Ruth Mackman Celebrant and Kind Heart Yoga with Ruth

18/03/2026

What a great day yesterday - learning and practicing skills to refine my handfasting ceremonies.

Handfasting is an ancient practice that symbolises the joining of two people in a committed relationship - the lovely thing is that while it might be centuries old, it still speaks to modern couples who want to make personal vows to the person they love. It has strong connections with nature, the natural elements of air, fire, water and earth are used to signify both the stages of a relationship and the ceremony itself. And there are very simple, but powerful rituals and symbols, which deepen the experience for the couple and everyone present.

It was a joy to immerse myself in this training, led by Dawn Kinsella, , so who better to learn from?

When you're self-employed it can be hard deciding to take a day off, and also choosing to invest in training rather than try to earn money by working. But I take my professional development seriously, I've worked with many couples who have enjoyed being abe to have handfasting as an element within their wedding celebration, and now I have more skills to offer them. It was also lovely to share the time and experience with other celebrants - a mine of knowledge and enthusiasm.

If you'd like to have a handfasting ceremony, or to incorprate elements of the ceremony within a more formal wedding or partner celebration, then get in touch.

04/03/2026

I make no secret of the fact that there's a place I really love, it's a natural burial ground and nature reserve just on the Banbury / Warwickshire border. It's one of those special places, where Nature just says everything you need to hear, on days when you might be finding it hard to express yourself.

I've been fortunate to lead many funerals and celebration of life services at Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground and Nature Reserve in the eight years I've been a celebrant, I've seen how families respond to knowing their loved one is at rest there. We also have a tree planted in memory of one of our own family members, there. It brings great comfort.

If you're looking for somewhere truly beautiful, truly natural, to say goodbye to a loved one, do take a look. And if you'd like to help them raise much needed funds, it's easy - you can find details on their website, or why not join them in their campaign to plant 2,000 daffodils, one for every one of the souls who has been laid to rest there since they opened in 2006.

https://sunrising.co.uk/daffodil-appeal/tree

AlderAlder BuckthornBird CherryBuckthornCrab AppleDog RoseDogwoodEnglish OakField MapleGoat WillowGuelder RoseHawthornHazelHornbeamSilver BirchSmall Leaved LimeWild CherryWild PrivetWild Service

15/02/2026

Slow Sunday morning yoga
Sunday 1 March 1015am - 1330 latest, in Badby village hall, with coffee and cake after

Finally, the days are getting longer and brighter, we start to feel that the first tiny glimpses of spring may be on their way. So why not dust off your yoga mat and come and share some gentle, flowing yoga to blow away your own cobwebs.

The yoga will be gentle - easing into the body, listening to how your body wants to move, remembering how it is to move in a way that feels good, stretching, strengthening, releasing. There'll be time to focus on your breath, brething efficiently and making space for longer, deeper, more nourishing breaths. And of course time for relaxation, to restore and reset the energy.

Coffee / tea (decaf or something stronger) and cake afterwards, after all yoga is like life, all a question of balance.
All are welcome - those with experience, those with little or no experience, all you need to do is to be able to get up and down from the floor unaided.

Final few places £30 per person ... https://bookwhen.com/kindhearty.../e/ev-s1b61-20260301101500

11/01/2026

A new group is being set up in Banbury to support people who have been affected by the death by su***de of someone they care about. If you or someone you know are struggling with the loss of someone in this way, please do make contact with them.

If you need support urgently please remember that you can contact

* SoBS National Support Line on 0300 111 5065 every day from 9am-7pm
* Samaritans on 116 123

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***debereavementsupportbanbury

23/12/2025

There are just two places left on the Tai Chi and Yin Yoga retreat morning on Saturday 17 January 2026. The perfect last minute stocking fillers, suitable for beginners and those with experience.
It would be lovely to see you there, and share these beautiful practices with you.

22/12/2025

When this time of year doesn't fill you with happiness, because there's someone missing ...

I'm thinking about the families I helped this year, who lost a loved one and will be facing the prospect of their first Christmas and New Year without them.

Bereavement can be the most painful experience, and this time of year can make the loss of a loved one even more difficult to navigate. There's so much hype about happy families gathering together, having the most wonderful time, not an argument in sight ... but that's not the reality for many people.

I send my best wishes to all the families I met this year, who gave me the honour of helping them to remember and say farewell to someone special. I hope this will be a time to remember their loved one, with love and gratitude, and also with kindness to themselves.

I wanted to share this link to ‘Coping with Grief During the Holiday Season’ ... it comes from a bank of resources offered by The Good Grief Channel. I hope it might help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezomkQ5IU40

I also wanted to leave you with some beautiful words, not mine, but I can't recall where I found them or who they are by, but I hope they might be of help.

