The Tighnabruaich Yoga Club

25/01/2026

Week 4: We will be focusing on pigeon pose, but as always there’ll be an alternative. We’ll look at ways to prepare for the pose by targeting the elusive psoas muscle (or muscles, as we have two!)

Please bring a firm blanket or towel that we can use as a prop.

The benefits of pigeon include improved mobility of the hips and can help relieve sciatica and lower back pain.

17/01/2026

Week 3: focus on the abdominal area (called apana in yoga-speak). This is where the yogis believed stagnant energy would collect if not kept enlivened by breath and movement. That stagnant energy would affect us physically, mentally and emotionally.

In modern terms, these techniques target the deep abdominal muscles, stabilise lower back, glutes and obliques, boost our metabolism and reduce stress.

No special props needed. Hopefully see you there!

Photo is of Perou, one of our llamas in France

12/01/2026

Week 2, Jan 15th.
I’ve planned a strong practice this week, everyone, partly to warm us up 😃

As always, be kind to yourself and stay within your own capabilities.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year is always a good time for reflection and to take stock.

I trained as a yoga teacher 20 years ago with the aim of learning more about the philosophy and concepts of this ancient practice, rather than any aspirations to lead classes. It’s taken me on a wonderful journey and I salute the amazing teachers who have shared their wisdom with me, from Sue Ward in Cumbria to ‘Sir’ (T.K.V. Desikachar) and his wife Menaka, from Marc Beuvain to Gary Kraftsow, they have all been inspirational. I still feel I have only scratched the surface of what yoga can offer.

Thank you too, to all the wonderful students I’ve met on the way and who continue to inspire me to be the best yoga teacher I can be.

I’m not interested (or even able) to do performative yoga, you won’t see me in any weird shapes, my knees are cronky and my hips stiff.

But I hope that the yoga I teach makes you walk out the door feeling better, physically and mentally, than when you walked in. I hope you find a community of like-minded folk, and maybe, just maybe, you might find techniques that guide you towards an inner stillness and emotional resilience.

The next block of 12 classes starts Thursday 8th January at Kames Hall, 9:30-10:30. All welcome. (£30 for the 12)

11/12/2025

Extending heartfelt thanks to everyone who has attended this year and helped to make our yoga club inclusive and welcoming.

We start next term on January 8th at the usual time, with a class that will take us ‘back to basics’. Even if you are an experienced yogi and feel you can execute the asana-s with ease, there’s always something new to learn, whether that’s an enhanced awareness of body and mind, a fresh way to feel into the position, or a way of using the breath.

I studied once with an inspirational teacher from New Zealand called Donna Farhi. I’ll leave you with some of her words of wisdom:

If your yoga practice can teach you something about the process of sensing and feeling into your experience, and then acting from a place of grounded sensitivity, you can evolve and you can parlay that process into almost anything that comes your way, whether it’s learning how to grow a straight carrot or managing that conflict with your partner. Practicing yoga this way reflects that we are changing biological entities, and that each moment is a new moment, and each moment can be a moment of learning.

Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone xx

20/11/2025

Hi folks. We’ve got a 12-week term coming up after Xmas, full of lots of stretches and novel movements for the grey matter!

The dates are:-

January 8, 15, 22, 29
February 5, 19, 26
March 5, 12, 19, 26
April 2nd

With it being 12 weeks the cost is £30 for the block or £5 per class on a drop-in basis.

Have a good festive season and see you after Xmas! 🎄🤶 ⭐

20/11/2025

Someone left me a lovely gift this morning and I can’t remember who it was! Whoever you are, thank you so much, it is much appreciated.

17/11/2025

**Now full **
One place still available on our last Soundbath of autumn at the Forest Centre on 12th December.

My Sound Journeys are designed to relax mind and body, and take you on a journey to inner peace and contentment.

I use some or all of: gentle movements to release physical tension, pranayama (yogic breath work) to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, yoga nidra (yogic sleep), and sound generated by my 42inch gong, Tibetan bowls, drum, monochord, rain pillar and more. Sometimes I add an ancient healing chant from the Vedas.

I’m qualified in yoga, yoga therapy, clinical Somatics, Vedic chanting, and Sound therapy.

Over the last 30 years I’ve studied in person with world masters of yoga, including T.K.V. Desikachar, Menaka Desikachar, Kausthub Desikachar, Ganesh Mohan & A.G. Mohan, and recently with masters of sound healing - Aidan McIntyre and Tim Byford.

Come and give it a try!

15/11/2025

When we have a tight jaw or neck we don’t often think about releasing tension in the pelvis- and vice versa. The jaw and neck region and pelvis are connected via fascia and nerves, including the Vagus nerve.
This last week of the autumn sessions we will explore these connections and seek to release tension in both areas.
If you’d like to read more here’s an interesting article:

We don’t usually think about our jaw when we have pelvic floor symptoms, or vice versa, but they’re more closely linked than you might imagine. Through fascia, muscles, nerves, reflexes, and even shared developmental origins, tension in one area can ripple through the other. Research and clinica...

13/11/2025

Today is World Kindness Day.
See below the link to Dr David Hamilton’s kindness experiment….

The 21-Day Kindfulness Experiment consists of 21 daily kindfulness meditation practices plus 21 short educational videos around kindness, inviting participan...

10/11/2025

A wee reminder to those who have booked that it’s Soundbath Friday this week. At the Forest Centre at 7 til 8. Please wear warm comfy clothes and bring a blanket for extra warmth plus mat/cushions etc to lie on (or chair to sit in).
If you’ve time we can finish the session with a mug of cacao or herbal tea.

07/11/2025

This week, number 9 of the 10 autumn classes, will be mainly about strengthening the lower back.
Sitting weakens and stretches our lumbar spines so I think we could all do with some of this!