Feeling anxious for no particular reason? You can change this......

If this describes you, neuroscientists might say that your fight-or-flight reactions are oversensitised and that you are living life “on simmer”, always ready to react to threats.  This is a habit of responding to the world which means that implicit memories are shaded with fear.[i]  The effect of this mental habit is a general anxiety and feeling upset for no particular reason.  The good news, of course, is that you can change this over time through starting to practise ways of soothing your nervous system. 

Hanson’s first suggestion to soothe your nervous system is big exhalation – breathe in deeply and breathe out fully and slowly.  Breathing out fully is a powerful and simple way to soothe your nervous system.[ii]

A second technique he refers to as “balance your heartbeat”. Firstly, breathe so that your in-breath and out-breath are the same length – count to 3 or 4 to measure it.  Secondly, imagine or sense that you are breathing in and out through the area of your heart.  Thirdly, bring to mind a pleasant, heartfelt emotion – a good feeling/memory about family/friends/pets/good things in life.  Imagine this good feeling moving through the heart as part of the breath.  Try this for a minute.[iii]

 

You can practise these techniques and more in yoga and mindfulness classes, currently in my classes below – email me, Sue, at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com for more information.

Gentle Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation, Wednesdays 5.15-6.15, Fitness Connection Gym, Sandwich.  See also  http://www.dsjyoga.com/classes.html

Chair-based Yoga, Canterbury Yoga Studio, 11.30am-12.30, Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown. See also http://connectwellkent.org.uk/activities/chair-based-yoga-412/?Keyword=yoga

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[i] Rick Hanson explains this more fully on pages 56-7 in The Practical Neuroscience of Buddha’s Brain, 2009, New Harbinger Publications Inc., USA.

[ii] Hanson, p. 82

[iii] Hanson, p.84

Chair-based yoga class in Canterbury - new term starts Monday 5th September 11.30am

This NEW class offers gentle exercise for anyone with limited movement or for anyone who simply prefers to use a chair rather than the floor. 

Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown, CT2 8NH, Mondays 11.30-12.30

 

The new term will start on Monday Sept 5^th – try a taster class £6

Sign up for 6 classes – Sept. 5^th, 12^th, 26^th, Oct. 3^rd, 10^th, 17th – for £36 total

Absences known in advance can be deducted, payable at first class of term.

Single classes £8
It is possible to join later in the term, if there are spaces, paying on a pro-rata basis for the remaining classes.  Do get in touch!

The class is aimed at anyone who would benefit from gentle exercise based on a chair.  This could include older people, people recovering from operations, those suffering from stress, office or chair-based workers who would like to learn some new exercise techniques, people with weight problems or with limited movement – in short, anyone who would find chair-based exercise preferable to floor-based work.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.  The class always includes some breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation, both of which help with relaxation and aid better sleep.

    For further information about the class or to book your place, please contact

the tutor, Dr Susan Jeffery  sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com or phone 01304 620467

Places are limited; please book your space to avoid disappointment.

See also website www.dsjyoga.com and the blog for updates - dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about the studio, please see website www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

 

Chair-based yoga demo/taster class 2.30pm on Sandwich Quay Green Sunday 28th August

I will leading a chair-based yoga taster class for 15mins - come and join in!  The class will be at the Quay Green Arena and is part of Sandwich Community Showcase during the Sandwich Festival.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Sue

Chair-based yoga is aimed at anyone who would benefit from gentle exercise based on a chair!  This could include older people, people recovering from operations, those suffering from stress, office or chair-based workers who would like to learn some new exercise techniques, people with weight problems or with limited movement – in short, anyone who would find chair-based exercise preferable to floor-based work.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.  The class always includes some breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation, both of which help with relaxation and aid better sleep.

Chair-based Yoga Canterbury – New term starting Mon Sept 5th 2016

 

This NEW class offers gentle exercise for anyone with limited movement or for anyone who simply prefers to use a chair rather than the floor. 

Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown, CT2 8NH, Mondays 11.30-12.30

 

The new term will start on Monday Sept 5^th – try a taster class £6

Sign up for 6 classes – Sept. 5^th, 12^th, 26^th, Oct. 3^rd, 10^th, 17th – for £36 total

Absences known in advance can be deducted, payable at first class of term.

