|
Yoga is for every body. Age, size, gender, fitness level – doesn’t matter.People constantly tell me “I’m not flexible enough for yoga”…. My answer to that is, the more inflexible you are; the more your body needs yoga!
We start off in life incredibly flexible and limber (able to suck on our toes in happy baby pose), and over time, repetitive movements and inactivity slowly starts to lock our bodies into postures that reflect our lifestyle. It is never too late to make a change and make a difference to how your body feels, and how you feel within. This in turn can maintain and increase your quality of life, ensuring that you can still get up off the floor, and continue functional movement patterns. |
Additional to the physical aspects is the incredible life changing effect that yoga can have on the mind too - if you are open to it.
We spend so much of our lives constantly in Go Go Go mode, always busy and never stopping to recharge, which leads to us burning out physically and emotionally. Our nervous systems stuck on Fight or Flight mode which wrecks havoc on our immune systems and ages us quickly. Living in the future or the past, we forget to enjoy the present and to savour each moment. Yoga can help us find the stillness within, which in turn, allows us to find inner peace and opens up the pathway to connect to our intuition.
Yoga means Union. Oneness. The postures (asanas) are such a small part of what Yoga teaches. Yoga is not about what you look like in a pose, being better than the person next to you in class, or pushing yourself to your limits. It’s all about learning to listen to what your body is telling you, learning to be gentle and kind to yourself (and others), letting go of judgement, and healing yourself from the inside out. It’s about being present in the moment, letting go of the internal chatter and reconnecting to the breath. As we balance and align our bodies, we also come into alignment and balance within our mind and spirit.
The physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of yoga is endless, but some examples are listed below –
My heart and soul is driving me to share this passion and knowledge of yoga, this gift, with others. In which I listened to the calling and I have been doing so since 2015. If you would like to discover what yoga could do for you, please join me on this journey - online or in person.
We spend so much of our lives constantly in Go Go Go mode, always busy and never stopping to recharge, which leads to us burning out physically and emotionally. Our nervous systems stuck on Fight or Flight mode which wrecks havoc on our immune systems and ages us quickly. Living in the future or the past, we forget to enjoy the present and to savour each moment. Yoga can help us find the stillness within, which in turn, allows us to find inner peace and opens up the pathway to connect to our intuition.
Yoga means Union. Oneness. The postures (asanas) are such a small part of what Yoga teaches. Yoga is not about what you look like in a pose, being better than the person next to you in class, or pushing yourself to your limits. It’s all about learning to listen to what your body is telling you, learning to be gentle and kind to yourself (and others), letting go of judgement, and healing yourself from the inside out. It’s about being present in the moment, letting go of the internal chatter and reconnecting to the breath. As we balance and align our bodies, we also come into alignment and balance within our mind and spirit.
The physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of yoga is endless, but some examples are listed below –
- Increased range of motion & flexibility
- Increased postural strength
- Increased feeling of wellbeing, calmness, alertness, emotional & mental peace
- Increased clarity of mind & improved memory
- Increased connection to your inner self, mind and body
- Improved blood flow (which benefits the bones, muscle, tissue, organs, mind etc)
- Improved function of the immune, endocrine, nervous, skeletal & muscular systems
- Improved respiratory function & awareness of the breath
- Improved purification of the bodies organs through the breath
- Improved physical balance & steadiness
- Improved energy levels
- Improved sleep
- Reduced stress levels
- Reduced tightness
- Helps prevent arthritis, diabetes, insomnia, scoliosis etc
My heart and soul is driving me to share this passion and knowledge of yoga, this gift, with others. In which I listened to the calling and I have been doing so since 2015. If you would like to discover what yoga could do for you, please join me on this journey - online or in person.
|
Mobility and Pilates training is imperative for postural strength, range of motion and joint health!
If you are always in pain, suffering from tightness and discomfort, or are constantly injuring yourself - you NEED to make some form of mobility and postural strength training a priority. To be honest - EVERYONE needs to make this a priority. Because if you aren't suffering from anything I mentioned YET, you will eventually.
There's the expectation that once you hit your 30's, the body begins to go down hill. That by 40, it's normal to wake up feeling sore and have restricted movement, and by the time you're 60, getting up off the floor is wishful thinking. This is not normal, and it doesn't have to be this way. |
With the right training, and with commitment and consistency - you can move in ways that we take for granted as children, well into your senior years. The choice is yours!
I have been teaching Pilates (Mat & Reformer) since 2021 and I feel that it is another piece of the puzzle when it comes to all rounded physical fitness. Yoga being one aspect, Strength & Fitness training another. Muscles strengthen rather quickly, but ligaments & tendons, bones, joints (and fixing posture) takes time. When they are forgotten and not trained, and when we live sedentary lifestyles, we can get injured easily, despite how flexible or strong our muscles may be.
