Author: ying yoga

It’s so lovely that people are reaching out to restart (or start!) yoga.

The main thing to note is that there is limited space, and booking must be done online in advance. There is a waiting list, so please do cancel your spot as far as possible in advance if you know you can’t make it.

Please don’t be put off by this though! I would absolutely love you to join us.

All abilities are welcome – it’s a mixed class now as most of the yogis have been with me for a while, but beginners are very welcome!

I will cater for you as much as I can and I hope to see you soon.

If you would like more information about any aspect of yoga or my classes, please get in touch!

It’s funny how the only thing I’ve ever really kept up with was having my toe nails painted (for the past 25 years!)

I stopped painting them myself years ago,
and I also got rid of all my nail polishes. It was sort of the only thing in my life that I kept that had a bit of toxicity on the body.

Then lockdown happened, and once they were off I thought “oh my god, what am I going to do?”. I decided I was going to try au naturel.

If I’m totally honest, I didn’t like it! Well, not exactly, but it took a lot of getting used to and it was so strange to see my feet with no colour!

Even now one day I’ll look at them, and think “yes, I can live with that”, but the next day it’s “no I really can’t!”

I still haven’t had them painted, and still haven’t purchased any polish. You’re probably wondering why haven’t done them myself. The truth is I’m not good at painting nails, and I would get frustrated if I did get them right!

How vain am I?

I know. Lots. But even more once you hear this…
As I was preparing to go back to in person teaching at the studio, my immediate though was that my feet would be on show, and I needed to get my toenails painted!

However, I’ve held off. I’ve done a few classes now, and I’m going with it to see how it is for me!

Do you have any before and after lockdown changes?

I was a bit apprehensive to get back to the studio with all the extra guidelines to consider. I went there with all my mats to work out how many could safely fit in whilst keeping distanced. Obviously class numbers are now smaller.

As I was getting ready, the government announced the 6 people rule (to add another spanner in the works!), but after checking all of the small print and exemptions, luckily it doesn’t apply to us.

Getting back to seeing people in person was so good; everyone agreed. The community, the bond, and human connection hadn’t disappeared!

It was so good to hear the lovely feedback afterwards, too.

I loved that one class started clapping after the class, with the happiness of being back. In another class, when I asked a question, asking them to answer me back with a wave, they all kept their hands up. I had to say that it was OK for them to put their hands down!

(I know you’re probably wondering what the question was now. If you were in class you would know – I’ll let you in to the secret on another blog, maybe!)

Thank you to all the yogis that have supported me on Zoom while patiently waiting for the studio to reopen! That’s all of you!! You’re all amazing!!

Love and light. Namaste x

As you know, I’ve been doing meditation throughout lock down, I’ve been doing lots of types but it’s all ultimately meditation.

One type with my yoga teacher was working on my inner child, and now I’m about to start another 28 days with him for letting go and recharging. Really looking forward to it.

I’m also just about to finish a 21 day meditation course with Deepak Chopra on renewing yourself (body, mind, and spirit) which has also been great. I’ve read a few of his books and listened to some podcasts of his, but I’d never done one of his meditations. This was free, so I gave it a try. It was so good I went back to buy it so I can revisit it. I’d love to go on one of his retreats one day.

So, I’m back to a slightly more typical work life now. Things seem to get dropped, even when we promise ourselves we won’t. The one thing I can guarantee is that I will never ever drop meditation from my daily yoga practice!

Try it some time!

Preparing to get back in the studio. I have all the logistics of everything to make it work going round my head! We will start back in the studio on Tuesday 15th – tomorrow!

As we do this, be considerate to everyone, as we all have different thoughts on how we feel about coming back. We’ll give it a go and see how we all feel.

If you feel ill in any way, shape or form please do not come to class. Please remember how your actions may affect others and their families at this time.

We maybe using a one way system on Tuesdays as White Tara is open to other people. Wednesdays are generally just us, so we may be using the same entrance and exit; please just look out for the signs.

I’m going to do everything can to ensure we all keep well. I’ve visited the venue to play around with mat spacing. Worked out things that can and cannot stay in the studio. Little things you’d never usually think of!

