Yogandspice

04/07/2025

Rachel and Jess stayed in The Hideaway a few week-ends back. Its a luxury cabin created from the former Meadow and Woodland View cabins that we used when we ran residential retreats. We can configure it with two beds if you want to come and join some yoga, hang out in Whitby or around our menagerie. Or enjoy a romantic week-end with your loved one.

29/06/2025

We are a not just a class we are a community. We love sharing and growing with our Kundalini yoga group.

26/04/2025

Spring colours in the garden

02/04/2025

Spring, a time of growth, best experienced through a connection with the earth. Our whole site is alive.

22/03/2025

We have worked hard this year to ensure we have garden produce all through winter. One of the hardiest crops has been radicchio (best known by the sad little bits in bags of dried up salad - the ones that no-one likes as they are bitter).

But the 'five flavour' and 'eat it cooked' approach that we favour, for maximum taste and nutrition, creates a delicious side dish. Or mix with pasta for a meal in one.

2 heads of radicchio

1-2 pieces dried red chilli
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp spring onion, minced
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt to taste
1-2 tbsp. coconut oil or ghee

Quarter the radicchio vertically. Then chop the long pieces horizontally to create small square pieces of roughly even size. Heat the wok, add the oil and heat until it just starts to move. Throw in the chillies and let them sizzle but not burn, stirring briefly.

Add the chopped leaves, ginger and spring onion. Toss and fry, keeping the pieces moving so that they cook quickly and evenly. Then, as the leaves start to soften, add the vinegar and sugar and stir-fry for another minute. Add the soy sauce and the salt, stir, and fry for another minute or so (if the heat is high enough, a small amount of liquid should seep out from the leaves at this stage, creating a moist and flavoursome dish). Test for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Remove from the heat and serve as soon as possible.

21/03/2025

Spring in the gardens. The pictures say it all

17/03/2025

I've been planning a another book for quite a few months now but I needed a nudge. Thankyou

See Instagram 'Inspiration' highlights from Lorraine Clissold ()

14/01/2025

Happy New Year. Where have the last six gone? (Not to mention the ones before that). I certainly haven't spent much time posting on here recently. So thanks, and apologies, to anyone who has been checking for updates.

For 2025:

Our online community is still thriving. A lovely group of regulars meet with me, and each other, twice a week at 7.30 a.m. and we enjoy 45 minutes of movement and more. Tuesday is an energising session to awaken Kundalini energy, and Friday is a more of a flow yoga/whole body movement class, with some inspiration from Qi Gong too. Both classes work with the energy of the season.

I will be continuing the 11 minutes for 11 days morning meditation series which was popular last year. These are including with online membership but also open to anyone interested in working with breath, mantra and mudra (and gestures) in transformative meditation practices. The next series starts 21 January. I also plan to share some of the meditations on here.

(NB membership of my online group is just £35 per month to cover all eight classes, five meditations per year, and recordings at the end of each month.)

While I am still teaching a couple of live classes a week, also on a membership basis, I am looking forward to entering the next stage of my wellness journey. I believe that I am officially entering the fourth stage of woman hood (the wise women who passes on her knowledge - more about that in another post). So, working with the techniques and practices that I have found most effective over my years of teaching and learning, I am putting together training courses for yoga teachers, wellness practitioners or anyone wanting to help others with physical and mental health. You will can learn more about these Wellness Works. I'll be running the first courses from home but may branch out to other areas, to even online in the future.

Whitby Log Cabins

No update would be complete without a mention of our sister business, Whitby Log Cabins which keeps us super busy. That's because, I am happy to say, the cabins are becoming well known as a very special place to stay, on the edge of a very special seaside town. Our guests can enjoy all the attractions of Whitby then return to the peace and quiet of our woodland retreat, with the sounds of nature all around. And they can even join a yoga session.

10/10/2024

07/08/2024

27/03/2024

Here is a short meditation for the holiday period. The Sa Ta Na Ma Kriya combining mantra and breathwork is designed to 'Balance the Day' - and the recommended time is just five minutes.

Sa Ta Na Ma is the cycle of Infinity, Life, Death and Rebirth or shedding the old to find the new real you. The O breathing technique is relaxing and cleansing, perfect for Spring practice.

Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, and a light Neck Lock.
Focus the eyes on the tip of the nose.
Alternately clasp the hands in front of the chest, first left fingers over top, then right fingers over top, in a two-position, four-part rhythm. When one hand's fingers are on top, the opposite hand's thumb is to the outside.
Make a stiff "O" of the mouth, and breath through the pursed lips.
Mentally vibrate Sa-Ta-Na-Ma. Inhale, and begin...
On Sa, exhale and clasp one hand over the other.
On Ta, inhale and switch the hands.
On Na, exhale and clasp the other hand over the other.
On Ma, inhale and switch the hands.
To End:
Inhale deeply and press the tongue hard against the upper palate. Hold for 10 seconds. Cannon breath out.
Inhale deeply and press the tongue even harder against the upper palate. Hold for 10 seconds. Cannon breath out.
Inhale deeply one last time. Press the tongue up against the upper palate as hard as you can, holding the breath for 10 seconds.
Let the breath go and relax.

26/03/2024