Exhaling to reduce stress

Our breath is a pretty powerful tool to support our mental and physical wellbeing. It’s fundamental to our yoga practice, and it’s often said that without the breath there is no yoga; the asanas become just shapes. However, when thinking about the breath it’s the exhale that plays a major role in how we feel and it can be really helpful for us to focus on it!

When we inhale the intercostal muscles contract to expand the ribcage, the diaphragm contracts to move down, and the lung cavity increases. Air moves in due to the change in pressure. This is an ‘active’ part of the breath and it’s linked to the sympathetic nervous system and our stress response.

In contrast, when we exhale the intercostal muscles relax and the ribcage moves back in, the diaphragm relaxes and recoils, the lung cavity decreases and air is pushed out. This part of the breath is usually ‘passive’, the body is relaxing and it is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system. So, when we focus on this exhale we are tuning into the rest and digest response.

When we’re under stress our breathing rate increases and there is an emphasis on short sharp inhales. However when we’re calm our breathing rate decreases and we usually breathe more fully and deeply, with longer exhales. When we do breathing practices that focus on the exhale and lengthening it, we can essentially ‘trick’ our nervous system into thinking we’re calm. Our sympathetic nervous system begins to dial down and we start to relax. Research also shows that breathing out for a bit longer than we breathe in helps to tone the vagus nerve, which supports how we manage stress.

During times of stress, or even during exercise, shallow breathing can lead to more residual carbon dioxide in the lungs. A build up of this can make us feel agitated, and it’s why we often sigh; to release all the residual waste gasses and make space for more oxygen to enter the lungs. The oxygen is then transported to the cells in our body and brain, helping us to function better, feel calmer and think more clearly.

Focusing on the exhale is a great way to use the breath to support your body and mind. A simple way to start is to just notice the breath, and begin to see if you can breathe out for a bit longer. Begin to breathe, noticing the length of each inhale and exhale. You can count in your head if this feels ok for you, but some people find that counting actually stresses them out!

Once you’ve noticed your breath you can work towards using a 2:1 ratio, so you're breathing out for twice as long as you're breathing in, if this feels comfortable for you. A few other ways to extend your exhale include blowing through pursed lips or sighing the breath out. You could even have a go at interrupted inhale, where you breathe in a little then pause, then breathe in a bit more, and then breathe out fully (2 sips of breath in, 1 full breath out). This is a technique I use when running to prevent my heart rate spiking, although I’m not sure how well I’ve mastered it!

We cover all of this and more on my new Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, which focuses on using yoga and the breath, mindfulness and meditation to support the nervous system and help people to rest and restore. The course can be taken:

• Self paced, start any time OR

• This September with two weekend training days live on Zoom

You can find out more about this course by following the link below, or get in touch!

Embracing change and growing older

One of my favourite Hindu goddesses is Akilhandeshwari, the goddess of ‘never not broken’ (or in other words, always broken). I’m sure I’ve written about her before; she rides a crocodile, harnessing the fears and challenges of life and using them to propel her forward. She’s a reminder that life is constantly in flux, and that it’s in the moments when things fall apart that we have an opportunity to grow, encouraging us to embrace those moments.

I turn 40 in a few days and I feel like the page has most definitely turned on one chapter of my life over the last year (#divorce!) This new decade is about something quite different to the last one, although I’m not completely sure what that is yet. But again I come back to Akilhandeswari; the flux of life, of breaking and rebuilding, harnessing our fear and riding it. And I come back to the idea of growth as we move from where we’ve come from to where we’re going. It might be a new chapter, but it’s the same book!

Whether it’s a change of circumstances, location, job, there are so many things that shift as we move through life; nothing ever stays the same. We can chose to live in the past, trying to hold on to the old chapters (which I’ve definitely been guilty of at times!) or we can turn the page and start to write the new one. When things feel like they’re falling apart, we can resist it or we can ride it. Either way, I’m not sure we can stop things changing.

Yoga gives us a lot to draw from during these times. From observing some incredible teachers who are quite a bit older than me, I know that yoga helps us to move through life with more physical ease and strength, which no doubt serves us in later years. It gives us mental flexibility which hopefully helps us to navigate changes more calmly. But there is also a lot to learn from the deities, rituals and the lessons they have to offer. Sometimes simple stories like that of Akhilandeshwari remind me that what I’m experiencing is normal, in fact so normal it was written about hundreds and hundreds of years ago and still relevant today! Whether you’re facing a new chapter yourself or reflecting back on how you’ve managed the turning of pages in your own life, perhaps there’s something you can also gain from this.

I’m also reminded of these two poems by Rupi Kaur, which sum up how I feel about another decade…!

Why train to teach yoga?

enquire about yoga teacher training

New Form

For those of us who practice yoga regularly, we feel it’s benefits; that’s why we practice. Some of us reach a point where we want to deepen our understanding of yoga, perhaps sharing it with other people so they too can experience all the positives it has to offer. This is where the Yoga Teacher Training comes in.

Training to become a yoga teacher is about more than gaining a qualification or a new career. Yoga is a way of life, and the more we practice it the more we start to realise this. For me personally, I know that what began as a purely physical practice quickly grew into a way to:

• honour my body

• cultivate self worth

• self acceptance

• balance my nervous system

• help me to feel connected to myself and the world around me… the list goes on.

Yes I learned how to do some fancy yoga poses, but I discovered, and continue to discover, so much more.

