Jo Burningham Yoga

11/09/2021

Spending time with family is priceless

22/08/2021

Quite magical to see sunrise and full moon rise on the same day. The red moon was beautiful from Rhodes this evening. Full moon with Jupiter in conjunction - what do you want to activate?

Mitsis Lindos Memories Resort & Spa

11/07/2021

Sitting and listening - the power of mindfulness - observing the thoughts initially and then noticing the gaps and the spaces - the breath fully out or fully in and a moment of stillness before the waves and the breath changes direction again - taking the time to gently coax the mind to let go of the chatter - trusting there is peace in the current moment - healing the many layers of ourselves ..

15/03/2021

The sky is in bloom

08/03/2021

Always amazing to me how posture affects breath and emotion. A simple and gentle pose such as this can really invigorate and raise stagnant energy and shift a gloomy mood into one of optimism and hope.

06/03/2021

Listening to the voice of the sea whilst bathing in healing light

24/02/2021

“I enjoyed the slowness of the class last week very much. I had the strangest experience. I completely zoned out of your voice but whenever I dragged myself back to the present I was doing what I should be doing according to what you were saying. So part of my brain was obviously listening!

Thanks as always - your classes are a big part of my week”

- quote from a sat am yogini 🧘‍♀️ 🙏

21/02/2021

Mindful twisting and enjoying being still in the pose.

Soothing and calming an anxious mind and connecting to points of stillness as we practice.

When we practice in this way we connect to a deeper layer of ourselves and encourage positive change.

Can you be less rigid when you are still?

25/01/2021

Love frog dog - or I call it short fat dog. What I’m basically enjoying here is a shorter and wider stance. A wider base giving me a firmer foundation from which to feel the up energy. The spine lengthening. Less about the hamstrings. Hands gripping the outside edge of the mat also increasing my ability rise from the ground up.

Changing perspectives also with this inversion that soothes me.

01/01/2021

When you're out on a wintery walk, maybe rest beneath an oak tree and ponder that the size of the oak above ground is said to be the same as the size of the roots below.

and catching a falling oak leaf is said to bring good luck and prosperity.

15/12/2020

One of my biggest joys as a yoga guide is when practitioners go on to guide others. Yoga and mindfulness are tools that we can all share. Gently guiding others to be more aware of their breath is something we can all do. Then explaining the benefits of breathing more deeply is a natural progression. Keep sharing the tools to help others.

One yogi letting me know today that she’s passed on square breathing to a friend who gets anxiety and it’s helped her a lot.

Find out more simple and effective tools in my weekly FREE mindful breathing class on a Wednesday at 8:00 AM. Bookable here;

https://joburninghamyoga.simplybook.it/v2/

Improve your wellness and wellbeing with yoga, yoga therapy and mindfulness. Our fast-paced lives disconnecting us from ourselves and we are suffering stress, anxiety, depression and many other diseases because of our heightened state of awareness and our inability to rest and recover before the nex...

07/12/2020

Embracing the dark.

I've always loved forward folding - it's quiet down there!!

Here I've got my forehead to a gorgeous Ruth Wheeler block for added support. The more contact we have with the ground the more grounded we may feel.

Soothing ourselves and breathing into the back body.

No yanking in the back of the knees.

Extending the crown of the head away from the tail.

Lengthening mindfully into your experience of the pose.

Breathe.

12/11/2020

We practiced the retention of the breath in this week's live and FREE mindful breathing class on Wednesday.

There are many benefits to retaining the breathe in. One of which is to increase the build-up of co2 which in turn helps with the oxygen uptake due to the gaseous exchange that our wonderful lungs are constantly performing to fuel our bodies.

Others are said to include the following;

- increasing life span by preserving the health of stem cells
- possible regeneration of new tissue in the brain to preserve brain function
- increasing resistance to bacterial infections
- improving sleep

If you don't feel comfortable with this practice, do not do it.

The practice;
1. Exhale fully and drop chin to chest
2. Inhale and lift the head back to neutral [count 1, 2, 3]
3. Retain the breath in [count 1, 2]
4. Exhale and breathe out keeping the head in neutral [count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
5. Repeat about 5 or 7 times or until you feel satisfied
6. Finish the practice by exhaling and again dropping the chin then returning the head to neutral and breathing normally. Noticing how you feel.

We will be practising this breathing technique again tonight in the monthly restorative class - 8:00 - 9:30 PM if you are able to join us. And to those that have already booked; thank-you and I look forward to seeing you later.

10/11/2020

𝑨 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆; 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

- W. Daniel Hillis

Improve the conversation .. eat well, move well, breathe well and sleep well.

09/11/2020

Are you dreaming more? One yogi this morning reporting that she has more covid dreams lately..

Anxiety can disrupt our sleep, leading to more awakenings. When you awaken out of REM sleep, you’re much more likely to remember the dream you were having.

Helping to soothe your nervous system, restorative yoga might be the medicine you need to help improve your sleep by lowering your anxiety. You may stay in the REM state without being disturbed and consequently benefit more from each sleep cycle.

The monthly restorative workshop is this coming Thursday, 8:00 - 9:30 PM.

Cost £10.

Our focus this week is lowering anxiety, improving our immunity and also improving our sleep. The 2 are closely linked.

04/11/2020

Progressive relaxation 9 minute audio available here;
https://www.joburninghamyoga.com/progressive-relaxation/

Whole audio is 20 minutes long giving you time to rest after my guidance if you would like to.

Scan the body
Notice areas of tension
Accept the feeling on the inhale
Exhale and relax and release

Set yourself up lying on the floor with something under your knees, ideally also an eye bag over your eyes and something behind your head. Absolutely essential also is something over you to keep you warm.

This was recorded for a practitioner that holds tension in her heart and jaw. She is always keen to feedback the benefits of her yoga to others to encourage them as much as she can and said this morning how she feels more able to give as a result of taking more care of herself.

See this as a gift from her rather than from me.

Enjoy!

Music - Moby LA1

02/11/2020

svādhyāya

Sva – ones own self
Dhya – from dhyana meaning meditation
Ya – do it

studying the Self.

The practice of self-study is an important aspect of our yoga.

Reading, studying. practising and sitting.. meditating.. being with your breath.. being with yourself.. being with your true Self..

Understanding the importance of self-study and a continued and committed yoga practice.

Many read and study the ancient yogic texts. We translate and we interpret and settle on a meaning that resonates with us. The philosophy also intertwined into our practice and the philosophy being experienced as well as being read.

How we practise on the mat is often a reflection of who we are in our lives. Through our yoga practice we unveil our traits and our beliefs and then we might push through this and discover more about ourselves.

The journey of self-study being undertaken both on and off the mat.

and with regular and committed practice you realise what you need is right there within you.

𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠; 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠; 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠; 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟; 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦. - Author unknown