Category: Yoga

Trained and qualified with the British Wheel of Yoga Sue undertook their 4 year training back in 1994 and has been teaching since the mid nineties. The British Wheel of Yoga training is, in Sue’s opinion the best in the world and is recognised by the Sports Council of Great Britain as the governing body of yoga. The high standards mean that in order to keep the qualification and insurance continued professional development is essential and so the learning and training continues. Sue’s popular classes embrace Hatha yoga offering pranyama (breath work), asana’s (poses) meditation, relaxation and mindfulness. Coupled with Sue’s background in Psychology, Hypnotherapy and Reiki, her mind & body approach is enjoyed by many and offered her in her audio programmes.

Posted on September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

A Final Farewell To Summer

Monday 22nd September saw the Autumn Equinox arrive and bid a final farewell to summer. Some of you might be feeling a little sad at this prospect and with good reason but more of that later.

I might be stating the obvious when I say that now is a good time to wear warmer clothes, layers, scarves and hats but many years ago I couldn’t stand the autumn or winter and I found walking my lovely dog a chore.

I couldn’t quite let go of the notion that summer had gone and there I was stupidly still mincing around in summer clothes and sandals.

Nature is Peace

A dog is guaranteed to get you out in nature.

Once I sorted out my clothing and made a point of having a hearty breakfast before I took her out, I began to love being out in nature in all weathers and it’s where I find peace.

Finding ways to adjust and to be in sync with the changing seasons is more important for our mental health and wellbeing than we may realise.

According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) adapting our diet and keeping areas like the neck and kidneys warm, is essential to build a strong immune system – and to be able to head into the colder winter months feeling strong, healthy and mentally robust.

In autumn and winter many of us will find that the energy necessary to eat raw foods, salads etc outweighs the benefits. Instead a simple shift to eating warm foods like porridge, soups, broths, stews and drinking more warm drinks will help ward off colds and flu’s and go toward a stronger constitution.

Eating white foods in autumn such as pears, (cooked for some of us) radishes, porridge, butter beans (they’re great spiced up) onions etc help fortify the lung and large intestine energies.

The lungs are affected by grief and sorrow and this time of year we can witness many endings, the end of summer, the end of leaves on the trees, and temporary end of growth in nature around us. In addition, the impending shorter, darker days can feel make us feel sad and gloomy, consequently we may feel more tearful and weepy around this time. Here’s a bit of research on lungs and grief.

Given that acceptance is a big part of the healing process.

Accepting that we feel weepy and allowing ourselves quiet time to do just that and have a good cry can help purge the feeling and then we can get on with helping ourselves to feel better ,with it out of the way. Suppressing emotions, usually means they will bubble up somewhere else when we least expect it.

Autumn does have her gifts though. When we strengthen our lungs such as in a good yoga or qigong practice that involves opening and contracting the chest, we facilitate the process of ‘letting go’ which is a form of purging stagnant energy.

Much like decluttering your home, it feels good to make space in the lungs for new energy. A fresh supply of Qi can literally change your state both mentally and emotionally.

Another helpful way to declutter emotionally is to journal and write therapy letters. This time of year is brilliant to release old hurts and resentments. Write a letter to whoever you are harbouring a resentment, or grudge toward and let rip, then see if you’ve any room for forgiveness. For more tips and a really funny skit about clutter check this out on thestresshacker.com

Remember of course that forgiveness does not condone someone’s behaviour or actions.

It takes courage to forgive people who have hurt you and taking some of the above steps to strengthen your lungs will give you courage to confront issues and find ways to move forward.

Finally the autumn is a good time to end projects, tie up those loose ends, clear the clutter and generally begin to decelerate in life, it’s okay to take longer baths, get into bed with a good book earlier and give yourself a lot of loving and self-care.

As usual you will also find a huge supply of self-help audio programmes in the shop here and a few yoga classes here.

So wrap up, eat well, exercise, get out in nature and nurture yourself.

Posted on July 2, 2025July 3, 2025 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

MIND MANAGEMENT: MOVEMENT OR MEDITATION?

A few years ago I was teaching yoga in a local gym, when a student approached me seeking guidance on managing her anxiety. She asked which specific yoga poses could help her. Curiously, I inquired about her daily practice, only to learn that she felt too anxious to practice at all.

The purpose of any discipline, be it prayer, meditation, Yoga, or Qigong, is to connect with your inner self. This connection taps into an unwavering, peaceful presence that resides within you. By establishing a regular practice, ideally daily, it becomes easier to access this infinite source of calm.

