Yoga with Boosh

21/03/2022

Does it really work?

Asked in a conversation about using yoga and breathing to alleviate anxious busy brain thoughts…

Personally - yes

Anecdotally - often yes

Scientifically - also often yes

For everyone? - no

Yoga can be thought of as a bio-psycho-social (and spiritual) approach to overall well-being, incorporating body/physical aspects, brain and neurology, interpersonal connection and community, as well as that connection to something bigger.

That as a big old umbrella can develop better general resilience to life’s happenings…

It helps the body and mind to become a team. Knowledge is power - through interoception developed through the practice we can gain a better understanding of our body and its needs and what’s actually happening.

By understanding what’s happening biologically and with our nervous system we can know that if our heart is racing when we’re stressed or anxious…that actually that’s normal, we’re operating in our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight mode!) and hopefully, we’ll have built up an understanding of the breath and tune into that to bring us back to operating in the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode!)

What’s more, diaphragmatic breathing tones the vagal nerve; a more toned vagal nerve means messages travel quicker between brain and gut… it can mean we’re able to more quickly return to a rest and digest state when the fight or flight reaction has been activated.

The asanas (postures) and flows influence our blood flow and hormones, and generally, depending on the type of practice (!) this often involves a decrease in cortisol (the stress hormone) and in increase in nice things like endorphins… open postures can even encourage increases in testosterone which sometimes feel like an increase in confidence… then there’s neuroplasticity…

Yoga is rich in tradition and history and philosophy, offering alternative ways of thinking and understanding and imagining… it’s naturally connected with nature’s cycles… yoga classes are often surrounded by a real sense of community (even if you don’t feel like talking much!)

There’s more I’d like to say but, in short, I’d say yes, it does often seem to work 💕

10/02/2022

NEW CLASS TIME! (STARTING TODAY)

Thursdays, 5.30pm - 6.30pm

£5 Drop-In

Online via The Yoga Snug

(No apps or accounts needed, just a web link to click on, which you're sent when you book)

🥰Vinyasa Flow🥰

A patient, exploratory vinyasa flow class, with a focus on connecting the breath and movement to nurture awareness, subtle strength and a steadier mind.

We'll start with some time spent tuning into the breath, before warming the body up, moving through an asana flow, and then we'll bring it back down to the ground to cool down and settle into a calming resting pose to finish.

Book Here: www.yogasnug.co.uk/class-schedule

26/01/2022

Thursday Yoga for £5

Online via the Yoga Snug
No apps, or account logins needed, just a website link - easy peasy.

Join me for a vinyasa flow, weaving the breath in with movement, building subtle strength and exploring your own practice. From the comfort of your own home.

Set up your laptop, dim the lights, roll out the mat, come flow with me.

Book online: www.yogasnug.co.uk/class-schedule

Email me if you have any questions!

19/01/2022

YOGA with me every Thursday eve, online with The Yoga Snug.

Thursdays, 5pm - 6pm
Vinyasa Flow

£7 drop-in
OR there are 5 or 10 class passes available to make it more affordable
OR there’s a monthly subscription available (that includes a FREE trial).

To book: www.yogasnug.co.uk/class-schedule

Come breathe, move, flow, ramble with me 🧡 from your own yoga snug 🧡

10/01/2022

TED wisdom - Gut & Brain! My nerdy delights!

The brain in your head and the one in your gut are always exchanging info. But how do they do it? Neuroscientist Diego Bohórquez is trying to find out the answers.

