Harrogate Yoga

10/04/2026

When teaching twist poses I sometimes say ‘spiral around’. Some of the muscles of the trunk that are involved in a twist, really do have this kind of action, via their shape.

In my last video I focused on External Obliques to help get steady and also to turn/rotate. The obliques are either A shaped or V shaped and they act together on the same diagonal in a twisting action - whether that’s to the right or left.

So spiralling around in a twist pose like Ardha Matsyendrasana - Half Lord of the Fishes - really is a thing!

There are other muscles involved in rotation of the trunk that have A shaped configuration eg Rotatores, Rhomboids, Serratus Posterior Superior; muscles with V shaped configuration eg Latissimus Dorsi, Lower Trapezius, Serratus Posterior Inferior. And then there are other muscles that don’t have either A or V shaping eg Multifidi!

06/04/2026

The ‘core’ is often talked about with reference to functional movement. Here I’m focusing more specifically on the oblique muscles.

To help me get steady on my left leg, I’m engaging the external obliques on the left side. The external obliques on the left side also help me turn to the right. The internal obliques on the right side are also involved in this action.

Of course the opposite will apply when balancing on the right foot.

02/04/2026

It’s Spring in my garden. Or as David Hockney would say it’s ’nature’s orgasm’!

19/03/2026

One of my favourite quotes is by T.S. Eliot. It goes “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”

11/03/2026

Mindfulness what is it? This is how Ron Kurtz describes it.

08/03/2026

The last couple of reels that I posted were more challenging for me than usual. This is because I demonstrated the poses whilst dealing with vertigo. It suddenly started a couple of weeks ago. It’s the BPPV kind of vertigo - Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

This means that moving up and down or over to one side - especially doing it quickly - makes me feel as if I’m on a rollercoaster, helter skelter ride all at once. Luckily there are only short moments like that. Last week I had a treatment called the Epley Manoeuvre that I hope will speed up my return to normal.

The point I want to make here is how helpful it is to have practised yoga and somatics for over 50 years. I might need to hold onto something for a moment but basically I can feel my feet. grip with my toes, reorient my head, tail, feet, plus deep ujjayi breathe and these resources help me get steady.

So keep practising everyone so you can deal better with challenges that come along in all their variations!

25/02/2026

20/02/2026

Learn how to increase your physical resilience and have fun in everyday movement.

Move to Rejuvenate workshop with Amanda and Lisa at Well House Yoga Space, HG3 2LN on 30th May.

See link in Bio for more info or to book.

25/11/2025

When practising Urdhva Mukha Svanasana it can feel easier on the wrists to focus on a reach of the crown of the head into space, rather than the push from the hands.

In the video - where my fingertips are just above and a little forwards of the tops of my ears - I’m connecting to support from the mamillary bodies. This focus allows the crown of the head to reach into space, it can also activate alertness and it underlies insight and perception. The mamillary bodies relate to Ajna Chakra.

Happy practising!

20/11/2025

Here’s an inquiry - a little exercise - to help your neck feel more comfortable, especially if you’ve spent too much time looking at your phone lately.

Place a couple of fingertips just above and slightly forwards of the tops of your ears. The fingertips are there to support a reach of the crown of your head into space. Imagine you’re smelling a delicious scent! Try it maybe three times.

I hope your neck has more ease from practising this, you may find you feel more alert also.

For my somatic minded friends out there - the reason for the placing of the fingertips in this particular spot is to gain support from the mamillary bodies - they’re located at the base of the brain - slightly below and behind the hypothalamus. In some respects they’re part of the hypothalamus.

The mamillary bodies govern primitive functions of taste and sense of smell. They underlie insight and perception. They help align head and body along their vertical axis. They can allow the top of the head to reach into space - giving rise to feelings of spaciousness, timelessness, a meditative sense. Theyre not traditionally recognised as endocrine glands but may possibly have endocrine function. They relate to Ajna Chakra.

10/11/2025

A somatic approach - what is it? It could be any movement … that involves an appreciation of all the layers of experience… it’s about presence and attention … it’s about presence and attention providing a context for movement… it could be dancing with another … it could even be a chat with a friend.

03/11/2025

Somatic - what does it mean? ‘Of the body, experienced from within’?

In my own experience, any movement can have a somatic approach but there are no specific movements/ exercises, where we could say - ‘oh that’s a somatic movement’. This is because, rather than the type of movement, it’s more about the language we use towards ourselves to elicit inquiry, interoception, inner awareness. And it’s about the language a facilitator might use towards participants to elicit inquiry, interoception, inner awareness.

For inner awareness and interoception to arise, movement needs to slow right down. Later… or sooner… the movement can speed right up again.

Practising in these ways can lead to embodiment. It takes a lot of time.