Tag Archives: relaxation

What’s On This Week!

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What’s On This Week!

Mat and Chair Yoga

This term our practice is coming from the Heart Space, as we focus on different qualities and energies that reside in this space. Last week, we focused on courage since courage gives us the energy to change, grow and evolve, and to follow our Dharma (life’s purpose). This week, through our yoga practice, we shall be focusing on presence. When we are present, we are able to let go of the disappointments of the past, forget the anxieties of the future and enjoy the moment just as it is, in peace. Being present also enables us to lean in to experiences, rather than running from them. From that quiet space, change happens 🙏 

Meditation

Last week saw the first meeting of new Meditation Group at Wake House for the Introduction to Meditation sessions. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and it was wonderful to share some thought provoking conversation and relaxing meditation. Thank you to all who attended. I feel that, over time, we are going to grow and develop into a wonderfully cohesive group. 

If you would like to join us on Tuesday evenings at the Community Centre in Crowland, or Thursdays at Wake House in Bourne, a warm welcome awaits.

For more information, or to reserve your space, contact Sarah. WhatsApp/Telephone/Text: 07817623330. Email: [email protected]. Website: freetothink.co.uk. Facebook: Free To Think.

Coming Soon to Wake House in Bourne

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Starting This Week:
7th November 2024

Weekly Meditation Sessions
at Wake House

Would you like to learn how to meditate? Are you an experienced meditator who would like to deepen your practice in the company of like-minded individuals?

Come along to Wake House on Thursdays, from 3:00pm-3:45pm. Join our new meditation community, and find out how to begin, maintain and deepen your meditation practice.

£5:00 per session first two sessions ‘pay as you go’.

For more information, contact Sarah in one of the following ways:

Email: freetothinkmail.co.uk; Telephone, Text Whatsapp: 07817623330 or find me on Facebook at: Free To Think

New Year, More Yoga!

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How lovely it was last week to be back together in class for another whole new year of yoga. It was heartening to see so many mats rolled out for practice, and to welcome faces old and new.

There are so many ways in which we can embody our yoga practice, and this term we shall be focusing on a different perspective each week.

Last week we began by exploring how we might let go of things that no longer serve us through “Releasing”. Letting go of the old, the outdated and the unhelpful allows us to make space for the new, the desired for and the hoped for. It encourages change and a growth mindset, and it is a helpful focus during any yoga practice. We can release through the breath with a sigh, we can release through the body with a stretch, and we can release from the mind with mantra, affirmation, meditation or mindful walking.

In contrast, this week is all about discovering our experience through “Listening”. When we create the time and space to focus inwardly towards our Selves, rather than outwardly towards the world, we may discover a whole universe of unexplored territory. Listening encourages Svadhyaya, which is self-study and self-reflection, and through svadhyaya, we find we can tune in to the rhythms of body, breath and mind, and really “hear” what is being revealed to us. As we become more proficient at tuning in, we find that we begin to learn a great deal more about what makes each of us so individual, and yet so connected.

Yoga Returns To Crowland

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2015 – And we haven’t changed a bit!

I am so excited to be teaching in Crowland again. I originally began to teach there after a conversation with a gentleman by the name of David Grundy, who I met at a networking event. We were chatting outside in the sunshine, and he suggested that I bring yoga to his home town. I remember saying something blase along the lines of: “Well if you help me get there, I will come!” It turned out that David is an extremely helpful and proactive individual – he was keen to practice yoga! – and in a very short time we had a class up and running. That was back in 2012, and since then, we have practiced in a number of venues, the most popular being the old British Legion Hall. Then, sadly along came the pandemic, which put a stop to all classes, and to the hall itself.

However, this story has a happy ending, as the hall was bought, and turned into the Crowland Community Hall. Now, almost four years after we last rolled our mats up, we shall be returning to the hall, to unroll them again.

I am not just excited to be teaching back in Crowland. I am also incredibly grateful to all of my Crowland students who have practiced with me over the past 12 years, many of whom are still with me today.

We have created more than a yoga class over the years, we have become friends and confidents; we have partied together and walked together, chatted together and shared special moments together. (I still have my yoga cake topper from my 50th birthday cake, almost ten years ago!)

And we have done more than just practice yoga: we have grown individually and collectively, as we explore our many layers and make new discoveries about our Selves.

