Me and My Yoga Journey – I started yoga over 30 years ago, seeking out the yoga classes in the gyms, wanting/needing a space to allow myself to pause in a busy life needing that permission that the yoga class brought, to be where you’re at, right now, to just be with the breath. But it wasn’t until 17 years a go after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and finding that yoga was making a better impact on my health and balance than medication, that I started to make yoga a way of life and began practicing regularly. I am now full of gratitude to be entering my 5th year of teaching and sharing this wonderful practice.
After a yoga trip to India I started yoga teacher training and completed this in 2016. I have been lucky enough to have continued to train with an amazing array of insightful beautiful yoga teachers. I am most interested in the therapeutic benefits of yoga. This is my passion.
My journey with yoga is a continuing one and I will always first and foremost be a student of this wonderful way of life. I am always updating my knowledge and experience and would love to share these offerings with you. Here are some of the amazing teachers I have studied with…
The Power Of The Vegus Nerve – Catherine Annis
Yin Yoga & Meridians Norman Blair and Kate Henley
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training – Deborah Berryman at Whitespace Studios
The Art of Teaching One to One – Kate Ellis
Breath, Stillness, Movement & Modern Medicine with Anthony Soyer & Tracy Elner
Bringing Pranayama to Life with Julie Hemmings of divenworks yoga.
Conscious Connected Breathing Workshop with Alan Dolan
Anatomy and Physiology For Yoga with Andrew McGonigle, – Doctor Yogi
Introduction to Teaching iRest Yoga Nidra James Reeves
Understanding Trauma with Ralf Marzen
Sensory Awareness Training for Yoga Attunement 1 with Tias Little of Prajnayoga
Total Yoga Nidra Immersion with Nirlipta Tuli of The Yoga Nidra Network
Teaching Yoga For Cancer – Jenni Stone who teaches yoga at Maggies, Royal Free
Yoga For Breast Cancer Recovery – Francoise Freedman
“Your diet is not only what you eat. It is what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang around… be mindful of the things you put into your body; emotionally, spiritually and physically”
Great Shares For Mindful People
Finding out your Dosha (just for fun…very general quiz for finding out your body type in Ayurveda) click on following link to find out if you need more grounding in your life or more movement….Enjoy. Link Here for Dosha quiz
In light of The George Floyd murder (May 25 2020) and the systemic racism in all societies I took and would recommend the following free course by cultural somatic university….here.
“We can’t help ourselves even begin to heal racialized trauma if we don’t acknowledge that it even exists…”
Meditation and Yoga Nidra
Check out Insight Timer for some fantastic free guided meditations.
I had the pleasure of seeing Deepak Chopra in London about 10 years a go. An inspirational man. Have a look for yourself here. And Deepak’s podcast – Infinite Potential
Oprah’s Supersoul Converstions podcast includes 10 sessions on the latest Eckhart Tolle book, A new Earth, Your Inner Purpose.
Massage – Getting a massage lowers the blood pressure and heart rate, allowing the muscles throughout the body to relax, while yoga improves respiration, energy, and vitality. Together, they are the perfect combination to relieve stress.If you come to any of my yoga classes you can receive £5 off a massage with my husband, Campbell Noon at www.re-leafmk.co.uk
Just a small selection of books for further exploration;
Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenburg
The Yamas and Niyamas – Deborah Adele
A Life Worth Breathing – Max Strom
Letting Go (The Pathway of Surrender) by David R Hawkins
Breath by James Nestor
The Body Keeps the Score. Mind, body, brain in the transformation of trauma by Bessel A Van der Kolk
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Anatomy of The Spirit by Caroline Myss
Yoga As Medicine by Timothy McCall MD
The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singe
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Dying To Be Me – Anita Moorjani
The Heart Speaks by Mimi Guarneri
The Spark in the Machine by Dr Daniel Keown
How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach
Yoga The Spirit & Practice of Moving and Stillness by Erich Schiffmann
Yoga of the Subtle Body by Tias Little
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
I am happy to loan out the books if I still have a copy. And please recommend any to me in class……….
Om shanti, Karen
Benefits Of Yoga
Multiple studies have confirmed the many mental and physical benefits of yoga. Incorporating it into your routine can help enhance your health, increase strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress. Yoga Improves Flexibility and Joint Health and it’s low-impact moves loosen muscles and can also tone your supporting muscles helping to prevent injury.
Yoga Can reduce High Blood pressure; Hypertension or high blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have found that yoga reduces oxidative stress, one of the underlying causes of high blood pressure. (Study example 1) (Study example 2)
The last ten or twenty years study of the vagus nerve has revealed that the vagus nerve is a significant immune system regulator. Stress and anxiety can inflame the vagus nerve. Vagus nerve signals are being looked at for an ‘early warning system’ for inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis.
Yoga can reduce Anxiety; When practiced regularly, calm and restorative yoga that focuses on the breath and movement connection can reduce your sympathetic nervous system’s fight or flight response, which lowers stress, anxiety and disease inducing inflammation.
Yoga Improves Balance and Stability by strengthening muscles and improving co-ordination and connection to breath. Weight bearing poses also help strengthen the bones.
Yoga encourages mindfulness. As yoga focuses on the breath we automatically move out of our head space into our body. Yoga is not about how we look but how we feel.
We work in fairly small groups in class, maximum 15. Yoga is for everyone. You are most welcome to join us.
Corporate rates £75 up to one hour.
Milton Keynes Yoga for Health and Wellness 