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!

Donna asked me how I decide what to teach in a yoga therapy session, especially when I meet a student for the first time. We also talked about yoga as a way to look after yourself, especially after 40 when life tends to be hectic and the body not so very young anymore. Donna expressed it well when she concluded that “beneyoga” is really a way to help people take care of themselves.

As I told Donna, I can’t determine what a student will get from a session. I would hope he or she finds relaxation and a greater knowledge, in particular of how to look after their back. I also hope to instil a sense of self-acceptance, as a forceful way of working and frustration about one’s body can impede healing. These are obviously not things a teacher can force onto a student. But I do hope that my students find more than physical comfort in their yoga sessions. Because of the body-mind connection, a relief of physical pain can also help the mind to find more peace.

Of course I didn’t say this so succinctly to my gorgeous interviewer, but if you would like to hear words to that effect, click on the link below to hear our interview.