Tips to prepare and support you over the holiday

08/12/2019 by

As we come towards the winter solstice our natural tendency is to go inwards to reflect on the year gone and plant seeds for the year ahead. The arrival of Christmas with its expectations, commercialism and family gatherings is the exact opposite! Here are some ideas to help you keep calm and enjoy Christmas.Stress yoga aylesbury

Tips to prepare and support you over the holiday

Take an active role in planning:

  • Start a new tradition
  • Choose what works best for you – an activity, venue, timing, catering etc., start and end time.
  • Schedule a walk or create space for those who need time out.
  • Set a positive intention for the event.
  • Decide to make the best of a less than ideal situation.

Remember:

  • Nothing is every personal.
  • It is not compulsory to take part in the drama.
  • You don’t always have to be right.
  • Other opinions are allowed!
  • Its ok to say “that doesn’t work for me”.
  • Your response or reaction is the only thing that you can control.

Ask yourself:

  • Are my expectations realistic (life is not idyllic as portrayed in the media)
  • Will it matter in an hour, a day or a week?

Be kind to yourself:

  • Avoid too many commitments.
  • Schedule some me/couple/treat time.
  • Take a one or two minute break and breathe deeply, inhale love, exhale negative thoughts.
  • Do things that make you smile/laugh.
  • Give yourself a hug or pat on the back – sometimes getting up/through the day is a major achievement.
  • You are the best you in the whole universe.

Simple treats:

  • Self-massage with warm sesame oil
    Sesame oil is widely used in ayurveda and can help ground and calm promoting sleep. It is widely available in independent health food shops and online. Avoid the toasted variety unless you want to smell like a stir fry! Coconut oil or specialist ayurvedic massage oils are also available.
  • Treat yourself to a good book, or film
  • Listen to some relaxing or inspirational music
  • Light scented candles, or vaporiser
  • Take a candle lit bath.
  • Book a yoga course and relaxation events 🙂

Spring 2020 Events

  • Sound & Voice Meditation with Suzan – Friday 24th January 28th February & 27th March
    Buckland Village Hall, Buckland Village, HP22 5HU
  • Mini Relaxation Retreat with Suzan – Sunday 26th January – Haydon Hill Community Centre, 10 Dickens Way, Aylesbury, HP19 8SR
  • Yoga & Sound Bath with Suzan & Barbara Dancer – Sunday 2nd February – The Barn at Chartridge Lodge, Chesham, Bucks HP5 2TU
  • Yoga & Sound Bath with Suzan – Saturday 29th February – Haydon Hill Community Centre, 10 Dickens Way, Aylesbury, HP19 8SR
  • Mini Relaxation Retreat with Suzan, Sunday 29th March – Haydon Hill Community Centre, 10 Dickens Way, Aylesbury, HP19 8SR

Retreats 2020

  • Pancha Maya Yoga Retreat with Suzan & Barbara Dancer – Learning and Practices to Support Your Daily Life
    Saturday 14th-Sunday 15th March – Chartridge Lodge, Chesham, Bucks HP5 2TU Options
  • Pranamaya, the energy of self-healing with Suzan & Barbara Dancer
    A fun weekend, discovering the invisible energies that affect every aspect of your life and how you can use these energies to enhance well-being. Saturday 7th – Sunday 8th June – Chartridge Lodge, Chesham, Bucks HP5 2TU

1:1 Sessions

  • Yoga therapy
  • Sound therapy/healing
  • Personal development/healing with Suzan
    Are you at a crossroads? Navigating challenging changes and transitions? Looking for answers and meaning in your life?
    Suzan will support, guide & empower you to make lasting, positive.
Filed Under: Misc, Stress

From Overwhelm to Calm in 5 Minutes

06/09/2019 by
  • Stop feelings of overwhelm, irritation and powerlessness
  • Activate your rest and digest system
  • See clearly
  • Become empowered

Try this 5 minute breathing practice (5 minutes and 22 seconds)

Why?
Focused breathing is powerfully transformative.  It allows the nervous system to settle, the mind and body to calm and harmony to be restored.

