Embody Wellness

Summer Health for the Heart & Small Intestine

The pair of organs associated with the Summer in Chinese Medicine are the Heart and Small Intestine and the element is Fire. The Heart (yin organ) is the ‘supreme monarch’ and is supported by three other organs associated with Fire: the Pericardium, the Small Intestine, and the Triple Heater, (with the Small Intestine being the…

The Rest Sessions: Be Restored

Sunday 22nd May 2-4pm at Embody Wellness, Vauxhall “The clue is in the name – RESTorative yoga is excellent for facilitating proper rest and relaxation in both body and mind. Restorative yoga is a receptive practice where you are supported and held – how many of us could deeply benefit from more of that?”  (excerpt…

Restore Yourself on EkhartYoga – new online class

My fifth class with EkhartYoga has been released. Release tension and stress in both your body and mind as you enjoy the experience of allowing your body to be completely supported by your props. This class is a nurturing restorative practice, ideal for when you are in need of some restoration. To practice with me at…

Joyful & Open: A Late Autumn Yin & Yoga Nidra Workshop

Saturday 10 November | 2.00pm to 4.00pm | £25 Join me for this upcoming seasonal workshop at Embody Wellness in Vauxhall. In Chinese Medicine there are Five Elements that are central to nature’s cycles and are reflected in the cycles of our bodies. They are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth, and each element is connected…

Yin Yoga: Half Saddle Pose

If the full version of Saddle Pose feels too much then give Half Saddle a try. Like the full version, Half Saddle can also be a satisfying stretch for the quads and hip flexors. This pose also provides a gentle opening of the front body, a release for the upper back as well as extension…

Winter Yin Yoga: Saddle Pose

In this short video filmed at Embody Wellness in Vauxhall I am showing you Saddle Pose. On an energetic level this yin posture stimulates the Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians – associated with the Winter season – and also the Spleen and Stomach lines. Here I’m using a bolster propped up on two blocks to…

A Second Restorative Yoga for Depression Workshop

Restorative Yoga for Depression Workshop – Saturday 3rd February 2018 2.15-4.15pm at Embody Wellness After a number of requests I am repeating this workshop. If you missed it last time or think this may be of benefit to someone you know, here are the details. No previous yoga experience is necessary: Depression can impact our…

Restorative Yoga for Depression

Restorative Yoga for Depression Workshop – Saturday 25th November 2017 2.15-4.15pm at Embody Wellness   Depression can impact our entire being. What we think about, how we feel, how we behave, all altered as dperession creates a state of dysrgeulation in the nervous system. On a physiological level, the whole body, including the respiratory, digestive,…

Autumn Yin to Rebalance

In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Autumn represents the Metal element, which is related to the Lung and Large Intestine Meridians (located in the upper body, shoulders, arms, torso). Imbalanced Metal Chi or Qi (energy) in the lungs and large intestine can manifest as allergies, colds, low immunity and an inability to express emotions, particularly sadness.…

Yin Yoga: Dragonfly Pose

{WATCH} In this short video filmed at Embody Wellness I show you a few propping options and suggestions for Dragonfly pose. Yin yoga provides us with the opportunity to let go of striving so bear in mind that we are not striving for an end goal of uber-flexibility. Instead, aim for the variation of the…

Weighting: Savasana – Restorative Yoga for Anxiety

{WATCH} RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION – WEIGHTING THE BODY Did you know that weighting poses has the capacity to be soothing for people with depression or lethargy, while for those with anxiety it can feel grounding? I first came across this during my first training with Judith Hanson Lasater in 2012. I have…

WORKSHOP: Restorative Yoga for Anxiety

Saturday 27th May | 2pm to 4pm | Embody Wellness Widespread research has shown that relaxation practices such as restorative yoga have numerous benefits including the ability to lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Related to this, restorative yoga also facilitates mindful awareness of the body which plays a part in our resilience to…

Weighting: Legs Up the Wall – Restorative Yoga for Anxiety

Weighting: Legs Up the Wall In this short video, filmed at Embody Wellness, I am using a bolster on my feet for weighting. If you have access to sandbags you can use those, but I have also practised this with the aid of blankets and blocks. We practised this version of Legs Up the Wall…

Yin Yoga for Runners: Reclining Leg Stretch

In this short video filmed at Embody Wellness in Vauxhall, I show you how to do one of the poses I found helpful during my training for the Brighton Half Marathon a couple of years ago. (TIP – Do you have a tendency to hyperextend your knees? I do. To avoid this, you will see…

New Year Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra & Gong Bath Workshop

Saturday 7th January 2017 – 6.45-8.45pm at Embody Wellness Realign with your deepest self in this New Year workshop with Patricia Carlota and I – an evening of deep relaxation for both body and mind. Yin Yoga is a deep, meditative practice that activates the parasympathetic nervous system (calming the body’s fight/flight response). Physically the…

Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra & Gong Bath Evening

NEW WORKSHOP at Embody Wellness – Saturday 19th November 6.30-8.30pm Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra & Gong Bath Workshop Join Gong Practitioner Patricia Carlota and I for an evening of deep relaxation for both body and mind. Yin Yoga is a deep, meditative practice that activates the parasympathetic nervous system (calming the body’s fight/flight response). Physically the…

Yoga Nidra – Dreaming of Yogic Sleep

“Yoga Nidra can be understood as a total practice of yoga itself… a state of ‘awakened sleep’ … in this state (we encounter) auto-suggestive experience of the power of the unconscious mind and its linkage with the soul.” – Sri Ram Sharam Acharya. What is Yoga Nidra? The word ‘nidra’ translates as ‘sleep’, hence the…

See you at the OM Yoga Show this Month

FREE Flow & Restore Class at the Yoga Show – Sat 22nd Oct 4.30-5pm This year I will be teaching at the OM Yoga Show for the first time. If you’re coming along to Show this year, then come and wind down from your busy Saturday at Alexandra Palace with my FREE Flow & Restore class at the ‘Hero…

Class Time Change: Sunday Flow & Restore now at 6pm – from 2nd October

From Sunday 2nd October my weekly Flow & Restore class at Embody Wellness will start fifteen minutes earlier at 6pm. Flow & Restore – Sundays 6-7.15pm In the first half of this beautifully balanced class I guide you through a series of flowing postures to help develop strength and flexibility. The pace then slows for the…

Calm Mental Agitation

Calm mental agitation with Seated Angle Pose This Restorative Yoga pose, like many forward bends can help mental agitation, relive insomnia and a bit of gentle pressure on the forehead here can help to relieve headaches too. I also find this relieves tightness in the lower back. Supporting the torso (even if you are naturally…

NEW WORKSHOP: Summer Solstice Yin Yoga

Saturday 18th June 2016 1.45-3.45pm at Embody Wellness, Vauxhall The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and also marks the first day of (astronomical) Summer, the Fire season. The heat and energy of fire can energise, encouraging us to live life to the full, but it can also consume, bringing out our…