The long-term benefits are profound. When you cultivate a sense of stillness and peace, it feels like returning home to a place you instinctively know you belong. You can carry this sense of calm with you as you navigate life’s journey.

Of course, as humans, we will still experience feelings of sadness, anger, and depression. Acknowledging these emotions is essential; they are part of the human experience. However, your practice allows you to move through these feelings more quickly. Embrace them after all, they are real and valid. With your discipline in place, you’re more likely to remain more positive as you move through the challenges of your day.

Can you take seven to ten minutes every day?

When you care enough about yourself to commit to a short time every day for your practice – whether that’s running, martial arts, or chanting – it becomes easier to remain centred, react less to external triggers, feel generally stronger and feel more in control of your life.

What you experience in your practice is eventually translated into every area of your life. For example, in the ancient art of Qigong, we learn to move slowly with relaxed breathing and in time we approach all our daily activities in the same way, thus gaining some self-mastery.

Over time we develop resilience as we realise that emotions are fluid; nothing stays the same forever, including how you feel in any given moment. Whilst we can’t escape illness, loss and life changing events we’re able to handle them in a more robust way.

Your Practice as an Anchor

Consider your practice as an anchor during life’s storms. Whilst many external circumstances are often beyond our control, building a daily routine fosters a sense of balance and inner strength that will serve you well throughout life.

Just before lockdown I started my teacher training in Qigong which I’ve added to my regular yoga practice. I cannot sing it’s praises more highly; it is a remarkable practice and there is a huge body of scientific evidence to prove its efficacy.

It’s an easy practice to learn… you just have to keep practising.

If you would like to experience some of the wonderful benefits of Qigong. I am holding a mini-Yoga and Qigong Summer Retreat in a beautiful setting in Bromley, Kent. Contact me at sue@thestresshacker.com for more information.

Posted on April 6, 2025April 7, 2025 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

Mind Body Wellbeing Hacks

Here are 5 simple hacks for a mind body reset.

Hum doesn’t matter what tune or whether or not you’re in tune, just hum it’s an easy fix to feeling calm.
Stroke your neck from your left ear to your right collar bone hand over hand, then from right ear to the left collar bone, finally stroke from your chin down to the little u bend at the base of your neck.
Put an ice-pack on the nape of your neck for one-to-two minutes.
Gargle ’till you gag. Use Himalyan salts if you can get them and gargle robustly for a good couple of minutes until your gag reflex is triggered.
Learn how to belly breathe it’s a life saver in stressful situations. To be able to change your state by moving into deeper belly breathing offers us a sense of control in challenging situations.

It’s all to do with resetting your vagus nerve

This net-like nerve pretty much travels the length of your torso from your 12th cranial nerve to your gut. Apply some of the mind body wellbeing hacks above and you’ll feel in control again. It will move away from anxiety toward self-confidence.

Mind body hacks were used as far back as 12th century. Techniques such as the Inner Smile Meditation were used to give subtle messages to the major organs in the body that all is well. Cool, simply by smiling and connecting with them we start to feel great.

Light, Heartshaped Mirror Plant, Wind Chime — Light Heart Chimes with Wellbeing and Nature

Now it might sound daft to smile and connect with your heart, but if you want to live in harmony, know that the heart is the Emperor of the emotions. Stop and think about that for a moment and you’ll know it’s true. When you feel sad, angry, fearful, happy or loving you experience those feelings from your heart.

FREE GIFT

It stands to reason then that we should look after the heart. With this in mind I made a gift for you. It’s my version of The Inner Smile Meditation. Download it free here in the shop or listen to it on my YouTube channel. Once you’re familiar with it you can do it yourself EVERY day to trigger a healthy mind body connection. Let me know what you think of it.

Sunlight shining on a woman in nature who is smiling. — Smile with your heart, smile with your eyes let the light in and spread the love.

Yoga and Qigong Classes

If you’d like to join me in exploring more mind body hacks, I run an in-person Yoga and Qigong class in Bromley on the last Friday of every month and online weekly. You’ll love how you feel afterwards. Beginners are welcome you only need to bring your mind and body.

Thanks for reading.

Posted on September 25, 2024September 25, 2024 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

7 Surprising Ways to Protect Yourself

As we move into the colourful season of Autumn, this is the right time to strengthen your defences and protect yourself by reinforcing your shield.

