Author: ying yoga

One of the best things about lock down is that it’s made people stop and see other people, rather than rushing on by, including me! I’ve found that people passing will say hello and not think your weird for saying it, like we used to when I was growing up!

People even want to stop and chat, and it just feels more pleasant somehow. Obviously not everyone, but I won’t get in to that one today. Maybe another blog post sometime.

Is this because we have all slowed down and we just have the time? Nowhere to go, nowhere to be, just in the present!

How refreshing this is; will this last or will it go back to how it was when we lived in the rat race of life?

We can only hope that this is here to stay!

Back to work, and as things start to change (for better, for worse?) how does it feel for you?

For me, it’s OK, but there’s a lot of adjusting. In the hair salon it’s ticking asking. I’m getting used to the adjustments but some bits still feel tough. I’ll get there.

Yoga on Zoom is good. I’ve adjusted well to that, and again it’s great that we can meet in this way, but I’m really missing the studio. The people, the connection, the bond we all have in a class setting: it’s totally different online.

So maybe there’ll be even more differences and more adjusting to do when we get back, who knows? It won’t be easy to go back to “normal”.

I’m going to get in touch with everyone again in September to see how everyone feels about classes restarting, and how visible it will all be.

Everyone is adjusting their lives at the moment, but it’s still vital to make the most of it!

Recently we got out all of our camping gear, to take stock and see what needed a fix or replacement.

Once the tent was set up in the garden I was desperate to go camping. I thought that I could just do that in the garden until everything opens again!

Camping will be our cheap little getaway for the rest of the year; even if it’s just one night and not too far from home, it’s still a break and an escape. And if everything is in good working order, it will be very easy to do this on the spur of the moment.

It’s amazing to pack up and go into nature, wherever it is and however you get there. Woodlands, lakes, beaches… Whether you drive, walk, cycle, ride a motorbike…

The world is your oyster, where will it take you?

I just love sitting in the sunshine with nothing to do. It does not matter where you are – you can just sit and be. Take time to ponder, stop, and process.

Reminiscing to oneself about how far you have come, what you have done, what things you may like to do, and what you are yet to achieve.

However, we often don’t allow ourselves to do this. We always have to be doing something.

It’s not about beating yourself up over what you wish you had achieved – it’s about taking time to realise you *have* achieved. However big or small, it’s an achievement.

But forget about all that for the minute, and just ponder on what you have now. Enjoy the moment spent to stop and just sit with nothing to do. Just breathe.

Enjoy the moment of now!

Some days we can get into a yoga asana and some days we can’t. That’s all ok.

Everyday is a different day.

We will find some easy, and some hard.

It depends on so many things; there’s no one reason.

Just enjoy today’s practice for what your body needs.

We all have these different days, it’s not just you.

Just go with it and let your body flow free. It might happen, or might not.

Remember everything is good, difference is what makes us, and the best way to be is to be however you feel today. Don’t force yourself or your body.

Enjoy your practice, celebrate the little wins, and if you want to do a yoga session with me get in touch!

I was thinking how I love that more and more men are doing yoga, and that we’re losing the stigma that it’s for grannies, hippies or that it’s so easy why should we bother?!

I’ve never set up a male yoga class as I love the diversity, and I’m lucky that I do have men in my classes already!

Maybe in lockdown everyone has had reflection time for themselves!

I’m grateful for the men that have reached out to me as we’ve started to ease out of lockdown for 1-1 sessions, for health or to facilitate healing of injuries.

Knowing that it’s ok to look after yourself and that you are important is the key for everyone, whatever gender you are!

One of the men from my classes said that by doing yoga “men are manning up, to be able to feel and work on themselves” I love that! But it’s not just men, I think it’s for all!

I’m even more grateful that I get to share and witness their journeys with them, and it’s amazing whether it’s in a class or 1-1s!

If you feel you want to try yoga please feel free to get in touch here, on Facebook, or Instagram!

The very short version is they’ve been overtaken! Somehow I put them aside, and have moved on to handstand practice. It was a natural flow, rather than a conscious decision (or maybe I just ran out of variations so my body compensated!)

Either way, I must get back to it. Saying that, I haven’t completely stopped – some of you know I have a feet up trainer for headstand, and I do still use that as a tool for my core training. I’m still practising for headstands, just in a roundabout way!

I do lots of different types of core training, and I use feet up mainly for pike to headstands with holds on both. Then to widelegged / straddle pike, up to headstand and holds, along with the TRX (which then I can use to include mountain climbers for the obliques).

I try to use all of my tools and techniques to practise not just the thing they were intended for – it’s interesting to see how they all interlink! And headstands? How do you do yours?

As we should have been having our first yoga session tomorrow since March, I thought I’d share with you the fresh clean studio instead! It’s had a fresh coat of paint, new blinds, and got a new storage unit. I’m missing this extra beautiful space so much!

Huge thanks to Michele at White Tara for being busy during lockdown and making this happen.

Remember, we will be back soon! I’m reviewing general yoga starting in September, but who knows! Anything could happen, so please keep watching this space for updates.

I also want to thank everyone who’s been supporting me on Zoom, all of you who’ve been waiting for us to get back to the studio, and everyone who’s been patiently waiting for our our yin yoga and gong baths – sorry we’ve had to cancel and rearrange so many times!

However, if everything goes well our next gong bath will be on Sunday 27th September! Hope to see some of your faces in person, and we can share the amazing collective energy that is always there.

We will be limiting numbers to ensure mat spacing, and asking everyone to bring their own equipment. Please get in touch to reserve a space!

Namaste, love and light to everyone xx

As the Zoom classes continue, I’ve noticed how my yogis are becoming more body led. I’m always saying this in class, but it’s so easy to quickly look up to check what you’re “meant” to be doing, or where you “should” be up to. This is trickier on Zoom, and I love how my students are becoming more in tune with their own bodies.
Listening and moving in their own intuitive way – it’s an incredible thing to witness!

We are all different and even if two flexible people do the same pose, it would not look identical, due to all sorts of reasons like bone structure, or current issues within the body. It’s part of the beauty of being body-led; that two bodies can still do the same move even so.

How does it feel for you? Are you in tune with your body? Try to move intuitively today, and don’t compare it with yesterday. It’ll be different, and that’s OK!

Happy exploring, and don’t forget join me on Zoom!

As you know the yoga studio will be allowed to reopen on the 25th July. As I’ve gathered your feedback and thought in how vital it is to restart, I’m sorry to say that I will not be restarting in-person classes yet. I’ll review for September, and will be asking for feedback as we go along.

As we are only limited on spaces with guidelines it’s hard to keep this going at the present moment but all could change.

This means that Tuesday mornings will still be off, and Wednesday evenings will remain on zoom till further notice. Saturday mornings will stay on zoom even when we get back to the studio.

As one of my reflections was not to run around so much and spread myself too thinly, I’ve made the decision that sadly I will not be returning to Hughes Hall for yoga sessions.

It’s sad because that’s where my yoga teaching began and I’m grateful for that and some brilliant students. It’s a great college, and I will miss it for sure, but I have to remember my own wellbeing too.

I hope that the college gets to return to as normal as possible, as soon as possible, like the rest of us.

Keep an eye out for further updates, and keep doing yoga!