We have heard many times over in sessions people sharing how there is a busyness in their mind and that they are not enjoying the types of thoughts that they are having.These thoughts are often repeated ones around the past, the future and in the form of concerns around work, family, relationships or health issues.

Typically those thoughts develop into anxiousness, emotional upset, lack of confidence, uncertainty, doubt and/or worry. Ultimately the feeling is that these types of thoughts erode us, affect how we feel and have a direct impact on our body, health and wellbeing.

We have also heard people share how they “need” or try to “think positive”, change their thought patterns to be ones that are uplifting rather than the negative ones that can so often haunt us in the form of judgment, criticism or comments such as “I’m not good enough”, “I feel ashamed”, “I feel guilty”, “I feel not worthy” etc.

With much discipline, we may try to change our thoughts from negative to positive ones, but does this really work? We may be able to squash and silence the negativity, the erosion for a while, but those thoughts usually creep back in and it can become a battle within to try and push them away yet again.

What if there is another way to work with negative thoughts rather than battling them with another set of thought constructs supposedly more positive?

There is another way. 

We have discussed over the years how everything is energy and as a result how everything is because of energy. Well, a thought is an energetic expression. As such if we don’t like, feel affected by our thoughts and want to change their quality or not be impacted by them, we need to look at, consider and discern the energy behind them – first of all.

We have also shared over the years how everything comes back to or down to our movements, the quality of our movements and the way we actually live. As such the quality of our movements, the way we live in all aspects of our life generate the quality of our mental activity. Therefore to change our thoughts, ultimately requires us to change our movements.

As an example, try sitting in a chair and slump down into it, – taking a “depressive posture”-  rolling your hips backward, rounding your back and slouching. Notice how this makes you feel. It won’t take long for you to actually feel a bit low in mood. Then try sitting up straight with an elongated, open and lengthened posture and now notice how you feel. Alive again, right?

The first posture described above doesn’t feel so good whereas the second more upright posture allows for more of an openness to be felt in the body. In other words, both postures (movements) affect the body very differently and generate a different quality of thoughts or mental wellbeing.

We can start to change our thoughts by learning to be present with our body in all of our movements, being gentle, nurturing and caring and by committing to life (ie, not checking out) and bringing purpose to all that we do.

Next month, we will delve further into the topic of our thoughts, looking at how to develop and maintain our mental health and harmony with our thoughts.

At Yoga & Healing, we love to work with people and support them to develop a nurturing relationship with their body and their being, all in turn empowering them to have a more nourishing quality of thoughts.

To this effect, we regularly offer 4 week online Exercise Program (focussing on developing our physical fitness) and a 6 week online Esoteric Yoga course (focussing more on developing our physiological fitness, our relationship and connection with our being).

At Yoga & Healing we offer the services of Remedial Massage, Esoteric Healing, Esoteric Massage, Connective Tissue Therapy, Yoga, Exercise and Meditation. We offer live classes and online yoga and exercise classes. We are in the business of offering support for true health and wellbeing. Contact Us.

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One of the reasons why we don’t address the root cause is because we do not want to feel the choices that we have been making or the pressure or strain we have been putting ourselves under. We become caught in our emotions, we react and feel hurt by what others say and do and often we don’t take responsibility for the part we play.

We then choose to bury what we are feeling and ‘get on with life’.

There are a myriad of ways in which we can bury our feelings and I could write a whole article on this alone. Food is a big one – alcohol, sport, staying caught in emotions, pushing our bodies and hardening them. In fact any activity or movement that we do in a way where we disconnect from our body and do not honour the true delicateness and tenderness that we are has the potential to bury what we are feeling.

When we bury our feelings we push those feelings that may be just on the surface, deeper into the physical body so that we don’t have to face the pain or hurt of what is actually there. As human beings, we get very good at doing this and find all sorts of ways to distract ourselves from feeling our bodies and we therefore stay caught in the mental activity of our minds.

So having understood what our hurts are and why it is not good to bury them, how then do we work with this?

Here is a simple guideline that can support you to reconnect to what is going on in your body and become more familiar with addressing your hurts.

