New research is bringing yoga one step closer to becoming a medically recommended treatment for depression. Findings show that yoga practice can help reduce symptoms of the condition, which is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States and worldwide, with around 16.1 million American adults alone experiencing at least one […]
Practising on the edge. For those of you old enough to remember, the Edge used to refer to the lead guitarist of U2 (Showing my age? Perhaps!), but for those of us in the yoga world, the edge means something entirely different. Practising on the edge is a relatively recent term in yoga. It refers
Kayleigh Alwill is a multi-talented performer on a mission to take yoga to those suffering with mental health issues. Poppy Pickles speaks to her about yoga and mental health and how we can help her on her quest. Zen Monkey: What brought you to yoga? Kayleigh Alwill: I trained as a dancer, and have always
Yoga may be about as good as physiotherapy for treating lower back pain, according to a new study published in a major medical journal. The results of the long-term study, which involved a large and racially diverse group of participants, come as welcome scientific support for using yoga as a therapy for back pain. Whilst
Our scapula, or shoulder blade, glides around on the chest wall allowing the complex movements that we use in our asana. It plays a vital role in keeping the scapula firmly fixed on the chest wall. Here is how to activate, strengthen and make the most of this important muscle in your classes. The When and
I wish I had a pound for every time I have told my students to ‘listen to your body’ – it’s just one of those things yoga teachers say, isn’t it? It slips off the tongue so easily, but what does it really mean? Listen through Ahimsa Listening to your body starts with ahimsa –
Were you scared this Halloween? Whilst witches, mummies and vampires may no longer scare us (not as much as our credit card bill) they do represent the unknown darker side of life and those fears can still catch us unawares. And those fears can lurk even in our yoga practice. I’ve had many poses over
The Hatha Yoga Pradipida is an ancient amalgamation of knowledge about cleansing and purifying practices that is still widely referenced today. If you’re uncertain that a book written around the 15th century retains much modern-day relevance, take a look… Name: Hatha Yoga PradipikaDate written: 15th century approx. (some dates go as far back as the
I’m approaching the final stretch of my every-day-in-July yoga challenge, and this week definitely felt more like the ‘one step back’ after ‘two steps forward’. Last week I imparted just a few nuggets of knowledge that I’ve picked up along my yogic journey. This week, in some bizarre pseudo-teenage rebellious act, I decided to completely
Have you ever wondered what happens to your day? You plan to do something and by the end of the day, you’ve done something entirely different. How does that happen? I had dedicated the afternoon to a simple task – to write this blog. That was pretty straight forward, wasn’t it? Just sit and write,
