<![CDATA[Bristol YogaSpace

<![CDATA[Bristol YogaSpace - Our Blog]]>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:12:27 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[Do you need a yoga mat?]]>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:14:09 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/do-you-need-a-yoga-mat

I’ve been doing my morning yoga at the studio sometimes lately as I leave home early to get here and it means I beat a bit of traffic.

Carpet vs. Yoga Mat

At home typically I do my practice on the carpet. My studio mat is grippier and in turn makes my practice feel different - much easier.

I stick to the mat more, my feet and hands don’t move as much, it feels different and some of the postures are easier to do, requiring less effort from me. This is nice in one way but...

My mat is doing some of the work by sticking to me. My core isn’t as engaged in downward facing dog. My arms don't need to do as much work. My legs are less engaged and my hips can relax more in postures.

Take away the mat and what happens?

Take away the mat and the difference can be felt throughout the whole front of the body. Sometimes students grip the sides of the mat to hold them in downward facing dog to help prevent slipping hands. This is another way to help the mat do more of the work until over time, the body is strong enough to hold you in position.

Gradually the body will become stronger, the awareness of effort and ease will increase but without the mat, this has to happen sooner, and some postures feel harder or are not yet achievable.

The mat helps you find ease in the pose but there is a debate to be had about how much support to take and how much taking things step by stepb with less external support is the right approach.

What do you need most?

There isn't a right answer, it depends on what you need and what will help you the most.

My teacher used to say that the mat helps you do poses that perhaps you aren’t ready for. The preparatory poses and techniques that precede some of the stronger postures should be accomplished first to ensure that the strength, stability and awareness are well established.

The ‘vinyasa krama’ of your yoga includes all the steps that need to be taken along the way, in the appropriate sequential order. Short cuts towards more difficult or complicated poses or techniques might mean that the lessons and developments available along the way are skipped.

It could be helpful in some circumstances, but could also be counter productive if they encourage you to miss the foundations of practice and along with that, the understanding and insights that step-by-step practice affords.

What you might gain

Food for thought, especially if you are considering buying a stickier mat as your hands are slipping. Enjoy all the steps, learn from them, perhaps don't skip over them to get to the fun stuff - who knows what you could be missing out on.

Gain understandings, strength, stability and benefit from what you can do and what you can't yet do. There are insights along the way that are invaluable.

]]><![CDATA[Cow jams can be fun with yoga]]>Fri, 29 May 2026 15:48:23 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/cow-jams-can-be-fun-with-yoga

rely on your yoga and cow jams can be fun

Consistency in the midst of change ~

Even the roads are unpredictable in my new commute.

I got stuck in a cow jam the other day while I was on my way to the studio. The cows couldn't be rushed, they moo'd their way along the road at their own pace towards the dairy.

There is a lot to get used to.

There are a very few constants in my life at the moment. So much has changed and this is the adventure of moving to a new place. It is hard work and exciting in equal measure. But the constants that I do have are cherished more than ever.

When you need it most
My yoga practice is my mainstay. I know I need it, even though time is at a premium and I could really do the other pressing things with it. On the days I'm tempted to skip it or shorten it, I remind myself of how important it is and slow down and sink into it further.

I might have otherwise overlooked the fun and joy of the cow jam, and simply sat in frustration and worry over being late had my yoga not worked its magic and gifted me patience and the positive outlook that it nurtures for me.

I have learned the hard way that a neglected yoga practice is one that comes at a price. That the issues and pressures only build if not attended to regularly.

Neglect comes at a premium
If you have the good fortune to have a garden, you'll know only too well that leaving the weeds too long at this time of year, or not water something when it hasn't rained, you've lost something precious.

Yoga is like tending the garden. Neglect comes at a premium. Nurtured regularly, the joys are more abundant.

Get to your garden this weekend. Get to your yoga regularly. If you have neglected your practice, commit to re-establishing it so that it can bring you the stability and joy that we can take for granted.

]]><![CDATA[Celebrate the wins in life and in yoga]]>Thu, 21 May 2026 12:52:00 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/celebrate-the-wins-in-life-and-in-yoga

celebrate the wins and positives in your yoga

We are one month in and the wall of jobs is still a mile high. It is easy to get lost looking at them. But equally, it is worth taking a moment to celebrate the wins.

1 month - hurrah!
We have met lovely neighbours, figured out lots of gorgeous walks, have fresh eggs delivered regularly by a local farmer who breeds pedigree cows that are cute as a button, love many many things about the place and I've learned how to light a woodburner with success usually first time. I've made

sublime jacket spuds in the Rayburn and have discovered lengthy driving conversations with my teenage son, which has been brilliant.

Recognise your progress
If you are like me, you probably don't celebrate the wins enough.

In yoga there is seemingly always something to work on, progress to be made, but this mindset can be a bit of a red herring.