According to Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is a protective force known as the Wei Qi (could be called the immune system too.) The yang energy flows on the outer layers of muscle and skin and controls the opening and closing of the pores that regulate temperature and sweating, this is the shield that helps you to protect yourself.

Protect yourself and strengthen your field to shield you from external pathogens and internal pathogens.

Obvious external pathogens are colds, flu’s and viruses but it may surprise you to know that internal pathogens are things like negative emotions and unhealthy thought patterns, we’re talking FAGS! fear, anger, guilt and shame. Banish those yucky emotions.

Since Autumn is a time of letting go and Mother Earth, is shedding layers and dying off, it’s actually quite normal to experience sadness and grief, weepy and low at this time of year.

As we say goodbye to the summer joys and all it’s warmth and prepare for the cold dark winter days ahead it can feel like grieving.

Other internal pathogens are poor attachments in the form of bad habits or addictions that can return with a vengeance as we reach for unhealthy comforts. When you lose your drive and feel rudderless this is also a call to action to strengthen and protect yourself.

So how do we combat this and strengthen our immunity? Luckily there are many ways, heres’ a few.

Keep Warm. A simple common sense approach to the changing seasons, such as protecting your body – especially neck/throat area – from wind and cold will help you. Plainly put, you’ve got to start wearing those extra layers even if that big yellow thing is still shining in the sky!

Disicipline. Find whatever way works for you but knuckle down and do some regular exercise, whether it’s jogging, an aerobic class, yoga or Qigong get into something that you can practice for a short time each day, ideally working up a sweat. By the way don’t wash the sweat off for at least 1/2 an hour because when you allow it to soak into the pores you strengthen your Wei Qi and that’s your shield.

Nourishment. Ideally eat food that’s in season and nutrient rich with a variety of fruit, veg, nuts and seeds – the gut biome likes that! If you don’t know how to get your act together on the food front contact a good nutritionist

Stress Free. Reduce stress by practising relaxation techniques or listen to any of the programmes such as Yoga Nidra available in the shop here at thestresshacker.com .

Sleep Well. Aim for seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. Get into a routine, avoid visual stimulus for at least a couple of hours before you turn in. Clear your mind by writing a list of everything you have to do tomorrow and rise early to address your list.

Boundaries. Look at your boundaries make a note of who pushes them, or where and when your own boundaries weaken and you reach for your ‘fix’. Make a conscious decision to address them by writing out the ways you can deal with your boundary pushers for example learning assertive skills. Make an alternative plan to avoid the people, situations, times and triggers that make you want to use your comforters, consider other ways to handle this.

Know Yourself Better. In order to establish good clear boundaries, it’s important to know yourself. One simple way to do this is to journal daily. Just write a couple of pages either last thing at night or first thing in the morning before you get up. No rules, just write whatever comes out… over time you’ll see a pattern emerge. Noticing this can help you start addressing the things that get in the way of you feeling strong and you’ll be able to help yourself.

Finally, if you struggle with any of the above enlist some experts and get a wellbeing team behind you. Go and see a homeopath, get some acupuncture to boost your immune system and clear stagnation. Find a life-coach or therapist to work through your mental and emotional blocks and lastly set clear goals and then practice being present i.e meditation and mindfulness.

If you’re looking for a yoga and Qigong class, drop me a line meaI look forward to hearing your thoughts on taking steps to protect yourself.

Posted on October 10, 2020October 12, 2020 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

Enhance Your Mental Health And Wellbeing

the stresshacker, yoga nidra, dynamic sleep, audio programme

Happy Mental Health Awareness Day!

You may have been wondering where I’d got to and why I haven’t written many blogs recently. Thank you for emailing and asking it’s prompted me to let you know that in the spirit of mental health awareness I have been taking care of my own wellbeing.

At the start of the pandemic in March like many, I began working from home, with clients online and teaching zoom yoga classes, my working week soon became busy. As a result I found myself pretty much cooped up in one room for quite long periods of time.

Although I’m fortunate to have a great view of some trees and sky the fact remains it’s a small room.

To counter stress, the threat of any mental health issues and to keep active, I started cycling and got hooked!

I love the freedom it offers and have discovered places in my area that I didn’t know existed. This activity is so good for the mind because cliché or not, it is true that a change is as good as a rest.

As a result, I have developed more resilience on all levels in addition to feeling fitter; I’ve improved lung capacity and muscle strength

Is your main trigger for frustration technology?