Single classes £8

The class is aimed at anyone who would benefit from gentle exercise based on a chair.  This could include older people, people recovering from operations, those suffering from stress, office or chair-based workers who would like to learn some new exercise techniques, people with weight problems or with limited movement – in short, anyone who would find chair-based exercise preferable to floor-based work.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.  The class always includes some breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation, both of which help with relaxation and aid better sleep.

    For further information about the class or to book your place, please contact

the tutor, Dr Susan Jeffery  sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com or phone 01304 620467

Places are limited; please book your space to avoid disappointment.

See also website www.dsjyoga.com and the blog for updates - dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about the studio, please see website www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

 

Yoga in August 2016 in Sandwich (and Canterbury see below)

Friday 19th – Reviving Yoga

mixed ability class suitable for all, 5-6pm at Fitness Connection, High Street, Sandwich, tel. 01304 614000        Cost £6

Gentle Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation

A gentle yoga for all and mindfulness techniques to combat stress, bringing strength and restoring balance to body and mind.
Wed, 5.15-6.15pm, on 10^th, 17^th, 31^st
at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, tel. 01304 614000
£6 per class

*****Chair-based yoga – for anyone with limited movement

Wed 10.30 for 10.45 start - 11.30am, on 10^th, 17^th, 31^st  at The Centre, Age Concern, 19-21 Cattle Market, Sandwich (by the Guildhall),

tel. 01304 614237
£15 for 5 classes, £4 for one class.  Ask for a free taster class when you book in advance.

 Please register in advance:  Contact Fitness Connection or Age Concern on the numbers above or email me, Sue, at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any further info about the class or to discuss if it is suitable for you.
I look forward to hearing from you!  Sue
Dr Susan Jeffery, British Wheel of Yoga Qualified Teacher
www.dsjyoga.com   Check for updates at dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

Also Yoga in Canterbury

Don’t miss the class from 10am to 11.30 at Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown on Monday August 8^th, £8.  Get in touch for more info or drop in.

Yogathon for Alzheimer's - latest 3 - A big thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who participated and/or contributed to our 4 yogathon events in Sandwich and Canterbury!  The events were: yoga teachers' support group on 11th June at Canterbury Yoga Studio; chair-based yoga at Age Concern, Sandwich, 15th June; Friday reviving yoga group at Fitness Connection Gym, Sandwich, 17th June and yoga at Baypoint Club, Sandwich on 18th June. We raised £369-25p in total and had a lot of fun, as well as raising everyone's awareness in different ways.  We commented on how practising sequences of poses in yoga reinforces memory.  In the last three events we also tried out the kirtan kriya chanting meditation, which studies suggest can help to support memory (*see ref below).  Try it to see what you think - contact me, Sue, if you would like more info. - sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com 

The Fitness Connection group is immortalised on the Alzheimer's Research UK SE region facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Alzheimer'sResearchUKSouthEast/
and also in the East Kent Mercury of 30.6.2016.
Many thanks again to everyone!


*

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/reduce-risk-alzheimers-skip-lumosity-get-onto-yoga-mat

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dharma-singh-khalsa-md/meditation-alzheimers_b_3625181.html

Yogathon for Alzheimer's - latest 2 - events in Sandwich June 15/17th

Chair-based yogathon: Wednesday 15^th June
10.00-10.20 am - taster class : anyone and everyone interested welcome
10.30-11.30am - the usual class but all welcome to come along
at the Age UK Centre, 19-21 Cattle Market, Sandwich, CT13 9AP. Tel. 01304 614237. 

Floor-based yogathon: two hour mixed ability yoga class from 5-7pm on Friday 17th June at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, tel 01304 614000

Both events are part of the national yogathon fundraiser for the charity, Alzheimer's Research UK.

All welcome - please register in advance with me, Sue via sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com or register with reception at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, tel 01304 614000, where the floor-based event is being held.  Please register at the Age UK centre for the chair-based yoga or contact me, Sue. We look forward to seeing you there.

Please bring donations and persuade your family/friends to support you!  All proceeds go to the charity and will be used to fund research into possible links between stress and dementia. 

