5 Movements to Brighten Up Your Mornings

Does your morning routine include a movement ritual? Whether it’s a morning walk, jog in the park, a few rounds of sun salutations or an online class, getting the body moving in the morning is something we benefit from physically, mentally and energetically. There’s an abundance of growing research confirming what ancient traditions like Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine have known for hundreds of years; when we move with the rhythms of the day – being active in the morning and resting at night – our wellbeing increases. Across the world, cultures have traditions of moving upon waking. From the Five Tibetan Rites, to Qigong, the Surya Namaskar sequences of Yoga, the Japanese morning exercise routine of Rajio-Taiso, and even your local ParkRun, it’s evident that moving in the morning is something humans are inclined to do. Sunlight plays an important role in helping us feel energised in the morning; the light outside between sunrise and midday contains more ‘blue’ light waves. When we expose our eyes and skin to this morning light, it signals to a light receptor in the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (or SCN for short) that it’s daytime, and time to wake up. Getting outside in the morning light is a natural and powerful way to help us feel more vibrant, boost digestion and brain power, and re-set our circadian rhythms, which all contributes hugely to a good night’s sleep too. As well as this morning light exposure, it helps to add a touch of uplifting scent to your diffuser (try Aery Happiness Oil Set ) , and simple movements we can adopt to boost circulation and cognitive function, benefit the lymphatic system, and to make morning a little brighter. Read on for five super simple movements you can add to your yoga practice or move through on their own: 1. Full Body Stretch The Benefits: Yogic texts acknowledge this movement as Urvha Hastasana or ‘raised hands pose’, as well as Talasana or ‘palm tree pose’. It sounds almost too simple, but literally raising your arms in the air and taking a full body stretch can help enhance the flow of blood and nutrients around the body, as well as stretching out adhesions in the fascia. Fascia is a web-like connective tissue that weaves its way throughout the whole body, covering muscles and organs, and literally connects every part of us together. Tightness or dehydration in…

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Meet Tara Lee

Tara Lee is a yoga teacher and trainer specialising in pregnancy health yoga. We caught up with Tara to learn more about her background and practices… Join Tara for a special class on Yoga for Women’s Health, sign up through the link here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/yoga-for-womens-health-with-tara-lee-tickets-838464629277?aff=oddtdtcreator What does a typical day look like for you?  I wake up around 7am and walk my dog in the park. I then do my yoga practice and/or some breathwork/meditation. Sometimes I will practice yoga in the evening and I regularly do Yoga Nidra. I teach yoga classes and do one to one nutritional therapy consultations during the day. I also run Pregnancy Yoga Teacher training courses and am often travelling teaching yoga or practicing nutrition on retreats. I have 2 teenage children. How did your yoga journey begin and what inspired you to become a yoga teacher?  I discovered yoga while at Bristol University 30 years ago while studying Psychology.  I studied yoga because I loved how it made me feel and found the philosophy fascinating. I felt inspired to become a yoga teacher over time as I wanted to help others feel better and share my knowledge. I also studied Shiatsu and Chinese medicine before I completed my yoga teacher training course in 2001. What inspired you to specialize in your practice? I specialized in pregnancy yoga after about 10 years of teaching. I was always fascinated by this area and after experiencing the benefits first hand wanted to share my love of yoga with other pregnant women and help them feel their best during their pregnancy and prepare for birth. How have you seen yoga benefit your students? All the time! I particularly like to see people fall in love with yoga on retreats when they are more immersed in the practice. I see how much it helps my pregnant students avoid aches and pains and prepare them for birth and motherhood.  What is your favorite quote or life motto? Our bodies live in the past, our minds in the future. When these two come together in the present moment, this is YOGA!  What’s coming up for you in 2024? I am running a pregnancy yoga teacher training course with Yogarise in Peckham. I also teach a module on their 200 hour teacher training. I have a few yoga retreats lined up in the UK and abroad. I have recently launched an online…

