How is your home practice doing?

Spring is approaching and we are shifting from the wintery slow yin like energy into a time of fresh new life, creation, rebirth and waking up of nature around us.

The latest announcement finally gave us a date to look forward to. If everything goes to plan we will be able to see you in real life in our studios from mid May, but until then we’re of course here for you with daily online classes, newsletters, instagram lives and general support.

As home practice has been going on for nearly a year, we wanted to make sure you’re making the most of it and still keeping your exercise and meditation routines going, even if you haven’t practised much at home, it’s a great feeling to join an online class to suit your mood, routine and at home logistics. We know it can feel a bit difficult to always find motivation, so we’ve put together a few tips on how to keep your practice fresh and working for you.

The benefits of exercising are endless. From improved mood, strength, boosted immunity.. to the sense of overall balance and wellbeing.
But if you feel uninspired or stuck with your practice, read a few ideas we’ve gathered and always remember that even though you might be exercising in your house alone, there are lots of people exercising at the same time as you, and you can connect to this collective energy – we can all support each other this way.

Find your way to keep moving

DECIDE ON YOUR GOALS
Now is not the time to set new records, but having a goal to work towards to can be quite good in keeping your motivation up. It’s good to stay realistic and kind to self, acknowledging and celebrating even the smallest wins. For us even the fact that we’ve stepped on the mat and made this commitment, is worth celebrating, the rest is just movement and breath. Make your practice nourish you, never to take away from you.

KEEP IT FRESH
If you feel uninspired and your practice has lost its spark, maybe it’s time to try something new. Trying a different style, teacher or perhaps a workshop can help to bring the interest back. If you feel tired of the same routine and your body needs a little rest, there are a lot of different styles that can compliment your favourite one. If you love vinyasa for example, but need a little change, why not try pilates to move your body in a completely different way.

MAKE IT REGULAR
Keep your practice regular. Even when it’s hard to find motivation, a regular practice will help you find it – it’s all about getting into a healthy habit again, plus a regular routine is what our bodies and minds thrive on. Making your practice regular is key, however it’s even more important to make the practice work for you! Avoid turning it into a chore, as then it becomes not enjoyable any more. It’s not always possible to dedicate the whole hour to your practice, however even 20 minutes of movement, but regularly, will be so much better than skipping it altogether. And if your work, or other commitments get in a way of your favourite classes, remember that we record all the sessions and you can purchase them from our ON DEMAND library to practise whenever it works best.

CREATE A WELCOMING SPACE FOR YOUR PRACTICE
For some our homes over the course of the last year has become our place to work, exercise, relax and dine in. It can be quite monotonous doing everything in the same place, but if you add little changes, you can keep your home fresh and your dedicated yoga space feel like a mini sanctuary. Adding favourite scents, dimming lights, incense, making your area cosy and warm for slower practises and investing in good quality mats and props will allow you enjoy your practice more. If you need any recommendations for these please get in touch.

TAKE REST
Our bodies need rest. In order to stay healthy and balanced, as much as exercise is key, we also need to dedicate time to good quality rest. Early night, day off from any type of exercise or technology.. alternating it with a good book, fresh air, conversation, cooking.. is so important. If you need more days off, don’t feel bad, tune in to your own body to guide you in what it needs. Our latest Instagram Live sessions covered how important rest is, in avoiding the risk of injury and how we should trust our own intuition to improve our own health. You can catch up on these if you missed the live sessions.

BOOST YOUR ENERGY WITH YOUR GUT HEALTH
If you’re feeling low in energy and lacking motivation to move, the key might be in your diet. Supporting your gut microbiome can make a massive difference in your overall wellbeing. Did you know that our gut bacteria produces 95% of our body’s supply of serotonin – which influences both mood and GI activity. Mood and energy go hand in hand. And now with the usage of antibacterial gels it’s even more important to support a healthy gut microbiome. Varied diet, plant based as much as you can, probiotics, stress reduction, good sleep patterns can make all the difference. We also have an instagram live recording with Zannie talking about good nutrition and gut health if you need some extra tips.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF
This is perhaps one of the most important ones, especially in the current times we live in. Being kind to yourself and allowing yourself the space to just be, as you are, is so important. We can’t always push and strive for more, but finding gratitude for what is and cultivating kindness to self, will turn our mindset around and allow us to be kinder outwards too. Regular practice on the mat can help us find this kindness and use it in everyday life off the mat.

TAKE TIME OFF SCREEN
Make sure you take regular breaks from the screen, we are currently spending so much more time online, so when you get an opportunity to get outside and let your eyes rest a bit, take it. If it feels nice allow your eyes to close at times during your practice too. Some poses are so familiar to the body we can turn away from the screen and move the focus more inwards. We can tune in to our intuition and let the body be the guide. When our eyes close, our inner eyes open, we become more aware of our skin sensations and what we can hear.