06/01/2022

Breath + Movement

Surya Namaskar A

Inhale / Exhale

Inhale ~ lift, lengthen, open, create space…

Exhale ~ soften, ground, draw in, settle, move into the space that’s been created…

Can the breath create the movement? Can the breath influence the pace? How can the movements and breath interweave or work together to explore the practice or deepen a pose? 🧡

~~~

I'm teaching tonight (Thursday) - online via The Yoga Snug!
In an hour actually. 5pm - 6pm.
Book online at yogasnug.co.uk

02/01/2022

My hope for 2022 is that everyone reads this brilliant book by Elif Shafak 🙌🏽

The wisdom is 👌🏽

“Do not be afraid of complexity.
Be afraid of people who promise an easy shortcut to simplicity”

“Knowledge requires reading. Books. In-depth analyses. Investigative journalism. Then there is wisdom, which connects the mind and the heart, activates emotional intelligence, expands empathy. For that we need stories and storytelling”

ALSO the bit about how Roman philosophers were thought of as Doctors of the Soul (with soul a little more meaning the mind here)…
“For Socrates, and later the Stoics, this concern with taking care of one’s soul was all the more important because he and they held that the condition of our soul ultimately determines the quality of our lives”

Roman philosophers were way ahead of the game, no?

Honestly. This book!! I needed it! I’m going to read it again. And nod in agreement the whole way through again. And then buy all of Elif Shafak’s fiction books, too.
Her way with words 🧡

🧡🙌🏽🧡🙌🏽🧡

09/12/2021

🧡Vinyasa Flow 🧡 Online 🧡 This Evening 🧡

🕰Every Thursday evening from 5pm - 6pm I’m hosting a vinyasa flow session with The Yoga Snug ()

💻 Super easy to join - no apps or Zoom accounts needed, simply the link you get sent when you book.

🕯 It’s cosy at the moment, it’s dark by 5 (well… by 4!?) - so roll the mat out, light a candle, have a blanket to hand… and make your own snug ready to settle into for a flow then a moment of slow that can last as long as you like since you’re in your own home! (No need to venture back out into the cold to get home after class!)

🧡 More info, more classes with more teachers and affordable options can be found on the website - www.yogasnug.co.uk 🧡

Hope to see you through the screen this evening 😘

Your virtual yoga sanctuary, The Yoga Snug teachers offer 30+ live online yoga and meditation classes for everybody. Join us from your home, work or anywhere.

08/12/2021

Come join us for 108 sun sals on 20th December!

08/12/2021

Fascia. It reinforces the understanding that everything about us is interconnected.

🕸 Fascia is the interconnected web of connective tissue that binds us together from head to toe, wrapping around every layer of muscle, our nerves, blood vessels and organs...

For me, it's one of the most fascinating parts of the human body and the more research there is into it, the more we're realising just how important a thing it is to look after and how much of a role it plays in our overall fitness - for our mobility and strength, injury prevention and recovery, and even to support our nervous system. We have a lot to thank it for.

😮One of the MOST fascinating elements, is that it's thought to have 10 times more proprioceptors than muscle, so it can be thought of as a sensory organ that spreads throughout your entire body.

Fascia is a huge topic, so I'll leave the rest up to the experts to explain and down to you and your curiosity to explore...

But for now, 3 things to take away, for some fascia loving?

It's all connected
Variety is key
Stay hydrated

05/12/2021

How often do you incorporate longer holds into your practice?

For enough time to really be in that pose, notice how the body feels in it, take time to adjust and settle into it, and then to just breathe in it? (Without thinking of it as a route to the next pose?)

Not only do longer holds require physical stamina, but a mental stamina as well.

When you allow the stillness to stay, it creates space for other thoughts and emotions to arise. Not always easy…sometimes the emotional aspect is harder than a burny feeling in your quads!! But usually a good thing to move through…

The mental stamina we build on the mat, through being and breathing steadily in poses, will filter out into our everyday life. When faced with challenge off the mat, our nervous system will be more ready for what it needs to do to re-find calm... to re-find still.

02/12/2021

Yoga This Eve!

Today is my yoga focus day. I'll be sending out my mailer - the penultimate one before 2022.
Mostly on being in the pose, like really being in it and holding it for longer than what probably feels comfortable, without always thinking about what's coming next...
With other related resources included.

And this evening at 5pm - 6pm is my online yoga class, via The Yoga Snug.

Super easy to book on (and various affordable options for class passes or monthly memberships)

Would love to see you through the screen :) Roll out the mat in a cosy space at home and come join me for some movement...

https://www.yogasnug.co.uk/class-schedule