When?
Daily – there are 1440 minutes in a day.  If you don’t manage daily do as often as possible.  In an emergency take 3 conscious deep breaths wherever you are.

What people say

“When I am stuck in traffic I use the breathing practice and the stress vanishes”. Lynne

“Dear Suzan   Just to say many thanks for the breathing programme.  My blood pressure readings are down, so no visits to the doctor for 3 months and no increase in medication.  I also feel a lot calmer and don’t get those feelings of panic which were very unpleasant.
yours with many thanks”. Betty E

“I was progressing with my Scuba diver training last weekend was struggling to maintain a level easy breath and as a result using far too much air. So 40 feet below the surface the following day I was thinking about concentrating on my yoga breath whilst trying to master the skills of diving, it worked!” Guy K

“I wanted to let you know I enjoyed the classes and used the breathing techniques throughout the pregnancy and during labour which was a huge help, so thank you” Clare P

If you would like to work deeper with breath and movement I have a range of online yoga groups and private sessions to support your specific needs and availability.  Email me.

Focused breathing will support you whatever is going on in your life – stress, the blues, living with change and uncertainty. Give yourself the gift of 5 minutes a day for a month and let me know the results.  I would love to hear from you.

Please email me  with any feedback or questions.

lungs-breathe

In an emergency just 3 conscious breaths will change the way you feel.

Filed Under: Anxiety, Fatigue, Pain, Stress

Five Ways To Reduce Stress

06/06/2019 by

On a level of 1 to 10 where 10 is highest, how stressed are you right now? Make a note and check in over the next week to monitor your stress level.

Most of us experience stress from time to time and it is a normal event which has its places. But what about the long term effects?

The fight or flight response is designed for short term emergencies. It hasn’t evolved since the days we needed to run away from wild animals! It doesn’t even distinguish between real and perceived events! When the stress response is constantly in active due to high levels of stress, we become familiar with stress hormones and body chemistry preparing us to fight, flight or flee. It becomes our normal. And the familiarity may mean we are more likely to subconsciously search for stressful situations and drama, when life begins to be calm.

Long term activation of the stress response can cause health problems including disrupted sleep, raised blood pressure, obesity, suppressed immune system, and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, anxiety and depression.

Here are 5 simple ways to reduce stress:

lungs-breathe

Focus on your breath – as few as 3 conscious breaths can completely change the way you feel.

fresh-air

Connect with nature.  Open a window, go for a walk, have plants in your work space and home.

lady-side-stretch-pink

Yoga helps reduce stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol and stimulates the production of endorphins, the feel good chemicals in the brain.

meditation

Let meditation wipe away the day’s stress, just 5 minutes can bring inner peace.

its-ok-not-to-be-ok

We think the causes of stress are outside our control.  What if we decide that it’s okay not to be okay?  This leaves us free to focus on making positive changes.

 

Filed Under: Stress

Searching…

14/01/2019 by

Are you looking for something new? Do you feel that there is more to life? Is the way you have been living no longer working for you? 

You are not alone—many are feeling a need for change, a deeper understanding and/or sense of purpose. Behind the desire for change is usually a catalyst. You may have experienced a gentle or not-so-gentle nudge—what was previously comfortable is no longer so. Perhaps you have had challenges, health issues, unforeseen changes, or endings in relationships and/or jobs. These upheavals instigate changes, which in turn create space for something new to manifest.

What if … there is a world as yet unknown, of unlimited potential, free from the restrictions of the past? A world of possibility, potential, and power, where you can access answers, knowing, and understanding, a place where positive and lasting changes can be made. It is an innate part of you, perhaps forgotten or overlooked, yet it is still there. This is the invisible world of energy and healing.

