Odile Philipson Fitness & Wellbeing

18/09/2025

How ethical are the activewear brands that you use?
The Good Shopping Guide looks at thousands of brands across many sectors and categories. They "research environmental track records, animal welfare and human rights issues"

"The activewear sector suffers from the same issues as the rest of the Fashion industry. Unsustainable materials and poor workers’ rights are still major concerns, and many brands still lack transparency on what they are doing to help"

Some big brands right at the bottom. Disappointingly some are Yoga brands but delighted that my favourite "go to" for my Yoga clothing is at the top!! BAM Bamboo Clothing with a 91% ethical score.
Well done 👏 ✔️

Let's shop with educated minds.

More details in the below links
https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/subject/ethical-activewear/

https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/

13/09/2025

Wow! The first Scot to complete this mental epic triathlon and the 15th woman to ever finish it.
87 mile run from Marble Arch, London to Dover
+
21 mile swim across the English channel with epic weather became a 50 mile swim
+
181 mile ride from Calais to Arc de Triomphe
95 hours and 11 minutes!
The mind boggles 😵‍💫😳🙌👏💪🦵🫶

Well done barely covers it!
What a human being.

Lyndsey Blair crossed the Paris finish line of the "world's toughest triathlon" more than 95 hours after she set off from London.

06/09/2025

This is one of my favourite books and one that I go back to again and again.

Yoga is not just about the physical practice that most gyms offer. Yoga is a philosophy, a way of thinking and conducting ourselves.

Sometimes I pick this book up to find inner strength and guidance. And for sure I am flawed and a work in progress.

Sometimes, I pick it up because someone has inspired me from chats and the witnessing of their own evolution and growth.

Often I feel that it's wisdom can help guide others journey and I look for the most appropriate excerpt.
All the above instances have happened in the last 2 weeks, hence this post.

Here is one of my favourite sutras (text).
Patanjali said (sutra 1.33): "Maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam" (for the purists, please forgive the lack of accents)
= "By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness"

How simple, how true and, of course, how wise.

Namaste to you all and have a great September!

14/08/2025

Delighted to have been given the accolade of instructor of the month of July 2025 at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew ! 😍 and a wee celebratory bottle of bubbles kindly given by the club 🍾

THANK YOU to all my participants who feed the inspiration and energy in my cycling and Yoga classes always 🙌 .
THANK YOU to my participants for their regular brilliant and kind feedback 🙏.
This one goes back to you. Can't do it without you all! 👏🙏🚴‍♂️🚴🚴‍♀️😅🧘🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️🕉️

See you soon at the club
Cycling Sundays 9.30, Yoga Sundays 10.35, Tuesdays 12.35, Thursdays 12.30

Congrats, Odile⁩ – July Instructor of the Month! 🥂🙌🏼🏅

Loved for your spin & holistic classes, always ready to help, and living our DL values every day – we’re lucky to have you! 🧘🏼🌿

Thank you Odile for your dedication to the club! 🥰🙌🏼

03/08/2025

A French winner for The Tour at long last 🤣🤩. Fantastic effort and results from Pauline Ferrant-Prévot and what a career for that rider so far! So many wins/ titles.
2015 she became the first person in the history of cycling to simultaneously hold the World road title, World cyclo-cross title and World cross-country mountain bike title 💪
2024 Olympics Games Cycling cross country gold
2025 l'enfer du nord = Paris- Roubaix femmes winner
And more ...
🙌🇫🇷

01/08/2025

I sometimes get asked "what is next week's mantra"or "what is next month's mantra". I don't believe in manufacturing / churning out mantras. They can not be faked. They have to come from within at the right moment and they do exactly that.

My mantra for this month is “I choose to be present”.
It is easy to just show up, whether it is in class, at a business meeting or a social gathering and not be fully in the present moment.
We are often distracted by our thoughts, by screens or simply our egos.
Wherever we are let’s pause and choose to be present, in the actual moment. Not in the past, not in the future, in the now.
Seeing the colours, smelling the air, feeling textures, tasting truly what we are eating, listening to sounds and words fully.

"I choose to be present"

Have a good August and let's all try be a little more present.

Photo from my June holidays in the Highlands, Clachtoll Beach

10/07/2025

Rest, Refuel & Restart.
Having a delicious lunch at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew between classes. This is courtesy of the reward system by this club where teachers may get a free hot drink or free meal (both for me today) based on weekly feedback from participants.
This is halloumi and honey flatbread with oat chai latte - dirty with a drop of coffee. As usual coffee from "Change Please", a great charity helping fight homelessness.
All served by the wonderful cafe staff: Maggie & Honey.

