With the summer drawing to a close and the darker evenings creeping in it is all too easy to curl up on the couch with a box set and a glass of vino but we challenge you to keeping it toned this autumn. So here are a few reasons not to ‘fall’ into those bad habits and keep active…

Firstly, lets talk about the functionality of the core muscles as a group. If you can imagine the core muscle group ( tummy, lower back and the pelvic floor muscles) as a girdle of muscle. These muscles make up the powerhouse of the body and every movement made by every other part of the body utilises the strength of muscles within this core group.

Core:  the part of something that is central to its existence….synonym’s: central, key, basic, fundamental, principle, vital, crucial.

Now that we have a visual… lets move on to the feeling. Most struggle to know how to ‘engage’ or feel their core muscles…  a couple of factors could be involved here…this could be your first introduction to each other 🙂 or maybe you are not quite sure that you are feeling exactly what your yoga instructor wants you to feel. Rest assured you are not the first person to have doubts. So here is a little trick … imagine yourself back are on a beach in your swim gear and your friend whips out the camera phone and threatens a Facebook photo showing you both looking amazing and carefree 🙂 … okay now the ‘engaging’ of the core muscles is that drawing in, when you hold in the tummy making you look two sizes smaller around the middle but where you can still breath easily and chat etc.

The breath is our constant companion throughout the course of our life – from our first breath the moment we are born, until our very last. However, how often do we pay attention to how we breathe? How many times a day do you stop and pay attention to the depth of your inhales or the length of your exhales? Have you ever paused for long enough to observe the subtle moment of stillness at the peak of your inhale or at the end of your exhale? If we were the betting type, we’d probably wager a hefty sum that this is not something most of us do regularly, if at all.

In yoga, the breath is often referred to as pranayama, which means “life force” or “energy”, but we prefer the term: koorma nadi, which translates as “string” – the string that connects or binds you to your body. This image of a connecting string creates both beautiful visual to help us understand its relationship with the body, but also reflects the fragility of the breath – something so delicate yet so powerful.

Becoming a watcher

At the start of each yoga practice you will often be asked to sit comfortably, become still and “tune-into your breath”. What you are essentially being asked to do is become a watcher or an observer of your breath. The idea being to turn your consciousness from your external environment inwards and start to notice the intricacies of this delicate string that constantly moves through you.

Breathe through it

In yoga, when we practice the “asanas” or “poses” we work with the body, by either synchronising the movement with the inhale or exhale, or we observe the breath whilst holding a certain pose for an extended amount of time. Moving and observing the breath through various postures works to unify the two different aspects of your being (yoga meaning to unify). For most, it creates this lovely sense of being hypnotised by both elements of you that are constantly in the present moment – the body and the breath. Neither get wrapped up in the past or future, they are always in the place where life exists – the present. Drawing your consciousness to the present allows you to just be. Sorry for those looking for some kind of magic results or goals. But to those who have experienced this, how nice is it to just “be” sometimes? There are no expectations or goals or eureka moments or anything like that, you are simple creating the space where you can just be you.

Change your Mood

Have you ever noticed how your breath changes when you become angry or nervous or stressed? Oftentimes, without knowing or being aware of it, when we are in a heightened state of emotion, the breath shortens, it becomes shallow and even restricted by holding the breath. If we regularly feel these emotions, breathing in this way can become a pattern or a habit, meaning that even when in a situation of calm or rest, bad breathing habits can trigger those negative emotions and catapult us back to a state of anxiety and unease. The simple answer is to start to become aware of how you breathe and start a new pattern of fullness with a constant softness and ease.

Give it a go!

Practice this for one whole day and see how you feel at the end. The idea being, irrespective of the situation you find yourself in, whether it be a negative or positive one, your fullness of breath helps you approach each moment with a sense of calmness and peacefulness, setting you up for a pleasant day – everyday! So, no fancy breathing practices in this post – step one is to become the watcher.

We’d love to hear how you get on with your simple breathing practice – comments below are welcome.

What does yoga mean to me…well, like most people, I happened upon yoga as a result of an injury. From a young age, I had problems with my back causing me to be a bit out of balance, which inevitably resulted in damage to my knees. Following surgery, my consultant advised me to take up yoga or Pilates to strengthen my back and knees. I dismissed yoga as no more than a breathing and gentle stretching; opting instead for Pilates, thinking it was less dogmatic and more “body-mechanical”.

I practiced Pilates for three years and liked the thread of yoga elements that my teacher was weaving through the practice. I noticed how I would look forward to her yogic insights as much as I did the new poses. From that point, I decided to tap into the world of yoga, easing myself in gradually, starting with yogalates (mix of yoga and Pilates) then, transitioning into pure yoga.

The move was a revelation for me, as it incorporated the link between body and mind. I gradually starting to think more about how I felt physically in every move on and off my mat and every step I took felt stronger, more connected, more present.