 Understanding How Energy Works

… Everything, seen and unseen, is energy and has an impact on each of us. All thoughts, feelings, and emotions are linked to an energetic vibration. The body vibrates at a frequency that reflects your current state. This is known as resonance.

When feeling unhappy or unwell, your vibration will be at a lower rate than if you are happy or in love. Trauma, negative events, and emotions have a lower frequency and vibration. These denser energies can cause dis-ease. By freeing the energy and restoring flow, your body can become at ease. This is the realm of energy healing.

Have you ever noticed that when you are with an unhappy person, or someone with many worries and anxieties, you start to feel the same? Even though you were feeling absolutely fine earlier, you now feel heavy, grumpy, sluggish, or negative.

Similarly, if you are with very happy people, you feel much lighter and more positive. Even the thought of being with them may increase your vibration. This is the Law of Attraction at work—like attracts like.

There is a whole world of invisible energy with which we continually, albeit unconsciously, interact.

Your energies are continuously interacting with the energies of people and places, which have positive or negative effects. Knowledge of this energy gives possibilities for its conscious use. It is one way to create positive, life-enhancing change.

Taken from Searching… A Peek into the Invisible World of Energy and Healing by Donna Linn & Suzan J Wells.

Filed Under: Healing

Keep Calm and Enjoy Christmas

17/12/2017 by

4 Tips to prepare and support you over the holiday

Take an active role in planning:
• Start a new tradition
• Choose what works best for you – an activity, venue, timing, catering etc., start and end time.
• Schedule a walk or create space for those who need time out.
• Set a positive intention for the event.
• Decide to make the best of a less than ideal situation.

Remember:
• Nothing is every personal.
• It is not compulsory to take part in the drama.
• You don’t always have to be right.
• Other opinions are allowed!
• Its ok to say “that doesn’t work for me”.
• Your response or reaction is the only thing that you can control.

Ask yourself:
• Are my expectations realistic (life is not idyllic as portrayed in the media)
• Will it matter in an hour, a day or a week?

Be kind to yourself:
• Avoid too many commitments.
• Schedule some me/couple/treat time.
• Take a one or two-minute break and breathe deeply, inhale love, exhale negative thoughts.
• Do things that make you smile/laugh.
• Give yourself a hug or pat on the back – sometimes getting up/through the day is a major achievement.
• You are the best you in the whole universe.

yoga healing sharing circle sound meditation therapy addiction parent addict

Please share your experiences and any tips you have via email.

Filed Under: Misc

My Yoga Journey

19/04/2017 by

I discovered yoga in my 20’s and life got in the way. Fast forward 20 years I realised I was at breaking point. I had put diesel in my petrol car. I was a single mum living in the intense stress as my son entered his teenage years. I joined the local gym and I discovered yoga.

Yoga is so much more than tying yourself in knots or getting into a perfect posture. It has tools to support well-being on all levels. The texts give a path for moving out of suffering.

Yoga means to unite the various aspects of ourselves, physical, emotional etc. as well as the wounded child, inner warrior etc. Healing means wholeness. I see yoga as one of the oldest healing modalities. It’s sister ayurveda gives a wealth of knowledge on diet and lifestyle.

I trained with the Yoga for Health Foundation in Group Classes and Remedial Yoga and followed this with Viniyoga teacher training in group classes and yoga therapy.  My training included in depth study of yoga texts, psychology and philosophy of yoga.  I hold a British Wheel of Yoga accredited certificate and have trained extensively with cutting edge yoga teachers in the UK and at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India.

My specialty is working with the health and well being of the whole person.  An issue in the body will most likely have an emotional connection. There may also be ancestral links which are impacting the client. I use ancient techniques of hatha yoga and cutting edge teachings to restore balance and harmony.

I firmly believe in the power of yoga to transform at all levels.  It has a tremendous amount of wisdom to offer whether we are mainly interested in the physical aspect or using yoga as a spiritual journey.