Early on in Lockdown, I had some really frustrating IT issues, at one point my entire website was wiped, boy did that stress me out! In an attempt to stop myself from throwing the laptop out of the window and to protect my mental health and wellbeing, I took off on my bike instead.

And this is when my mental health awareness kicked in

because within 10 minutes I observed a complete shift in my thinking and noticed that I was simply enjoying the moment. Looking at the trees and breathing in the fresh air I felt free and happy. I’d let all that tension and aggravation go by changing my activity.

But how do you make that kind of shift in your wellbeing if you don’t happen to like cycling I hear you ask. The answer is to change your activity sufficiently to alter your emotional state, which will in turn will affect your mental health positively.

Fortunately there’s a really easy solution and that’s yoga.

I’m not even talking about poses or sequences here. I’m talking about Yoga Nidra the practice sometimes called deep yogic sleep.

Here’s how it works, by regular practice we train the body to relax quickly and develop the ability to step back and observe the impact that certain thoughts, ideas and images have on the physical body.

As such we develop awareness, more self control and as a by-product better mental health. Yoga Nidra teaches us to detach from things that can trigger unwanted emotion (unless someone wipes your website that is!) helps us to develop mental resilience and to feel more empowered.

If you want to join us in a live class on Thursday evenings drop me a line or pick up a copy here https://www.thestresshacker.com/product/yoga-nidra-dynamic-sleep/

Here are just some of the things people say after a session of yoga nidra.

“ I slept for a straight 9 hours afterwards!”

“ … a lovely relaxing class”

“I couldn’t wait to go to sleep, and slept longer than usual. Yesterday felt super refreshed”

“Just what I needed, and feel totally rested”

“Wonderful class I enjoyed it so much, had a full 8 hours sleep last night”

Yoga Nidra is an effortless way to enhance your wellbeing and really does require minimal effort.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Posted on April 3, 2020April 3, 2020 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

Yoga Online with Sue, and an Interview with Psychologies Magazine

Thank you for your fantastic response to my online yoga classes. Who knew so many of you would be interested! My technological learning curve continues!

I will get back to you as soon as possible to let you know the days and times for my yoga classes.

I’m hoping to make the booking process really simple. And, if you work for the NHS, please drop me a line and I will gift the class to you in honour of your amazing hard work and dedication. We love you!

You can keep an eye on the Yoga section on my website for more information, and I’ll email those who have contacted me with further details soon.

Stresshacking your Anxiety – my interview with Psychologies Magazine

My next podcast: episode 8 is now up, and is sitting there lonely, ready and waiting for listeners, so please pass it on to anyone you know who may find it helpful at this challenging time.

The big question this week is: How do we take back control of our anxieties?

I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to “cope” with anxiety – you can kick it to the curb. ⁣

This episode contains edited extracts from my conversation with Suzy Walker from Psychologies Magazine on a recent Facebook Live event. They have conversations with experts every day at 1pm so tune in! ⁣

Listen to Episode 8 of The Stresshacker podcast now:

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Google Podcasts

(Or choose your preferred podast catcher here)

As always, I’m so grateful to all of you who have given me so much encouragement and positive feedback. I’m learning as I go and it’s great to have you along for the ride. If you want to contact me, remember it’s Sue@TheStresshacker.com. And if you can help me to spread the work by sharing my podcast with your friends (and leaving me a review on Apple Podcasts) that would be so kind of you.

Global Meditation – Join me!

You’re going to hate the next bit… I have an odd condition called discalcular, when I said that there is to be a global meditation on Saturday 4th April I gave you the wrong time, Oops!

I’m sorry to say that it is actually at 3.45 am!!!

I will be getting up for that because it’s only 20 minutes and I think it’s extremely important. Here’s the link to find out more and if you get up at that time please know I’m there with you.

Learning to draw

I’ve always meant to learn to draw. Recently, I realised there was no point waiting until I retire to start doing things like this, so I signed up for an art class. It was meant to start soon. Needless to say it’s been postponed to later in the year…

I haven’t let that stop me, though. Here’s a drawing I did the other day of my dog friend, Puds.

I did the drawing from a photo from the Dogs Trust (which I’m about to start making a regular donation to). I showed my picture to my grand-daughter and asked what we should should call him/her. She suggested Puds. So, meet Puds!

And, for those of you who are running out of ideas to usefully engage your children try hopping over to author Alex Milway’s Youtube channel where he will teach your children how to draw a bear!

Finally, remember to stay hydrated at home. Drink plenty of warm drinks and your daily water intake. Do you know it helps conditions such as plantar fasciitis when you stay hydrated? It’s true!