Have faith in love and do not fear the sadness that comes
when someone has gone away, for love is deeper
than the deepest sorrow, its light can reach beyond the darkest day.
Have faith in love for love is sure and constant;
a tie too strong for time and loss to sever.
And for those who love there are no final partings.
Where love has been there love will be forever.

with love, and kindness,
Ruth

15/12/2025

Well, it's the last week of yoga classes before the end of the year. I'd like to thank everyone who's joined me on the mat over the last year, it's been a pleasure to practise with you.

I've had a lot of wonderful experiences this year:
continuing my Thursday evening classes in Badby, welcoming new students
adding a new class to my weekly offering - a Wednesday morning practise at The Barn, Houlton. This was a generous gift from my good friend and yoga teacher Caron, Red Hat Yoga, who was moving away from the area, and asked if I'd like to lead practise for her students. What an honour, both to take the lead from Caron, and to be welcomed by her students
running several morning / half day retreats on Saturdays - it's amazing how relaxed and re-set you can feel after a couple of hours yoga, and it's always lovely to chat and have something to eat afterwards
having the privilege to cover a number of classes at Lisa Valentine's yoga studio in Fenny Compton - a pleasure and an honour
and running two long-weekend retreats in The Cotswolds, which gave retreaters time to really unwind, immerse themself in yoga and nature, and meet some lovely, like-minded people.

I also managed to go on retreat twice myself, once to the beautiful House of Light in Spain, with VayuYoga, and then to Suffolk, for a three night silent retreat with Daryn Wober. Both were a great opportunity to step back from everyday activity, to immerse myself in yoga and reacquaint myself with the reasons I fell in love with the practice - the way it makes me feel, how it quickly settles a lot of the tensions and worries I carry about with me, and how it invites me to seek ways to find ways to be more present, less pre-occupied in my day to day life. And that comes down to practise ... something I want to gift myself more of.

I am looking ahead to next year and sharing more of the magic of yoga, and collaborating with like-minded colleagues to offer introductions to Tai Chi Qi Gong, sound baths and more.

So, thank you if you've joined me on the mat this year, thank you to everyone I've learnt from this year, and welcome to anyone who's curious to find out what yoga can do for them.

best wishes
Ruth

21/11/2025

Today is National Funeral Celebrant Day ...

It's a real privilege to be a funeral celebrant. Meeting families at such a hard time in their lives, having lost a loved one, helping them to decide how they'd like to remember that person. Many times we remember with love and laughter, some times we remember with sadness and regret. A skilled, empathetic celebrant can help make a sad or difficult occasion at the least easier to bear, and at the best a heartfelt celebration.

A celebrant-led service can be as unique and individual as the person was themself. You can choose the words, the music, the place. Yes you can choose to hold the service at a crematorium, or burial ground if that feels right, but you can also have a memorial in a woodland, a village hall, on the beach, at their favourite pub ... whatever feels most appropriate.

It's true that many people are becoming interested in what are called "direct cremations", where there is no funeral service, but that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't have a separate memorial or celebration of life service. I think, as human beings, we take comfort in other people's company, and in being able to share stories, or just share time in reflection together.

I'm always happy to talk to families, or to people wishing to plan how to mark the end of their own life, to help them understand the options available and to set out their wishes if they'd like to do so.

Wishing you every kindness if you have recently been bereaved, or this is a time of remembrance for you.

Ruth
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23/10/2025

It's getting to that time of year when the shorter days and longer nights can sap our energy, and of course it's natural to feel like hibernating until spring. But how about doing the opposite? I'm suggesting you take up or come back to yoga. It's a great way to replenish your energy, as well as help to improve your breath, as well as your balance, physical mobility, flexibility and strength.

My students tell me they often sleep better after their yoga class, feel calm and more energised. I think a lot of people could benefit from that.

And yoga keeps on working after we've packed our mat away, it really does give us tools and techniques that we can use every day to help us navigate the pressures and stresses of life with less discomfort, more ease.

If you're new to yoga, or new to my classes, I'm offering a first class for £5, so you can come and see what it's like. My classes are always small, friendly and welcoming. You really don't have to be able to do headstands or touch your toes, and the most flexible thing you need to have is attitude.

Do get in touch if you're interested - I'd love to share the light of yoga with you in these darker days and nights.

03/10/2025

I am very fortunate, living in a small village,to be able to get to know the people who live here too. When I started teaching yoga, I felt it was important to teach here, and I've been blessed to meet and teach some lovely students. And I've also been privileged to lead funerals and celebration of life ceremonies for local families. Today, it was a privilege to be part of a family's gathering, which included them commemorating this lovely bench. She would have loved knowing it had been placed there, and I can imagine many walkers and parents watching children on the playground, will be glad of a rest.

19/09/2025

https://bookwhen.com/kindheartyogawithruth =ev-snqn-20250918190000