The struggle is also a chance to recognise where you are, and to recognise how much is going well and how stepping out of the river of endless stuff and on to the calm riverbank is where the fruit of practice can be found.

What has changed?

Let's celebrate our wins.

Think about where you were this time last month, or last year.

What has progressed?

Sure, there are obstacles. From one perspective, life is a series of obstacles, challenges and problems to be solved. But intentionally celebrate and recognise what you can, regularly, and feel good about that.

Make sure you don't neglect your yoga practice. Book your class here >

]]><![CDATA[Patience, simplicity & yoga (+ eggs)]]>Thu, 14 May 2026 12:13:27 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/patience-simplicity-yoga-eggs

Patience and simplicity are part of our yoga practice

We have many, many eggs at the moment. Our new neighbours are very welcoming and we love that eggs are the currency for helping newcomers settle in.

In the midst of learning how to live in our new place, eggs are a quick and easy way to keep us sustained.

By the time the retreat comes around in June, I'll have mastered frittata and quiche.

Patience
Life is busy, eggs help.
Patience, yoga and eggs are non-negotiable or my day doesn't go nearly as smoothly.

There are literally 1,000 5 minute jobs to do. I can see them all, it is easy to get overwhelmed, keeping perspective, keeping calm and keeping well nourished are part of the work.

Yoga gives me the perspective and calm with a regular reset that my nervous knows is coming, can rely on and keeps the overwhelm at bay. Cultivating patience helps me methodically work through the challenges and enjoy the each day.

Foundations first
We need to get the foundations in place first. It is tempting to rush ahead and jump to the fun stuff, but the preparations are going to serve us well.

In yoga the basics are where the heart of our practice is. Finding our feet, finding our centre, freeing the breath and stabilising the body and mind. These foundations are essential. Simple, but essential.

The hallmark of what I teach is simplicity. This is the mainstay of the upcoming retreat, paring back to what is important, essential, and transformative.

There is still one room remaining for June if you want to come and join in. It would be great to have you there. Find out more >

]]><![CDATA[Subtlety in yoga is easy to overlook]]>Thu, 07 May 2026 14:34:49 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/subtlety-in-yoga-is-easy-to-overlook

~ It takes getting used to ~

I'm gradually realising that I've moved to a mini paradise. The garden, the birdsong, the farmhouse vibe that feels homely already, the gorgeous surroundings and dog walks that leave me needing to pinch myself. So far so good (amazing actually).

Convenience is over-rated
I still don't know things are much of the time. And constantly have to figure out how things work. But I've replaced traffic and sirens with birdsong and wind in the tree tops.

It still feels uphill to get things done, but convenience wasn't our top priority. And of course there are frustrations, but they are different from city life, and they are self-inflicted.

It will take getting used to that is for sure.

Yoga takes getting used to
Same goes for yoga. The first few practices might be a bit over (or under) whelming. Meeting expectations is always tricky. Getting to know your teacher helps. Switching from class to class and becoming a beginner again in a new class where the teacher doesn't know you comes with challenges and leaves a lot of potential behind.

Subtlety gets overlooked
You might find yoga feels physically hard, or complex and confusing. Especially as we start our new term.

Or perhaps the subtlety get's lost in the mix.

Learning how to become more centred, balanced and still, often gets overlooked for more entertaining pursuits. In a short-attention span culture, the benefits of this are obvious but need prioritising.

A lifelong companion
I think yoga is the most valuable thing I've ever learned.

If you get the foundations right, it becomes a lifelong companion. Not just one that requires physical aptitude that we only do when we are well. We may start there but it goes far beyond and serves us right the way through life, no matter our physical ability.

Learning how to reconnect with our body and breath. Then learning how to work in away that reliably brings us back to harmony, serenity, physical and mental ease (even when health or life is unravelling) and offers the potential for an open heart.

It won't always feel hard
If you are in your early stages of practice, rest assured it won't always feel like an uphill struggle. Learning the right effort, but also the right ease is part of what we are doing and these skills are valuable across our whole life, for our whole life.

Enjoy a brilliant foundation to your yoga with my latest yoga retreat.

]]><![CDATA[Moving is hectic, my yoga mat isn't...]]>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:24:00 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/moving-is-hectic-my-yoga-mat-isnt

Life is soooooooo busy at the moment. The boxes around me as I pack up my house are looming, the monolithic kitchen cupboard remains full of stuff, and every time I open it and look up, I feel scared and close the door again and walk away.

Today is the day to empty it. But you'll notice I'm writing this instead 😉

Leaving my home of 20 years is exciting, sad, emotional, scary, fun, all at once.

We wear our tension

Bodies reflect our state. Shoulders lift, jaws clench, back-aches flare, hips tighten, we hold on to control of our day as best we can. We literally wear our tension and it's visible.

This is fine as long as we are taking measures to undo it at the end of the day. Tension and stress can be habitual patterns that become hard to get out from. We get stuck.