Grateful for the kindness of my participants and their amazing feedback and for the generosity of the club for this scheme which is much appreciated as a freelance teacher (Yoga and Cyclone / group cycling).

12/06/2025

Finding Balance" - that is often a work in progress for most of us in our daily working and personal lives.
Great article with tips on finding balance from your Yoga practice to your day to day life in the below article from Barbara Courtille in OM Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine

When teaching Yoga I always say: "listen to your body" and "less is more". My regulars know these sentences by heart.
Part of this is also about reigning the ego in.
Just because the person next to you can do (or think they can do) an asana/Yoga pose with ease, it doesn't mean that you should try it at the same level of it's development.

The great Patanjali told us "sthira sukham asanam" (YS 2.46) = a yoga posture should be steady and comfortable.

In life, working on that on-going awareness to
- try avoid burn out
- remove ourselves from toxic environments
- be kind to others and to ourselves
- let go of our ego or fears and reach out for help
- speak our truth with consideration and know to listen
finding the balance!!

"It’s not about the one right way—it’s about discovering your unique path, moment by moment."

Namaste to you all

https://www.ommagazine.com/finding-balance-the-yoga-of-the-middle-way/

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali famously says:

18/05/2025

And it's a wrap. The David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew Spirit Outdoor Retreat yesterday was a great day and success.
We were blessed with fantastic weather. It was a pleasure teaching Yoga there (red ish top 😉 in the attached) with other colleagues.
Great to see regular participants and meet new ones
Brilliantly organised by the club.
Special thank you to Lianne Mason, Charles Gorman and Julie Gorman

16/05/2025

Still time to book for tomorrow afternoon Spirit Outdoor Retreat 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘‍♂️🕉at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew 2 to 6 pm.
We have the perfect weather for it 🤩😎.

Bookings are to be made with reception, 0141 842 1400.
4 classes in one afternoon: 2 Yoga classes (one of which I will be teaching ), 1 Spirit class and finishing with a Spirit Sound Meditation class.
£20 for members, £25 for guests.

Beginners welcome. Yoga mats are provided if you don't have your own.
Feel free to bring pillow/ blanket for the end with the sound meditation class.
Refreshments provided.
See you there.
Namaste

11/05/2025

I will be there on Saturday 17 May teaching one of the Yoga classes 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘‍♂️🕉at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew during the Spirit Outdoor retreat 2 to 6 pm.
Bookings are with reception, 0141 842 1400.
4 classes in one afternoon: 2 Yoga classes, 1 Spirit class and finishing with a Spirit Sound Meditation class.
£20 for members, £25 for guests.
Refreshments provided.

See below for more information & see you there next Saturday

SPIRIT RETREAT 🧘🏼🍃😌

Join us for our next Outdoor Spirit Retreat for a peaceful afternoon of mindfulness, togetherness and relaxation 🍃

Our 4 hour retreat will include Spirit, Yoga, Meditation and Spirit Sound Meditation, instructed by a range of our loved Group Exercise professionals 🧘🏽‍♂️🎶

With refreshments provided, it’s a retreat not to be missed! ☕️🧁🍒

📆 Sat 17th May
⏰ 2pm-6pm
🎟️ Members £20 and Guests £25

Sign up now at Reception 📞

Attendees can bring a pillow and blanket if they wish. Mats are provided. May be moved inside depending on weather forecast ☁️

06/05/2025

Ride High magazine issue 24 - May 2025 is out. Quarterly, free and online. I always look forward to it and in this issue I right away love the introduction "Gifting positive energy" from Uffe Asbjørn Olesen (see photo).

I couldn't agree more. In the current tricky world turmoil, we can still do our bit in generating positive energy in our and others daily lives. Joy to ourselves but more importantly joy, kindness, positivity to others.
Group exercise classes are truly a brilliant conduct for that.
As recently as yesterday, I was chatting with a friend and saying how it is a privilege to be able to teach group cycling and Yoga whether in gym classes or in 1 to 1 private Yoga or Yoga in the workplace.
The sharing the knowledge, the energy of training, moving, breathing together is pretty special and so often humbling. The energy we give as teachers is bounced back in many folds.

Uffe Asbjørn Olesen: Yes "Let's remember that we have the power to give"
Thank you.
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