If you’ve reached a point where you, too, are recognising all these other facets of yoga and noticing the positive impact it’s having on your life, the next step may be to join a yoga teacher training course. Plenty of people do the trainings with no intention of teaching, at least not initially. A yoga teacher training gives you time and space to delve deeper into yoga as a whole practice, lifestyle and philosophy, and this is often hugely transformational on a personal level.

One of my recent graduates commented:

‘I don’t know exactly what’s changed for me, but something has’

and many have told me what a life changing experience the course has been.

Personal growth is one of the outcomes of a sustained yoga practice, and the more we learn about it the more we grow. It is also an incredible gift to be able to share with other people, and this is why so many trainees end up teaching yoga even if they had no intention to when they signed up to the course. Yoga is empowering, it’s something you can do on your own, anywhere, without any equipment. It’s accessible to everyone; you can challenge yourself physically with asanas or focus on breathing and meditation (which arguably challenge many of us more!)

Most importantly, yoga works!

Yoga has been well documented to have a powerful effect on our nervous system and mental health as well as improving strength and flexibility. The philosophical element of yoga can help improve people’s self worth, self confidence and feelings of being connected, both to themselves and the world around them. This connection is our yoga.

To be able to share all of this with other people is a privilege but it’s also something that’s much needed. The world needs as much yoga as it can get right now, at least in my opinion! This is why I’ve created two teacher training courses this year.

The in person teacher training is:

• based in Worthing, West Sussex,

• gives you the opportunity to learn in person with other students

• one weekend a month, allowing you to fit the training into your work and family life.

The online teacher training offers:

• flexibility as you can join us from anywhere!

• runs one day a week, during school hours and term time only

• perfect for people, like myself, who are juggling the school run and a busy life!

Whichever option suits you best, there is a course out there for you, whether it’s one of mine or a different school. Taking the plunge can be daunting but I know from seeing so many trainees do it, it is an experience that will not only change your life but the lives of all the people you go on to teach.

Below are some comments from a few more of my graduates:

“A really well paced course, I never once felt under pressure to complete anything. Lovely nurturing , interesting and informative teaching style.”

— Karen Warland

“The course has definitely helped and although i can’t put it in words very easily, I feel a different person after the course than before. ”

— Katrina Perkinson

“The environment that has been created within the course has been amazing! The course is really well set out, I found everything really interesting and liked that we got to practice teaching from the first weekend.”

— Nicola Simmons

Teaching yoga and it's many lesson

My love affair with yoga began 15 years ago. You'd think I'd know all there is to know about yoga by now, but I am constantly amazed at how the practice keeps unfolding and revealing a little more, both to me and of me! Over the past few months I have been journeying along the 'yoga teacher training' path with a group of incredible women, all studying for different reasons. I have no doubt that the experience of learning about yoga has been transformational for them - there's no way that it can't be when you are learning so much about such a wonderful subject! But I have been surprised at how much I've discovered personally through teaching this course; about the depths of yoga and all it offers and about myself as a teacher, a student, a person. 

Yoga is so many things to so many people. The word 'yoga' is commonly described as 'yoke' or 'union'. It's about connecting our mind, breath and body; ourselves to the world around us, to the life-force that flows within and without. Yoga is about finding balance through that connection, calming the 'fluctuations of the mind'. And yoga is about transformation, as we move along the path of Ashtanga towards 'samadhi' or enlightenment. 

As I teach, I learn more and more about the roots of yoga, the heart of the practice and the essence that goes far beyond the physical postures. And I learn about myself. I have gained a far deeper awareness of how I feel in my own body.  As I start to listen to my body I can hear when it isn't happy and I try to make changes to overcome this. 

So what are the main things that teaching yoga has taught me? To watch and observe, notice the tightening of someone's brow and the clenching of their jaw, and encourage them to move a little more gently. To notice when a new student appears nervously at the door and always offer a smile! And to know that when I'm having a day that's not so great, if I smile this is reflected back to me too. To not be greedy. One of the yamas (like a moral code) in yoga is Aparigraha, non-greed, and this comes up both when watching my students grasping for an asana and as I develop my teaching business. Teaching yoga is my job, but how much do I need to earn? How much work do I need to do? This is so different for everyone but it has been something I've reflected on a lot recently when discussing the 'business' side of teaching with my students. 

But the biggest lesson Yoga has taught me is to be accepting. As I teach my trainees about the stretch response I am reminded  that when we try to force the body beyond it's natural range of motion it tightens up. But when we accept, breathe and let go of expectations our body starts to slowly unfold like the petals of a flower.

Acceptance does not mean we just sit back and let life happen to us. Yoga also reminds me that if we focus on our goal and practice, practice, practice, all is coming. But as the saying also goes, 'grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference'. The more we can accept, the more content we become, the less our monkey mind disturbs us and perhaps the closer we get to Samadhi. This is a life-long learning for me.

If, like me, the practice of yoga is something that enriches your life why not embrace this and join us on our next 200 hour yoga teacher training course in Sussex this Autumn?! Our down to earth approach helps you to fit the course around your work, life and family - we know how tricky this is! Find out more here or drop us a message here

***I have been writing this blog post all week, but my days are no longer my own and I have been trying to steal a few minutes in between the totally consuming task of raising a willful almost 8 month old. THIS is the greatest lesson in acceptance I am learning so far, but that's for another post!***