Fluidity and ease
It is the opposite of a fluid, open, easeful body and mind.
There are times when we need to be on top of everything and being relaxed and easy just won't cut it. That cupboard does need to be packed today, along with the many other things need doing.

Is it possible to do all this and remain relaxed at the same time?

Possibly not, but it'll feel easier and more enjoyable the more relaxed we are. And the outcome will be better.

My yoga is non-negotiable
This morning I spent more time on my mat preparing myself for the day ahead. I did the extra couple of postures that I know will serve me well when I need additional support. I sat for a little longer and established equanimity rather than rushing headlong into the tasks of the day.

A fluid, mindful, open mind will be far more helpful than the opposite. A stuck mind experiencing fear and overwhelm. The body is a good symbol for this and it is important to give your body what it needs, but also what your mind needs too. They aren't separate. They come together, they are inextricable partners but one is in the background and easier to ignore until it yells through the body.

Get to your mat when the going gets tough.

]]><![CDATA[Where the gaze goes, the mind follows]]>Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:43:19 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/where-the-gaze-goes-the-mind-follows

Yoga gazing as a powerful tool in our toolkit

How long can you look at this before glancing away?

Perhaps a few seconds?

Blink whenever you like, but don't let the eyes wander. Notice if they do.

Hold your gaze steady, then follow your breathing. This is a wonderful gateway technique helping you step aside from your busy mind and into a more attentive and present state.

Apply this during your yoga postures and your whole practice will become transformed, more absorbing and more refreshing physically, mentally and emotionally.

Find it impossible? You aren't alone.

Practice will help and bring about a transformed quality of steadiness to body and mind.

The gaze is a powerful tool
This week we've been adding this to our yoga. In class we have hopefully already gained familiarity with the posture set over the month, and now can add a more subtle, powerful layer to our yoga.

Leave the gaze steady, hold it in space or at specific anchor points when in postures. Don't glare, hold your gaze lightly.

Simple, but not easy.

The mind is often compared to wild horses. Our gaze can rein them in. Take some agency over your gaze and you are able to enjoy a calmer mind, leading to a clearer and more intentional day.

Enjoy.

]]><![CDATA[Top 3 mistakes in yoga]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:09:34 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/top-3-mistakes-in-yoga

And 3 ways to get better

We get plenty right in our yoga.

Any practice that you show up for is a good one.

If you take time out from the day, move and breathe and reconnect to your internal awareness, then it is always more than worthwhile.

Ignore your harsh inner critic and give yourself some credit for showing up to your mat.

Even if you just lay down and take conscious breaths and rest, that counts.

The top 3 mistakes I see with people taking yoga practice, is perhaps obvious. But here goes

1) Occasional visits
If you start over every few weeks, you have lost ground since you last stepped on your mat.

We are all losing ground with our health and wellness if we aren't regularly challenging our body, breath and attending to our internal mind awareness. Regular means at least once a week. Preferably with home practice alongside your class.

It is only going to get further away from where you are now.

If you don't prioritise your yoga, it won't stand a chance of helping.

2) Stopping when you need it most
When time gets short, or good health is elusive, and stress is front and centre, that is exactly the time to double down on your yoga and ensure it is non-negotiable as you navigate the challenges.

3) Only exploring the postures
The postures are brilliant. They are rewarding in their own right. Our backs will be forever grateful.

Often we stop there and don't access the depths that are right there waiting to be discovered.

Understanding the breathing is a game-changer and transforms your yoga and your relationship to what you do. It takes a bit of work and focus, but is well worth it.

Once you learn to adjust so that your breath is central to your practice, the mind and awareness follows and it becomes a whole body-mind transformation every time you step on your mat, which amplifies over time.

It doesn't rely on good health or hard, complex postures. It just requires showing up and learning the basics.

Included in my classes and underpinning the reasons for the postures, breathing and quiet pauses, is the philosophical pivot from external wellbeing, to internal awareness and discovering the life-changing peace that can become front and centre, even as we navigate life's challenges.

I'm not kidding when I talk on about this being life-changing. Rather than hamstring-changing, or the occassional the feel good treat you give yourself, it is a lifelong support and anchor.

All you need to do is learn the basics and show up regularly.

😀

]]><![CDATA[Your attention please. This is yoga.]]>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:28:05 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/why-choosing-your-focus-and-attention-matters-in-your-yoga-practice

Why choosing intentional focus matters in your yoga practice

I'm planning a house move that means that, if it happens, I commute to the studio rather than amble down Gloucester Road.

In the daytime, it seems like a great idea - fun, exciting and I'm motivated to make it happen and make it work (if the house-buying gods align).

In the evenings I tend towards doubting that it is a good idea at all and that I should just keep things as they are, sit in front of the TV and eat crisps.

I've learned to ignore thoughts after 7pm that seem like new and worrying ideas. I remind myself that it's too late to evaluate anything constructively, and promise that I'll think about it in the morning when I've got more energy.

