I am out of action at the moment. I have a hip impingement which has been going on for a quite a while. I've seen all the great and good in the London hip scene (pardon the pun) and have continued my yoga practice the best I can whilst working around the injury site and not taking myself into a point of pain. A recent stint which had me sat at a computer for more hours than I care to count has aggravated the impingement and the steroid injection I had in August has started to wear off. One of the problems I now have is pain and inflammation causes muscle inhibition. As I currently have pain,  I have been advised to rest to see if the pain subsides. Continuing to work through the pain inhibits the muscles around the injury site and stops them from working efficiently; therefore doing more damage than good. Once I  am relatively pain free, I will work the muscles (in this case the glutes and other core stabilisers) in isolation to try and gain back the strength that has been  

This is a pose I struggle with ( although I do have hip impingement on one side, which doesn't help). I'm going to try these tips to see if things change :-)

Great clip of Sharath in the shala in Mysore-amazing how he is able to stay really focused whilst his son plays around a few feet away from him. I also thought it interesting how high he stays on his toes when he jumps back & rolls forward-thoughts on that anyone? Thank you to  Madeleine Warwick  for sharing

The Yoga Mama team had a wonderful (busy) time at the Om Yoga show here in London. The show also featured the Mind, Body exhibition where there was plenty of weird and wonderful things happening, including spiritual hair cutting. We met so many lovely people and I was really happy to have some of my yoga pals drop by and say hello... A big thank you to everyone who made it possible. Here are some photos of the event. For more details on Pregnancy yoga teacher training in London go to www.yogamama.co.uk The one quiet moment       Some of the Yoga Mama team                          Some of the Yoga Mama team  The Yoga Mama stand Kevin joins the team :-) Marygrace  Mel from Yogaclicks brings us a smile                   Scott from Stillpoint yoga London selling t-shirts... not :-))        It's a family affair... the husband                                          Cupcakes  Olympia, such a beautiful buildi

A beautifully filmed piece with a remarkable woman...... Big thank you to both  Alessandro Sigismondi  for filming and Tanya Gordon Golad for sharing her story.   

Quiet London is a beautiful book full of quiet spots in London-written and photographed by the wonderful artist Siobhan Wall . As a Londoner I love the vibrancy and mix of London-I also love quiet spaces too, and this book offers many "secret spots" I didn't know about. Siobhan is currently writing another Quiet London book and the Yoga Mama studio in Putney has the privilege of being listed in it. I would highly recommend this to both Londoners and visitors to the capital- who need a little "time out" from the hustle and bustle of the city- and those that enjoy beautiful original photographs of places in London, that you wont find in a guide book. Available from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quiet-London-Siobhan-Wall/dp/0711231907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381671173&sr=8-1&keywords=quiet+London

A snap from inside my fridge this week. The mix of wine, beer and Vita Coca sort of sums up my family really. The ones that drink wine and beer don't go in for the coco water, and the coco water drinker doesn't go in for wine or beer. In summary, none of us need worry about the other nicking all the drinks. :-)

Svadhyaya : means self- study. A teacher can only guide a yoga student. A student must then go and study- expanding the knowledge they have learnt from their teacher, until they have some deeper personal understanding of the subject, being shown to them. Swadhayadisthaddevatasamprayogah YS 2.44 While practicing self study we totally submerse ourselves in the deity that we have chosen. See Sharath Jois- Astanga yoga Anusthana for his interpretation on this. 

Interesting to see Sharath count into the pose, but not in the pose its self-same as Manju Jois did in a resent led class I attended. This is exactly how I was taught this sequence by my teacher Nancy Gilgoff-I notice some teachers ( and students) go into a really deep Utkatasana. Lovely to see the shala in Mysore, sweated it out in that spot a few times myself :-)

How does this pregnancy yoga class differ from a general prenatal yoga class?  Diane King our specialist teacher explains. Yoga for birth preparation classes Diane’s  Yoga for birth preparation classes are tailored for the final stages of pregnancy (From 32 weeks), where what we need most is to quieten the mind, let go of time pressures and constant doing and be in a consciously relaxed state, where we can connect with ourselves, our babies and our inner birthing wisdom. The course runs over four weeks and each week a different topic is discussed at the start of class: Week 1: The natural physiology of birth – What to expect at different stages of the labour process Week 2: Managing fear – Trusting your body and nurturing a sense of empowerment Week 3: Creating a positive intention and guided relaxation – Letting go of the intellect and connecting with intuition and instincts Week 4: Using breath as your anchor in labour – Detailed breath techniques for the differe