Hormonal Changes and Finding Balance

Do you notice you feel different throughout the month? Perhaps you exude confidence and can’t wait to socialise at certain times, and at others, you can’t wait to curl up for some much-needed alone time. Much of this is down to hormones, and the way they shift throughout the menstrual cycle. Hormones are chemical messengers, and they significantly impact the way we feel and function on a day-today basis. Hormones are produced by endocrine glands such as the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenals and gonads, and they’re also highly influenced by our actions and the world outside of us. When it comes to finding balance, hormones can make it seem tricky; throughout a typical 28 day menstrual cycle, women are likely to transition through a multitude of physical changes and emotional feelings, which means we’re simply not the same person from week-to-week, and we need to listen to our bodies and adapt to our needs. The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda has long known how much of a powerful influence hormones have upon us, and can provide us with knowledge of how to feel balanced throughout hormonal changes. Through using the principles of Ayurveda and the three ‘doshas’ (three types of energy), let’s look at how we can find balance throughout the changes in the menstrual cycle, as well as in menopause when hormones shift once again. Menstrual Phase: The Vata Phase During menstruation, the uterine lining sheds, and the body is generally getting rid of what it no longer needs. We may feel more introverted, fatigued, vulnerable and sensitive during this time, and it’s vital to honour these sensations. Hormone levels drop during menstruation, as can iron levels, leading to those feelings of typical and mental tiredness. From an Ayurvedic perspective, menstruation is governed by Vata energy, which holds the qualities of coldness, lightness, dryness, anxiety and a scattered mind. In order to find balance during this phase, it’s essential to listen to your body and give it plenty of rest and rejuvenation. Focus on warmth in the form of soups, stews, Wunder Workshop’s Golden Mylk Turmeric Latte, and load up on iron-rich foods like lentils, spinach, molasses, dried fruits, and meat and seafood if you eat them. As sensitivity and intuition can also be heightened during this phase, it’s the perfect time for journaling with the Self-Love Journal, planning, and creativity. When it comes to movement, choose gentle forms such…

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An Ayurvedic Guide to Menopause

Over the last few years, menopause has become one of the most talked-about topics in the health and wellbeing world. From a mysterious and lonely experience shrouded in secrecy and sometimes shame, to becoming something many women now feel empowered to discuss openly and help each other navigate. Menopause is not something to ignore or hide; it’s something to explore, prepare for, and help each other with, because sooner or later it will affect all of us. If you’ve ever dipped a toe into the world of menopause, it’s likely you’ve heard the horrors of hot flashes, night sweats, irritability and thinning hair, but it’s important to know that while these may be common menopausal symptoms, they’re not always severe, and they don’t have to be something we dread the arrival of. According to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, an uncomfortable perimenopause or menopause can actually be a sign of underlying imbalances such as poor nutrition, stress, or a lack of balance in life. In this blog, you’ll receive a simple and applicable guide to menopause – you’ll understand how balancing the three Ayurvedic doshas can help bring peace to your body and mind, and the specific dietary, lifestyle and self-care practices than can deeply benefit us throughout menopause. What Is The Menopause? The term ‘menopause’ refers to a point in time 12 months after a woman’s last period. The years leading up to this point, where women may experience irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep problems, mood changes, changes to libido and fluctuations in weight are all part of her ‘perimenopause’. Perimenopause is a transition from regular menstrual cycles and levels of sex hormones like oestrogen and progesterone, to menopause, and can last anywhere from two years to ten or more. Some women experience many different discomforts throughout perimenopause, whilst others sail through without noticing any changes at all. The age at which perimenopause starts can differ for all of us, but as progesterone starts to decrease around age 35, you might even say that women begin their journey towards menopause at this age. That isn’t to say that at age 35 you’ll notice symptoms or experience fertility changes, but it is an important time to start preparing your body for the next stage of your life, referred to in eastern cultures as the ‘Second Spring’. Whilst the Western view of menopause can set us up for rather sweaty, angry,…