13th June - Chair based yoga, Canterbury - new term starts at Canterbury Yoga Studio

This NEW class offers gentle exercise for anyone with limited movement or for anyone who simply prefers to use a chair rather than the floor. 

Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown, CT2 8NH, Mondays 11.30-12.30

 

The new term will start on Monday June 13th - single taster class £6

Sign up for 6 classes – June 13th, 20th, 27th, July 11th, 18th, 25th – for £36 total

Absences known in advance can be deducted, payable at first class of term.

Single classes £8

 The class is aimed at anyone who would benefit from gentle exercise based on a chair.  This could include older people, people recovering from operations, those suffering from stress, office or chair-based workers who would like to learn some new exercise techniques, people with weight problems or with limited movement – in short, anyone who would find chair-based exercise preferable to floor-based work.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.  The class always includes some breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation, both of which help with relaxation and aid better sleep.

    For further information about the class or to book your place, please contact:

the tutor, Dr Susan Jeffery, 01304 620467 or email sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com

Places are limited; please book your space to avoid disappointment.

See also website www.dsjyoga.com and this blog for updates - dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about the studio, please see website www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

 

Yogathon latest 1 - Friday 17th June 2016 5-7pm at Fitness Connection Gym, Sandwich

There will be a two hour mixed ability yoga class from 5-7pm on Friday 17th June.  This is part of the national yogathon fundraiser for the charity, Alzheimer's Research UK.

All welcome - please register in advance with me, Sue via sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com or register with reception at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, tel 01304 614000, where the event is being held.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Please bring donations and persuade your family/friends to support you!  All proceeds go to the charity and will be used to fund research into possible links between stress and dementia. 

Further details on the class will follow.  Please contact me, Sue, if you have any specific queries now.

We are planning several other events - watch this space!

Yogathon coming to Sandwich 2016 - watch this space!

The Yogathon - mixed ability yoga classes in aid of research into Alzheimer's - will be in Sandwich in the week beginning 13th June 2016.

Watch this space for details!

"This is it!" - some ideas from Jon Kabat-Zinn - Mindfulness

I've made a few notes below on ideas from Jon Kabat-Zinn[i] that we explored in our Gentle Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation classes, Feb-March 2016

1.      a) Remind ourselves from time to time that “This is it”.  This is about accepting the present moment and letting go of wanting something else to happen in this present moment.  It doesn’t mean resignation in the face of what is happening but it does mean paying attention so as to acknowledge that what is happening is happening.

b) Acceptance doesn’t tell us what to do.  What happens next, what we choose to do, that has to come out of our understanding of this moment.

2.      “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.” Think of the mind as the surface of an ocean.  There are always waves, some bigger, some smaller.  Mindfulness does not try to stop the waves, but can help us learn to surf them.  Another image is of thinking as the cascade of a waterfall. We can learn to go beyond or behind our thinking – as if stepping out of the waterfall, resting from the torrent of the “autopilot”.

3.      Patience is a quality that can be cultivated to help mindfulness.  TRY: looking into impatience and anger when they arise.  See if we can adopt a different perspective, one which sees things as unfolding in their own time.  This may help if we are feeling under pressure.

4.      Non-judging.  The judging type of thinking can really dominate the mind and weigh it down, “like carrying a suitcase full of rocks on your head.”  Mindfulness can give us a chance to step back from habitual judgemental thinking (unconscious patterns of liking and disliking), and pause and gain clarity before making a decision. (See 1b above)

5.      Voluntary simplicity – doing one thing and really paying attention to it.  Resisting (at least sometimes) the impulse to squeeze one more thing (task/phone call etc.) into the present moment.

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[i] From: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are, Piatkus, London, 2011, Section 1 of the book “The Bloom of the Present Moment”

 

Please email me, Sue, at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com if you have any queries or would like further information.