Traditional and Clinical Pilates are fantastic, however the more "fitness focused" type of Pilates has become more common these days. Don't get me wrong, I still love these classes as they can be a lot of fun and super challenging, but quite often the emphasis on control, stability and alignment isn't a focus in these type of classes which isn't following the purpose of what Pilates was originally created for (to rehabilitate the body to ideal balance). Sometimes you can leave those classes feeling more broken than before you went in, which is why my style of teaching is slower and more technique based.
I have also been learning more about the world of specific mobility training which has been blowing my mind - from a movement neurology perspective, and from a joint strengthening focus point. I intend to do more training in this area to share with you all as I know how important it is and how life changing it can be!
I have been teaching Pilates (Mat & Reformer) since 2021 and I feel that it is another piece of the puzzle when it comes to all rounded physical fitness. Yoga being one aspect, Strength & Fitness training another. Muscles strengthen rather quickly, but ligaments & tendons, bones, joints (and fixing posture) takes time. When they are forgotten and not trained, and when we live sedentary lifestyles, we can get injured easily, despite how flexible or strong our muscles may be.
Traditional and Clinical Pilates are fantastic, however the more "fitness focused" type of Pilates has become more common these days. Don't get me wrong, I still love these classes as they can be a lot of fun and super challenging, but quite often the emphasis on control, stability and alignment isn't a focus in these type of classes which isn't following the purpose of what Pilates was originally created for (to rehabilitate the body to ideal balance). Sometimes you can leave those classes feeling more broken than before you went in, which is why my style of teaching is slower and more technique based.
I have also been learning more about the world of specific mobility training which has been blowing my mind - from a movement neurology perspective, and from a joint strengthening focus point. I intend to do more training in this area to share with you all as I know how important it is and how life changing it can be!
|
Now when it comes to Strength & Fitness training....
The good news is, you don’t have to spend 2 + hours at the gym every day smashing yourself doing high intensity training and living off bland salads to be healthy. That's actually not considered healthy at all.
It is detrimental to your health to over-stress the body with too much high intensity exercise. Don’t get me wrong, working up a good sweat and challenging the body out of our comfort zones is still necessary for change and growth, but not for the duration you think. The rule is - the more intense the movement is, the less reps and more rest you actually need. |
The body needs time to heal and recharge for positive changes and adaptation to happen - like a car, you can’t be in 5th gear all the time, you need time in each gear and each gear has a purpose. And you need to refuel and change the oil - which is adequate nutrition and hydration.
To progress, your body needs a certain amount of repetition. But it also needs constant change and variation, and adequate rest and recovery, ,to avoid hitting plateaus, burning out or getting injured. And most importantly, it’s meant to be fun, otherwise it’s not sustainable - who would have thought?!
You also get more out of your workout when your brain is fully engaged and challenged. Challenging the brain improves coordination and balance. The brain doesn't know the difference between actually DOING and VISUALISING, so you can use this to your advantage.
As for what type of exercises to do - functional movement patterns, body weight exercises, high intensity cardio, endurance exercises, power and agility movements, lifting heavy weights, and traditional compound movements - are all important and each serve a purpose. (Then there's the world of other modalities as well such as dance, martial arts, sport etc)
However, what's even more important is finding what YOUR individual body needs, what you want to get out of your chosen type of movement, and what you actually enjoy. If you enjoy what you are doing, then you will keep doing it - so this one trumps all. Anything that keeps you moving, will increase your longevity. So keep trying different classes, different environments, different trainers, different modalities, until you find what works for YOU.
I genuinely care about helping people with the full spectrum of their health & wellbeing (mind, body, soul) and I do not see each client as just another number. If you care about making a long term change to increase your health, wellbeing and quality of life, and are not just after superficial goals and short term fixes – then I am the trainer for you.
To progress, your body needs a certain amount of repetition. But it also needs constant change and variation, and adequate rest and recovery, ,to avoid hitting plateaus, burning out or getting injured. And most importantly, it’s meant to be fun, otherwise it’s not sustainable - who would have thought?!
You also get more out of your workout when your brain is fully engaged and challenged. Challenging the brain improves coordination and balance. The brain doesn't know the difference between actually DOING and VISUALISING, so you can use this to your advantage.
As for what type of exercises to do - functional movement patterns, body weight exercises, high intensity cardio, endurance exercises, power and agility movements, lifting heavy weights, and traditional compound movements - are all important and each serve a purpose. (Then there's the world of other modalities as well such as dance, martial arts, sport etc)
However, what's even more important is finding what YOUR individual body needs, what you want to get out of your chosen type of movement, and what you actually enjoy. If you enjoy what you are doing, then you will keep doing it - so this one trumps all. Anything that keeps you moving, will increase your longevity. So keep trying different classes, different environments, different trainers, different modalities, until you find what works for YOU.
I genuinely care about helping people with the full spectrum of their health & wellbeing (mind, body, soul) and I do not see each client as just another number. If you care about making a long term change to increase your health, wellbeing and quality of life, and are not just after superficial goals and short term fixes – then I am the trainer for you.