Invariably, I wake up excited about the idea again and full of energy to do it.

I think therefore I worry. Especially after 7pm.

Focus on your little toes
The skill to be intentional about which thoughts I attend to is cultivated on my yoga mat.

When we take a yoga pose with one leg forwards, and then are directed to pay attention to the sensations of pressure in the little toe on your back foot, there is multi-purpose to this.

Initially it might feel impossible. You can't even locate your little toe without looking. But with sustained practice, this will develop into more awareness and less noise without overthinking the instruction.

It might require more physical effort to create pressure in that long forgotten little toe. Reminding our limbs and joints to talk to each other and remain intact.

I'm also inviting you to direct your mind to a more focused state and practice becoming more intentional about details within your chosen spotlight.

Practice placing attention at will. Yoga is an invitation to practice this regularly so you can get better at it and leave the unhelpful stuff behind. Even if your not successful, the trying counts.

Thinking about this little toe instruction is very different from doing it. Knowing that difference is everything.

Learning that you often have more agency over your mind than you think you do, is invaluable.

Yoga develops discernment
I tend to overthink and drift in a generally negative trajectory when tired.

In our yoga we learn to notice our patterns and tendencies so that we can use our minds more skillfully. At first by noticing our toes, but this translates into the rest of the day when we might otherwise be at the mercy of our thoughts if we don't pay closer attention to their patterns.

It improves with practice
This ability to notice thoughts, and sustain and direct attention, doesn't happen right away. At first we simply notice how hard it is to locate our toes, to focus, and how incessant our thoughts are.

But this is a brilliant skill worth practicing to help navigate stressful times of change.

Next time I offer the direction to focus on something specific, don't overthink it or tell yourself how boring toes are or how impossible the task is. Actually and intentionally do it. Feel it. How do you know you have a little toe without looking at it? It might feel impossible. The repeated attempts are the work.

It is a fruitful exercise that I find makes my mind less turbulent, and my evenings much more enjoyable.

]]><![CDATA[It starts on your yoga mat]]>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:03:04 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/it-starts-on-your-yoga-mat-today-tomorrow-or-at-your-next-class

Yoga classes start the process of learning the art of yoga

Is yoga a quick fix?
The smorgasbord of health and wellbeing opportunities is vast. The gadgets and short cuts, the pills and supplements, the quick fixes and promises that feel amazing for a while, then fade into the shadow of the next great discovery. The choice and invitation to shop around is tempting.

Yoga stands the test of time
Yoga has developed over thousands of years as a roadmap using the tools of posture, breath, attention and meditation to help you live well and find contentment, serenity, and health.

Yoga has great depth and applicability to modern life.

Shopping around is possible while you find the approach that works for you. But then the commitment to your chosen approach is part of the process.

Take time to cultivate a precious relationship with your own body, breath and mind. Alongside this it helps to have a teacher who can get to know you and your practice and guide you while you learn the skills and navigate the obstacles.

What's the downside?
I have yet to find a downside to regularly practicing yoga. The decades of practice only keep me coming back to my mat. The intimate relationship I have developed with the postures and breath are a bedrock foundation to my life that supports me to every day whether life is exciting, tough or painful. Whether I have energy, injury or illness. The process of practicing is an essential component of my day to nourish what I need and become grounded and connected.

Your next class
There is always something you can do, however subtle or bold it needs to be, and the art of yoga is that the more you understand it, the more skills you cultivate with your own body, breath and mind. Yoga becomes your lifelong companion and support, no matter what the latest flavour of the month may be.

It starts on your mat, today, or tomorrow, or at your next class.

Enjoy 🌞

]]><![CDATA[Dream big, work hard, and never stop pushing]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:15:18 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/dream-big-work-hard-and-never-stop-pushing

Until...?

I love the 'never stop pushing' slogan. It sums up an approach to life that is all around us. The poster of it caught my eye this morning in a shop on Gloucester Road.

It is a common method to think you are getting the most out of life when you are busy and doing more, pushing harder, and it reflects an inherent dissatisfaction with what we currently have.

If we get busy enough, if we do enough things, if we dig deeper and keep going until we get to the end of the week and collapse in a heap, did we win?

What is the prize?

Yoga asks something else of us

We all have things we would like, or need to do. Work, life, family, relationships, desires, fun, creativity. There is space for all of these and they are all important.

Yoga doesn't suggest that we sit around all day taking it easy and never getting anything done.

Nor does it suggest that we power up and push through for an hour and that we will come out rebalanced and serene at the end. We might just come out stretched, wired and pumped for more.

For every extra push, there is an equal and opposite reaction. A push back. A toll is taken. If we just keep pushing, at some point we are at risk of falling over.

Sthira / Sukha

There is a verse from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras which sums it up nicely.

It states that when practicing yoga, every posture and practice should have in equal measure:

Sthira: sturdiness and effort

Sukha: ease and openness.