 

Reviving Yoga - leave the week behind - starts this Friday 8th April

Leave the week behind - stretch, strengthen, relax - revive your body and mind.
This new mixed ability yoga class - suitable for all - starts on 8th April and will run fortnightly on Fridays from 5-6pm at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, CT13 9EB.  £5 members, £6 non-members. The next few dates are 8th & 22nd April, 6th & 20th May.  Further updates on this blog.
Please book your place in advance at the gym reception 01304 614000 or contact Sue at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com
I look forward to seeing you there! Sue

Sleeping better, breathing better, feet more mobile and less painful, lower blood pressure

All the above are benefits from doing chair based yoga, say those who have attended the first 3 sessions of the new class at Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown.

We all carry far more tension than we need and as soon as you start to stretch, the whole body begins to relax and feels better.  Gentle stretching also stimulates the body’s lymphatic system for removing waste products from our bodies – this helps the body to “de-tox” and heal itself.  Techniques to breathe more deeply help the body and the mind to function better – help you to be alert when you need to be.  Breathing more slowly is also very relaxing and leads to more restful sleep.

Last Saturday (2^nd April), I led a 20 minute taster class at the Health Fair, organised by Red Zebra, at St Peter’s Methodist Church Hall, Canterbury.  Everyone left the session smiling and relaxed!  After just 20 minutes, one woman said her feet felt better and another said that she could feel an improvement in her breathing. 
 
The new term of 6 classes starts at Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown on Monday 11^th April at 11.30am.  Email me, Sue, at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com for further info and to book your place.  I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Chair-based Yoga, Canterbury – New term – starting 11 April 2016

This NEW class offers gentle exercise for anyone with limited movement or for anyone who simply prefers to use a chair rather than the floor. 

Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown, CT2 8NH, Mondays 11.30-12.30

 

The new term will start on Monday April 11th

Sign up for 6 classes – April 11th, 18^th, 25^th, May 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd – for £30 total

Absences known in advance can be deducted, payable at first class of term.

Single classes £7

 The class is aimed at anyone who would benefit from gentle exercise based on a chair.  This could include older people, people recovering from operations, those suffering from stress, office or chair-based workers who would like to learn some new exercise techniques, people with weight problems or with limited movement – in short, anyone who would find chair-based exercise preferable to floor-based work.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.  The class always includes some breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation, both of which help with relaxation and aid better sleep.

    For further information about the class or to book your place, please contact:

the tutor, Dr Susan Jeffery, 01304 620467 or email sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com

Places are limited; please book your space to avoid disappointment.

See also website www.dsjyoga.com and this blog for updates - dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about the studio, please see website www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

 

Yoga-start the weekend! - class in aid of the Alzheimer's Society

Friday March 4th 2016, 5-6pm.  Yoga-start the weekend! This class helps you leave any weekday stress behind and includes stretching to relax and energise, breathing techniques  and mindfulness meditation to rest the mind and body.  Suitable for all. 

Contact Sue at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com to book a place.
Class held at Fitness Connection Gym, High Street, Sandwich, CT13 9EB

NEW Canterbury chair-based yoga class starts Mon March 7th 11.30am 2016

This NEW class offers gentle exercise for anyone with limited movement or for anyone who simply prefers to use a chair rather than the floor.  Exercises are chair-based, with some standing exercises by the chair where appropriate.

Free taster class 11.30am-12.30 on Mon 7th March
 

at Canterbury Yoga Studio, Harbledown, CT2 8NH
Opportunity at this class to sign up for 2 further classes for a total of £10.00

                      What are the Benefits of Chair-based Yoga?Improved mobility & ease in your joints – for instance, in feet and hands

Better balance – exercises strengthen muscles and build better balance
Stretching helps flexibility & reduces the chance of injury
Relaxation & breathing techniques reduce stress and improve sleep

I am a qualified teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga and have taught a thriving chair-based yoga class for two years in Sandwich.

Members of my current class say:

·        “The breathing techniques have helped me deal with panic attacks”

·        “The joint freeing exercises have really helped my hands”

·        “I can move my feet and toes much more and my feet feel stronger”

·        “My balance has really improved”

·        “I have developed the habit of breathing more deeply now, even when just relaxing on the sofa.”

For further information about the class and to book a place, please contact me, the tutor, Dr Susan Jeffery, 01304 620467 or email sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com

See also website www.dsjyoga.com and this blog for updates - dsjyoga.blogspot.co.uk

For more information about the studio, please see website www.canterburyyoga.co.uk