Stretch Yoga Blog

How Deep Stretch taught me how to enjoy breathing

13/3/2017

by Zoe Barclay

Breathe.
Breathe deep and with intention.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Repeat.

I’ve been breathing my entire life. It was literally the first thing I did – you might say it came naturally. So you can imagine my surprise when I started practicing yoga to find that there is so much more to breathing than what I’ve done all day (and night) long my entire life…

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I Can't Touch My Toes! How Can I Do Yoga?

31/1/2017

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By Angelica Cook

It happens all the time - we’ve had all kinds of people tell us they would love to join a class but they just can’t touch their toes! They say, yoga sounds amazing but I can’t even … (you fill in the rest). Well dear friends, this may come as a surprise, but you don’t need to be stretchy to join a stretchy class! Let us tell you why.

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Burned out? Perhaps restorative yoga is worth a shot...

26/7/2016

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You know the feeling – when you’re not unwell, just a little off. Maybe you’ve been working too many hours, pushing yourself a little too hard, maybe even dealing with some stuff in your personal life. It happens. In life we ebb and flow and sometimes we burn out. The logical solution is a holiday, but sometimes we don’t have the time, the money, the required full time nanny for the children….

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Yoga found more effective than memory training for Alzheimer’s

19/5/2016

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Another day, another study showing the amazing health benefits of yoga. A team of neuroscientists at UCLA have put yoga to the test looking at the effect of a 12 week yoga course on a group of 25 participants aged over 55. They found that the course helped to minimise the emotional and cognitive problems that often precede both Alzeimer’s disease and other related forms of dementia. The findings were simply amazing – yoga has now become the new gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment showing stronger results than the memory enhancement exercises which have previously been recommended.

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Functional Yoga

28/2/2016

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This week at Stretch we were graced with an incredible yin yoga teacher running a 50 hr training. Jo Phee is a senior assistant to Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers – the founders of yin yoga, and an amazing teacher and even more amazing trainer in her own right.

Among the vast amounts of knowledge that she imparted on us included her argument for switching from alignment yoga to functional yoga – something that we wholeheartedly agreed with and you’ll definitely be seeing a whole bunch more of at Stretch!

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The Benefits of Kids Yoga

23/1/2016

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I think we can all agree that the world is a pretty different place from when we grew up. Everything seems to be moving so much faster, and in between all the normal stresses of being a child or adolescent these days there’s the pressure of the internet, social media, unrealistic advertising and kids being forced to grow up much too fast!

It’s no surprise that rates of anxiety and depression amongst children is growing, and parents are looking more and more towards natural methods of helping their children to be healthier and happier. Kids and teens yoga is one of the greatest investments you can make in your child’s health – it caters to children from as young as 5 years old and is perfect for children with special developmental needs, injuries and limitations and can be practiced by kids of any fitness level with any body type.

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How to eat like a yogi (even if you’re not vegan)

11/11/2015

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Image Credit: your. Buddhi

We don't care if you're vegan, lacto-ovo-pescatarian, fruitatarian or paleo (or even whether you know what those things mean!). Whether you love bacon, are addicted to cheesecake or just can't resist a plate of ribs every now and then, we can all eat more 'yogic-ly' by making small simple changes.

This a post for everyone who wants to eat better – better for your health, better for the planet and better for your wallet! This is our advice on how to eat like a yogi no matter WHAT diet you follow - and if you really like, you can have your bacon and eat it too!

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Om, Excuse Me

26/9/2015

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Author: Lexi Crouch
Editor: PJ Wells

Throughout Yoga classes worldwide the chanting sound “OM” is used daily. But what does this really mean? Why do some Yoga teachers greet you with a hello to suddenly switch to a foreign language? Can you opt out, or do you really need to take part (even if you feel stupid!)?

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How to Get Your Yoga Mojo Back

20/7/2015

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It happens to all of us at some point. We’re going well – attending regular classes, nailing new poses, feeling on top of the world when we practice and then - *bam* - our mojo just disappears. What was once the hour we looked forward to all day becomes the thing that we want to avoid the most. We start coming out with excuses like “I’m not feeling the best” or “Work is really just too crazy right now”, but what we really mean is that we’ve lost our yoga mojo and we don’t know how to get it back!

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Is it wrong to nap in savasana?

16/6/2015

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Ahh the age-old question that has plagued yogis for centuries (or maybe just the last few years…). Is sleeping in savasana (pronounced sha-VAH-suh-nuh) a small yogic faux pas, or a serious breach of the limbs? Will your teacher kick you out? Are you doing it all wrong? Or are you simply making the most of a well presented opportunity?