Crowland students, past, present and future, I feel very grateful and honoured to teach you, and here’s to the next twelve years!

For more information about classes in Crowland, click the Yoga Classes tab.

New Free Meditations

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Huge excitement for me today as my first Insight Timer meditation has just been published. It’s called A Meditation to Increase Gratitude and here is the link:

https://insighttimer.com/…/a-meditation-practice-to…

It is completely free to listen to, and if you would like to support me in my work, do please rate me afterwards as all ratings and comments will enable me to improve what I am doing. If you follow me, you will be notified each time I add a new practice, and I plan to offer a wide variety of yoga practices.

And if you don’t already use Insight Timer, why not? It is an amazing resource offering thousands of meditations, relaxations, yoga nidras, talks, etc. And best of all, they are all free!

Yoga Workshop – Saturday, 22nd February 2014 – The Seven Primary Chakras

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So the first of our 2014 Saturday Yoga Workshops is nearing and I am really looking forward to it!  If you have attended before you will already know that the workshops all strike a balance between practising, discovering and evolving.

This workshop will reflect the philosophical nature of the chakras, in that we will be working very meditatively, turning our attention inwards, and reflecting on the where’s, how’s and why’s of each of the seven primary energy centres.

If you only like the physical postures side of yoga, then this workshop is probably not for you as the emphasis is more on reflection and self-awarenes, and not on the physical asana aspect of yoga.  That does not mean that we will not be practising postures. We will, in the light of the work that we are doing, take postures that are specifically aimed at each of the primary chakras.

So if you would like to discover more about the philosophy of yoga, and in particular the unseen energy systems in our bodies and how they affect each of us, emotionally, physically, psychologically and spiritually, then this workshop will probably be of interest to you.  Participants will be given an introduction to the theory of the chakras and a physical asana practice that is designed to balance, heal and integrate the chakras for improved physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual health.

And of course, because it’s yoga, you will probably leave feeling uplifted, positive and inspired!  

I still have some places available, so if you are interested, or would like to book your place, please email: [email protected] or text/ring me on: 07817623330.

I – Into 2014

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A belated “Happy New Year” to you all! 

Whether you visited my site through an interest in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or Yoga Relaxation and Mindfulness, you are very welcome and I hope this site serves to encourage and inspire.

So how do you view January?  As a chilly month in the depths of winter, or as the opportunity to renew, replenish and refresh?

If you are thinking about CBT, then the chances are you are not feeling your happiest and so this month may well be the former. Winter has the effect of keeping us closed in, both in terms of where we are physically, and our emotional and psychological Selves as well. It is all too easy to become enmeshed in any negative feelings. This time of year encourages us to hibernate and take stock. When we are feeling positive and mentally strong, this is good for us.  However, if we are feeling down or dejected, having too much opportunity to contemplate our woes is rarely beneficial.

If you are interested in yoga, then your interpretation of January may be entirely different.  This is because, for a yogi, every day is a new beginning, bringing with it the opportunity to grow and develop all aspects of our Self. From respecting our physical body when we eat and drink healthily, exercise regularly and relax properly, to improving mental strength and focus through mindfulness, meditation and resilience, we yogis seek to improve and develop through every day of our lives.

So how do we move from viewing January as a depressing month, to seeing it as an opportunity to move forward and develop?

It is all a matter of perspective. Firstly consider what it is that is holding you back and causing you to feel whatever negative feelings you have. Then decide if you feel strong enough to tackle these issues on your own. Can you call on support from people around you?  Do you want to tackle your issues at all?  Or is fear of the unknown holding you back?  It takes a brave person to look their life squarely in the face and admit there is a problem!

For more help and advice around these areas, you can click on the links above, read previous blogs, or just email me or give me a call.

 

SO WHY NOT WORK ON ENABLING THIS NEW YEAR

TO BE THE ONE THAT YOU WANT IT TO BE!

Yoga Classes Update!

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Yoga Classes Available In Bourne From September

An opportunity to see why yoga is so popular.

Improve your ability to relax.  Become more flexible, toned and strong.  Be more focused and co-ordinated.  Breathe better.

Come along and try it for yourself. Suitable for all ages and abilities.

For more information, please click here.