1. Nominate the hurt when you feel it without blame. Let yourself acknowledge that the incident/person/event that has happened has actually deeply affected you and that you feel hurt by it. At this stage it is important to do this without blame. You are simply nominating what is there.
2. Feel where this hurt resides in your body. You may feel a tightness in your chest, in your lower back, in your jaw. In fact, it could be held anywhere in the body. Make this exercise physical so that you feel how the hurt affects your body rather than staying in the thought process in your mind of “he said, she said” etc.
3. Stay with what you feel, without judging or trying to fix it. Simply let yourself be with what it is that you are feeling. Practice self-acceptance and that this is a process that you are going through. Let yourself truly be with what is there without fighting the urge to not go there. Stay out of the mental dialogue that may be running in your mind and stay with the sensations that you are feeling in your body.
4. Notice if there are any patterns or behaviours that you go into to stop yourself from feeling the hurt. Try to avoid using those things as medications (chocolate, alcohol, coffee) and instead let yourself be with what you feel (as explored in point 3).
5. You may like to seek support from a friend or a practitioner so that you can see the situation more clearly. Be careful to seek assistance from a person who will not allow you to ‘wallow’ or go into blame, but who will reflect a steadiness and openness so that you can go deeper within and learn that this is a healing process for you and for you to see and own your part in it.

The way to heal our hurts is to not bury them but let them come to the surface so that they can come up and out of the body. If we over ride what we feel, pretend that they are not there and push them back down – we bury emotions deeper into the physical body and at some point this will show up via an injury or illness.

 We are all deeply sensitive human beings. Let yourself be and live in with your sensitivity. This is not weak, but in fact our true strength and power.

For further reading, here is a great article We are Not our Hurts by Jean Gamble, Psychotherapist.

Donna Nolan offers Esoteric Healing, Connective Tissue Therapy, Massage , Yoga/Meditation at the Balgowlah (Northern Beaches) and Cammeray clinics. She has a love of working with people to understand the root cause of their ill or injury and works with these modalities to support her clients to return to true health and wellbeing. For bookings contact Donna donna@yogaandhealing.com.au

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The more we make the choice to discard patterns, behaviours, ideals and beliefs that no longer serve us, the more our body works with us to release those held energies in our body, allowing the space for us to express and live from our true essence, which ultimately brings us much joy.

In this article we would also like to offer further support for the “Silly Season” – many of you have shared over the years being affected by it.

The choices we can make at this time of year such as over indulging with food, alcohol, late nights or emotions can all be clearly felt in our bodies. This often leads us to arriving at the end of the year feeling tired, exhausted and in regret. At this point, it is valuable to pause and ask – Is this a reflection of what we would like this festive season to be? Is this in line with the way we are and now live with ourselves and others?

Life is not linear:  we all know that how we end the year will inevitably be the quality in which we enter the new year. Every choice we make is with us until not chosen anymore.

Included below is an article we wanted to share from our fellow Nutritionist and Health practitioner Kathy Byrne offering simple, sensible and wise tips on Dealing with the “Silly Season”. You may also want to revisit our past article Christmas With Connection.

Wishing you all a joy filled festive season and end of year as we complete this current cycle and embrace the new year ahead. We look forward to sharing more with you in 2018.

As our gift to you this year we have another FREE 17 minute audio gentle yoga practise you may like to practice on your own environment over the holiday season.  In this new audio, the session starts lying on your side and finishes on your back.

If you are still looking for ideas of present for a loved one, one of our vouchers could well be the perfect gift. For further information, please visit Gift Voucher page.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Esoteric therapies, Massage therapies, Yoga/Yoga Therapy and Meditation at their clinics in Balmain, Cammeray and Balgowlah. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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Expression comes in many forms and is not restricted to what we verbally say. Rather expression encompasses how we move, how we dress, the way we relate with others, how we write, how we talk, how we drive, exercise … the list goes on.

A wise man once said “expression is everything” (Serge Benhayon) and we at Yoga & Healing certainly have come to realise that this is indeed the case. We are always expressing and that expression – which comes first from our body – can be either in a way where we bring our whole, or it can come with an element of holding back.

So what does it mean to express in full?

Each and every one of us has an essence that is divine. This divine quality is the undeniable preciousness and fullness that our young children and babies are so naturally emanating and reflecting to us. It is our key responsibility as adults to re-connect with the qualities of our essence and express from these qualities – when they have been lost over time.

Holding back in our expression is a rejection of ourselves and a contraction where we are not appreciating the amazingness of the qualities that we all have to offer.

When our expression is contracted, our family, friends, work colleagues all miss out on both the loveliness of what it is that we bring and the reflection back to them of the wholeness that they themselves are.