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Why Meditation Isn’t as Scary as You Think

22/5/2015

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When it comes to meditation I’m definitely not an expert. I haven’t reached any kind of enlightened status, many days I can think of around 100 things I would rather do and sometimes my mind is such a jungle I can’t decide whether to laugh at it or cry (or down a bottle of vodka).

Just like you I know that meditation is fantastic for your health. I know that it leads to less stress, anxiety and depression, increased concentration, memory and focus and overall feelings of happiness, calm and wellbeing. In short, it’s something that both you and I know we should be doing every day. So why is it that we resist?

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Will Yoga Make My Thighs Thinner?

24/2/2015

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As a yoga teacher I’ve been asked lots of shades of this question. Will yoga make my thighs thinner, my ass rounder, my stomach flatter or my arms more toned? Will yoga help me lose weight or detox from Christmas? I get asked far more about how yoga can change the way you look than I ever get asked about how yoga can change the way you feel. For a practice that at its core is spiritual in nature, some days it really feels like yoga has lost its way...

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Could your workplace benefit from yoga?

5/11/2014

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Have you heard about the growing corporate yoga trend? In countries like the US and Canada corporate yoga is a staple in many workplaces, and Australia isn’t far behind, with more and more organisations becoming aware of the numerous benefits that corporate yoga can offer.

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Why Yoga Isn't Just for Girls

13/9/2014

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Like most interesting activities of times past, yoga was developed by men, for men and practiced only by men (how rude!). It is believed that the start of women participating in this ancient practice wasn’t until the late 1800’s, and even then didn’t start to gain popularity until the 1970’s, so how, in such a short period of time, have women seemingly taken over?

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What is Hatha Yoga?

21/8/2014

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Learning about yoga is like learning a second language. Literally. Yoga is predominantly Sanskrit based which is an ancient language that is pretty much as different from English as it comes. With so many styles of yoga out there these days with all their wonderful sanskrit names, how do you tell which class is which and whether you’re going to enjoy the style that you turn up to?

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The Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

4/8/2014

The news of finding out that you’re expecting is often one filled with joy and excitement - however with all the emotions that come with bringing a new life into the world and the dramatic hormonal and physical changes associated with pregnancy there’s a lot of ‘not-so-pleasant’ involved.

In recent years, thousands of women worldwide have been looking to prenatal yoga as a way to combat anxiety, release pain and discomfort and prepare the body for birth. However, if you’ve never tried yoga before (or never tried prenatal yoga specifically) you may be curious as to what the benefits to expecting mothers actually are. Whilst we can’t promise that prental yoga will give you a pain-free birth (sorry!), prenatal yoga can definitely provide numerous benefits by focusing on the following areas:

How Do You Apply Ahimsa In Daily Life?

9/7/2014

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You may or may not have heard this term bandied around in the yoga community, but put quite simply, ahimsa (a-him-sa) means non-violence. Whilst we can pretty easily determine how to practice this in a literal way (don’t go around punching people no matter how much they annoy you!), it’s the deeper, more abstract practice of this concept that is really going to help you lead a more yogic and happier life.

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Why 3 deep breaths can change your life

6/6/2014

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When I first started practicing yoga nearly 15 years ago I don’t think my teacher even mentioned breathing, and if they did, I was too busy trying to pretzel myself into the next pose (that I wasn’t quite ready for), to hear it. I had no idea that yoga poses (asana) were only 1/8th of what I needed to be doing, and I certainly didn’t view yoga as a spiritual practice. It was all flexibility, strength, balance and toning – no different from a spin class or body pump class, and certainly no more influential in my life outside of the gym.

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How Deep Stretch taught me how to enjoy breathing

I Can't Touch My Toes! How Can I Do Yoga?

Burned out? Perhaps restorative yoga is worth a shot...

Yoga found more effective than memory training for Alzheimer’s

Functional Yoga

The Benefits of Kids Yoga

How to eat like a yogi (even if you’re not vegan)

Om, Excuse Me

How to Get Your Yoga Mojo Back

Is it wrong to nap in savasana?

Why Meditation Isn’t as Scary as You Think

Will Yoga Make My Thighs Thinner?

Could your workplace benefit from yoga?

Why Yoga Isn't Just for Girls

What is Hatha Yoga?

The Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

How Do You Apply Ahimsa In Daily Life?

Why 3 deep breaths can change your life

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