Both Orla and I began our yoga teacher training 6 weeks after I had my daughter, Suzanne, and it was a battle within myself to take on the year long challenge and see it through. I thought that I would struggle – physically and emotionally because, lets face it, post-pregnancy is a tough time! Women (all women) go through a transition that can be harder for some more than others. I was no different. I had low days but those 5 hours every Thursday evening gave something back to me that I never knew was there to lose – an energy, a vitality.

I felt that I had just been introduced to myself …as odd as that sounds ☺… I felt as if I had arrived, I knew myself, who I was, how I felt. I felt alive walking out of that Thursday evening yoga class. Having walked in feeling like a mangled bag of bones, I left feeling like I had just been put back together physically and mentally.

Yoga has been a friend to me through various physical challenges in my life including pregnancy and all that goes with it. Everyone tells you that it is your sleep that will suffer, but I can tell you now it is a physical endurance test during the late stages of pregnancy and then when they baby arrives and you are bending and lifting etc.

If I could sum up in five words how yoga makes me feel it would have to be strong, confident, connected, content and the one I value the most …happy. Strong physically and emotionally, confident in my skin (which was not always the case, having been a painfully shy child), connected to the energy of the places and people I encounter, content in myself having ambitions but happy with the stages I can control and not worrying about the rest.

Best advice for anyone thinking of taking up yoga is to find a style you like and keep it going ☺  Favourite yoga inspirational quote:

Yoga gives years to your life and life to your years

Namaste

Emma

Hello and welcome to our yoga blog! Our little corner of the internet where, each week we will share our thoughts, experiences, tips and insights, as we travel along our yoga journey.

For our very first blog post, we thought we’d get back to basics and share what yoga means to us, starting with Orla. Instead of filling our blog with regurgitated information about the origins of yoga, the meaning behind it or even ream off the eight limbs, we thought we’d do it a little differently and share our own experiences with yoga and what it means to us. Yoga can have profound effects on our lives in so many different ways, so instead of suggesting what the impact SHOULD be, we’re going to share how it has impacted us in its own unique way.

What yoga means to Orla…

For me, yoga is a means of living well

Yoga with Orla

I’d love to say I had an enlightened moment whereby I decided to practice yoga for some kind of spiritual fulfillment, but the truth is – I didn’t. I was first drawn to it for aesthetic reasons. I wanted to do some form of weekly exercise that would help me strengthen and tone and if a pound or two dropped off along the way, I wouldn’t complain! I can tell you now when I started, I was the most unfit, inflexible person in the class. I was lucky to touch my knees, never mind my toes! Sun salutations was the most amount of cardio I had done in a long time and the sweat that rolled off me was proof of that (*apologies for the visual!)

Although challenging in every sense, the rush of endorphins that flooded in as we lay in Savasana mirrored a sense of achievement I rarely felt at that particular point in my life. Tension and aches that came with sitting at a desk all day started to ease, as we stretched and I literally started to feel more comfortable in my own skin. The natural resistance training that comes with a lot of the asanas (poses) like downward dog, plank, warrior etc. over time, gave me the arm strength and toned physique that would rival any gym-bunny.

So obsessed was I with the way yoga made me look and feel, I decided I would like nothing more than to be able to share this feeling with others. So with that, Emma and I embarked upon our teacher training journey. There, I realised that there is SO much more to yoga. Not in terms of what there is to learn about the philosophy, or the chakras, or any of that other stuff. That is important, but, the “much more” bit for me came from how my practice started to filter from my physical wellbeing into all the other aspects of me.

Yoga with Orla

What I have realised, so far on my journey, is that yoga draws you into the present, through the simple act of tuning into your body and your breath. Instead of getting wrapped up in your thoughts all-day, every-day, you start to awaken into the here and now. If you think about it, how often do you become consumed by thoughts of the past or worries for the future? I bet, like me, this accounts for a large part of your mental focus.

For me, yoga is the method through which I can determine the nature of the person I want to become, by recognising my patterns of thought and behaviours and becoming flexible and strong enough to change them. First, came the physical flexibility and then slowly that flexibility has started to translate into all the other aspects of my being. This flexibility has given me the freedom to shed perceptions I’ve formed of myself from past experiences. Instead of going round and around, recycling the same old information and thoughts, doing the same things and in a lot of ways going nowhere, yoga has helped me open up those circles into straight lines. Lines that will lead me somewhere. Where? I have no idea, but I can tell you feeling like you’re going somewhere unknown is a lot more satisfying than ending up in the same place over and over. I realise now that there is no end goal. Rather, yoga for me will be a lifelong journey of self-reflection and self-refinement. It is a means through which I hope to live life to the full and experience joy in each moment. I believe that continuing to nurture my wellbeing through yoga will allow me to live well and embrace whatever life throws at me.

Orla

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