Sue

PS. There was an exclusive offer code to Psychologies Magazine readers for a FREE copy of Stress-Free Relaxation with Confidence (easily my most popular download) and access to my Wellbeing In A Week course. Listen to my podcast now to find out how to get hold of the code.

Posted on March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 by Sue Smith — 2 Comments

Depression. How I Coped

Sorry I haven’t been in touch for ages…there is no excuse.

There was a bout of depression that nearly got me, but I will tell you about that later.

I have just returned from a holiday in Thailand that included bathing and feeding Elephants. Seeing the process of their “poo” being turned into paper.

Learning the secrets of Thai cooking at a cookery school in Chiang Mai. Then travelling further south to explore some of the islands and their beautiful beaches. Experiencing the healing effects of Thai massage.

Why would I now feel depressed?

I became very aware of the negative internal chatter in my mind. Part of me was imploring another part of me to stay upbeat. But I couldn’t. In fact, feelings of negativity had me sinking fast!

I was feeling depressed. Why?

Was it that my wonderful holiday was over? That I’m still grieving? Maybe I was just overwhelmed by my workload? Or perhaps it’s Brexit?

What soon became clear is that the WHY does not matter. Continually exploring the ‘whys’ only brings more negative thoughts to the surface. Changing my state became my priority and doing this quickly, my goal.

Here is what I did to fight the depression

The first and most important thing was to change the “internal chatter.”

At the risk of this sounding like a plug for one of my self-help downloads, I started to listen to Stress Free With Confidence. This is a hypnosis program I made almost thirty years ago. After just two days I noticed my thinking had changed quite dramatically and as a result, found myself smiling again.

My thoughts were brighter. When a negative thought arose it quickly switched to a positive one. The change was automatic and the good thoughts began to flow again.

More importantly was the shift in my feelings and I felt more upbeat.

This helped me to get moving.

Exercise helped me move forward and invigorated me. Walking activates the heart and lungs and changes the way you breathe. When you change the breath it will often change the way you think and feel. A couple of walks in my local park and surrounding streets really helped.

So did reaching out for support from loved ones and close friends whom I was able to share my feelings with. It’s so important, in fact essential, to reach out. Call someone. Talk about it.

Yoga always gives me the space to gain insight into my feelings and this awareness helps me to “catch” myself before I fall too far. I did a slightly longer practice each day.

Having re-booted the stress free programme in the back of my mind, I also started juicing again which boosted my energy.

I applied a great Ayurvedic treatment and gave myself a top-to-toe sesame oil massage before languishing in a bath. This felt nurturing and nourishing.

Sometimes just one small change can make a huge difference to the way you think and feel.

For example if your job requires sitting at a desk all day, get up regularly and move a round. Take the stairs rather than the lift where possible.

Every journey starts with one small step.

Posted on March 21, 2018March 21, 2018 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

Do What You Love

I’ve just shared a smashing weekend with a fabulous group of women in Yoga – that means unity for the uninitiated – at a weekend retreat in Sussex. Spending time with like-minded souls, sharing space, food and a love of yoga is positively uplifting.

Try Something New

We wandered out of our comfort zone to try out one of the oldest branches of Chinese Medicine known as Qi Gong with Sound Therapist Ruth from Dao Natural Health. Apparently Qi Gong is a medical science, it was a subtle yet powerful experience that left us feeling energized and relaxed at the same time.

A Change Is As Good As A Rest

Later we bathed in the sound of a fascinating array of instruments, from the larger gongs to the smaller Tibetan bowls and rain sticks that transported us into various states relaxation and mediation.

Added to this throughout the weekend was a delicious, balanced vegetarian diet with the odd (more sensational than odd) fruity treat thrown in.

This left us feeling satisfied and satiated on a mental, physical and spiritual plane!

Find Your Tribe

share the pleasure of taking time out to immerse yourself in the things that bring
you joy.

If you suffer from anxiety or just plain old stress this is a gentle nudge to nurture yourself by spending time with people who share the same hobbies, pastimes or sports as you, so that you can return to everyday life feeling more contented and at one with yourself.

Also please look at our products and courses in The Stresshacker store to help assist you with your journey.

