Odile Philipson Fitness & Wellbeing

08/11/2025

Places filling up. Get a fun filled detox pre festive with this workshop!

27/10/2025

"Yoga teachers - they are just like us!"
This article in OM Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine made me chuckle and it is so true.
Here is some of my own insight:
* No, we do not lead purely enchanted lives of zen and perfect peace of mind
* Yes, we are still learning Yoga, no matter how many years we have been practising
* Yes, there are some asanas that we find harder than others to hold
* Yes, our brains can get confused with right and left, specially when giving mirroring instructions. In fact the brain can freeze and we forget part of our sequence on the other side
* No, we do not take for granted the ability to practise Yoga and the gift of being able to teach
* No, not all of us eat super clean and healthy all the time (Just don't mention the word chocolate in my proximity 😂 )
* Yes, we are full of imperfections but we know that life is an on-going and evolving work in progress.

SUMMARY = Your Yoga teachers are simply normal human beings, like You!
Namaste
Have a great week all.

Reading time: 2 minutes

02/10/2025

“I am exactly where I am supposed to be” is the mantra that I am using and teaching this month.
With Autumn here, it is time to start grounding ourselves for the next few weeks and months. At this time of the year, it can be useful to observe where we have arrived at after the Summer.
Accepting where we are at, for now, and embracing the journey ahead of us, whatever it may be.

"I am exactly where I am supposed to be"

Putting away any judgement, fears or envy and cultivating gratitude, self-respect and contentment or, as we call it in Yoga, Santosha.

“I am exactly where I am supposed to be”

Have a grounded month of October all & may you find moments of inner peace this Autumn.



Photo by Danielle Rice on Unsplash

29/09/2025

It is Dyslexia Awareness Week in Scotland. I am dyslexic.
Below are ten common myths regarding Dyslexia.

"Have you heard any of these 10 common myths?
1 People ‘grow out of’ dyslexia
2 Dyslexia doesn’t exist
3 Dyslexia is just about reading and spelling
4 Your doctor can tell you if you’re dyslexic
5 Dyslexia is an isolated learning difficulty
6 Dyslexia only affects boys
7 Coloured overlays will ‘fix’ dyslexia
8 Identification of dyslexia isn’t necessary
9 All people with dyslexia are creative
10 Comic Sans is the perfect typeface for people with dyslexia"

Personal facts =
* my favourite font is Arial and I really struggle with any Serif typeface, for example Times New Roman.
*any white typeface on darker colour background is always harder for me to read.

*if you come to my classes and I can not see your name on the register, even though it is there, it is because sometimes it is all a jumble of letters that make no sense, like a black block of ink

*if you come to my class and have to give me and spell your name, please don't talk too fast so my brain can catch up and find the right letters,

Please see below link for more information from Dyslexia Scotland & the above 10 points.
https://dyslexiascotland.org.uk/busting-dyslexia-myths/

Feel free to share.
Have a good week all

Scotland will only become a dyslexia-friendly country when everyone knows what dyslexia is – and isn’t. In 2025, we surveyed the general population of Scot ...

18/09/2025

How ethical are the activewear brands that you use?
The Good Shopping Guide looks at thousands of brands across many sectors and categories. They "research environmental track records, animal welfare and human rights issues"

"The activewear sector suffers from the same issues as the rest of the Fashion industry. Unsustainable materials and poor workers’ rights are still major concerns, and many brands still lack transparency on what they are doing to help"

Some big brands right at the bottom. Disappointingly some are Yoga brands but delighted that my favourite "go to" for my Yoga clothing is at the top!! BAM Bamboo Clothing with a 91% ethical score.
Well done 👏 ✔️

Let's shop with educated minds.