When we express in full we are offering the world a reflection that we are divine, that we are more than the individual self, that we come from something so much more, that we are all equal. Expressing in full is not about being uppity or full of ourselves, it is simply our natural way to express and a quality of expression that holds everyone equal and in love. Many of us have moved so far away from true expression that it can seem a bit unreal and a bit of a leap to return to such quality.

So how to we go about expressing in full?

The place to start is in acknowledging where our quality of expression is at – with both absolute honesty and responsibility.

Spending time daily appreciating the innate qualities that you have – you may notice that you bring a warmth and people feel at ease with you, or you may have a graceful way of moving. You may have a cheekiness that others simply adore.

Being with the quality of your movements. When we hold back the associated tension and contraction can all easily be seen and felt in the body. We may experience a tightness in some areas of the body, tension, a lump in your throat, hot flushes… the body will always work with us and tell us if we are holding back.

By bringing more awareness to the quality of your movements and choosing a quality of movement that allows a sense of spaciousness and freedom to be felt from within, we find a way of being in our body that is true to us, unique, never imposing and supportive for our full expression.

Observing how you dress, what you wear and why?
On a daily basis, do you dress in a way so that you go unnoticed, or do you dress a in a way that expresses you and your essence?

How do you go about your daily chore activities?
Is there a sense of feeling flat as you go about these activities that they become part of your daily grind. Could we pose that they really only are a grind because of a choice to not bring your whole to them?

What is the tone of your voice?
Are you speaking with your natural voice or do you calibrate the pitch and tone of your voice according to who you are speaking to? What quality do you feel is there in the way you speak?

As everything is expression, we can playfully and responsibly look at every aspects of our life to see how we are expressing. Exploring our expression with a fine tooth comb is a deeply revealing and healing exercise, a useful exercise to develop our expression in full, and one that significantly supports more harmonious relationships in our life.

And why would we want to express in full?
A better question may be why wouldn’t we? When we express in full, we feel that our movements are not individual, that they are part of the whole, they are part of the universe and that our role in life is much grander than the individual self.

Expressing, walking YOU is great medicine. Holding back our expression keeps us small. Now why would we want to do that?

As an extension of this sharing around expression we warmly encourage you to look at the latest episode on Serge Benhayon TV covering the topic of Domestic Violence.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric therapies and Massage at their clinic in Balmain and Cammeray. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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Over the last few years we have been exploring the impact in our lives of making the conscious choice to be transparent – in our friendships, with our partners and families, with work colleagues and with strangers.

Committing to being transparent meant that we were choosing to be more open, allowing people to see us in our vulnerability – warts and all – when we are not feeling so great, in addition to also allowing others to see us in our amazingness and glory, ie. not holding back when we are “on”.

A simple example of being transparent is when someone asks us “how are you? Do we reply with the usual and mechanical “I am good” or “I am not too bad, thank you”. Or do we actually create the space to feel how we are and express from that place, connecting with our body and sharing what is there to be shared with that person in the moment ?

Are we choosing to be open and willing to let others know how we really are without the pretence of making it all ok when it isn’t? Or vice versa, are we choosing to hold back our reflection when we are feeling joyful and amazing, calibrating to others to not disturb them with the idea (perhaps not consciously) that this will make them feel better if they are not so great?

To be transparent requires a level of honesty as to express who and how we really are, married with a willingness to let others in – to let them see us in full.

So, what has been the result of our experiment to embrace transparency? Well, it really has been extraordinary.

What we have discovered is that the more transparent we are – just simply being ourselves, the more it allows others that we come into contact with to be themselves too. The walls that so often divide people are able to dissolve as we let people see us and they too then feel safe to be seen. A level of openness and intimacy can be felt, guards are dropped and we feel a true connection, which ultimately is what we are all craving for.

So if transparency is so powerful, why do we not choose it?

Could it be that we are afraid that if we allow ourselves to express our vulnerability we are going to get hurt or rejected? Could it also be that we are not comfortable shining bright?

When we choose to be something that we are not in order to be liked, in order to be loved, we lack transparency. However, when we choose to be something that we are not, it is like placing a dirty windscreen between us and others and we don’t ever truly get to see each other.

The remedy ? CHOOSE TO BE YOU AND ONLY YOU. Let go of ideals or beliefs that you need to be anything other than what you already are… enjoy being vulnerable, enjoy being amazing and feel the healing, beauty and magic of letting others in and your relationships deepen. Your body will certainly thank you.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric Healing, Connective Tissue Therapy and Massage at their clinic in Balmain , Cammeray and Balgowlah (Northern Beaches). Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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The more we focus on deepening our inner quality of being the more we are equipped to handle what comes our way in work, relationships and friendships. We can foster the deepening of our inner connection in every moment through our quality of movement.