Both are equally important.
Without both, you're missing the mark.
Yoga has balance built in.

Return to balance

Do we personally need more of one or the other?

If we tend to push forwards in life and only stop when we are exhausted or are forced to, then more ease and openness could be exactly what we need.

If we tend to be a bit lacklustre and drift through our days, then more focus and effort may be the right balancing force.

We often have a dominant mode, personal to us.
It might feel hard to do the other.
And there lies your practice...

Each posture and each practice can support effort and ease in equal measure.

Our life needs both

Too soft and you'll become lethargic and unmotivated, too much and you'll eventually be exhausted.

And along the way as our yoga practice develops, we notice that life isn't inherently dissatisfactory. We might just be looking in the wrong place for satisfaction.

Have a balanced week 🌞

]]><![CDATA[What's breathing got to do with it?]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:35:32 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/whats-breathing-got-to-do-with-it

Breathing well in yoga can have profound benefit

Breathing is curious
We do it all day every day without thinking. Sometimes we might think about it when it doesn't feel right, when we have a chest infection, or are in an unpleasant environment where the air isn't fresh.

Harness your breathing in yoga
In yoga, breathwork is one of the primary tools. There are a variety of ways it can be used to amplify the natural effects of breathing creating noticable effects on body, mind, energy and balance.

You can try emphasising inhaling or exhaling, pausing after inhaling to stimulate your energy and vitality, you can add a gentle wait after exhaling to calm yourself and settle overactive systems and mental states.

However overdo it and the opposite is true, so skilled guidance and practice is important.

It helps sleep, when you know how

One of my students couldn't sleep the other night so she tried the box breathing that we are working with this month.

It didn't help.

Box breathing is quite a stimulating, revitalising technique which when trying to sleep will overstimulate and wake you up more. It doesn't mean the technique isn't useful, just not for that time of night.

Getting to know your breathing and posture toolkit to help your daily life is brilliant. Extended, gentle exhales would be a good starting point if sleep is problematic.

Breath-centred yoga

Breathwork is a whole branch of yoga practice.

One of the hallmarks of my classes is the way the breathing is applied both during poses and at the end of class to rebalance us.

We are moving air pressure in different parts of the body. Pressurising different places in the various poses. An opening posture (e.g. Warrior 1) with an upper body inhale amplifies the effects of both the posture and the breath for a compound effect. Add a skilful breath pause and see what happens.

Learning to direct our breathing into different areas of the body, emphasising chest or belly breathing to address imbalances in your normal patterns where tension and tightness may have become the norm. This can have a profoundly beneficial effect on mental and physical health.

Emphasise inhale or exhale?

Emphasising the inhale, breathing into our upper chest, being stimulated, alert and vibrant, expanding to invite and lift energy is great for a morning class. But go carefully. Anxiety, aggression, disorganisation, can tip over into making these worse.

The invitation to mindfully observe effects of the pose is exactly the place to note what serves you well and what doesn't. By the end of class, you should feel balanced, relaxed, vibrant, calm.

And the effect doesn't stop there. If you're agitated or annoyed in the rest of your day, then think again, a balanced state has not been achieved yet. Note the effects so you can learn what you actually need, not what you think you need. They are different.

Evening classes can down-regulate your nervous system with closing postures and longer exhales to support a balanced ending to a busy day. Positivity and good sleep that night should follow effortlessly.

It can go wrong, let's get it right

Get it wrong and you'll be wired after your class and its 9pm when you want to be winding down for sleep. Or you feel zombified or disorganised mid-morning and may not sleep well later on.

Get it right and you'll feel balanced, vibrant, alert, calm, and in harmony with your body, mind, environment and those around you.

Get to know your breath, learn where the techniques can be helpful so that you can draw upon them when needed.

As always, come and chat if you haven't yet got the hang of it as it does take a little practice but is well worth the effort.

Enjoy

]]><![CDATA[Running, Yoga and Finding Serenity]]>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:56:30 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/running-yoga-and-finding-serenity

One of my wonderful, long-standing students began running during lockdown and it has become a regular, daily routine. She loves it and is convinced that the regular yoga that she does helps her stay injury free.

Running is better with yoga
Running is simply brilliant if you can do it. It gets you outside, promotes lots of physical benefits, boosts feel good hormones and clears your head.

Accompanying it with regular yoga helps you remain injury free,

takes care of tight bits that emerge, and provides space to engage with mindful grounding that can help enhance the enjoyment of your running and notice injuries sooner.

Maintenance
We all have to take care of maintaining our health, whether it is mental health, physical, emotional and being prepared for what life will inevitably throw at us. We do what we can, what we enjoy, and what we will keep up. And anything is better than nothing.

Cultivate more then the physical
One of the understated aspects of yoga, beyond being safer from injury and recovering faster, is the easier, calmer, kinder attitude that we can cultivate with ourselves.