I know it will flow well as soon as we are in there, the extra worry is all the planning, and extra time needed before and after classes, where I’ll need to make sure that it’s all clean for everyone’s benefit. I hope everyone else using the space does too, but I know that the studio will also be deep cleaned.

This is all done to help you feel comfortable enough to come back, or start if you’re wanting to give yoga a go.

My online booking system is ready to go on a first come first served basis, with a waiting list if necessary. If you feel unwell at all, or can’t make it, please cancel so I can offer the space along.

I’m getting booked up already which is exciting, and I cannot wait to see everyone in person!

The free yin yoga was lovely to do, and I got to see a couple faces I haven’t seen for a while, which was really good.

It was nice to do it in this setting as that everyone was relaxed, and because they were in their own homes, it meant they didn’t have to get up, get organised and sort transport back home afterwards.

They could just stay in their relaxed mode and do whatever was in their normal plan, or even take time to do nothing but just be for a while.

So I think that I’m going to somehow slot in a yin yoga evening practice once a month on Zoom! I will keep you posted on when I’ll be doing this; I’m not sure it will be a certain day every month, but I will give you notice. At this moment I’m thinking a Monday, after a weekend.

Please keep your eyes out for this on the blog, Facebook Instagram, or Twitter if you want to join in!

I get asked a lot if I can teach someone to meditate, or if we do it in our yoga/asana practice. I often hear people saying that they just don’t get it, but as time goes on it changes to “I get it now “. So what changed?

Sometimes I say to people it’s possible that they need to work on breathing properly before trying to meditate, and the looks I get..! Breath is definitely underrated, and people think you don’t need to consider it.

Learning to really breathe is hard, and if we feel our breath first, we loosen. This, along with yoga/asana practice, eventually allows us to sit and meditate.

The asana is the moving part of yoga practice, and this ultimately prepares the body to sit in meditation.

Remember meditation is still yoga; just a part of it. There’s actually lots to yoga! More for another post!

I’m sure a lot of us, and our friends and family have thought at some point “I want to start yoga”. It’s so often followed by “but I’m not sure…” The how, whats and whys get in the way!

It’s really not daunting at all; all you have to do is commit to the time and turn up. It’s OK if you don’t feel “ready” for yoga – you’ll be surprised what happens on the mat!

I always say (whatever you’re trying) give it a go 3 times before you make a decision. It’s possible you like aspects of yoga, but not the exact style you’ve tried: go and try another yoga with someone else! We can not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s a cup of tea for everyone!

Remember to not be hard on yourself. Listen to how your body feels (yes you will feel lots of information overload when you start! It will all become natural and slot in to place eventually!) We all start somewhere and it’s not about anyone else, just yourself. Don’t compare yourself with other yogis

Just give it a try and see. Message me if you want to join a free taster session tonight – 6pm on Zoom. See you there!

As you may know, since lockdown I’ve been cycling around more and discovering places I’ve never been to, or even knew that they existed.

But one thing I’ve never experienced is being a cyclist in Cambridge, so we did it! Put our bikes in the car and off we went.

It was great to see the place on different transportation, as usually for me it’s my legs or the car.

We went across the commons and to places I’ve never been to. Best of all was that there weren’t that many people around and you could get by easily – definitely not always possible in Cambridge!

We stopped in town for an ice cream, and chatted to an interesting lady for a while before we were back on our bikes exploring.

How often we spend all of our time travelling, away, when there are so many gems on our doorsteps! Love to explore, love Cambridge.

I’ll be hosting a free yin yoga session, on Monday 31st from 6-7pm on Zoom! I want to do this so more people can try it out and see what this type of yoga is about, and give back to the community. Thankyou so much for supporting me so far!

Facebook event: https://m.facebook.com/events/327161021814341

Please remember you need to message me to get the details to join the meeting, and make sure you have registered with Zoom beforehand!

You will need a mat, a blanket, a couple of brick/blocks (if you do not have these use a couple of hardback books), a bolster (if you do not have one use a large towel or another blanket), and an eye pillow if you would like too.

I know we’ll be working in your own home, and some of you may not have these things, but we can definitely compromise and use other household items! I’ll show you on the evening to make a bolster if needed.

Please join 10 minutes before so we can get organised and settled together.

Do let your friends and families know, and I’ll see you bank holiday Monday – what a great way to end it!