This is a holistic approach. It is not a substitute for a 12-step program and not intended as, or a substitute for, medical or psychiatric advice. Nor is it intended to diagnose, describe, treat, or cure any disease – physical or mental.

Filed Under: Yoga, Yoga Therapy

The Chakras

24/02/2017 by

Imagine a river with 7 swirling pools, the water is your life force energy and the pools are the chakras.  when you experience a state or emotion that relates to a specific chakra your energy flow becomes disturbed or blocked.

The first chakra, Muladhara Chakra, means root support, it is linked to the earth and your earliest experiences.  The modern way of life, with much time spent on social media, city living, supermarket shopping all contribute to a disconnection from the earth and blockages in the root chakra.

Whether you want to create better health, more abundance and passion or to remove challenges in your life, balancing your root chakra is the key.

b54af53f16424569d8dbb6c3508fc63dThe root chakra is associated with:

  • The colour red
  • Hatha yoga
  • Ruby, garnet and hematitite
  • The Adrenals
  • Legs, feet, bones and large intestine

Supporting your Root Chakra

Here are a couple of practices for you to experiment with.  Have fun!

foot massage

Massage helps reconnect you with the physical body:  Regular sessions are highly recommended.  Try massaging your feet between sessions. Ayurvedic foot massage uses warm sesame, brahmi, or jatamansi oil.

red
Meditate on the the colour red.  You can use a red candle, an image or simply bring the colour red to your inner awareness.  Start with a few minutes and gradually build up.

protein
Eat Protein animal or vegetable (avoid over eating though).

barefoot walking

Walk barefoot, feel the earth against your skin, let her support you.  Notice the sensations in your feet.  This focused awareness will calm and stabalise your body and mind.

 

relaxation

It is very important not to miss the relaxation part of a yoga session.  When you relax, focus on each part of your body, inviting it to let go, notice your breath. Your nervous system now has time to settle.

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: , , ,

“New Beginnings”

23/09/2015 by

“The whole world’s broke and it ain’t worth fixing,
It’s time to start all over, make a new beginning,
There’s too much pain, too much suffering,
Let’s resolve to start all over make a new beginning.
Now don’t get me wrong I love life and living,
But when you wake up and look around at everything that’s going down,
All wrong.
You see we need to change it now, this world with too few happy endings
We can resolve to start all over make a new beginning,
Start all over
The world is broken into fragments and pieces,
That once were joined together in a unified whole,
But now too many stand alone,
There’s too much separation,
We can resolve to come together in the new beginning.
We can break the cycle – We can break the chain,
We can start all over – In the new beginning.
We can learn, we can teach,
We can share the myths, the dream, the prayer,
The notion that we can do better,
Change our lives and paths,
Create a new world,
And Start all over.
The whole world’s broke and it ain’t worth fixing,
It’s time to start all over, make a new beginning.
There’s too much fighting, too little understanding,
It’s time to stop and start all over,
Make a new beginning,
We need to make new symbols,
Make new signs,
Make a new language,
With these we’ll define the world,
And start all over.”

 

Tracy Chapman

Filed Under: Misc

For a New Beginning

03/01/2015 by 
A Blessing by John O’Donohue from ‘Benedictus, A book of blessings’

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Filed Under: Misc

Reflection

27/05/2014 by

Look at me
You may think you see
Who I really am
But you’ll never know me
Every day
It’s as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
I am now
In a world where I
Have to hide my heart
And what I believe in
But somehow
I will show the world
What’s inside my heart
And be loved for who I am
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection
Someone I don’t know?
Must I pretend that I’m
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
There’s a heart that must be
Free to fly
That burns with a need to know
The reason why
Why must we all conceal
What we think, how we feel?
Must there be a secret me
I’m forced to hide?
I won’t pretend that I’m
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
~ Christine Aguilera, Reflection:

Filed Under: Misc
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