Posted on August 8, 2017March 2, 2018 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

HAPPY MIND & BODY

Move Your Body

I sometimes feel that I sit down for too long… but that’s the nature of my work as a Psychotherapist and Life Coach, thankfully I’m able to balance some of that by teaching yoga, walking and swimming. A sedentary lifestyle is not good if you want to stay healthy moreover, it’s ageing too. Scientifically proven as one of the 5 components that make up Wellbeing, exercise and keeping on the move is a must if we want to stay healthier, happier and youthful.

I’m often heard singing the praises of yoga. It really is more than just exercise, it’s a system of health. Other Eastern philosophies such as Chinese Medicine, subscribe to the notion that we have an emotional body. According to these approaches the emotions reside in the organs. You can hear it in language such as “I felt gutted (stomach) or choked” (throat) or “… he had some gall” referring to the gallbladder that is said to process anger, along with it’s partner the liver.

I definitely recognise the existence of an emotional body in my own style of teaching yoga and also when working one-to-one coaching clients. As a client or student of mine you’ll be on the receiving end of my ‘nagging’ or as I like to think of it, encouragement! Prompting you to direct your attention to the tightest or most uncomfortable part of your body and then breathe deeply into it whilst stretching. It facilitates a beautiful release and expansion that often alleviates pain and discomfort. You just feel great afterwards!

I’m often reminded of my favourite saying that the body will express what the mind is concerned with It’s true and I’ve been interested to observe my own body in the last 3 to 4 weeks whilst going through a particularly stressful and emotional time. Although I’m doing the same amount of yoga practice as usual, I’ve really noticed how tight and stiff my muscles and ligaments have become, in fact my body has been aching and tense. I realise that at times like this it’s more important than ever to keep up my yoga practice (it would be so easy to let it slip)! I have found the gentle long held yin poses have been particularly useful in releasing toxic energy (a build up of negative emotions such as fear and anger).

Some years ago my colleague and friend Sabine Smith and I created a lovely CD also available as a download called Movement Now. This is a gentle yoga program that we designed for people who haven’t done any exercise at all for a while, people who want a quick easy stretch program, people who are stuck at their desks all day long and people recovering from illness or surgery. It’s really easy to download to your laptop then pop onto your phone then you can practice anywhere anytime. Click here to buy.

The short program is a real energy boost and you’ll also notice that it creates a nice peaceful state mentally and emotionally.

So if you’re going through one of life’s testing times remember to keep up your practice. If you don’t do yoga then walk, swim or do some exercise and keep the demons at bay!

Also please look at our products and courses in The Stresshacker store to help assist you with your journey.

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Sue Smith — Leave a comment

JUST A MOMENT…

Isn’t that what life is? Just a moment or should I say a series of moments. It’s true. If you really think about it, five minutes time, tomorrow or next week hasn’t happened yet and two minutes ago, yesterday or ten years ago is the past. So the only bit that’s real is now! Enjoy it!

Looking back and realizing what a great evening that was or anticipating the enjoyment of a forthcoming holiday is something we all do. Whilst it’s pleasant to reflect on the past and future, we may be in danger of actually missing out on the moment, the here and now, the present.

If you’re one of my yoga students you’ll know that I’m always directing your awareness to the presence of the ego mind. This is the part of the mind that is in charge of filtering. It sifts and sorts, categorizes and labels and is an essential part of our thinking. Without it we would all be bonkers!

Although an essential part of the mind, the ego can take over, acting as if it’s the only ‘mind’. It can gather steam with its labeling, comparing, judgments and criticism and before long it’s the only part of our inner dialogue that we hear.

If your ego mind is very busy and loud it will drown out deeper intuitive thoughts from your Self. These thoughts could be considered as natural perceptive ‘gut instincts. They have just as much, if not more value. They wish to serve you in the pursuit of being the ‘best’ you. They may for example alert you to a health issue that you are not paying attention to, this pushes you to take the necessary action that could be preventative.

Think of it like tuning a radio. If you only ever listen to Radio 1, how do you know that radio 4 exists, with all its amazing programs and information?

How do we access this deeper intuition you might ask? By being present is the answer.

Being here now equals less stress. If we want to enjoy life more and feel less pressured we need to make a conscious effort to be in the moment. Being present requires being ‘psychologically awake’ and more conscious.

Here’s How.

Take a moment to notice what you can see right now around you. Now notice every single sound near and far. Next observe what you can feel… hungry, happy, and irritable, the fabric of your clothing, the air in your nostrils, the wind on your face and so on.

Practice this as often as possible so that you become the observer… the watcher… the listener… then you may wonder ‘who am I’?

Enjoy the Easter break I wish you lots of light, love and peaceful presence.