More details in the below links
https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/subject/ethical-activewear/

https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/

13/09/2025

Wow! The first Scot to complete this mental epic triathlon and the 15th woman to ever finish it.
87 mile run from Marble Arch, London to Dover
+
21 mile swim across the English channel with epic weather became a 50 mile swim
+
181 mile ride from Calais to Arc de Triomphe
95 hours and 11 minutes!
The mind boggles 😵‍💫😳🙌👏💪🦵🫶

Well done barely covers it!
What a human being.

Lyndsey Blair crossed the Paris finish line of the "world's toughest triathlon" more than 95 hours after she set off from London.

06/09/2025

This is one of my favourite books and one that I go back to again and again.

Yoga is not just about the physical practice that most gyms offer. Yoga is a philosophy, a way of thinking and conducting ourselves.

Sometimes I pick this book up to find inner strength and guidance. And for sure I am flawed and a work in progress.

Sometimes, I pick it up because someone has inspired me from chats and the witnessing of their own evolution and growth.

Often I feel that it's wisdom can help guide others journey and I look for the most appropriate excerpt.
All the above instances have happened in the last 2 weeks, hence this post.

Here is one of my favourite sutras (text).
Patanjali said (sutra 1.33): "Maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam" (for the purists, please forgive the lack of accents)
= "By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness"

How simple, how true and, of course, how wise.

Namaste to you all and have a great September!

14/08/2025

Delighted to have been given the accolade of instructor of the month of July 2025 at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew ! 😍 and a wee celebratory bottle of bubbles kindly given by the club 🍾

THANK YOU to all my participants who feed the inspiration and energy in my cycling and Yoga classes always 🙌 .
THANK YOU to my participants for their regular brilliant and kind feedback 🙏.
This one goes back to you. Can't do it without you all! 👏🙏🚴‍♂️🚴🚴‍♀️😅🧘🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️🕉️

See you soon at the club
Cycling Sundays 9.30, Yoga Sundays 10.35, Tuesdays 12.35, Thursdays 12.30

Congrats, Odile⁩ – July Instructor of the Month! 🥂🙌🏼🏅

Loved for your spin & holistic classes, always ready to help, and living our DL values every day – we’re lucky to have you! 🧘🏼🌿

Thank you Odile for your dedication to the club! 🥰🙌🏼

03/08/2025

A French winner for The Tour at long last 🤣🤩. Fantastic effort and results from Pauline Ferrant-Prévot and what a career for that rider so far! So many wins/ titles.
2015 she became the first person in the history of cycling to simultaneously hold the World road title, World cyclo-cross title and World cross-country mountain bike title 💪
2024 Olympics Games Cycling cross country gold
2025 l'enfer du nord = Paris- Roubaix femmes winner
And more ...
🙌🇫🇷

01/08/2025

I sometimes get asked "what is next week's mantra"or "what is next month's mantra". I don't believe in manufacturing / churning out mantras. They can not be faked. They have to come from within at the right moment and they do exactly that.

My mantra for this month is “I choose to be present”.
It is easy to just show up, whether it is in class, at a business meeting or a social gathering and not be fully in the present moment.
We are often distracted by our thoughts, by screens or simply our egos.
Wherever we are let’s pause and choose to be present, in the actual moment. Not in the past, not in the future, in the now.
Seeing the colours, smelling the air, feeling textures, tasting truly what we are eating, listening to sounds and words fully.

"I choose to be present"

Have a good August and let's all try be a little more present.

Photo from my June holidays in the Highlands, Clachtoll Beach

10/07/2025

Rest, Refuel & Restart.
Having a delicious lunch at David Lloyd Glasgow Renfrew between classes. This is courtesy of the reward system by this club where teachers may get a free hot drink or free meal (both for me today) based on weekly feedback from participants.
This is halloumi and honey flatbread with oat chai latte - dirty with a drop of coffee. As usual coffee from "Change Please", a great charity helping fight homelessness.
All served by the wonderful cafe staff: Maggie & Honey.

Grateful for the kindness of my participants and their amazing feedback and for the generosity of the club for this scheme which is much appreciated as a freelance teacher (Yoga and Cyclone / group cycling).