Rebecca James Yoga

01/09/2025

It's back...Wednesday morning yoga in Alice Holt Forest from 11.00 - 12.00.
Come and join us - we meet by the cafe!
www.rebeccajamesyoga.co.uk

27/08/2025

Life can feel challenging when stress, anxiety, pain, or fatigue take over.
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You might find yourself always caring for others but struggling to take care of yourself, feeling disconnected from your body, or pushing through exhaustion without compassion for your own needs.
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My approach is gentle, calm, and supportive. By combining yoga techniques with talking therapy, I support people to reconnect with their peaceful centre, reduce the weight of stress, and live with greater balance and self-compassion.
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Clients often tell me they feel calmer, sleep better, experience less pain, and discover better tools to cope with overwhelm after working with me.
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Many also find a kinder relationship with themselves, learn to set healthy boundaries, and feel more resilient and joyful in daily life.
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If you’re ready to begin reducing stress, anxiety and pain I’d love to support you. Send me a message to find out more:
bex.yoga@gmail.com
I work in Wi******er, Basingstoke and Alresford.

21/08/2025

Restore Balance - Mind, Body & Mood
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Ever feel like your head is in one place, your body in another, and your to-do list is in outer space? You’re not broken, you may be out of balance.
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That’s where I come in.
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At Rebecca James Therapy, I bring together Yoga Therapy and Integrative Psychotherapy - two powerful approaches woven into one whole-person practice.
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*Stretch out the stress in your muscles.
*Untangle the knots in your thoughts.
*Process difficult emotions
*Reconnect with you - steady, centred, and clear.
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It’s not therapy. It’s not yoga. It's both providing a space to feel whole again.
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Rebecca James Therapy
Rebalance * Empower * Transform

Yoga Therapy for Mental Health Pain and Chronic Illness | Integrative Psychotherapy | Personal Development | Trauma Informed | Body Mind and Soul Integration | Get to know our ethos here →

18/08/2025

This blog really resonated with me. I went to a class in London with a friend a couple of years ago and the teacher asked me, "are you a beginner?" because he was teaching a pose using ropes which I had not done before and I couldn't do it.

At the time I was about to qualify as a yoga therapist with over 25 years of yoga experience.

I just hadn't used ropes before and I'm not overly flexible (thank god! I think this has saved me from being injured in several classes where extreme ranges of motion were being encouraged).

But he couldn't see my mind during the practice and he wasn't watching my breathing pattern or my nervous system queues so he could only go on what my body looked like physically. From this he decided I must be a beginner but the physical postures are only a tiny part of what yoga is about.

https://subtleyoga.substack.com/p/when-youre-not-a-beginner-but-you?r=komze&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&fbclid=IwY2xjawMQQa1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqmDoBq635oje99g4eWHP8qywoL29QmJpDlNOhFAiYNY5oZZTQkfGFU6YLRX_aem_GZBTTqXI-BVCQB31ndVQjg&triedRedirect=true

I was spending a weekend with a yoga trainer colleague in New York.

06/08/2025

Yoga Snacks for Persistent Pain

Living with ongoing pain can be exhausting — physically and emotionally. But what if relief could come in small, manageable bites?

“Yoga Snacks” are short, gentle practices (just 5–10 minutes) designed to support your body, calm your nervous system, and help manage persistent pain.

* Constructive rest - to calm your nervous system
* Slowing down the exhale - to help you relax
* Gentle flexion and extension of the spine - movement helps the body to release protective tension
* Hand yoga for present moment awareness

These bite-sized practices are evidence-informed, safe, and adaptable — perfect to bring some gentle self care into your day.

Whether you're dealing with back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia or long-term tension, yoga snacks can offer small moments of ease throughout your day. Potentially reducing pain over time.

Interested in trying a session or learning more? Comment below or send a message!

03/08/2025

Is your weight gain unexpressed anger?

Interesting article about yoga psychology...

https://www.uniindia.com/news/pnn/story/3497048.html

We can use yoga to rebalance our whole system - body, mind, mood and spirit. They are all interconnected so we have many ways in including movement, breath, mindfulness, relaxation, personal reflection, feeling and processing emotions in the present moment, dance, somatic awareness... if you fee like you have pain or a health condition and nothing has helped you so far don't give up, there are many ways to move forward and reduce your suffering.

bex.yoga@gmail.com

01/08/2025

Yoga Snacking - because small regular practices help you stay balanced.

