Michelle Finlay Yoga

28/07/2025

Yoga in the Park - Tuesday 6pm. Let me know if you wanna join! 💚💚💚

28/07/2025

Do you practice Asana with today's body, today's mindset, or are you on autopilot, following a prescribed alignment because you have been told this is correct?

Or do you allow yourself time to check in with how you feel. Notice your sense of balance, steadiness and ease? Or are you over-riding your body's innate wisdom by trying to squeeze yourself into a shape?

Mountain pose is a great example. Think of the energy behind the name. What does "mountain" mean to you? At base do you think of something stable and grounded or something that's teetering on the edge?

Are you ready to let go of how you think it should look and turn your attention towards how it feels today?

25/07/2025

I used to think that if I just mastered certain yoga poses, everything would fall into place. And that by diligently showing up to class and doing my practice, I would discipline myself into being better.

But this is no different to someone who shows up to the gym every day. They might get stronger and fitter on the outside but it doesn't necessarily change anything on the inside.

Maybe you've spent years like I did working towards certain shapes but never really being content with where you are in the present? Always chasing. Always telling yourself you'll be happy when...

But that time never comes and you find yourself stuck in a loop of never feeling good enough despite all of your progress and achievements to date because you're not where you think you should be.

Yoga is so much more than physical attainment. Sure you can learn about showing up, taking action and being consistent from mastering a pose but there's more to it.

And you know it!

The yoga happens when you realise the mental loop you've been stuck in. Over time you practice making different choices.

If it's easy for you to get on your mat every damn day to practice complex poses, how would it feel to not do that. To skip a day? Or go to your mat and lay in constructive rest and watch the battle happen inside as your mind tells you how lazy you are for not putting yourself through the physical challenges that have become the status quo? Even though you know this is not true.

The yoga happens when you take a moment to stop and give yourself credit for how far you've come, when you realise you don't have to beat yourself up for what you have not yet achieved and allow yourself to be content with where you are today.

As we move through life, physical ability will change. Priorities will change. But when your yoga practice is anchored in what yoga is really about - navigating life and reality as it is - then it will serve you for a lifetime.

Tell me, if you took away the poses, what would be left of your practice? Are you up for exploring how you can shift gears towards a meaningful practice to last a lifetime?

24/07/2025

Chair Yoga for women in St Budeaux. A new fortnightly class happening from Tuesday 12th August. Email the address on the flyer to book your space!

🧘‍♀️ In-Person Seated Yoga in St Budeaux, Plymouth 🧘‍♀️
A gentle, grounding yoga class — no floor work, just calm movement and breathing from the comfort of a chair.

Starting Tuesday 12th August, join us every fortnight, 11:30am–12:30pm, at St Budeaux Library for our friendly women-only seated yoga sessions with Michelle Finlay Yoga.

🌿 Perfect for beginners
🌿 Ideal for those with limited mobility
🌿 Relaxed, welcoming environment
🌿 Just bring yourself — we’ll do the rest!

🗓 Fortnightly Tuesdays | 12th Aug – 16th Dec 2025
📍 St Budeaux Library | 11:30am–12:30pm
💜 For women of all ages and abilities

Come stretch, breathe, and feel good — together in community.

📩 Message us or email contact@wellbeing-workshops.com to save your space.

23/07/2025

You've seen me talking about the day retreat happening at in September. You're curious but you're wondering if it's the right fit for you.

Maybe you've not been practicing yoga for very long and you wonder if you'll stand out as the newbie and not know what to do.

Or perhaps you'd love to come but you're worried about coming on your own and not knowing anybody?

I just want to say that these concerns are totally valid, lots of people feel the same way, especially when it's something new to them.

If you're concerned about having not been practicing yoga for long enough or you've had too long away from your practice and this has you sat on the fence about booking, I've got you!

If you've taken class with me before you'll know that I welcome everyone just as they are on the day. I'll meet you where you're at and offer you some different practices and approaches to choose from so that you get to honour yourself and choose what you feel like on the day.

