Bhakti and Bloom

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Bhakti and Bloom

Helping you reset with slow, mindful yoga | 14+ yrs experience | Free class in link ⬇️

https://youtube.com/?si=s7SFsep7k0OViz5a . Yoga Art

Kirtan

Claire has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching for 10. She offers a nourishing style, focusing on deep relaxation, spacious breathing and gentle movements to bring people into the here and now. As a bhakta (a follower of bhakti yoga) all of her offerings are rooted in her practice of love and devotion, and she creates a welcoming and safe space, inviting people to enter into the temple of their hearts. Offerings:

Restorative Yoga
1-2-1 Yoga
Pregnancy Yoga
Devotional artwork and greeting cards
Kirtan with the Kali Shakers

03/11/2025

Sometimes we don’t need more “doing”.
We need a place to unwind - to feel the body soften, the breath slow, and the mind begin to settle.

That’s what my 1:1 sessions are about.
A quiet, supportive space (online or in person) where we explore what your nervous system truly needs in that moment.

For some, that means langhana - soothing, grounding practices that help you down-regulate, rest deeply, and release tension.
For others, it’s brhmana - gently building energy, warmth, and stability without tipping into depletion.

Each session unfolds around you: what your body needs that day, what feels safe, and what helps you come home to balance.
It might be gentle, flowing postures, restorative yoga, pranayama, or simply guided stillness - all tailored to meet you where you are.

If you’ve been feeling tired, tense, or a little disconnected from your centre, these sessions are a way to restore and reawaken, slowly, kindly, without pressure.

You can read more at www.bhaktiandbloomyoga.com 💛
Or if it feels easier, send me a DM or WhatsApp message to chat about what you need and whether 1:1 support could be right for you.

(And if you’ve worked with me before — I’d love to hear how our sessions have supported you. Even a few words can help others find what they need too.)

08/09/2025

Every day I see more and more spiritual “gurus” online and at times, it worries me.

It’s easy to be drawn in by people who look the part and know the right words to say. But have they truly done the deep work? Do they carry embodied experience? Are they staying committed and authentic to their tradition?

I don’t say this to judge, but because rushing into practices without the right foundation can be harmful.

When I did my first yoga teacher training nearly 16 years ago, I didn’t appreciate how much time we spent on grounding, safety, and the root chakra. Back then, I was impatient and ego-driven, chasing “spiritual highs” and wanting to be seen as deeply spiritual (I mean - I wore mala beads around my wrist!)

But my teachers always brought me back down to earth. When I shared visions from meditation, they would firmly, yet lovingly remind me: this is normal, let it go, keep practicing. It frustrated me at the time. Couldn’t they see how “spiritual” I was 😉?! However, now I see the wisdom in their guidance. They were committed practitioners who truly lived their practice.

That experience shaped me. It taught me that discernment matters when choosing teachers. With so much information at our fingertips today, it’s important to pause and ask:

✨ Do they walk the talk?
✨ Do they honour safety?
✨ Do they help you stay grounded?
✨ Who did they learn from?
✨ Do they stay true to their tradition?

Because the ancient practices we step into are powerful and deserve respect.

And I feel like I should add that there are some INCREDIBLE teachers in the online world. Some I’ve had the privilege to learn from. It’s all about discernment.

05/09/2025

Discover the gentle power of Constructive Rest - a simple yoga pose that helps calm the nervous system, release tension in the psoas, and create space for deep rest.

✨Benefits of practicing Constructive Rest:•

• Reduces stress and supports relaxation
• Brings a sense of safety and ease to the whole body
• Softens tightness in the psoas (deep core muscle)
• Supports healthy posture and easier breathing
•. Encourages balance and inner calm

🧘‍♀️ To explore my longer guided Constructive Rest practices, click the link below:

https://youtu.be/R0NstPlVdLM?si=qhHJlpAlMhT7a7GG

03/09/2025

In many images of Durga, one of her hands rests in abhaya mudra - the gesture of fearlessness. The open palm, facing outward, is a blessing and a promise: “Do not be afraid.”

I love how this mudra balances her other hands, which hold weapons. It’s as if Durga reminds us that courage isn’t just about fighting battles. It’s also about surrender and the steady reassurance that we are protected, supported, and not alone.

When I look at this gesture, I feel invited to soften. To trust that strength and protection can also be tender and compassionate.

🖐 Try it with me:

• Sit comfortably and bend your elbow and bring your right hand up to shoulder level, palm facing outwards, fingers gently together.
• Let your left hand rest softly in your lap.
• Take a few slow breaths, noticing any subtle shifts in your body or mind.

After a minute or two, notice: How does this gesture make you feel?

Durga’s blessing is that strength and serenity can coexist. Sometimes all it takes is a simple gesture to remember. 💫

25/08/2025

✨ Abhaya Hridaya Mudra – The Gesture of the Fearless Heart ✨

In yogic tradition, courage doesn’t mean the absence of fear. It means meeting fear with the strength of the heart.

