I really enjoy running, I haven’t always, you have to go past that initial hard bit to get to a stage where you can enjoy it, and even then there are days when its really hard work! I constantly remind myself of the quote that ‘Great things never came from comfort zones’. When I started running it was really only about fitness and balancing out my love for food! But things have changed, as everything does in life and its now so much to me, which is why even when its hard physically I do it. It helps me so much emotionally, as well as physically. Mostly its my head-space and my ‘me time’ out in nature. I adore using the OS maps app to discover new paths and tracks and often can not see anyone for my whole run (and I live is a fairly busy place!). I am very lucky where I live to be near to the sea and the countryside, but everywhere has their hidden treasures, you’ve just go to get out and find the beauty in things that when we drive past every day we mostly don’t even notice. My brother runs in London along the canals and is always telling me how cool it is. I personally don’t worry about my speed, pace or duration much anymore, I just get out and enjoy what I can see and smell. Normally I cant go fast as I’m clipping my dog on and off, slipping in mud or wading through the tide!!. It makes my running much more of a mindful practice, which I need as I’m often very busy. I also (especially when alone) try to stop and take thing in every now and then. I like to do some wonderful long releasing exhales, allow my shoulder to drop, smile (this is important as its sets a chemical reaction in the body!) and look out at the beauty that is around me. Being out in nature even if that is just a walk has so many clinically proven health benefits.
Chidam looking back at the south downs
Top of Kingely Vale
Stormy high tide in Emsworth. We got very wet!
Sunset at Emsworth
Summer high tide, caught again!
Stansted Estate
Another thing that has become very important to me is the connecting with others. I think lots of exercise, including my yoga classes, are about connecting with others in your community. I’ve lived abroad quite a bit over the last fifteen years and know how it feels to either have no community, or to have instant fantastic community and support. Running has been a way in which I have found like minded friends. Over the years I’ve had to stalk people in the playground who were wearing active-wear, ask strangers to join their runs, and converted friends into runners. It was because exercise of all forms is so much more than just ‘working-out’, its about friendship, support and community. I get as much enjoyment with a PB as I do crossing the line with a friend who didn’t feel they could do it. You don’t have to run, it could be as much as meeting people for a fast walk or a hill walk, anything where you get a few endorphins.
Great South Run with my friend Emma
Gemma and I after the New Forest 10 mile.
Mud and rain but lots of giggles!
Best furry running buddy ever!
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can so do much.”
Yoga classes generally have an imbalance when it comes to hamstrings. We stretch, stretch, stretch them, which is very needed (especially with my tight running hamstrings) and often a cause of lower back problems. However stretching weak muscles can lead to injury so its important to build hamstring strength work into our practice. A few simple adjustments or a slight change in mindset means we can strengthen as well as stretch them. Below is too exercises you could try if you feel you have weak, or over flexible, hamstrings…
Here I am doing leg raises to engage and work the hamstring. All our bodies are beautifully different so you may not look like this when you try it. Go on feeling not what you think the pose should look like, you want to feel the hamstrings (back of the legs) working. Stabilise through the shoulders and abdominal muscle and try not to let there be too much of a dip in the lower back. You don’t need to lift the leg too high. Imagine you are pressing the sole of the foot towards the ceiling. You will feel the glute muscles kick in as well which is an added bonus!Start by taking you foot in your hand, then engage the hamstring muscles and let go without the foot dropping too much, this is tough! Keep your foot flexed and allow the knee to come a little further back than the other and tilt the body very slightly forward so inline with that leg, not the standing leg. Hold your leg there and you will definitely feel those hamstrings!
To look at me now you may not think I couldn’t actually touch my toes for years when I first started practicing. I’m not a stretchy Yoga teacher, and at first I found this hard, as like most people, I thought Yoga was all about being flexible. In fact, if I got a pound every time someone has said to me ‘ I cant do Yoga as I’m not flexible’ I’d be rich! Even when I first started teacher training I was worried that I wasn’t as advanced as others, as to look at my poses, I felt I didn’t look as good ; my head wasn’t touching my knees in forward fold, my leg wasn’t vertical in standing splits, and my foot wasn’t up by my head in Extended Hand to Big Toe. However as the years have passed, and I’ve emotionally and physically developed, I no longer wish to be that perfect ‘Insta Yogi’ in full splits, and I couldn’t care less if my Yoga students are flexible or not. For me this simply isn’t what the practice is about. Physically in class, muscles are more of my focus, although we always have a good stretch. Weak long muscles are the most prone to injury so even if my students are naturally very flexible then I get them to not go so deep but instead engage muscle. I believe that building muscles protects the body from injury. But I also love to keep moving, fluid and active. Perhaps why I’m drawn towards, and generally teach, a more powerful Vinyasa Style of Yoga.
