I was recently asked if it’s a good idea to hold your abdomen in all the time. Surely this would strengthen the abdominal muscles? It may seem reasonable to practise the abs by keeping them contracted all the time. However, how true and desirable is that really? Are you doing yourself a favour or could it have negative effects on your wellbeing? While not denying the importance of strong abdominal muscles, this blog examines the problematic results of chronically held abs for your health, and what you can do instead.
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I love listening to the radio: when I am chopping away in the kitchen or driving to my next yoga student, you will often find me listening to BBC Radio 4, or one of the podcasts of my newest discovery: Radio Gorgeous. Radio Gorgeous is “a platform for women’s voices on culture, style, society and wellbeing”, and the women are “bold, intelligent and vibrant” — wow. When Donna Reed suggested an interview about yoga therapy and wellbeing, it was an exciting challenge!

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If you have scoliosis, a sideways curve of the spine, you most likely do not have severe back pain. This doesn’t mean, however, that you don’t want to look after your spine in the best possible way. With age, the lateral curve may increase and restrict your breathing mechanism. The growing tightness with age can also worsen the achiness in your neck, shoulder and back. Yoga therapy offers a range of movements that can target the two sides of your spine separately. The aim is not to straighten the spine, as this is impossible in many cases, but to keep your spine in an optimal condition. If you look after your back well with the appropriate exercises, you are more likely to prevent pain and restrictions in the future.
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A supple spine is the basis of a healthy and pain-free back. Whether you want to address lower back pain and tightness, or you just want to keep your back healthy, moving your spine in a gentle and careful way is key. It’s important to keep all 24 vertebrae of the spine “free” and unstuck. Age, misalignment, repetitive movements, long periods of sitting, etc. can all contribute to rigidity in parts of the spine. In order to keep our spine supple and healthy with yoga, let’s look at these 24 little bones.
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It took me years to build true confidence, to understand that I am “good enough”, that my failures are learning experiences, and that it is ok to occasionally do something that makes me cringe. I may not have arrived at rock-solid confidence levels, but I do know that what matters is not perfection, but what we have to share. In this sense, failure is keeping our talents and our love to ourselves. Yoga has helped me along the way; it teaches self-reliance, self-acceptance, and is fun in a non-competitive way.
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  I encourage my students to practise yoga at home; a mindful, daily practice, even if short, allows them to progress more quickly in the weekly class. Sometimes, when I know my student is very busy, or when I know they would enjoy this particular stretch, I tell them to do the stretches below – and the kitchen is a good place to do this because of the height of chairs and kitchen counters. To stretch the hamstrings, inner thigh muscles and glutes, these yoga-inspired ways of stretching leg muscles can be very effective.

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As this is exam time for many young people, and they are sitting at their desks hunched over books and laptops, I decided to write a blog especially for them. Unlike some business professionals who are lucky enough to have their desk and chair adjusted, screen raised to eye level and keyboard placed at the right height to avoid wrist pains, young students are usually just hunched forward over their desks and books. Even if you are not a student but you sit at a desk all day long, I hope the exercises below can help you. They can counter the ‘desk syndrome’, i.e. fatigue and a bad posture.
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If you are passionate about cycling — you just love the feeling of freedom and the wind blowing in your face as you cycle fast and smoothly — you want to keep cycling as long as you can and keep on top of any niggling aches and pains. Especially when you love long cycling trips or you participate in races and charity cycling events, you will know that your body can complain about the position it has to hold for these long periods. This blog about yoga for cyclists explains what you can do immediately, the moment you come off your bike, to stretch out and avoid muscle stiffness and pain.
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One of my dear, long-term students is leaving; she is moving to another country. Amaia’s story is an example of how debilitating back pain due to a herniated disc can heal over time. It shows how back health can be maintained with the right help and life-style changes. Before moving, Amaia agreed that we write her story. We hope it can encourage anyone who is recovering from a herniated disc or severe lower back pain…

So you find that your hamstrings are tight, and when you bend forward with straight legs there is no way you can reach your toes? You have never found a great need to stretch them regularly, but when you hear that tight hamstrings may contribute to a tight and possibly painful lower back, it does make sense to give them more attention. In this blog I describe three ways of stretching these muscles in a safe way for your back, and bending forward to reach your toes isn’t one of them…

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