As aging unfolds, and limitations are encountered, when we can no longer do what we were used to doing, we can discover that there is another path to being and feeling well.

We start to discover and cultivate a more positive relationship with ourselves that doesn’t rely on the abilities of the physical body. We practice finding it easier to accept and even be grateful for the health opportunities and challenges as a part of life and a part of our practice.

Yoga can teach and show us how to practice connecting to a more peaceful place that contains us even when everything else is seemingly falling apart.

Even better than a healthy body
Even better than remaining injury free, is feeling content when life and body don’t comply with what you would like to happen.

Finding a breath-centred yoga practice gives you skills, techniques and subtle understandings beyond the (wonderful) benefits and effects of postures. When limitations do come up, you have other methods to help you land in that same place. Helping avoid frustration and discomfort and enjoying calm, contentment and serenity as you journey through life no matter whether your body is cooperating with what you would like it to do, or not.

Enjoy.

]]><![CDATA[Kindness and knee slides in Yoga]]>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:51:33 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/kindness-and-knee-slides-in-yoga

Last year was the trickiest yet. It was challenging, unpredictable, chaotic and emotional. On the days when events were heightened, I have never been more grateful for small acts of kindness. A smile in the street, and a warm conversation at the shop went a long way to helping my day feel better.

Kindness & yoga go a long way
Kindness isn't enough but it goes a long, long way.

Thankfully, I have yoga as my mainstay, which helps me start each day with a fresh outlook, a more relaxed body and nervous system to be able to cope as well as I can as challenges unfold.

Remember knee slides?

Kindness isn't enough to make you a good yoga teacher. It helps and is an essential quality really, but you also need developed skills and experience to help a broader range of people.

Older bodies need more care and skill than the easy breezy 20 somethings who can still do knee slides (remember them! I can't even watch any longer). As we age we need extra levels of expertise to navigate all that we come with.

Life accumulates and leaves its marks
As life progresses, injuries have been accumulated and left their mark, life has left us highly strung, our day-to-day posture is becoming fixed in ways that reflect our lifestyles and lifes challenges, which are often sedentary or lack time and space to stretch and unwind enough.

Skill & expertise at YogaSpace
The standards of care, skill and expertise we have at YogaSpace are far beyond anywhere else in Bristol.

Most of us have decades of experience. 3 of our teachers have been studying yoga and sharing their craft for 40+ years (each).

Many of us took 3 or 4 years of extensive study to become yoga teachers, far beyond the typical 9-month (or even 1-month in many cases) 200 hour training popular today.

I started practicing yoga 28 years ago and began my 4-year teacher training study 21 years ago. This means something. This gives experience to draw upon, gathered from the vast array of bodies and minds that I've worked with over the years. This all helps guide you into a fruitful yoga practice.

Working with and around all that you come with to take yoga in a way that can work its wonders for you.

Enjoy your yoga, with all that you come with.

]]><![CDATA[Yoga poses and the pauses in-between]]>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:00:14 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/yoga-poses-are-great-so-are-the-pauses-in-between

Bristol Yoga Blog pauses in between poses

It's been years since I was a smoker.
I really enjoyed it, but realised it wouldn't be easy to stop.

Alan Carrs book, Quit Smoking offered an important stepping stone. The reframe it offers is that at first it feels like you are giving up something, that you are sacrificing your beloved cigarette and all that that comes with. But he turns it around.

He invited me to see that rather giving something up, I was gaining freedom from something. I would be free from the need to have a cigarette in my hand, I would enjoy better health, fresher clothes and breath, and save money.

The same net gain applies to the technique offered in this week's classes. It is a tiny yet powerful tweak to your practice that you can bring in at any time.

It starts with just two breaths

Between each yoga pose, completely stop, for two breaths.
Leave the sweatshirt where it is, feel the rogue hair on your face but don't adjust it, and just stand and experience the moment - even if it is uncomfortable.

An intentional pause. A hiatus from the constant movement and reactivity to impulses that arise in us all day long. These might be the only moments of stillness in your entire day.

It has had a powerful effect on many of you.

It can be a revelation
I know, we come to yoga to move right? But...

Some have felt relief, spaciousness, feeling more free once the option to adjust and lose the focus is contained.

I'm sure others who didn't like it found it tricky or frustrating or uncomfortable, but it is interesting to try either way and something to practice.

Stillness is underrated
Unintentional moving expends energy and encourages us to be constantly distracted.

At first it might feel like an effort not to move. Changing a long-time habit might meet resistance.

But like Alan Carr, try flipping this on its head. Instead of seeing it as effort to remain still, see is as freedom from habits that might not be serving you well.

Pointless? Try it anyway
It starts with 2 small breaths, staying completely still after each pose. It might feel uncomfortable, unnatural, or even pointless. That is okay, try it anyway.

Over time, it develops into being comfortable with stillness. And once you find that, the relief is immense and quite a revelation.

