months to heal from 😩.

My top tip? … go through the pose slowly, take time to get everything ‘right’ before you lower and never worry about putting knees down before you lower .. better to modify whilst you’re working on building upper body strength.

Hope these tips help. As Guru Jois said “practice practice practice & all is coming”. So true.

12/08/2023

What is a Yogi?

I've been pondering on this lately as someone told me that I didn't strike them as a 'typical' yoga teacher.

This got me thinking about what a 'typical' yoga teacher would (should) be & act like. After a bit of navel gazing, I wrote an article on this very subject.

If you fancy a quick read, head to the link below to my web & let me know your thoughts on what you think a Yogi should be/act like … in todays world. ❤️

https://www.yogabreaks.org.uk/what-is-a-yogi/

22/04/2023

Sadly, due to a cancellation, we now have a space come free on our June 22-27th Go with Your Flow Yoga Retreat here in lovely sunny Spain.

Do you fancy joining us?!

This is a 5-night break at a lovely peaceful country house hotel near the sea in the town of Altea, 45mins north of Alicante airport from where we offer transfers.

You'll have your own ensuite spacious room, practice yoga every day in a light filled yoga studio with lovely views, enjoy daily abundant buffet brunches & plant based suppers on the 1st & last eve, have time to relax poolside, explore the lovely town of nearby, head to the beach, to snooze, read, play and join us for some optional activities where we get to explore this beautiful part of Spain a little more.

Honestly, this is the perfect mid-year escape to recharge your batteries, enjoy some sunshine, invest in your wellbeing & just take a pause mid-year.

Your investment is just £875.00.

Full details on our website: www.yogabreaks.org.uk but feel free to ask us anything you'd like to know.

08/04/2023

I just love practicing & teaching breath work.

There I’ve said it!

Something so simple yet so powerful has the ability to :

❤️ Lower the heart rate
😩 Reduce stress
💤 Help you sleep
😁 Improve your mood
😌 Calm the nervous system
⚖️ Balance the levels of oxygen & carbon dioxide in the body

And more.

The best thing is, the positive effects of breath work last for hours after - not only whilst practicing or immediately after - HOURS after!

I could go on & on but I won’t! 😅. What I really wanted to share is an amazing finding following a recent controlled scientific study by Stanford University to find the most effective technique to reduce stress.

What they discovered is that, 5 minutes a day of ‘Cyclic Sighing Breathing’ is the best & most effective way to reduce stress.

What’s Cyclic Sighing Breathing? ….

Simple. Take 1 long slow inhale through the nose followed by 1 quick, short inhale through the nose and then let it all go - via the mouth - in 1 short out huffy type breath with a sigh.

Repeating this regularly - 5 mins a day for 30 days - reawakens the stress receptors in your brain 🧠 to do this sigh out breath automatically whenever stress is building in the body. You gotta retrain / remind those stress receptors how to deal with stress.

How cool (& simple) is this?

If like me you’re bit of a body need (😂) & you want to know more on this, listen to the Huberman Lab podcast, Episode 112.

08/01/2023

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN OLD YOGA MAT?

If you've just bought a new yoga mat (yay!) or, have an old one lurking in the back of the cupboard & you're wondering what to do with the old mat as you don't want to send it to landfill, take a look at my latest blog below where I hope you'll find some novel ways to recycle & upcycle your old, trusty, pre-loved mat. Give it a good send off ... it's been a loyal servant! 🥰

I'd love to hear how you've disposed of / made use of your old mat too ... feel free to share :)

https://www.yogabreaks.org.uk/what-to-do-with-your-old-yoga-mat/

23/12/2022

Happy Christmas All! Here's what I'll be doing over the Festive period…

Disconnecting. Checking social media & emails far less so apologies if I don't get back to you quick as you'd like.

Being like a hermit. Staying in & resting more.

Reflecting. Looking back on what this year has taught & brought me.

Celebrating & feeling grateful. What ‘wins’ happened for me this year? What am I most proud of? Being grateful for all I have & for everyone who’s helped me.

Being brutally honest. Where would I like to be this time next year? What do I need to let go off to make space to allow me to get there? What & who do I need to do to get there? What extra training/studying will help me? What is it the big thing I know I need to say yes to & do more of?

Focus. Who do I need to/want to be around more next year? What can I do so they know I’m ‘there’?

Of course, in between the quiet & the rest, I’ll be catching up with family & friends and hopefully – come New Year – I'll feel a burst of fresh energy, inspiration & motivation to spur me on..

Wishing you all much peace, health & happiness for the year ahead. ###x