about
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Problem Solving with Therapeutic Yoga
In this crazy world many people have health issues that don’t seem to have an answer in conventional western treatment. Thank goodness there are other options! Whether you use those options alongside conventional treatment or try them as an alternative, there is power in the ancient therapies on offer.
About us
As yoga therapists, we use a different approach to the problems of modern life. These may be health problems, life problems, sleep problems, both physical and mental. Those things that sometimes stop you from fully enjoying life. Yoga is not simply physical exercise, it is a holistic method of healing that has been used for thousands of years. The most effective yoga strategies for the issues usually incorporate very gentle yoga asana (physical postures), breathing techniques (pranayama) and yogic meditation (yoga nidra). The asanas are gentle and they will also be modified to meet you at your current level of fitness.
I offer therapeutic yoga sessions both face to face and via Skype, and also offer session plans that you may take to your local yoga therapist who will assist you with learning how to do the poses with alignment and modification to suit your body and fitness level. These include a take home practice as well, so that between sessions you can continue to work on attaining the outcome you want.
Yoga sessions and plans also include an optional Yoga Nidra. This is many people’s favourite part of their session as it provides a chance to wind down and fully relax. Yoga Nidra translates as “yogic sleep” and, while you do not actually go into a deep sleep, it is a very restful and relaxing practice.
All yoga classes end with a period of rest, lying on the floor in Shavasana (or Savasana). This is an opportunity to allow your body to integrate the practices. The practice of Yoga Nidra takes this integration to the next level.
As Yoga Nidra takes you into the state between wakefulness and sleep you will find yourself able to absorb the suggestions in the practice. These are often your own suggestions, such as the practice of setting your Sankalpa or resolve. You set the intention and the practice brings power to the intention. See my article on creating and setting a Sankalpa here.
Come with an open mind and willingness to participate and we will work together to improve your health. With better health you will have a better life, be more able to participate in the enjoyable activities around you.
About me
As a mother of 3 grown ups (soon to be a grandmother) I’ve found my passion and focus my time to continual learning and experience of yoga in all its forms. There is always something new to learn. I enjoy trying some of the more complex practices because it helps me understand how my beginner students are feeling!
From problems I’ve experienced, problems friends have experienced and problems raised by clients my focus has narrowed and I now concentrate on a few conditions where I feel I can add most value.
I’ve been a yoga practitioner for over 30 years. The first event that caused a greater focus on yoga was a fall from a bolting horse that resulted in a crushed vertebrae.
There is not a lot to be done for that other than rest for several months (not easy when you have an 18 months old, 3 years old and 5 years old…), then to build up strength with exercise. I credit yoga for the fact that my back doesn’t give me any problem.
My love of yoga turned to a passion when I was going through a very stressful period of my life. Going through a divorce while holding down a high-stress job (that I didn’t want to lose because that would be my income to support my children), I stumbled into a yoga class called “Shanti Yoga”. That translates to Peace Yoga. And that was exactly what the class provided! I could walk into the class with my body in knots and my mind in turmoil and walk out feeling like I was floating!
I feel in love …. not with the teacher, but with the practice and the opportunity it offered.
It took me a few more years to find a yoga teacher training that resonated with me. I initially wanted to train with Shanti, but being a single mum with not a lot of disposable income, the training was too far away to be viable. I found a wonderful teacher, Kate Pell, who teaches Iyengar style yoga and that resonated with me. After my initial 350 hours teacher training course I taught yoga classes for a few years, always doing a few more courses, until I came across the Yoga Therapy training that matched what I was looking for to progress my knowledge. So, another 600 hours of training done and much enjoyed! There was so much more to it than I had even imagined!
Since then I have continued my learning journey, with Yoga Nidra, specialized pranayama, mantra, mental health, various health conditions, and much more! My passion has become my life!
Living with Someone with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
My parents’ house was always immaculately clean and tidy. We were not allowed to leave anything out of place. My mother was up at around 6am every morning to start the cleaning rituals that were so important to her. You could have moved the fridge out and eaten off the floor any day of the week because every piece of furniture was moved to allow the areas behind, below, around to be scubbed with cleaning fluid.
That was just one of her rather unusual behaviours.
My mother lived with PTSD before it was a diagnosable condition. At the age of around 11 or 12, she had been the one to discover her mother dead from suicide. I don’t know exactly how old she was because she wouldn’t or couldn’t talk about it. It was just from comments she made such as “When I was eleven Mrs Jones from next door had to come and teach me how to make the beds”.
To me one of the saddest parts of this is that at that time suicide was a crime, not something spoken about, so she had to hold so much inside of her as well as the grief and trauma. It was not even permissible to be buried in a churchyard or hold a funeral in the church.
If asked how her mother had died, she would simply say “she was sick”. Her mother’s death had to be swept under the carpet, no such thing as counselling for the very young girl who had been through so much.
She wasn’t easy to live with, but that is understandable now I know why. I didn’t know my mother’s story growing up and we didn’t have an easy relationship. I know now that much of her behavior was pretty typical of someone suffering from PTSD. She died from cancer before I understood what was behind her crazy behavior.