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Dru Yoga Cape Town

Dru Yoga for mind & heart | Buteyko Breathing for functional breathing.

23/04/2026

Finally made it to the Dru Centre in a snowdonia. So many wonderful friendly people and so quiet and peaceful here. I’ve been having such a fun time. Part of it being solo traveller which has been great - just doing things at one’s own pace. Now exploring the area with family.

27/03/2026

Just a ridiculously beautiful day! Who needs Greece. 😜
Not a wave in sight however.....

24/03/2026

Evening Sun Sequence. Surya Namaskara.
I've been drawn to the sun sequnce as the weather cools down. A nice slowa and steady Sun Sequence is great for this time of the year, especially with all the lurgies around. It get you circulation moving, especially the lympahtic sysytem which fights the baddies.

If your knees are wonly or all the up and down is not for you then Dru Yoga has a great Standing Sun sequnece which I have learnt from my teacher , who always has a trick or two up her sleeves!

18/03/2026

Di is for Diaphragm! Facebook wouldn't let m post my big D and the video!

The diaphragm is your breathing muscle. There are accessory breathing muscles, but the diaphragm is your number one breathing muscle. The best thing about this is that you can strengthen this muscle as it is composed of striated muscle - same stuff that make up your limbs. So of course it can also become weak by dysfunctional breathing.

It is important to note that abdominal breathing is NOT diaphragmatic breathing. You can develop breathing disorders from both chest breathing and abdominal breathing, but in the process of moving away fromm chest breathing it takes a while to develop awareness of the diaphragm, so then tummy is better than chest.

The diaphragm kind of divides the body in half and thus effects that which is above and that which is below. Via fascia it is connected to the heart, so every time you breathe you gently massage the heart. Below that you exert pressure on the abdominal organs as you inhale. This squeezing and releasing brings fresh blood supply to your visceral organs. How amazing is that?!

The vagus nerve also runs directly through the diaphragm They have an effect on each other. The vagus nerve signals for the diaphragm to contract and expand. At the same time through conscious slow breathing, using the diaphragm the vagus nerve is activated..

Thats just a basic start to the diaphragm, there's so much more.
Here’s a video of how you can bring your awareness to this wonderful muscle.

16/03/2026

I’ve still got the shakes!
Here’s another good reason to shake your way to better health, which is especially important in Autumn as we become vulnerable to flus and colds.

When you shake, your muscles repeatedly contract and relax. That movement matters because the lymphatic system doesn’t have its own pump like the heart does. It relies on body movement to keep things flowing.
Shaking helps move lymph — the fluid that carries immune cells and clears waste — around the body. When we add extra movement to the shaking, it gives the lymphatic system an even bigger nudge to get things circulating.

The lymphatic system as like the immune system’s highway. It transports:
•immune cells
•antigens (things the immune system needs to respond to)
•waste from tissues
This fluid travels between the body’s tissues and the lymph nodes. Without that circulation, immune cells wouldn’t know where the problem is — and they certainly can’t fix what they can’t find.
So give yourself a good Dru Yoga shake. Or even better come to one of my classes to see what other benefits you can get form regular yoga practice.

11/03/2026

Phew! I was feeling well pleased with myself. I spent quite a bit of time on my oncoming Autumn yoga classes. The mornings are getting darker and we've had a few chilly evenings. Nature however had a good chortle and sent us a few 40C+ days. Yho. Kuyashisa!

A bit of an old photo by my friend on a previous holiday. Find somewhere cool and lie prone!

09/03/2026

After a short break at the river I am back and classes resume this week. I had loads of giggles. Imbibed too much! Sunshine, swims, paddles, bird watching and plenty of insect bites. No photos of my yoga sessions - got to really switch off at times. Now back to reality and a full set of Autumn classes coming your way.

26/02/2026

Back to Dru Activations, How often have you been to a yoga class and the teacher makes you shake?!
Well this was a first for me and initially I didn't enjoy it, but I've grown to enjoy a good shake out, like a shaggy dog!

Quite a number of things are happening here, but an interesting one is righting reflexes – the challenge of balance. Basically it's our our body's ability to bring you back to an upright positions. It's a survival mechanism and if it's not trained then it can be become weak. Poor righting reflexes increase the risk of falling and injury.

Another thing that is happening is very quick tensing and relaxing of the muscles. It's amazing how relaxed a good shake will leave you feeling,

Here's me having a good shake out!

24/02/2026

And now for the C in the A to Z of functional breathing..
Our biggest friend is Carbon Dioxide. yes it's a waste gas, but it's so much more.

The main impulse to breathe comes from the levels of CO2 in our blood stream. The more sensitive we are to CO2 the more we breathe, which sets off a pattern of off loading CO2 and not allowing a build up in the blood and tissues. Why would we want that? Well it's related to the Bohr effect, as mentioned under B. Haemoglobin needs a bit of coaxing to let go of the Oxygen it carries. The rise of Co2 lowers the pH in the blood and this gives the haemoglobin the nudge to let go of that 02, which goes into the cells.. This is a very simplistic explanation as I'm just trying to cover the basics.

Co2 has some other great uses. The most important is that it is a smooth muscle relaxant. That's means your blood vessels, your heart, your visceral organs, so better food flow to your organs. Happier organs and muscles.

We have a rough measurement of your tolerance of CO2 called the Control Pause. It is one of the first things we teach in Buteyko and is quite simple to do. It acts as your measurement of progress on your functional breathing journey. It is best learnt from an instructor.

Tps - breathe only through your nose at all times. Mouth breathing off sets more C02. You can even breathe through your nose whilst doing exercise. Just start slowly and manageably. .Taking a rest when you find you need to breathe through your mouth.

23/02/2026

I promise you - I do work!
But..I just have to say that I love summer!

Last night I lay on my yoga platform outside, because you can't do these thing in winter! There was a thunder storm in the distance that lit the clouds there. Above me the stars were shining. The noise of the sea drowned out the traffic noise and it felt like I was on holiday at The Blue Marlin Hotel when I was 5, going to sleep with the sound of the waves.

So find a patch of grass, go out and look at the stars, watch the sun rise or set, take your shoes off, get some sun. Keep it simple.

18/02/2026

It made me realise that sometimes you need to be feeling off sides to really understand the depth of the yoga asanas (postures.)

For example if you hurt a muscle you become acutely aware of the engagement of this muscle, in a way that just seems theoretical when everything feels good. It's the same on an emotional level - all the theory around yoga starts to make sense when you need it to lift you up or process something.

The Dru Power Sequence can facilitate bringing back your own power, which sounds a little bit clichéd, but if you think about it, it’s when you’re feeling like the wind has been taken out of you and you need to put it back in again. That’s what the Power Sequence can do for you.

11/02/2026

In Dru Yoga we always begin a class with activations. Some people love activations and could do them forever and some find them a bit boring. I tend to be a 'love activations' person.

Activations mean that by the time I start my practice I'm less focused on the sore neck or other tightness from a day in front of of the computer and can focus on the sequence and asanas (postures).

They are also fun to do when taking my computer breaks.One favourites which I do ad nauseam is the spinal twist. Great for the spine and shoulders, and generally calming.

Address

Cnr Collingwood And Rawson Rd, 7925 Observatory
Cape Town
7925

Telephone

+27845067499

Website

https://druyogacapetown.co.za/

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