Yoga Lifestyle Programme - Divine Synchronicity

We witnessed divine synchronicity the first day of the Yoga Lifestyle Programme at Pure Gym Urban Exchange. The first day of any programme is always exciting, I love discovering more about each of my students and finding out exactly how I can help them on their yoga journeys. I intently listened as each student introduced themselves and shared with us their goals and aspirations. The more I listened, I felt a deeper resonation with the group. As the introductions unfold, it turns out that each of my students in the group had a soul connection partner to work with. Their goals were exact! I was overwhelmed by how this perfect hevenly synchronicity manifested. The angels were definately working behind the scenes selecting which students would be right for this particualr programme. This is the law of divine timing. Everything has its own time so trust that whatever happens is meant to be. We now come to the end of the final week of the first yoga lifestyle programme at Pure Gym Urban Exchange and it has been such a pleasure guiding you all along your yoga journeys. I have loved watching you all transform and develop in your practice. I'm truely proud of your dedication and commitment to making that change! Well Done! :) I'm really looking forward to meeting my next group of students tomorrow and learning how I can help them evolve in their practice. What is the Yoga Lifestyle Porgramme? Ever since I have been teaching yoga, I am constantly being approached by my students regarding their love of yoga and them wanting to develop a home practice but not remembering the postures. After months of contemplating and meditating on what my students desire I created the Yoga Lifestyle Programme. On this 6 week programme I guide my students along an eye opening jurney of how to structure a class and how to develop a bespoke yoga practice tailored to their specific needs. The programme consists of 6 master classes. Each master class is divided into 2 x 45 minute sessions. The first half of the master class you learn all the basic yoga postures and sequences. We will explore beginner's and advanced warm-up sequences, standing postures, core strength poses, arm balances, deep twists, strogn energizing backbends, delicious forward bends, inversions and relaxation poses. This part of the session is sent to you on video via email or private facebook group where you can share your experiences, post queries, challenges etc. The second half of the master class is where the magic happens. I work one on one with my students and learn about what they want to achieve in their practice. I like to give my students the opportunity to work with another student with similar interests and goals and then encourage them to tap into their own intuition and listen to what their body wants and needs. Working in small groups enables me to spend more time individually with each student and there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a student develop from practicing once or twice a week to practicing every single day. The Yoga Lifestyle Programme will educate you on how to build a safe home practice that fits in with your lifestyle and open your mind, body and spirit to a whole new way of living. Regualr practice of yoga makes you more mindful and creates lasting positive effects in your life. The Yoga Lifestyle Programme is available to member and non-members of Pure Gym Urban Exchange. If you are not local to manchester, or cannot make it to the master classes for whatever reason, there is also an online programme available. For more information please visit: www.ayurvedicyogalifestyle.co.uk Namaste, Sharon xx

12 Gauge Yoga

It has been a great start to the year at 12 Gauge Yoga. We have welcomed lots of new students on to the mats including Matthew Thorpe, a former professional MMA fighter, head coach and founder of 12 Gauge MMA.  He is leading by example and already noticing lots of benefits. "Having been part of a tough, guelling sport for over 15 years now my body has seen its fair share of injuries. These are becoming ever more prominent as I become older. With this in mind I started yoga. I have found this to be a great way to build up strength and flexibility and help rehabilitate following my injuries. I now include yoga in my regular training programme and can highly recommend all that train do so. It will not only help with strength and flexiblity but is a great way to help with recovery after hard training. Yoga is a must in all modern training plans!!" Matthew Thorpe The class is open to anyone of any fitness level, the poses can always be modified and made easier and also harder. A high percentage of students at this club are 12 Gauge warriors and find that regular yoga practice has improved their flexibility, balance and strength and made them better fighters. This class is a fantastic asset to any type of fitness programme and will enhance your specific sport. Claim your free trial at http://stockport-yoga.co.uk/ Namaste, Sharon xx

Ayurveda for back pain

Back pain quite often relates to an excess of vata (air and space) in the body so adopt your diet and consume more sweet, sour and salty foods such as rice, wheat, brown sugar, milk, cooked oats, soft cheese, yoghurt, citrus fruits, sweet fruits, sour fruits, pineapple helps the body to heal with its anti-inflammatory enzymes, sea salt and rock salt. 

Reduce bitter, astringent and pungent foods such as coffee, bitter melon, unripe bananas, pomegranates, chick peas, green beans, yellow split peas, sprouts, hot peppers, onions, garlic, mustard and fenugreek. Avoid raw cold food.

Your body is made up of roughly 70% water and it is important to consume plenty of water throughout the day. Lack of water contributes to chronic muscle spasm leading to poor healing and inflammation. Aim to have around 2 litres a day, even more if your are training hard.