Spring Equinox: Setting Intentions For Nature’s New Year

As we move from the deep ‘yin’ of Winter into lighter, brighter days of Spring, there’s a definite feeling of change in the air. You may have already noticed Spring herbs like nettle, dandelion and cleavers emerging from the earth, blossom appearing on branches, or morning birdsong arriving a little earlier each day. All of these signs point to the beginning of a new season, which holds a brand new type of energy we can lean into and use to support our wellbeing. The Spring season is nature’s ‘new year’, when new life and fresh growth appears, and is a much more supportive time to make resolutions and intentions than is 1st of January in the middle of Winter. On March 20th, we reach the Spring equinox, and a powerful time to set those Spring intentions into motion. The Equinox is a time when day and night are of equal length, and also marks the first official day of Spring. As the mornings become lighter and brighter, Spring helps us feel naturally more motivated to make positive changes and step into a new mindset. Other than the change in season however, the Spring equinox has been celebrated for centuries as a time of rebirth, fertility and new beginnings. We’ve gathered three practices for you to try this Spring equinox to help align your body and mind with the new season and brand new energy, so read on and choose your favourites! Set Your Intention  You may have been invited to set an intention in a yoga or meditation class, or perhaps you often start the day by setting a mindful intention for yourself. The thing is, if we just think about an intention and don’t do anything about it, nothing much changes. In order to make an intention really work, it’s useful to dig a little deeper and become clearer on what you really want emotionally, spiritually and physically. It also helps to think about how you want to feel emotionally. When you wake up this equinox, pull out your journal (we recommend Gailson’s handmade paisley journal for this) and try this powerful intention setting practice to help you shift away from old feelings that aren’t serving you, and towards a state of being you want to manifest this year: Six Step Intention Setting Ritual On your journal page, draw a line vertically down the middle On the left hand…

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Hormonal Changes and Finding Balance

Do you notice you feel different throughout the month? Perhaps you exude confidence and can’t wait to socialise at certain times, and at others, you can’t wait to curl up for some much-needed alone time. Much of this is down to hormones, and the way they shift throughout the menstrual cycle. Hormones are chemical messengers, and they significantly impact the way we feel and function on a day-today basis. Hormones are produced by endocrine glands such as the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenals and gonads, and they’re also highly influenced by our actions and the world outside of us. When it comes to finding balance, hormones can make it seem tricky; throughout a typical 28 day menstrual cycle, women are likely to transition through a multitude of physical changes and emotional feelings, which means we’re simply not the same person from week-to-week, and we need to listen to our bodies and adapt to our needs. The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda has long known how much of a powerful influence hormones have upon us, and can provide us with knowledge of how to feel balanced throughout hormonal changes. Through using the principles of Ayurveda and the three ‘doshas’ (three types of energy), let’s look at how we can find balance throughout the changes in the menstrual cycle, as well as in menopause when hormones shift once again. Menstrual Phase: The Vata Phase During menstruation, the uterine lining sheds, and the body is generally getting rid of what it no longer needs. We may feel more introverted, fatigued, vulnerable and sensitive during this time, and it’s vital to honour these sensations. Hormone levels drop during menstruation, as can iron levels, leading to those feelings of typical and mental tiredness. From an Ayurvedic perspective, menstruation is governed by Vata energy, which holds the qualities of coldness, lightness, dryness, anxiety and a scattered mind. In order to find balance during this phase, it’s essential to listen to your body and give it plenty of rest and rejuvenation. Focus on warmth in the form of soups, stews, Wunder Workshop’s Golden Mylk Turmeric Latte, and load up on iron-rich foods like lentils, spinach, molasses, dried fruits, and meat and seafood if you eat them. As sensitivity and intuition can also be heightened during this phase, it’s the perfect time for journaling with the Self-Love Journal, planning, and creativity. When it comes to movement, choose gentle forms such…