Finding time for self care with a baby!
1. How long have you been practising yoga for?
I first start practicing yoga around 13 or 14 years ago. I’d always fancied trying it but didn’t really know how to, a lady I worked with at the time taught Dru yoga so I went along to her classes and got hooked! Like everything (for me!) routine forms a habit, so when I broke my shoulder a few years later and I couldn’t go to class for around 12 months, my habit was broken. I flirted in and out of yoga for years and then picked up my regular practice again in February 2016 after the birth of my daughter.
2. What keeps you coming back to your mat every week?
Now yoga is something I think about every single day. My practice makes me aware of my posture, my breathing, my thoughts, and my physical and mental strength. I love the classes I go to at Studio 70, I really value how I feel during my practice and even more so how I feel when I come off the mat. That’s what makes me come back to my mat every week. It’s the personal challenge and personal achievement, plus it’s an hour of time out for myself which is invaluable with an (almost) 2 year old in the house + a busy job.
3. What aspects of your yoga practice are you focusing on at the moment?
At the minute I’m really trying to develop a home practice. I’m the proud owner of my very own back mitra and bolster, so I’m trying to find time and space every couple of days to take to my mat at home. It’s coming along but I’m not there yet! One of the things I really like about the studio is the calm of the environment and I’ve just not managed to recreate that for myself at home - yet!
4. What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about trying yoga for the first time?
I would encourage anyone of any age to try yoga, and I think Studio 70 is a really safe environment to give it a try. The worst that can happen is that you loose an hour of your life, but I’m confident that investment of time would be more than worth it!
5.What’s your favourite yoga pose?
I’m loving restorative yoga at the minute so pigeon is a current favourite pose. Anything that uses the back mitra gets the thumbs up from me because I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders, and I also love the restorative pose with the bolster where you lay with your legs up in the air and they just float there!
6. Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
As well as taking to the yoga mat each week, I also don a pair of tap shoes every week and take part in an annual dance show. Yoga and tap are like the yin and yang of my life; quiet and contemplative on one side, and noisy and energetic on the other! I love them both though!