Yoga is sometimes called a 'moving meditation' but in many ways, the moving aspects of yoga practice are the precursor to learning how to be still physically with ease, then mentally. The asanas (postures) prepare you, your body and your mind to feel more comfortable in finding stillness and calmness that can be taken into a more contemplative phase to your yoga journey and help find more space and ease in day-to-day life.

Enjoy.

]]><![CDATA[The spell of life and disconnection]]>Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:48:45 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/the-spell-of-life-and-disconnection

YogaSpace connecting and embodiement or lost in thought

I went to an EPIC 3D movie last weekend and had a blast. It was loud, the seat vibrated, the screen was huge and absorbing and the story was fun, sad, exciting, dramatic.

It was almost completely absorbing (not quite, the 3D glasses were really heavy!). I sort of disappeared and got caught up in the story and had a great time.

Disconnection from ourselves
Disconnection from ourselves happens more when we are engaging in lots of busy, external activities. Work, looking after family and friends, engaging in entertainment (3D movies!) that take us out of ourselves.

Arguably, modern life is more disconnected ever. Our lives are more and more mediated by screens and our entertainment is more passive, less sociable and less physical.

Connection and Yoga practice
Yoga talks about connection. Connecting with your body and breath and feeling fully into what there is to notice from an internal perspective. Becoming more embodied, focused, and aware of what you are doing moment by moment.

Connection vs. getting lost in thought
There is an important yet subtle distinction to feeling and becoming more connected with yourself, but not feeling lost in your thoughts.

Aiming to connect with yourself with conscious awareness. Realising that being absorbed in your ruminations may not always be helpful. Daydreaming has it's place but not getting stuck there. Having the ability to be absorbed in intentional problem solving and placing your attention skilfully is important. This skilful discernment and detachment is a difference worth practicing.

More healthy, skilful and clear in body and mind
Consistent yoga practice over time helps us become more intentional and skilful with our bodies and minds. The follow on from this, is becoming more clear about how we relate to our lives, how aware we are, and how we move through our days without being as reactive.

We can make more skilful choices, which leads to better health and lifestyle.

On the mat we learn to feel the body move and breathe, feel the toes and fingers, the heels and hips, shoulders and furrowed brows, breath, and everything in between.

We can all practice this and getter more skilful at it. From there we can learn to notice more subtle thoughts and impulses which arise in the body and mind. This helps us gain some say over which thoughts we respond to, and which thoughts we choose to ignore.

Take a few minutes to get reconnected, every day
If you feel disconnected to your day, find a few minutes, and simply move and breathe consciously. Do some yoga practice.

It doesn't have to be hard but it does need to get your attention. This will reset your day, your awareness, your connection to yourself, and the rest of the day will unfold with you feeling more present and in control (of yourself at least, even if the day is running away with itself).

Enjoy your yoga.

]]><![CDATA[The secret to success in yoga]]>Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:29:40 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/the-secret-to-success-in-yoga

Yoga blog and why being good at yoga isn't the point

Why being good isn't the point

Someone mentioned to me this week that they used to be better at yoga than they are now.

Do you ever think that you aren't very good at yoga?

Notice self-judgement
Perhaps we have judged our performance in a pose, or noticed that we weren't doing a pose for as long as someone next to us or that we should be better than we are. That we didn't sweat much or that we didn't try hard enough.

The real measure
These aren't the measures of being good at yoga.

There is really only one measure of being good at yoga.

That you are showing up consistently.

Are you consistent but still don't feel good?
There is a certain amount of trust that comes with this idea.

Experience will eventually show you that you can relax and trust the process of yoga. That simply showing up and doing what you can is enough for all the benefits that will follow.

But this notion has to make its way through all our pre-concieved ideas of needing to be good at things and that if we aren't getting better then we are doing something wrong.

Trying harder isn't better
Trying harder isn't better; sweating more doesn't get you further; postural perfection and a glowing mental state isn't the pinnacle of what you can gain from yoga.

Learning to let go of these notions of good and bad, and just going with the flow of each day as it comes and all the joy that can be encountered here and now, not in some future idealised state, are learned through experience and the transformations that occur, subtly and slowly, along the way.

Trust the process
Going through the motions of moving your arms and legs, staying a while and feeling awkward while the pose works its way into your body and mind, breathing, and paying attention to as much of that as you can.

The truth that experience shows us is that the practice is enough. You just need to do it.

You don't need to do it to a performance level grade. You don't need to do it better than last time, or as strongly or effortlessly as you did 5 years ago. You just need to do it. That is enough. The rest will follow.

Setbacks are part of it
The setbacks are your own personal challenge and journey. You will learn something from them if you don't discount them as frustrating or off-track.

Keep showing up even when you don't feel like it or when your mind convinces you that you shouldn't bother, that it doesn't work, and that you are no good.

And by the way, showing up in your PJs next to your bed for 10 minutes still counts.

