Judith Hanson Lasater

“Because yoga can help you feel so good, sometimes there is a tendency to present it all as positivity, love and light, heart-opening and unicorns. But in truth, it’s not all fluffy. When you practise yoga (not just asana) for a while, you find that it can make you more aware of the not so…

{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…

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 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…

Download my NEW complimentary eBook here Do you want to address your stress? Are you sleep deprived? Anxious? Then my new eBook is for You. As an experienced Restorative Yoga teacher (I am an Advanced Relax and Renew Trainer having studied with Judith Hanson Lasater) and dedicated student I am excited to share my new…

“We really need to challenge the assumption that if you take more rest, you are more lazy. The fact that people who are more rested seem to have better well-being is an endorsement for the need for the rest.” – Prof Felicity Callard of Durham University, director of Hubbub Yes, rest is good for you.…

This article was originally published in the July/Aug 2013 issue of OM Yoga Magazine. You can read a selection of my past columns and a preview of the current issue of the magazine by clicking here. Recently, I overheard some yoga students discussing different teachers’ classes. The consensus was that those who provided strong hands-on…

Sava ~ corpse Asana ~ pose Click here to learn more about The 365 Savasana Project If I suggested that you put your lengthy to-do list to one side and lie down for twenty minutes right now, what would your response be? (I think I can hear you shouting that you are too busy from…

VIDEO: I call this pose my ‘5-Minute Rescue’ – click here to watch. Legs Up The Wall (or Viparita Karani) is one of my favourite Restorative Yoga poses because it has multiple benefits including easing tired legs, reducing stress (helps boost your mood!), fatigue, insomnia and more! In this short video, filmed recently at evolve,…

Each month I write for OM Yoga Magazine – here is my column from November 2012 Since 2012 I’ve written a monthly column and the odd feature for OM Yoga Magazine. This column was originally published in the November 2012 issue: A mild thoracic curve means my chaturanga can look slightly lopsided. However, I only…

Over the past year on my U Can Yoga website I have been featuring yoga related books that I’ve really enjoyed and want to share with you guys reading out there. For anyone who has missed the titles featured so far, I am including some my previous ‘Books of the Month’ here. As we begin…

Originally published on the Urban Blog at Urban Lucy. There’s something about the run up to Christmas that can send even the most easy going person’s stress levels soaring. If I suggested that you put your lengthy to-do list to one side and lie down for twenty minutes right now, what would your response be?…

“Time is precious. We’re given a certain number of heartbeats. You don’t know how many you’re gonna get – I don’t know how many I’m gonna get, so I think you’ve really gotta live every one of those to its fullest.” – Dr Kathy Magliato It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that today is Valentine’s…

How was your Christmas? I hope it was good for you. Maybe you’re still enjoying some time off in the run-up to the new year, or maybe you’ve already headed straight back to work after having just Christmas Day off. Either way, it’s easy to feel a bit of a slump at this time –…

Originally published in OM Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine. There is no such thing as a perfect yoga pose. A mild thoracic curve means that my chaturanga can look slightly lopsided. However, I only noticed this after observation in a mirror and working one-to-one with a teacher. X-rays and scans confirmed mild scoliosis as well as…

Between teacher training, the exciting news of officially becoming certified by Judith Hanson Lasater as a Relax and Renew Trainer, teaching, writing and the usual day-to-day I barely noticed the days getting shorter this month. But I certainly noticed it getting colder! With the clocks going back in the UK this weekend we’re officially in…

“ Live with awareness for the sake of ourselves and others.” – Sarah Powers So far it’s been a yin yang summer. This summer marks a year of leaving the ‘security’ of my old job and beginning the journey of yoga teaching. I’d known long before that I wanted to take this leap and share…

“Everything we’re doing is planting a seed that will come to fruition at some point” – Cyndi Lee I’ve been thinking about these words ever since last month when I had the pleasure of attending a training workshop for yoga teachers with Cyndi Lee. An extra thrill for me because I am a child of…

What if we took as much care with our rest as we did with say, our diet? I’ve just completed day 1 (of 5) of the Relax and Renew restorative yoga training intensive with Judith Hanson Lasater in London. This question came up near the beginning of the day. Often, as yogis we may put…