A small group setting, useful to support specific health/wellbeing needs or goals. Whether it’s to use Yoga as a preventative measure to stay healthy and happy or ease symptoms from a specific health condition. Students will have the opportunity to meet on a one to one basis in addition to the group meeting to tailor practice to individual needs. And a home practice can be developed to embrace Yoga in everyday life to support wellness. A safe and supportive environment will be provided for students to explore numerous practices on a physical, breath/energy, mind/emotional and spiritual level.

A gentle asana practice can move energy around the body reducing feelings of stuckness and lethargy. Working with the breath helps to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, and the relaxed response, to feel calm. Practicing mindfully, resting attention on physical sensations improves awareness and understanding of our physical body e.g. areas of tightness and restriction etc. There is then the opportunity to make kinder more compassionate choices for self care and rest. It’s also useful to give the mind something to focus on, taking you away from everyday worries and distracting thoughts. This can feel refreshing, bringing back a sense of aliveness.

Breathing practices and pranayama helps to slow thoughts and clear mental activity. Observation of the breath can act as an anchor for the mind, to discover stillness within. Breathing practices can increase energy by improving the function of the lungs and heart.

Relaxation, visualisation, mindfulness and meditation to allow for a feeling of groundedness. A useful opportunity to explore the experience of “letting go” and to relax. To give permission to stop “doing” and just “be”. To become aware of what gets in the way of relaxing. A safe, supportive space to explore ways of reducing stress in everyday life as well as on the mat. To bring a more peaceful, hopeful, and positive approach to life. Then we might be more open to new perspectives and possibilities.

Yoga used therapeutically is very much a collaborative approach, and your feedback will be really appreciated and valued. We will be working together holistically, treating you as a “whole” rather than separate parts. This means I will be suggesting practices that will help bring health and vitality on all levels. All Yoga practices are designed to be used in everyday life. Here you have the opportunity to play a role in your own healing process and It’s a great opportunity to develop some self care routines to help you through this vulnerable time.

Our physical practice can improve posture, help strengthen core muscles, proprioception and balance. Thus avoiding aches and pains associated with poor posture. It can also bring improved mobility, stability and awareness. Breathing practices improve respiratory function and increase energy. Relaxation, visualisation, meditation, to stay positive and calm.

The menopause marks the end of menstrual cycles, not a disease, but a transition between one’s childbearing years and the large segment of life that follows. For some it can bring some unpleasant symptoms. Why some women experience more severe symptoms than others isn’t fully understood. Research reveals stress can have a big impact on how we journey through the menopause, making the process much harder. Developing some self care routines, having some loving kindness towards self can really help to make room for the menopause and provide the transformational experience that it is. Using yoga therapeutically can provide the opportunity for our bodies to perform the tasks in the way it was naturally designed to do, providing a more natural, symptom eased transition through the menopause.

My aims for the course: are to provide you with some positive perspectives regarding the true meaning of perimenopause and menopause. I hope the discussions we have, information and practices provided help you to embrace your menopause journey. And to perhaps play a bigger role in the healing process that exists within this cycle of life. Gaining a better understanding of this female cycle and thus developing some acceptance of the changes taking place can feel empowering, inspiring and more positive about what the future might hold.

Since we are all unique, everybody’s menopause experience will be different. Over a twelve week period the plan is to have a combination of group sessions and one to one’s to provide a more tailored approach and an opportunity to come together. To provide a safe and respectful environment to share and support each other through this journey, happily hearing and sharing insights wisdom is a crucial element to the positive experience of perimenopause.

Come along to understanding the associated symptoms, mental and emotional aspects, lifestyle implications and how Yoga can help.