Thinking is becoming a lost art, not just worrying, planning, remembering, judging and all of the usual mind fluctuations we cram into the b

This is the stage that seems to keep people coming back for more week after week. At the beginning of class I often have a check in and open

Our human brains are primed to problem solve for our survival but for many of us our survival needs are no longer about life or death and th

This week we explore the visualisation stage of Yoga Nidra. This stage is perhaps one of the most varied in terms of its delivery, whether or not it is included and if it is where and how. Visualisation Stage in the Different Traditions In the iRest form of Yoga Nidra there is no explicit visualisation stage but visualisation is used in other stages such as the Inner Resource stage, where you may be invited to recall memories for the purpose of building a resource of wellbein

This week we explore the breath awareness stage, which also sometimes includes body/floor awareness for grounding. To Breathe Well is to Live Well Breath awareness and breath work for me are some of the most transformational aspects of both yoga and Yoga Nidra. Learning to breathe well helped me to survive the intense pressure and stress of being a 24/7 PA in the London music industry and has also helped me to overcome anxiety and panic attacks. Most days I would arrive to th

During the preceding stage of rotation of consciousness we induce relaxation of the sensorimotor surface of the brain and then during the op

The body scan can be used to promote relaxation and body awareness, to invoke or deepen a trance state, to promote healing by reconnecting t

Sankalpa loosely translated from Sanskrit to English means a vow to your highest self or highest truth. Some schools of Yoga Nidra believe t

This week we explore the first two stages of yoga together – preparation and settling. These are quite practical stages but are crucially im

Menstrual cycle awareness has quite literally saved my life. Despite experiencing crushing lows, debilitating pain and extreme uncontrolled rage for much of my bleeding life from menarche at 11 through to learning how to cooperate with my cycle at 29, I consistently turned down medical intervention. Maybe I’m a masochist but I felt that the pain and rage were happening for a reason and I didn’t feel that numbing it out was going to help me move through it. I had tracked my cy

Yesterday was a real challenge. I was feeling hardened, cold, stuck, rigid and shut down. Deeply engrained coping strategies that were once useful for survival that are now hugely restrictive. But the world keeps turning so we (Hope In High Water) had a show to play in Hastings. So I had to go out into the desert of my soul on stage. ‘All things are illuminated in the desert. The light scours all. There is nowhere to hide. In the desert we get clear on what really matters to

It’s dusk and I am standing at the edge of a beautiful tarn, behind me rolling hills in front of me expansive forest. I am in one of the mos

Water is an incredible element from which we can learn so much! It has a depth that goes far beyond its shimmering surface and it is receptive, parting to allow anything to enter before gracefully resuming its undisturbed surface. Water receives change so easily and continues to flow even under pressure, all while never losing its grace, fluidity and flow. Water is powerful without needing to be hard. If you were to hit a rock with a hammer, the rock would chip piece by piece

So today is the International Day of Yoga. I thought it would be nice to share a little of how and why I practice. Yoga has not just transformed my life, it has given me a reason to live. Before discovering yoga I often felt lost, purposeless, easily knocked and lacking in confidence in every area of my life. I have been practicing yoga on and off for 11 years and can still remember the absolute magical moment when I first 'got it'. My breath and movement were one, my mind wa

One day my Dad sat my siblings and I down and asked us to write out a list of all of the things we felt we couldn’t do. He then took our lists to the bottom of the garden with a spade, dug a whole in the ground and buried our ‘I can’ts’ in there. He proceeded to conduct a funeral service to the word I can’t and then banned us from using the words ever again. Trivial yes but incredibly important and symbolic for a young child and in fact adults alike. It’s so easy for us to ge

When it comes down to it, connection is what we are all looking for. Connection is our driving force and our ultimate goal, yet we continually block our access to this blissful state of being choosing instead to barricade ourselves into our emotional forts, drawing up the drawbridge to true, authentic connection when things get rocky. It’s difficult to put the feeling of connection into words but it is a feeling with the power to completely transform our lives. Often we feel