So what have we been up to personally…

Donna has been super busy taking on a new role of teaching massage with Evolve College both in Newcastle and Sydney which is involving a bit of travel. She is now also offering Massage at the North Sydney clinic along with Esoteric Healing, Connective Tissue Therapy, Cancer support and Yoga Therapy.

Alex is currently completing further studies in Chakra-puncture with Evolve College. As an existing Chakra-puncturist, she has been amazed by the high level of standards of training offered by this college. She has been refining her way, settling in a new family rhythm with also taking a support role at the North Sydney clinic and resuming school activities with her daughter starting year 2.

Donna and Alex have recently both been up to Lismore to complete their first level training in Esoteric Yoga. Esoteric Yoga is a profound healing modality that we hold very dear and look forward to sharing with you all in the near future.

Although there may be some times in our lives when we have a lot going on it is important to keep a balance of work and play, recognising that every part of our life has equal value. There is a saying we often refer to “One life, One quality”.

When we truly nurture all aspects of our expression we are less likely to feel stress, resentment or frustration. Bringing balance into our lives is a key to true health.

We hope that you enjoyed the free yoga audio that we offered in our last newsletter. Many have expressed how much they have been finding both the sample class and the body awareness audios supportive in their day to day – so we decided to offer another free yoga audio which includes 16 minutes of standing exercises.

If you are enjoying these audios and find it difficult to get to one of our yoga group classes, you may like to consider joining our online yoga classes. An audio recording is available for those who can not attend the class live or who may miss a class.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric Healing and Massage at their clinic in Balmain and Cammeray. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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December can be a tricky time for many, school finishing, work being busy as we try to get it all done by the end of the year, festivities with Christmas parties, catching up with friends and family, the extra spending, perhaps later nights than usual, eating and drinking more.

What we are emphasising with our clients this month is the importance of honouring yourself throughout December. It is easy to get lost in the busyness of December, the fun activities and the social gatherings, but unless we hold our connection with ourselves, continue to listen to our body and honour what it is that we feel, we can easily get affected or exhausted by it all and then we miss the enjoyment of what December has to offer.

Take stock and remember that the choices we make today are going to have a direct impact on how we feel the next day and the next day. True health and wellbeing is being aware of how we are with ourselves all of the time – including December. Don’t drop the ball, just because it’s December. Have fun but without losing your connection to you.

Some tips to take with you throughout December

• Try not to do too much in any given week or weekend. Space out your social gatherings so that you are not having too many late nights.
• Watch and discern what you eat at parties and social gatherings. We can easily overeat at this time of year.
• Drink plenty of water, keep hydrated.
• Socialising is fun, but still give yourself time just for you.
• Don’t try and fit it all in by the end of the year. Nothing is going anywhere and it will all still be there next year.
• Be aware of what momentum you are in, if a raciness or busyness sneaks in, stop, pause and breathe gently. Come back to your body.
• Don’t drop those things that support you such as exercise, Gentle Breath Meditation, a good rhythm with sleep, eating well.

We wish you a joy-filled December and festive season and look forward to catching up with you in 2017. With love, Donna and Alexandra

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric Healing, Connective Tissue Therapy and Massage at their clinics in Balmain and Cammeray. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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So what is our essence?

Our essence is found in that inner-most part of us which when we deeply connect to our body, offers us those beautiful innate qualities that we then naturally express in and from. These qualities as an example may be sweetness, purity, grace, playfulness, tenderness… and the list goes on.

At the core of all those qualities is a stillness, joy, harmony, truth and love – all there for us all to tap into and live from. Those qualities are always there despite the fact that we may have lost sight of them as we get bogged down or burdened with our issues, hurts or simply the intensity of life.

Living from our essence…

We can liken living from our essence to the feeling of what it was like to live as that innocent and buoyant child where the days seemed timeless, where the joy, bounce and love for life was in every step. An image that comes to mind is that little girl skipping along the footpath enjoying simply being herself without a care in the world, or that little boy staring in awe at a bee or caterpillar.

When we are in our essence, there isn’t a holding back, rather there is openness, expression, a joy that wants to shine through for all to see. When we live from our essence, there is an abundance of energy there to be shared with all.

So why is it that most of us are not living from our essence? Why is it that we do not fully shine? Could that be a choice?