Ginger and Turmeric Tea

Ginger and turmeric are both powerful anti-inflammatory's that reduces pain and aid in healing.

Ingredients:

1 cup of water
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp honey

Heat the water in a saucepan, add the ginger and turmeric and simmer for 15 minutes.
Allow the tea to cool before adding the honey and strain if you prefer no bits in your drink.

Make sure you keep warm in cold weather and use a heat pack to help relax the back muscles. The herb valerian is a muscle relaxant and will help to reduce pain.

Backbends strengthen the back and can be used to prevent back pain and also to relieve it. Backbending poses such as sphinx, cobra, upward dog, locust, cow and camel can be helpful poses depending on the type of back pain.

Twists help to release an tension in the spine relieving pain and forward bends can provide ease depending of the type of back complaint. If you suffer with any type of back complaint, it is important to learn with a trained yoga teacher to ensure you are practicing the right poses for your condition.

For more information on yoga therapy for back pain please visit: 

www.ayurvedicyogalifestyle.co.uk 

Namaste,

Sharon xx

Student of the month, Michelle Croston

Student of the month, Michelle Croston

How I went from chronic back pain every day to achieving my black belt in karate!

"I spent years suffering from back pain; I would have good days and bad days and I was constantly taking different painkillers. Over the past 12months the bad days were becoming more frequent to the point where I was considering stopping my martial arts training, which I had really enjoyed doing for many years.
I was introduced to Sharon and began the back care program with her. Initially, coming from a medical/nursing background I had mixed feeling as to whether it would be as effective as the very medical approach I had been using, yet I was opened minded and willing to give it a try.
I don't think that I was really prepared for what happened next. I was blown away with the results almost instantly the pain reduced, then the bad days became less frequent, the amount of pain relief I needed reduced down considerably and then stopped. I now can't remember the last time I had back pain.
For me the program has been life changing, something that I never thought I would be saying, not only has it reduced my back pain it has also complimented my martial arts training"

When I first met Michelle in September 2012, she was in chronic pain with her lower back. I could clearly see she was a very positive and confident woman but there was a sadness in her eyes that I truely resonated with. I could sense her misery related to her condition and truely empathize with patients who suffer with back complaints as I know how painful and depressing it can be.

Chronic back pain reflects in a patients mental wellbeing. When you are used to feeling apin day in and day out, it becomes familiar and you learn to deal with it.

This was me from April 2004 to summer of 2007. I was in pain every single day for over 3 years after breaking L2 and L3 in my lower back.

It wasn't until I started practicing yoga everyday that I discovered the true healing benefits of yoga. After only 6 weeks of practicing a yoga for back pain sequence every day, I felt amazing. The pain had pretty much gone! It was a miracle!

This was my life changing moment! I knew straight away I wanted to become a yoga teacher to help other people relieve their pain and live a healthy, happy and strong life. I enrolled on a hatha yoga course and never looked back.

I now dedicate my life to helping people like Michelle, gain their life back using yoga as a therapy..

Like myself and many others, Michelle has found a love for yoga and she went on to participating in the online Yoga Lifestyle Programme and now encorporates yoga into her everyday life. Michelle now feels stronger and happier than she has ever felt.

Michelle got in touch with me a fortnight ago to help her find relief from her overly tight hips and to prepare her for taking her blackbelt grading at karate. I could not believe my eyes when I saw her she looks amazing! Not only had the yoga lifestyle programme eliminated her back pain, Michelle had lost weight an radiates energy and beauty. This was the first time I had seen Michelle since before christmas and I could clearly see she had been following my advice by looking at her glowing skin, sparkly eyes and radiating aura.

I was delighted this morning to receive this text message of Michelle:

"A massive thank you for all your support and teaching. I wouldn't have achieved my blackbelt without it. As a result from woring with Sharon for the blacbelt, I have now introduced some yoga moves in to my warm up and my sensei is keen for me to continue to do this more as he has seen the benefits. My 11 year old daughter Harriet has also joined me on the yoga mat and now does sun salutations every day in order to improve her wellbeing and karate. Thank you so much Sharon!"

A massive congratulations is in order, Well Done Michelle, not only for your dedication to changing your lifestyle and recovering from your chronic back pain, but also to achieving your dreams! You are a superstar! :) I love how you have got the family on board so you all can reap the benefits of a regular practice. 

 Would you like to nominate one of our students for next months award?

Student of the month receives a free 60 minute yoga therapy session with yours truely!

I would love to hear your inspirational stories.

Namaste,

Sharon xx