Meet Paul Fox

We catch up with Paul Fox, founder of the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance, to find out more about his background and practices. Join Paul for a monthly class for NHS workers focused on staff wellbeing, join through the link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-for-nhs-staff-wellbeing-3151359 Tell us a bit about yourself…  In 2016 the founder of the Yoga In Healthcare Alliance, Heather Mason, invited me to join her in a new venture; to integrate the benefits of evidence-based yoga into healthcare. Since then I have made this mission my life’s work. YIHA has trained over 500 yoga teachers to deliver a Yoga4Health 10-week lifestyle medicine course for NHS patients, and (as of 2023) our new Yoga4NHS staff wellbeing programme. Both programmes are accredited by bodies recognised by the NHS (Personalised Care Institute for Yoga4Health, and Royal College of GPs for Yoga4NHS) What does a typical day look like for you?  Me and my wife, Laura, have an 8 year old adopted daughter. I do the school runs so morning are all about getting our daughter ready for school, and running around after her from anytime after 3pm when it is swimming, ballet, tap dancing, musical theatre, or choir. In between I work three full days equivalent running and coordinating the work of the Yoga In Healthcare Alliance charity. On Wednesday evenings, I deliver Yoga4NHS classes to staff over Zoom, and on Friday mornings I teach a local Yoga4Health class to patients in Ely, Cambridgeshire, where I live.  How did your yoga journey begin and what inspired you to become a yoga teacher?  In 1995 I attended the Yoga for Health Foundation annual summer yoga festival and realised the power of yoga. At the time, the Yoga for Health Foundation was the only residential yoga centre specialising in therapeutic yoga for people with ME, cancer, arthritis, and MS. I named the Yoga4Health patient programme in tribute to the work of Howard Kent and others.  What inspired you to specialize in your practice? I believe passionately in the power of evidence-based yoga to bring transformational changes to people’s health and wellbeing because it works on so many levels. I am lucky to work alongside people like Heather Mason and Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, the world’s leading yoga researcher. We have a fantastic board of Trustees at YIHA also. Although evidence-based, the yoga we teach honours and flows from the yoga tradition, of which I am a…

Inspiration, interviews and expert advice
from our team of worldwide yogis.

Introducing some of our female founded brands

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we caught up with some of the founders of our incredible female founded brands. Read on to learn more about their inspirations and missions.   Temple of Incense What was your inspiration to start Temple of Incense? We grew up in a second generation Punjabi household where life was a fusion. We ritualistically burned incense every day – it’s been a part of our being for as long as we can remember. When we set out to start our business, we were 19 and 23, with no understanding of business, but all the willingness to learn about incense. It was a pretty niche concept – make great incense accessible to everyone. We started out working in our parents shed and at our local market. We grew cautiously, week by week but we believed then, as we do now, that if you focus on creating something brilliant, with integrity, the Universe will provide and the customers will come – and thank fully, they did. What is your mission with Temple of Incense? When we started Temple of Incense in 2012, incense was a little bit out of fashion, but we like to think we’ve bought it back with a new look and a new reputation. The days of cheap synthetics are long gone and it’s a new era for home fragrance. So it’s our mission to fill every home with gorgeous, natural and authentic incense. Making incense that helps tap into our consciousness and enhance spiritual practice are key. This is home-fragrance with substance, ethical values and most of all, a whole lot of passion. Which women inspire you? There is an endless list of women that inspire us but here’s just a few… Maya Angelou, for which there would never be enough words to explain her greatness and what her journey and words and work mean to us both. Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her inspirational fight against gender discrimination and her powerful ability to inspire change. Kelly Holmes was 12 when she started and 34 when she realised her dream. That determination and effectively hope is beyond admirable. Wanderlust Life What was your inspiration to start Wanderlust Life? I started Wanderlust Life 10 years ago. In between stints of travel I held various roles, from opening galleries to managing yoga retreats and working for creative agencies. However, I never felt truly fulfilled. Looking back, I realise…

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…

Integrate mind, body and spirit by learning
to look after your mind as well as your body.

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…

Love mealtimes with our rainbow dishes
and nutrional advice.

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…