We’ve all heard of exercise snacking… but what about yoga snacking?

This is the art of weaving tiny, nourishing moments of yoga into your real, messy, unpredictable day. Think of it as bite-sized mindfulness and movement for busy lives.

✨ A grounding breath before jumping into that Zoom meeting.
✨ A calming exhale as your partner pushes all the buttons.
✨ A spine-lengthening stretch in the kitchen while the kettle boils.
✨ A mindful pause when your toddler really doesn’t want to put their shoes on.

Yoga doesn’t have to mean leggings, incense, or a 90-minute class. It can be 30 seconds of breath, a shoulder roll, a stretch, or just noticing your feet on the floor.

Because these small moments all add up and can shift your nervous system out of the stress response. They remind your nervous system that it’s safe to soften.

Have you tried yoga snacking? This is what many of my clients are able to take from our sessions together - simple techniques that work for them to help them stay more balanced, joyful and alive to the moment.

bex.yoga@gmail.com
https://www.rebeccajamesyoga.co.uk/

28/07/2025

Great question from Deepak Chopra as my thought for the day...

What would I be afraid of if I didn't have a past?

One for the journal I think...

28/07/2025

How Yoga Therapy Can Help with Persistent Pain

Living with persistent pain can sometimes feel like a never-ending cycle - exhausting, isolating, and overwhelming. But did you know that yoga therapy is increasingly being recognised as a powerful tool in managing long-term pain?

Here’s how it can help:

*Reduces muscle tension – Gentle, tailored movement helps release tightness without flaring symptoms.
*Improves nervous system regulation – Breathwork and mindfulness calm the ‘fight or flight’ response that often worsens pain.
*Builds body awareness – Learn to recognise pain signals early and respond in a kinder, more supportive way.
*Supports emotional wellbeing – Persistent pain often affects mental health. Yoga therapy can reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and restore a sense of control.
*It’s adapted to you – Unlike a regular yoga class, yoga therapy is personalised, trauma-informed, and paced for your individual needs.

You don’t need to be flexible. You don’t need to be ‘good at yoga’. You just need to be curious about trying a different approach.

If you're managing ongoing pain from conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, back issues, headaches or TMJ — yoga therapy could be a gentle, empowering way forward.

Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about how yoga therapy might help you, or someone you care about.

bex.yoga@gmail.com

https://www.rebeccajamesyoga.co.uk/yoga-therapy

25/07/2025

Menopausal Sleep Disturbance

I was very interested to read this today..."the 2023 study showing how declining progesterone specifically disrupts GABA pathways in your brain—the very pathways that help your caring, organized mind finally quiet down."

This makes sense to me in terms of my own experience and I'm curious if yoga asana and coherent breathing can help you too? We know from Streeter's 2012 study that these two practices increase GABA so they may be a good place to start exploring practices to promote more restful sleep.

If you'd like support as you move through the menopause I have a special interest in yoga therapy for menopause and you can contact me at bex.yoga@gmail.com

22/07/2025

Thought for the day:

“The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.”

– TKV Desikachar

If you're interested in some of my thoughts on yoga please check out my blog
https://www.rebeccajamesyoga.co.uk/blog

18/07/2025

One Day Yoga and Mindfulness Retreat Near Alresford
Sunday 7th September 2025
10.00 - 18.00

Spend a day in nature relaxing, restoring and nourishing.

A rough outline for the day includes:

10.00 Welcome, an introduction to the nervous system and its importance as the intersection between stress and wellbeing.

10.30 Movement practice by the pond to restore balance

11.30 Mindful bodyscan to expand present moment awareness

12.30 Mindful walk in beautiful countryside to nourish the soul

13.00 Delicious lunch prepared using seasonal ingredients by the wonderful Grassi&Jones team

14.30 Breathing practices designed to help you feel calm, grounded and energised

15.15 Meditation for improved self-awareness and better self-care

16.00 Tea and cake

16.40 Forest Bathing - tuning into the power of nature to help us de-stress and improve our mood

17.30 Closing ceremony

18.00 Close

https://www.rebeccajamesyoga.co.uk/retreats

To book please message me at bex.yoga@gmail.com