It's not a competition, it's an opportunity for you to explore your own unique relationship with different yoga practices.

If you're worried about coming on your own, don't be! Most people that come are by themselves and by the end of the day everyone is chatting away as if they've been friends forever.

There's something about coming together with a group of people that have a shared interest that immediately breaks the ice and provides common ground.

The next day retreat is called Rest to Restore and it's all about you finding space for yourself through practices that involve movement, stillness, breathing, and just be-ing! It's on 20th September and booking is open. You'll find the link on my page or you can send me a DM and I'll get all the info over to you.

22/07/2025

Yoga in the Park - later this week as the weather looks to improve. 💚💚💚

21/07/2025

Maybe you’ve been in this situation: The teacher stands at the front of the class and says how yoga is so much more than performing poses and then for the duration of the class proceeds to build towards a "peak pose" and positions this shape as the prize, calling out praise to the students in the room performing the most perfect of shapes. This leaves you feeling like s**t because you are not hyper-mobile and will never in a month of Sundays be able to do such a back bend or arm balance without doing yourself an injury.

You look at the person receiving the praise and begin to imagine that they have a perfect life, with perfect children and a perfect job all because they can make a shape with their body.

This isn't true.

The person doing the pose will likely tell you that their ability to do that shape has NOTHING to do with how they live their life. Unless you know different, it could even be that persons first ever yoga class but they've come from a background of physical discipline such as ballet or gymnastics. They might not even know the first thing about yoga.

It's unfortunate that yoga classes tend to be set up this way with an emphasis on physical performance. Is it any wonder that you feel less-than when you don’t possess the very specific and exclusive anatomy and proportions required for certain shapes? I mean, your genetics are what they are and you are perfect as you are!

Repeat after me: The performing of yoga asana is not the be all and end all of a yoga practice!

Yoga philosophy teaches us about the nature of being human. What you are here for. Who you really are. It’s a practice of remembering that you are already whole, perfect and valuable, just as you are. What you practice is helpful when it leads you closer to remembering this truth, not feeling unworthy just because your genetics don’t allow you to put your foot anywhere near the back of your head.

Have you ever felt crappy about yourself in a yoga class because the emphasis has been geared towards physical performance?

17/07/2025

Yoga Blend turned 6 this week! I've been a part of the team for the past 4 since I moved back home. I'll never forget walking in for my trial class and instantly feeling like I'd found my tribe! Grateful for all the friendships, support and laughs we've shared so far! 💚💚💚

16/07/2025

Take a look on social media. Type in 'yoga' and see what comes up. I'll bet it's mostly images of people performing poses. Type in 'advanced yoga' and the pictures of poses get really wild, really fast. It's no wonder that so many of us fall into the trap of a pose-centric practice, even when deep down we know it's about more than that.

Perhaps you've been to a class where the teacher says something about the Yoga Sutras at the beginning. Something about the poses being practiced with steadiness and ease but then proceeds to guide you through a fast-paced flow where you're moving so quickly in and out of different shapes that you feel anything but steady? You begin to wonder how the philosophy relates to what you are doing.

Well, in many cases it doesn't. And that creates confusion.

I was confused too, until I properly began to study both the Sutras and Gita with an experienced teacher. The realisation that neither of these texts - upon which most modern yoga is based - mention much about poses and physical practice was pretty profound.

What they do provide is a deep insight into what yoga is, the human condition, the nature of the mind, and how to navigate every day life with more ease and grace.

Yoga was never meant to be workout, it just got gobbled up by the fitness industry because of it's physical component and in so doing some of the really helpful parts were left out.

I'm currently working on something that seeks to stitch the helpful parts back together so that you get to experience the practice as it was originally designed. A practice that serves you in your life, not just on your mat. If this interests you, shoot me a DM and you'll be the first to know when it's released.

14/07/2025

Yoga in the Park.