I don’t know what to call myself, but this is what I do

I find it hard to put my finger on the name of what I do. I say I am a Yoga Therapist, but I feel this doesn't really describe all of what I do in my sessions. They are an accumulation of all of what I have learned over the many years of study and just being with my clients, listening and watching how they move and feel. 

 What I bring to the sessions when I have a private one to one session is ME.  The experiences I have had living with hypermobility, pain, anxiety, burnout and, raising a family of 4 boys. To be fully present, to listen and then to find a plan that works for each beautiful unique person that steps into my yoga studio whether they suffer from fatigue, pain, a long term illness or just wanting to move and feel better in themselves.  I help my clients to realise that there is hope, that they can infuse what they learn in my sessions and integrate that into their lives. To help empower and encourage them to have confidence, to get to know themselves better through yoga and movement principles, backed up by informed research about pain and movement. I encourage the idea of the “safe space”, so that they are able to check in with themselves and ask honest questions like, “how am I doing today?”, “is today a day where I need ease or more effort to build a strong, balanced and resilient system?”.My sessions are not just about me telling you what I think you should do, they are about working together. 

 This relationship is a customised two way conversation, strategically planned to work with you and not a cookie cutter approach. We are multidimensional! I encourage you to fall in love with yourself again, and learn to listen in a bit more to what your body is telling you, so you can gain a clearer understanding of yourself, rather than me telling you what you should feel.

 I deeply believe that variability in our movement practice is key to feeling better and making progress. If we can encompass many ways to move not just in yoga, but in our sport or just the way we move about in our everyday lives our body and minds will begin to thrive. For example, one of my clients came to me as a person that had never done yoga before and he wanted to learn more about it and himself. He was about to go on a rowing adventure, to go through the northwest passage (which I’m totally in awe of!) After working together it was time for him to go off to the UK for some more training and I received a phone call where he kept me up to date with his trip, and how the breathing exercises we had worked on had kept him going on a long and particularly hard training trip, I loved how he was able to call on this when he most needed it.

 Another client of mine, has had a recurring shoulder problem and back pain and has been so scared to move in certain ways because of her pain, we have worked slowly working with movements that are building confidence, skill, strength and addressing her fears around the pain and moving her shoulder, some of the ways that we have worked have been working with breath, relaxation, imagery and movement. She is making great progress and feeling more like herself again and is looking forward to be able to play with her grandchildren with less fear of hurting herself, with her new found confidence and movement skills

 As I continue to notice my own progress as well as the progress of my clients, big or small, even through the hard and frustrating times when you don’t feel like you aren’t getting better, you are learning something. You find the inspiration and that inner strength to pick yourself up and take another step into a new day.

 If you have been touched by these words, and you would like to take that first step, with me being your guide and biggest cheerleader, feel free to reach out to me at any time and let’s have a free 20 minute online consultation to see if we might be a good fit to work together. Consider it my gift to you!