Restorative Yoga is a calm peaceful yoga class where you get comfortable using the bolster, blankets, blocks and occasionally sandbags. During the practise you can hold the postures anywhere between 2 and 10 minutes, and each posture is designed to support your whole body completely. During these holds I play music or listen to mantra, I read a poems and quotes, we practice pranayama (breath-work) and take much needed silence. The main aim to to slow down, calm down and relax. In this fast-paced, over scheduled world we live in, we have to take time for ourselves to slow down and just be. We need to balance out our active stressful lives with calmer practices. Meditation and mindfulness have been in the media for years, and the evidence of the benefits of practicing them is very conclusive. My form of restorative Yoga combines the benefits of mindfulness with a very gentle stretch where you should feel completely comfortable and supported giving you the best chance to relax. My favourite quote post class was “That should be prescribed by doctors.” People can find it hard to prioritise the calmer practices especially when they are very busy, which is ironic, as that is exactly when we need to prioritise them most. We simply have to balance out our nervous system, give yourself a chance to reset. Suffering with stress and anxiety is now common, and without calmer activities it will begin to effect your immune system. If you are someone who adores building muscle, running, cycling and faster paced Yoga classes, it is important to remember that muscle growth only happens during rest, so you need to give your body enough time to to repair/grow your muscles. It’s a necessity! When you take time to actively rest you’ll notice the effects on your body both physically and emotionally. I personally notice it helps my mind and body respond to stimuli rather than react to it, which is very important as a busy mum of three small children.
People can find it hard to prioritise the calmer practices especially when they are very busy, which is ironic, as that is exactly when we need to prioritise them most. We simply have to balance out our nervous system, give yourself a chance to reset. Suffering with stress and anxiety is now common, and without calmer activities it will begin to effect your immune system. If you are someone who adores building muscle, running, cycling and faster paced Yoga classes, it is important to remember that muscle growth only happens during rest, so you need to give your body enough time to to repair/grow your muscles. It’s a necessity! When you take time to actively rest you’ll notice the effects on your body both physically and emotionally. I personally notice it helps my mind and body respond to stimuli rather than react to it, which is very important as a busy mum of three small children.
So make time to rest and recover. Maybe come and try my next Pop-up restorative class, or join one of my Stress and Anxiety workshop’s or 5 week course, to learn more about stress and anxiety, and what we can do to help. Because all of us to some degree are anxious and/or stressed. You are definitely not alone.
Yoga is not about the peak pose; it’s a journey of self discovery. Going upside down in Handstand, Headstand, and Forearm stands, really tests our physical and emotional strength. But are there actual benefits to them beyond that of strength building? If you were to look-up these posture’s benefits, you would see claims that they can lower blood pressure, help Lymphatic drainage, have cardiovascular health benefits, and a calming effect to the nervous system. The truth is, sadly, there isn’t enough published evidence out there for this to be conclusive…yet. However in class we always conclude that they have a fun, feel-good factor, which perhaps this is why we see so many children doing handstands and cartwheels. We also all conclude, in some way, they test us all emotionally. Whether that is because we find it scary and it is taking us to the edge of our comfort zone, or whether we are dealing with all the emotional things that are thrown up when we are challenged, ‘why can they do it better than me’, ‘I’m not good enough’, frustration, doubt, analysing. Needless to say, it would be very unusual to pop up into a handstand in class without any emotional response in the body. But mostly, yes, we all conclude that the are fantastic at building our upper body strength and balance. Whatever resonates with you more really feel the positives of the challenge. When we are taken to the edge of our emotional or physical comfort zone, there is a lot of learning to be done there, and often a little bit of magic.
Physically our feet are so important. I struggle with my feet, in fact more than that, they have been the bane of my practice and running. I have one foot that turns out and the other that is straight. Because of this I have become mildly obsessed with feet and the part they play with my body, in my Yoga, and running. I’ve learnt to love my feet, which do not behave, and to accept that some poses are much harder (especially balances) on one side than the other. There is always an argument as to whether to adjust one’s natural foot placing, or not. With my natural inquisitive scientific mind, and my own wonky body as a live experiment, I have thought long and hard, and tried and tested both ways. Just like foundation of a building must be strong, sturdy and level to support all the structures above, so must the feet to support the knees, hips, and spine. If our base is tilted or collapsed, it will be reflected up through the body as distortion or misalignment. I know this because I see it on myself.
In my Yoga classes I talk about being aware of all four corners of the feet – under the big toe mount, under the little mount, and both inner and outer edge of the heel. I think awareness and appreciation of our wonderful feet and the part they play when practicing Yoga is very important. Whether or not you choose, or are able to change your foot placing, being aware of their importance and the role each muscle plays in support our feet is crucial. After years of trying all different things my beautiful foot still turns out, I still don’t balance as well but it has improved massively. The fact I haven’t fixed it, and it still effects Poses (no longer running because of great shoes), is very frustrating at times, however it is a brilliant life-lesson. I’m not perfect and that’s OK, it’s what makes me human, we’re all beautifully different and as are our wonderful feet. This, in essence is what Yoga is all about, it’s not about the Yoga poses, or goals, it’s about what you learn on the journey. Like the Buddha said, “The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground”.
