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Happy New Year! Mindfulness at New Year

This time of year it is natural that we feel tempted to engage with a lot of judgement with regards to the previous year and also projection in to the new year.

People talk about how “2017 was a terrible year… lets look forward to better times in 2018” or “2017 was a great year… onwards and upward in 2018”. Whilst this involves looking to the future with positivity when we come to the end of 2018 we will see the same types of comments being made. When we label a whole year as either bad or good then we are attaching an emotional response to that year.

If we step back and take a look at how this labelling and judgement of previous years makes us feel we sometimes see that maybe it is not all that great for our mental wellbeing. Any given year will be filled with highs and lows and our greatest skill is to navigate these peaks and troughs with mindfulness and a sense of ease.

In my own experience, mindfulness allows the lows of a year to not feel quite as low and likewise that the highs do not feel quite so high. This allows for an easy and smoother emotional and mental experience of life, less of a rollercoaster.

I have also felt that the practice of New Years Resolutions to be a self imposed pressure that often sets one up for failure. We can fall into the trap of making a list of resolutions which we cannot possibly keep. When we fail to keep these resolutions then we may well label that as such, as a “failure”. With mindfulness we can become more self aware and actually instigate intuitive stepped changes to our lives in a positive and healthy way at any time of the year.

If we approach the New Year as we approach any day with a sense of non-judgement and non-attachment then we can anchor our selves in the present and find peace and calm in that experience. We can embrace the sense of letting go of the old year without judgement or labelling and welcome in the new year with a sense of love and gratitude. We can welcome each new day like this, with a sense of being renewed each day.

Perhaps the best new years resolution is to be more mindful (and obviously to do more Yoga too!!)

Happy New Year to everyone

Paul & Steve

Yogasmiths

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12 Days of Christmas Yoga!

Hi Yogi’s

Here is a video of a fun Christmas themed Yoga sequence we put together for our classes over the festive period.

The video below is the finale of the song from our West Kirby yoga class on Thursday 21st December 2017.

Thank you to all our Yoga students for being such good sports and enjoying our Christmas themed class.

Thanks

Paul & Steve x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7CjfJP6Rtk

 

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Gentle Years Yoga classes – Hoylake – Chair based yoga

We are very pleased to announce that we are starting our British Wheel of Yoga Gentle Years Yoga classes in Hoylake starting on Friday 12th January at 10:30am at Hoylake Community Parade Centre, 31 Hoyle Road, Hoylake, Wirral, CH47 3AG.

Gentle Years Yoga is a chair based yoga suitable for anyone who wishes to or needs to take their yoga practice a little more gently. This can include people with age related health conditions or health conditions that require a yoga practice that is modified.

Gentle Years Yoga is an authentic traditional Hatha yoga practice that has been modified to be chair based. A 75 minute class will include breathing exercises, a pulse raising activity, concentration activities, co-ordination activities, resistance work, yoga postures, relaxation and an important element of fun. It is suitable for all and can be adapted for all.

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Please find a link below to the British Wheel of Yoga Gentle Years Yoga research results. As can be seen in the research document, the people in the pilot had conditions such as osteoarthritis, hypertension, depression/anxiety, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, dementia, cancer and cerebrovascular disease.

Results-of-the-BWY-Gentle-Years-Yoga-Research

The pilot group demonstrated the following benefits from Gentle Years Yoga;

  • Better mental well-being
  • Better quality of life
  • Improved leg strength
  • Improved lower body flexibility
  • Improved resting heart rate
  • Improved physical function – chair raising and walking
  • Improved flexibility
  • Reduced pain
  • Stress relief / calming effect
  • Improved mood
  • Reduced frequency of panic attacks
  • Enjoyable social interaction and making new friends

After the 75 minute class at the Hoylake Parade Community Centre all attendees are encouraged to go to the cafe on the ground floor for tea, cake and a chat.

If you have any queries about Gentle Years Yoga either for yourself or a friend / relative please do not hesitate to get in touch either by using the contact form on the website or emailing us at enquiries@yogasmiths.org or alternatively you can call us on 07834268052.

We have gift vouchers available that can be used to purchase a block of 6 gentle Years Yoga classes for a relative. A great birthday or Xmas present.

Here is a link to the Facebook event for our first Gentle Years yoga class;

Gentle Years Yoga class – Facebook event

We look forward to welcoming you to our new friendly Gentle Years Yoga class

Namaste

Paul & Steve

 

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Yogasmiths Gift Vouchers – Ideal Xmas or birthday present

We are pleased to announce that we have Gift Vouchers available for purchase.

These are an ideal gift for our regular class attendees and also for anyone who may be interested in coming to one of our classes.

The gift vouchers can be made out for any amount that you want, we would suggest maybe one of the following;

  • One public class £6
  • A block of 6 public classes £33
  • A block of 6 Gentle Years Yoga classes £33 (starting in Hoylake on Friday 12th January @ 10:30am @ Hoylake Parade Community Centre )
  • A one hour private one to one yoga session £35 (in West Kirby)
  • A one hour private one to one yoga session £40 (in West Wirral) (Enquire for costs for elsewhere)
  • A block of ten private one to one yoga sessions £300
  • or any other amount to suit your budget

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The gift vouchers come with an envelope to place them in.

The vouchers can be purchased and collected from one of our classes or alternatively we can send them out in the post at cost price.

Namaste

Paul & Steve

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