This is the essence of Abhaya Hridaya Mudra, a hand gesture that invites us to:

🌿 Awaken inner courage
🌿 Settle the busy mind
🌿 Find steadiness in times of worry or fear
🌿 Align with the truth and wisdom of the heart

👐 To practice: Cross your wrists in front of the chest, palms facing out. Interlace the fingers in the mudra shape, rest it at the base of your sternum, breathe deeply, and allow the heart’s quiet power to rise.

Fear is part of being human, but it doesn’t have to control us. When we bless it, listen to it, and move through it, fear transforms into courage.

💬 As Joseph Campbell reminds us: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

22/08/2025

Durga is the radiant warrior goddess, the embodiment of fierce love and unstoppable power. She rides her lion with grace, carrying the weapons of truth and protection. To call on Durga is to awaken our own inner strength - physical, emotional, and mental, so that we can stand rooted, courageous, and clear in the face of life’s challenges.

Durga reminds us that empowerment is not force, but the deep resilience that arises when we align with the heart. She is both the fierce protector and the compassionate mother. The Shakti that restores balance and dissolves fear.

In this gathering, we will invoke Durga’s energy through:

✨ Movement practices to ground and energise
✨ Mantra chanting and Mudra
✨ Journaling for inner clarity and reflection
✨ A heart-led sharing circle
✨ Fire ceremony to release what no longer serves and calling in empowerment

Step into Durga’s sacred field, where devotion and strength meet, and discover the Shakti that lives within you.

About Claire & Claire

Claire and Claire first met on their initial yoga teacher training and have now been teaching for a combined 30 years. Over time, their practice and teaching have naturally moved toward the more introspective path of yoga. Both are devoted lifelong students, dedicated to walking the yogic path with sincerity and heart.

Book your place now ⬇️

https://bookwhen.com/gardentemple/e/ev-slzs-20250921110000

05/08/2025

I know that your feed is full of bad news right now, so here's something I hope will help if you are feeling depressed:

Maslow got it wrong - survival is NOT the primary bio-imperative.
Love and connection are.

In 1978 researcher Mary Ainsworth showed that a caregiver who is consistently responsive and available to a child helps that child create security and comfort - and this isn't just emotional, it's based in neuroscience.

Early attachment experiences shape the development and adult structure and function of the brain - with a less reactive amygdala and a more inhibitory PFC (prefrontal cortex). A healthy brain is a connected brain. if you didn't get that from your primary caregiver, it's okay, brains can change. You can change.

A healthy life is a connected life - full of love, attachment, and the security that goes beyond the material and even the impulse for survival.

Now, here's the intersection - according to yogic theories - especially those influenced by Bhakti Yoga and/or Gaudiya Ta**ra - with regular yoga practice attachment, connection, and a sense of deep, universal love expands and grows creating an unshakeable haven of connection and attachment. Attachment shifts from a caregiver to the inner higher Self.

Practice plugs us into the infinite, limitless flow of cosmic love - the wellspring of love that can never dry up, that no one can take away from us ever, that will never abandon us, and that gives our lives deep meaning and purpose.

When you understand and embody that this limitless, cosmic love is the fabric of the universe - life becomes magical, dark times become bearable, and action becomes inevitable - as a young yogic monk once said to me when I asked him why he decided to become a monk, "I practiced so much meditation, and my heart was so overflowing with love that there was no choice other than to offer my life in service."

This is not spiritual bypassing - it's actually the strongest resistance available to the dark forces. Insight into the love that weaves the universe gives you the security to move forward, do the right thing, stand up to injustice, and change the world.

The universal river of love is calling to us all. Love is what overcomes everything. Love calls us to stand in our truth and act from a place of courage and righteousness.

Keep the flame of hope alive in your heart and nourish it with the energetic flows of love (the rasas) that are all around you, always. Catch them and surf on them in your chanting, your asana practice, your pranayama, and your meditation, and let them inform every action you take today.

27/07/2025

Today’s Kirtan circle was beautiful.

There’s something so powerful about gathering to sing from the heart - no performance, no pressure, just voice, breath, rhythm and shared presence.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who came and offered their voice, their silence, their energy. These spaces feel so precious.

🪷 The next Kirtan circle is on Sunday 17th August at 2pm.

Spaces are limited, so do book on below if you want to join us

https://bookwhen.com/bhaktiandbloom =ev-sgkv-20250817140000

Let’s keep singing.
Let’s keep softening.
Let’s keep returning to what matters.

24/07/2025

Sometimes we think we have to be good at something to be allowed to do it.

Singing. Dancing. Art. Music.

But what if we let ourselves do it just because we enjoy it?

Not for anyone else. Not to get better.
Just because it brings us a bit of lightness.

Life’s already full of serious stuff.

So why not give ourselves something that feels good, with no pressure and no agenda?

It doesn’t have to look a certain way.

It doesn’t have to mean anything.

We can do it because it makes us feel happy.

What lights you up?

Address

Chorley

Website

http://www.bookwhen.com/bhaktiandbloom, http://www.bhaktiandbloomyoga.com/

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