Ultimately the key reason is that we have not yet dealt in full with our unresolved issues or hurts. We all hold the responsibility to look at why we are not living with that full honouring and connection with our body, the essence of who we are and the world around us. We can blame others for the way our life is and how we feel or take full responsibility for the fact that we carve out our future by the way we choose to live in the present moment.

One difficulty behind letting our essence out is that if we were to truly shine, then we will stand out from the crowd, people will notice us, we could no longer play it small and will have to step up our responsibility.

Could it be that for many of us it is easier and more comfortable to hide or stay hurt then to make the choice to live all the love that we actually are?

Living from our essence IS a choice, a choice that is there to be made – moment to moment. Connect with our body, our gentle breath, our inner-being and live and express from this place – no matter what.

When we live from our essence, we offer that reflection reminding another that they can choose to live from theirs too.  It is a lot more fun and joy-full to live from your essence than not to. Go on, try it, work with what’s in the way, see how you feel.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric Healing, Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy and Massage at their clinics in Balmain ,Cammeray and Northern Beaches. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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We have been exploring of late what it feels like to create space in our physical environment ie. our home and/or office and how this affects how we feel in our body.

If we come back to “everything is energy, therefore everything is because of energy”  (Serge Benhayon), then it is common sense that as we let go of physical possessions whether that be clothes, CD’s that we no longer listen to, books that just sit and gather dust, this physical discarding reflects a shift within ourselves and brings about a sense of lightness and ease in our body.

How we set things up in our home, the way we place things, the angle in which we sit a vase, or place a table is all having an affect on how we feel all of the time. As an example, if a chair is out of place even just slightly, we can feel the affect that this has on the entire room.

The more we connect with our body in stillness and live with harmony, the more we can feel the pull towards living in alignment with a natural order which exists within the universe.  When this order is respected and honoured there is a flow in life that can be felt.

When we honour and care for our bodies this naturally leads to a deeper honouring and caring for our living environment.

It works the other way as well, the more we take care of our environment, set it up in a way where there is a flow, the more this flow supports our own inner connection and sense of being nurtured – a cycle that feeds us back.

Take stock of what space you are living in in your day-to-day life. Does the space nourish you, support you to be you in your connection or is it time to let go of things that you no longer use and are just sitting around. Or perhaps try shifting or moving your furniture to another position or look at how you set up your desk… and don’t forget a good clean too!  Feel in your body each movement and each change and have fun with it. Does your body feel expansive with the change or does it contract? Let your body be your guide.

It doesn’t need to be daunting or a big job. Simply start with one draw or piece of furniture and let the flow come from there. Have fun opening up to the feeling of space in your life, and from there within your own body.

For support with your decluttering, you may like to try one of these Decluttering courses from Simplicity Living.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Esoteric Healing and Massage at their clinic in Balmain, Cammeray and Balgowlah. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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We leave energetic imprints everywhere and if we choose to we can become aware of those imprints, their quality and their effect on us and everything around us – this is natural and a redevelopment of energetic awareness.

Energetically, everything is either healing or harming in life (there is no in between), or said otherwise, everything and anything is either supporting us to live in our fullness, in connection and love or keep us in emotional reaction, contraction and feeling separate.

An energetic imprint is like a blessing or a scar that we leave behind as a result of the quality of our movements. Walk with anger and you leave anger behind you. Prepare yourself in the bathroom, cook/eat your breakfast in nervous tension, disregard or anxiousness, and you leave these energetic imprints in the house behind you, for everybody else and in your body. Dress yourself, brush your hair, cream your face, shave or paint your nails with tenderness and love, and this nurturing energy will be there with you all day. Make your bed with conscious presence, care and love in the morning and this is the healing quality of energy that you will be met with in the evening as you go to bed.

It is very awakening when we open to the energetic dimension of life and simply observe, bring a curiosity to it – not from the head, rationalising but from the body, feeling. Science proved it – EVERYTHING IS ENERGY.

We live in an ocean of energy and when we choose to swim in it with awareness it becomes very beautiful whilst at the same time calling for energetic responsibility and energetic integrity. This month how about exploring and playing with the possibility of energetic imprints in your everyday life? What is your contribution to the all and what energetic imprints are you leaving behind – in your body, at home, on the bus, at work, as you send an email, on the road … the list goes on and on.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga/Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Connective Tissue Therapy, Esoteric Healing and Massage at their clinics in Balmain, Cammeray and on the Northern Beaches.  Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

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