Avoid otherthinking
Do your yoga
Next time you tell yourself your not very good at yoga. Or conversely you tell yourself that you are good at yoga. Step aside from overthinking what you are doing. Get to your mat, and do your yoga.

Enjoy.

]]><![CDATA[Try yoga to quieten the noise]]>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 09:43:26 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/try-yoga-to-quieten-the-noise

Bristol YogaSpace blog with Clara Lemon - yoga helps quieten the noise

Yesterday as I was cycling to the studio, a motorist wound down his window and said my bike light wasn't working. I was confused. My light was sitting on the front of my bike blinking brightly, my back light was doing the same. I carried on none the wiser, heckled for not being lit up enough amongst the array of lights on Gloucester Road. I can only think that with the other 10,000 lights on the street he didn't see them. They got lost in the noise.

The sensory stimulation is at its highest at this time of year (Christmas). Filled with optimism and hoping for joy, we are bombarded with jingly music and bright blinking lights.

It is wonderful, and overwhelming.

Try this mini-pause
Taking regular breaks from it all is never more important than now.

It is a wonderful time to take 5 minutes, dim the lights, light a candle and withdraw from the noise.

Set up
Turn off your phone, tell folks in your house your busy for 5 minutes, close the door to you bedroom

Light a candle and place it safely in front of you
Prepare a chair or a few cushions or blocks to sit on
Set a timer for 5 minutes
Turn off the light
Sit down

Settle
Let your gaze settle on the candle
Blink whenever you need to
Settle into your seat comfortably, lean against a wall if you want
Let your breathing get quieter
Relax your eyes

Almost close your eyes
After a few moments, almost close your eyes
Peek out at the candle between your eyelashes
Hold the soft gaze

Lay down
Let your breathing get quieter
Then lay down, cover your hands over your eyes and rest for another minute
Keep the image of the candle in your minds eye
Breath quietly

Stretch and refresh
Open your eyes and stretch out to finish

You should feel refreshed, reset, quieter, calmer and your energy will effect your house and everyone you meet next.

It is so simple, yet so brilliantly effective.

I would highly recommend it to the driver who heckled me ;-)

Enjoy

]]><![CDATA[Modified Yoga with Chair Options]]>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 09:45:15 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/modified-yoga-with-chair-options

There is always a way to work with yoga postures, improve our breathing, and develop strength, stability, focus and calm. Sometimes it needs modified postures to access all the benefits. The challenges can still be found for engagement and progression, with the right support to help.

Join Clara in January on Wednesdays at 1:30pm for a modified class to support those who have mobility issues, want a more gentle practice, or are recovering from illness.

Everyone is welcome, young and old, experienced and beginners.

Feel free to get in touch for more information.

Look forward to seeing you there.

From Jan 7th, 2026
1:30pm - 2:30pm Wednesdays

]]><![CDATA[Maintaining health, cultivating presence]]>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:19:18 GMThttps://www.bristolyogaspace.co.uk/our-blog/maintaining-health-cultivating-presence

Bristol YogaSpace blog cultivating health and presence

When we step on our yoga mat, we usually have multiple aims.

Maintaining health
We know we need to maintain our back health so that it isn't tweaky, or our knees need constant love (mine do). We might know that we need to unwind tension or relax our tight shoulders. We probably know that our nervous system is highly charged and could do with a reset, or that our energy is dissipated and needs refreshing.

But at the same time as taking care of our bodies and minds, we are simultaneously stepping into a closer relationship with the present moment.

Our practice invites us to leave behind the noise of the day. To step back from the constant demands of our to-do list and our relationships. And spend a closer moment in relationship with ourselves. Tuning out of the external demands, and tuning in to ourselves.

Cultivating presence
Presence is a word that is worth spending a moment with. This felt and immediate sense of every moment is always with us.

It is here right now available to check in with.

And it is easily and frequently overlooked.

Life is full or distraction and noise. Being more fully present in our day allows us to enjoy the fruit of each moment more fully, to appreciate what a gift it is to take the breath we are taking, and to appreciate and get the most from the fleeting nature of the current stage of life that we are in.

Don't miss it
Before we wish the day away and want to get to the glass of wine at the end of the week, know that this moment, right now, is as good as when you finally sit down and enjoy your wine. The sip of wine isn't any better than the breath that you are taking now. Your frame of it is different.

This moment is immediately here to notice as a fresh, spacious inspiration. The same awareness and presence is available now but is easily overlooked in preference for dreaming ahead or being busy with activity.

When you get to Friday, you might be looking ahead again, or busily multi-tasking, and miss the sublime moment of wine in the glass.

Worth being here
Every time we get on our mat it is an invitation to be more present. To practice and cultivate paying closer attention to what is right in front of us, and allowing the other demands to drop away.

I hope you find moments every day to practice this, as the more you spend time noticing the present moment, the sweeter life becomes.

]]>

I think therefore I worry. Especially after 7pm.​

I think therefore I worry. Especially after 7pm.