Have you ever noticed that everything we do has an effect on everyone around us, and in turn everyone around them?
I believe practising yoga cultivates compassion and generates good karma.
As soon as we step onto our yoga mat and begin a regular practice, we are reminded of our connection to something greater than ourselves. We allow our minds a little more space to begin the noticing … noticing how we feel, noticing what irritates us, noticing ours and other people’s real needs, truly seeing the world around us with a more profound perspective … and this space gives us a chance to pause, reflect and respond, rather than react.
The more regular our yoga practice becomes, the more we start to feel a connection to ourselves and others and perhaps realise that we are all in this together! We become familiar with how the body, breath and mind are braided together, and we can then begin to notice the ripple effect.
Next time you think you don’t have time for yoga practice, remember that the vitality, strength, balance, bright attention and sense of connection that come from regular practice not only will make you healthier, but will help make the world a better place!
In our Hatha Yoga practice, I’ll take you through a sequence of yoga to include a little meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques), and relaxation, so that you walk out feeling awake, alert and ready again to face life with a sense of contentment, control, inner-peace and calm.
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W H A T A R E G U L A R P R A C T I C E
O F Y O G A C A N D O
DEVELOPS AWARENESS
STIMULATES BLOOD FLOW
COUNTERACTS STRESS
REMINDS US TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT
INCREASES FLEXIBILITY (BOTH MENTAL & PHYSICAL)
CREATES VITALITY
BRINGS CLARITY OF MIND
INCREASES CREATIVITY, FOCUS & CONCENTRATION
CULTIVATES INNER STILLNESS
IMPROVES MUSCLE TONE, POSTURE & STRENGTH
DEVELOPS BALANCE & COORDINATION
FACILITATES BETTER SLEEP
DEVELOPS INNER PEACE
CULTIVATES EQUANIMITY
RELIEVES FATIGUE
ASSISTS IN MANAGING ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
STIMULATES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
LEAVES YOU FEELING RELAXED YET INVIGORATED
SOOTHES, EASES AND RELIEVES THE MIND’S WORRIES
CULTIVATES COMPASSION
GENERATES GOOD KARMA!
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Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Lizzie Lasater. I’ve also trained with Lizzie’s mum, Judith Hanson Lasater, and with Roger Cole, guess I’m am passionate about the balance needed for life that RY provides. The Lasater Ladies making it all the more fun, real and true.
10 iRest® Day Silent Meditation with Dr. Richard Miller, the founder of iRest® Yoga Nidra Meditation. Pretty special to be able to go on retreat with the man who brings us this jewelled wisdom, making it even more accessible and yet profound at the same time! Not surprising really, opposites naturally arising and still, there remains truth, showing the paradox that is our existence!
That time we had a private audience with the Dalai Lama. I feel deeply inspired by the wisdom of his teachings on kindness and compassion. And how it is really so simple, and yet often seems so elusive to most of us.
I welcome students of all age groups and levels of flexibility, to come and have some fun, move some chi, and open our heart minds together, in yoga.
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M y Y o g a T r a i n i n g s :
ॐ I completed my first teacher training at Byron Yoga Centre, with a Certificate Level 2 (500 hrs) and Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching. 2010
ॐ I am a member of Yoga Australia, with a commitment to ongoing study, learning and practice.
I love to continue to learn & have pursued and varied my studies of Yoga with the following teachers:
ॐ Jivamukti Yoga Immersion with Sharon Gannon & David Life. 2011
ॐ Anusara Yoga Therapy Training with John Friend. 2011
ॐ Applied Anatomy & Physiology for Yoga (annually) with Simon Borg-Olivier. 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
ॐ Kirtan Workshop with Krishna Das. 2012
ॐ Pranayama with Clive Sheridan. 2012, 2013, 2016
ॐ Relax and Renew® Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Judith Hanson Lasater. 2012
ॐ “Centring Down” Workshop with Donna Fahri. 2012
ॐ Stanford University School of Medicine, Compassion Cultivation Intensive Training, Sydney 2013
ॐ Yoga Synergy Yoga Fundamentals online course 2013/2014
ॐ Yoga Synergy Applied Anatomy & Physiology for Yoga online course 2013/2014
ॐ Yoga Synergy Level 1 (200hr) Teacher Training with Bianca Machliss & Simon Borg Olivier, Goa, India, March/April 2014
ॐ iRest® & Yoga Nidra Workshop with Dr. Richard Miller, Sydney, Australia, 2015
ॐ iRest® & Yoga Nidra Level 1 Graduate – Teacher in Training 2016
ॐ iRest® 7 Day Silent Retreat with Anne Douglas and Fuyoko Toyota, June 2016
ॐ Living Your Yoga Online Course with Judith and Lizzie Lasater 2016
ॐ Teaching Yoga Online Course with Judith and Lizzie Lasater 2016
ॐ Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Roger Cole. Sydney 2017
ॐ iRest® 10 Day Silent Retreat with iRest Founder Dr. Richard Miller. Sydney 2017
ॐ iRest® Yoga Nidra Meditation Level 1 (Re-immersion) with Fuyoko Toyota, Sydney 2017
ॐ Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Lizzie Lasater, Brisbane 2018
ॐ Yoga for Grownups Teacher Training with Maria Kirsten Lennox Heads, March 2019
ॐ Trauma First Aid with Peter Levine online 2020
ॐ Currently: The Power of Self Compassion with Dr. Krisitn Neff & Dr. Chris Germer online 2020
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The classes come from a background of alignment focused hatha yoga, incorporating philosophy, meditation and breathing techniques.
I think of my asana (postures), pranayama (breath exercises) and meditation practices, as something of a balm to soak in. I practice for my enjoyment, for fun, to clear my head, to recharge and restore my being, and to remind me of who I truly am, this comes with that feeling of peacefulness that is cultivated and nurtured in the practice.
I encourage focus on a nurturing, loving and safe practice. I lay great emphasis on moving ACTIVELY and mindfully, gently and fluidly into postures, creating internal heat, maintaining a relaxed, steady yet not deep breath, and realising that we don’t have to be super flexible or even do much at all to achieve positive physiological and mental results, it’s how we do it that counts.
The challenge is to find YOUR own practice, explore YOUR limits and discover how often or not you might step over them or shy away from them.
My aim in our practice is to share ways to improve self-awareness, move blood all around the body improving your physiology and health, bring movement and flexibility to areas of the body that don’t have much, especially the spine, increase contentment … to find the peace within no matter what is going on around us.
It’s an ongoing trip of exploration and an adventure inwards … when practiced intelligently, elevates the mind, frees the soul, improves health and wellbeing, soothes the nervous system and opens the heart, leaving the residue of inner contentment and calm whilst feeling ALIVE!
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