I have two new classes at triyoga as their schedule has had to change because of the Covid guidelines. My first class back is in triyoga Shoreditch this Thursday at 12.45-2pm which sold out almost immediately. The good news is that you can still join in online via zoom! I’ll also be teaching another new class in Camden on Wednesday 5th of August 9.30-10.45, this will sell out too so be quick but again you can join via zoom as you can with all triyoga’s classes.
Both classes are vinyasa flow and suitable for all levels.
I’ve cut down my therapy work at triyoga and you can find me in Shoreditch on Mondays 10.30-2pm and Camden Wednesdays and Fridays 5-9pm. Due to cleaning in between clients I will have even less availability so book in nice and early. My first day back for massage is this Friday at 5pm and I still have a space left.
Look forward to seeing you on the couch, on the mat, or online.
People are quite rightly worried about the Coronavirus and at this time we really need to ensure our immune system is as strong as possible. Time and again massage, yoga and other mind body therapies such as mindfulness and meditation have been shown to boost immunity and reduce inflammation.
In a recent review of clinical research on 15 randomised controlled trials specifically on whether yoga practice could strengthen the immune system and reduce chronic inflammation, scientists found that yoga has a promising anti-inflammatory effect on the body and that yoga practice may exert further beneficial effects by enhancing cell-mediated and mucosal immunity (1).
Various studies on massage have shown that natural killer cells and natural killer cell activity (cytotoxicity) have increased following moderate pressure massage (2)(3).
Natural killer cells are noted to ward off viral cells, bacterial cells and cancer cells.
Massage stimulates pressure receptors under the skin which increase vagal activity. This produces a parasympathetic (relaxation) response which reduces cortisol (stress hormone) levels and thereby saves immune cells in as much as cortisol kills immune cells (4).
So the more stressed we are the weaker our immune response is, it’s as simple as that.
It’s great to have these scientific studies to back up what we already know…Yoga and massage make us feel good!
We’re all fully aware by now that we have to follow simple rules such as washing our hands thoroughly, avoid touching our faces and sneeze or cough into a tissue.
If you’re feeling unwell, get plenty of rest as sickness is your bodies way of telling you to slow down so listen to it. Check out my YouTube channel for Yoga Nidra and restorative practices you can try at home.
My new yoga class has proven to be very popular and I now have a meditaton and mindfulness class too. In this class we explore the breath, mindfulness techniques, self massage and of course meditation, you dont need to do any stretches or wear any special clothing and this class is generally done seated although you can lie down if you want. triyoga have very generously donated some yoga mats and we hope to get some more props soon so that we can have a restorative class in the near future. If you’d like to attend please contact Mind in Haringey and self refer. They have lots of other activities there too so check out the timetable, even if you want to just have a cup of tea and a natter you can do that too!
It’s World Mental Health Day 2019 and this years focus is suicide prevention. 20 years ago a close friend of mine committed suicide and this was the driving factor for me sorting myself out. I felt particularly bad over his death as I knew how lonely he felt, how misunderstood and how isolated he felt but because of my own issues I couldn’t bring myself to ask him round or meet up for a coffee. I remember his cremation so clearly, the room was packed with people standing outside and most in tears, some inconsolable. This was the funeral for a guy who was abandoned by his sisters (who had all been fostered to other families), a guy who never knew his dad and his mum who tried to murder him on several occasions was in secure psychiatric care. He grew up in care homes and I won’t mention the horrors he suffered there. This was a guy who grew up alone, a guy who family wise was completely alone and yet there were so many who loved him, so many who cared and were totally devastated by his passing. We have people who are there for us though sometimes not at the right time or in the right way and even if they are maybe we can’t see it. I was lucky as Rickys passing showed me this and at that point I vowed to sort myself out, I didn’t want my parents or family to feel about me how I was feeling looking at the coffin of my friend.
We live in times where aggressive and inflammatory language is now the norm, people shouting down anyone with a different opinion from theirs and using bullying tactics to put their point across. We live in a world where people use terms like ‘snowflake’ to intimidate people into silence and to not show their feelings or voice dissent.
We need to be nicer to people, just look around at the homeless people, the people on the street who are clearly suffering from mental health problems and have no services to help them due to the vicious and unnecessary government cuts in recent years.
But there is hope, there are good people out there who will help, community groups and charitable organisations who are having to fill in the gaps left by the decimated NHS.
If you or someone you know are suffering from mental health problems please contact your G.P. for advice and the community mental health team but please also get in touch with your local Mind and Rethink, there may be other local charities to you which may provide counselling or even a group where you can meet for a chat.
We have to stick together as a people, the more the uncaring the world becomes the more caring we have to be.
This month gives us two very important public health campaigns Go Sober for October and Stoptober. Macmillan Cancers Go Sober for October urges us to give up alcohol for a month to raise money for cancer research. You can read my blog on how yoga can help with addiction here, to put it very simply if you think it will be hard for you to give up for a month then it’s something that you need to do. They have some really nice tips to help you on your journey of sobriety and if you think alcohol is harmless check out the NHS website on the dangers that alcohol use brings.
Stoptober is NHS England’s campaign to give up smoking for 28 days. I was a smoker for many years and the first two weeks was awful but then after that much easier and now I cannot believe I used to smoke, it really is a terrible habit. Yoga tells us when working with addiction that we need to break the cycle of addiction with another habit and I’ll be posting a video on my YouTube channel later this week with one of the techniques that I regularly use to help addicts deal with cravings.
If you’re taking part in either of these campaigns then I wish you all the best and if you’re not that’s fine but maybe take a moment to think about the effect your smoking and /or drinking has on not only your health but the health and well-being of those around you.