Our TIMETABLE

More trees

Your presence in Friday Yin classes during February contributed to planting 70 trees! Thank you so much. Each booking we contributed £1 towards native tree planting with re:earth. We’ve planted 70 mangrove trees in Madagascar. Mangrove forests are 5x more effective at storing carbon than tropical forests.

re:earth is a non-profit, focused on enabling people to repair, replenish and re-wild the Earth together to help stabilise the climate crisis. Trees are important for so many reasons, to start with they are the Earth’s natural climate solution for eliminating carbon emissions. They absorb greenhouse gases from human activities, taking carbon out of the air and lock it away. Trees give us oxygen, stabilise the soil and provide a home for wildlife. The canopies of trees act as a physical filter, trapping dust and absorbing pollutants from the air. Follow them on instagram @reearth.co.uk

“Best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, second best time is now”

We will be looking out for new projects and charities to support during Spring.

Watercress soup – easy and delicious

It really feels that spring is finally on its way!! Recently we’ve been reaching for a lot of green coloured food produce – we must be aligning with mother nature 😉
This recipe is just like spring on the plate, but will still give you that warmth and comfort as a good bowl of soup does!
It looks fresh and vibrant and it’s very easy to make. I found this recipe on the back of the watercress packet, but modified it slightly to add even more greens.

You will need:
1 onion chopped
25g of butter
250g of chopped and peeled potatoes
500ml of chicken or vegetable stock (use organic Kallo stock cubes for lower salt content)
2 bags of watercress, or one bag of watercress and the same amount of spinach, or one bag of watercress and one bag of green leafy pea shoots
cream either just to drizzle or if you want more creamy taste add 50ml
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
This is how to make it:
In a large pot melt the butter and add chopped onion. Keep stirring until the onion gets soft, but not browned. Next add chopped potatoes and all the stock. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 20mins. When potatoes are almost cooked add the watercress/spinach/pea shoots and cook for another 5 minutes, no longer. Take off heat blend in a mixer, then add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste and cream if using.

Enjoy with a nice slice of bread with butter and feel the spring coming!

FEEL GOOD PLAYLIST

Give yourself some studio vibes by listening to this uplifting playlist.
Spotify Playlist – waiting for Spring

Spring offers & workshops

Our latest offer is only available for another few days –
get 12 sessions for the price of 10 (£70)*
*offer runs until 15th March

Members can invite a friend to practice for free in March**
** one pass per member
email us at support@yogahouselondon.co.uk

GET YOUR GREEN JUICE SUPPLY WITH
PRESSCRIPTION – 15% DISCOUNT
SUPER HEALTHY, SUPER TASTY with yogahouse15

The juices are formulated using old-press machines and are 100% raw and unpasteurised, you can choose your cleanse programme HERE .

It’s a wonderful way to cleanse, filter and look after your body, skin and organs. They deliver really quick and the guide that comes with the juices are really useful and informative.

BOOK YOUR WORKSHOP

Water Mandala Vinyasa | The Masterclass with Lydia Buckler
Spend two magical hours exploring the full Water Mandala Vinyasapractice in depth.
Sunday 7th March | 2-4pm | Online | £15

Building Resilience with Alice Billerey
This workshop will arm you with practical tools to manage stress and anxiety in order to navigate life with more ease and joy.
Saturday 13th March | 2-4pm | Online | £15

Deepening Your Practice with Aina Wethal
This workshop will bring back your connection to your practice. Aina will break down postures and transitions in between
Saturday 27th March | 2-4pm | Online | £15

Classic Kundalini with Jacquie Hannam
A purifying and cleansing practice to bring balance to the body and calm to the mind. You will explore the Tantric Philosophy of Kundalini for spiritual growth.
Saturday 10th April | 1-2.15pm | Online | £15

Arm & Forearm Balance With Kasia Blackwell
From Bakasna to Pincha Mayurasana, a two hour playful workshop breaking down more challenging arm and forearm balances.
Saturday 17th April | 1-3pm | Online | £15

YH live & IGTV

We have two great Yoga House Live Sessions coming up this weekend
Please send us any questions you have for our guests. Remember you can catch up on all our previous sessions free on our IGTV Channel. Please get in touch if you’d like us to cover any other topic.

Friday 5 March
5pm

Self Worth Coach Serena Louth will be helping to bring joy, fulfilment & balance back to our lives

Sunday 7 March
7pm

Get cosy and listen to YH Teacher Alice explain the magic of Yoga Nidra followed by a relaxing practice

THANK YOU FOR READING OUR NEWSLETTERS

We are here for you, please get in touch and keep practising.

LOVE from the YOGA HOUSE team
& Kasia x