At Yoga & Healing we regularly offer yoga classes (in Sydney – Northern Beaches and Balmain) live and exercise programs online.

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Offer yourself the gift of reconnecting with you with this short session of gentle movements for your body.

To fully enjoy and to get the most benefit from this class, prepare how you set yourself up by lying on your side on a mat or carpeted floor, have support for underneath your head, a blanket if it is cold. Take a few minutes to connect to your body and your breath before commencing this audio.

As a precursor to this class, you may also like to do the Body Awareness Meditation.

We offer regular live online yoga classes/courses. Click here for more information.

Note: This class is a simple and gentle yoga session accessible to all. In the event of existing injury and/or medical condition, please take into consideration any recommendation from your primary care physician and be discerning if the physical movements and exercises offered here are appropriate for you. Listen to your body, enjoy and let yourself be guided what your body feels.

Further yoga class audio’s available for purchase

If you have enjoyed this audio, further yoga class audio’s are available for purchase

• Core strength – 20 minutes
• Yoga in standing – 16 minutes

The cost per audio is A$25 and are available for you to download and use as many times as you like.

Please contact us or phone 0408 783187.

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We often hear people say that they feel stiff as they get old. So what is actually happening to the body as we age and why is it that we lose the lightness that we knew as a child? Furthermore, is this stiffness a natural process of ageing or is there anything we can do to reduce the loss of flexibility?

The connective tissue is a system of tissues that runs throughout the entire body. It is everywhere and runs throughout all the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, blood vessels and organs. It overlaps and envelops soft tissue structures like cling film. Every part of our body is connected to the others through this fascinating interconnected web of tissue.

The fluidity and moistness of the connective tissue allows for friction free movements and supports all our body’s systems from the inside out. Energy flows through our connective tissue and in its ideal state, the connective tissue supports our natural elongated posture and our organ systems to work together harmoniously. We can picture our connective tissue like a river that flows throughout our entire body.

The way we treat our bodies through the quality of our everyday movements and holding onto our emotions all affect the state of our connective tissue and hence how we feel in our bodies. As children, the properties of our connective tissue are free, flowing and hasn’t yet become hardened or stiff like it often is in adults.

The status of our connective tissue has a direct relationship with our levels of health and wellbeing.

So what happens to our connective tissue as we age and why is it that the older we get, often for many people we feel stiffer and equate it to old age? Could it be because we are not moving or living in a way that supports the structure and flow of the connective tissue in our body?

Let’s consider the following possibilities

• Is it possible that when we sit or hold a set posture for prolonged times (i.e at a computer), that our connective tissue can tighten and will restrict our open, rotational or dynamic movements.
• Is it just to do with lack of movement that tightens the connective tissue, or is it also associated with the quality of HOW we hold ourselves when we are stationary?
• Is it possible that when we get stiff and sore (i.e. a sore lower back or hips) from too much movement (a day of cleaning) but it’s not actually the movement that is the problem, but the quality of HOW we move?

Is it possible that the fragile and refined nature of our connective tissue requires very gentle, delicate and refined movement?

When we move or exercise in a very gentle way, the connective tissue is gently stretched, creating more space and length. This is different to moving or exercising in a way that is rushed, fast or pushed or done in a stressful or pressured way, where the connective tissue is put under strain and tension, resulting in pain or stiffness.

This example includes sitting at a desk; we can either sit with tension, with our shoulders shrugged up and our head leaning forward at the screen in a frantic or stressed manner to get the task done. Or we can sit back, with our shoulders back and chest open, spine lengthened and head completely on our shoulders and not stretched forward.

The connective tissue is very delicate and responsive, therefore when force is applied in our natural everyday movement, the connective tissue responds by hardening. If we move or exercise in a way that is hard or harsh, there is tension and hardness in the connective tissue and in the muscles, which makes it difficult for the muscles to contract and relax easily, and can cause pain and poor function.

The connective tissue responds when we offer ourselves a way of being in our body where we are gentle and tender.

So could the answer to feeling free and light like children be in considering our relationship with our bodies in our everyday movements, such as walking, sitting and exercise – feeling if we are holding ourselves in a way that is in line with and honoring the natural flow of the connective tissue in the body.

Donna Nolan works as an Yoga Teacher/Therapist, Esoteric Healing Practitioner, Massage instructor and Exercise instructor in Sydney. She can be contacted at donna@yogaandhealing.com.au.

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In essence, yoga is about how to be with our self in any given moment in a quality of energy that is true in connection.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to ‘be with ourself’. This may be because when we start to re-connect, we can experience an array of feelings that we may not want to feel –  such as anger, anxiousness, hardness, raciness or frustration.

So what do we do when we become aware of  these strong unwanted feelings in our bodies and it doesn’t feel pleasant?

What I have found is that if I allow myself to ‘just be’ with these feelings, they are then able to pass through my body. I feel the feeling for what it is, without going into the story behind the feeling. If I keep feeling it as a sensation and if I’m able to just stay with that sensation, it can change.

Sometimes I find that the feeling can be just too intense and I’m unable to stay with it for any period of time. My mind might be busy and the story behind the feeling is too much. I react, perhaps there is judgement or a want for things to be different. That is OK as well, as I know that feeling will revisit my awareness and perhaps next time I am more ready to connect and allow myself to simply just feel what is there to be felt.

However, if I am able to connect with the feeling, locate and feel it in a certain area of my body, stay with it, sometimes it shifts like magic.  I feel a shift in the energy and then sometimes, it disappears. The shift in my body leaves me feeling clear, light and sometimes joyful.

I have found the more I allow myself to feel what is going on in my body without reacting and as it shifts, I am then able to feel the loveliness of me.  As that which was covering up the loveliness of me shifts, I am left with feeling a deeper connection to me. This is yoga and healing.

By Donna Nolan

Donna Nolan offers private yoga/yoga therapy, group yoga classes and offers Esoteric Therapies in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Sydney city and Cammeray.  Contact us at info@yogaandhealing.com.au

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