Sometimes the simplest games are the best one! This game can be done inside or outside, on yoga mats or around your space. I like to play this game by starting in a circle or with partners facing each other. You can include some yoga poses, some funny dances, jumping over things and so much more. Be sure to go first so that you can show them a few possibilities and then let everyone have a turn to be the leader. As it is halloween this week you could fit in some halloween themed poses such as

Zombie Walk (get creative)
Monster Breath (lions breath)
Witch on a broom (warrior 2)
Pumpkin (childs pose)
Spooky tree (tree pose)
creaky gate (gate pose)
flying witch (chair pose)
Vampire (mountain pose)
Bat (boat pose)

A nice twist on the classic. Yogi says an instruction and then the child or group do as Yogi says. If the instruction is given without ‘Yogi says’ at the beginning the children should not do the task. If they do, they must stand in mountain pose for three breaths before joining back in.

Here are some suggestions for Yogi Says…..
• Stand in tree pose
• Sit on the floor
• Do 5 jumping jacks
• Run on the spot
• Practice plank pose
• Show me a strong warrior pose
• Touch your toes
• Put your hands on your head
• Do a funny dance
• Stand on one leg
• Hop
• Act like a froggy

You could also add some of the halloween themed poses mentioned previously.
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You can practice some yoga poses that you have already worked with as well as new ones if you can demonstrate them first. By adding in some other fun things as well as just yoga poses, it keeps it fun and exciting as they really do not know what is coming next. You can also let the children have a turn at being yogi.

One person stands at one edge of the room, they are ‘it’, while the rest of the group/family starts at the opposite wall standing on one leg in the tree pose. If you are playing this game in a bigger space, just make a line to define the starting and finishing points. The person who is ‘it’ turns their back to the group and counts aloud “1, 2, 3 spooky yoga trees” and then quickly turns back to look at the group. When ‘it’ is not watching, the other children can move forward, but when ‘it’ turns around they must stand on one leg in the tree pose. If ‘it’ sees you standing on two legs or moving forward, they can call on you to go back to the wall (or starting point). Whoever gently touches ‘it’ first, becomes the next ‘it’. I like to add some spooky music to this one.

​Intuition is something that we are born with, yet along the way we can lose connections with it. How many times have you thought to yourself - "I knew I should have done that" or "I knew that was a bad idea". 
Being connected to our intuition allows that inner voice to become more clear, we can start to trust it more and are better able to move forward and make better decisions. Here are a few more benefits of connecting with our intuition: 

Here are five ways that you can connect with your intuition starting today.

• Meditate. Meditation is a great tool because it helps with self awareness. As intuition is within us, it can be a great tool to slow down and listen. 
• Journal. Journaling is a great way to have a conversation with yourself. If a friend asked us what we think of a situation we are all too ready to chime in with what we think, and yet we don't do this for ourselves. Ask yourself the questions. Try to be a neutral observer and write without judgement. It can be surprising what comes up and can allow for alot to come up that needed to come up!
• Yoga. Yoga is a great way to practice using your intuition through movement (and stillness). It is a practice of listening to what your body wants and needs in the moment. 
• Dance. Much like above with the yoga, dance is a way we can creatively express ourselves. Can we get past feeling awkward and stiff and allow our body to move from a place of love and freedom? How does it feel to move? Can you enjoy creativity?
• Oracle cards. I often pair this with journaling as it can help bring out a lot of questions. I can ask them questions and they will show me an answer. Now this answer isn't as clear as yes or no but when I build a connection with the cards and with spirit, I always get the answers I seek. This is a big practice of intuition as sometimes your head tries to disagree and bring you back to what is comfortable and familiar. Your gut instinct though, that intuition is always right once you develop it properly and tune in.

What is your favorite way to check in with your intuition? Any methods here you would like to try? Any methods you love that I haven't mentioned? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you.

This week I have been singing a lot of fun songs and practicing yoga and breath work with my toddler. Teaching little ones about their emotions is a powerful thing but we must also work to understand our own. Sometimes we try to resist a certain emotion, labeling it bad or negative when maybe we just need to sit with it. Maybe by sitting with it and allowing yourself to feel that emotion, it will pass when it is ready to pass or when you are ready to let it go.
There is much uncertainty at the moment, but then there always was. So what can we do? 

If you feel uncertain, unsafe, worried or just a little off balance - think of your feet. Feel your feet on the ground, even in your shoes. Bring your awareness to your surroundings, your energy, your breath. Stand in a tall mountain pose or sit upright on a chair with both feet on the ground. Repeat this affirmation "May I feel safe where I am right now. May I inhale peace. May I exhale stress and overwhelm" 

You can do this as many times as you need to throughout the day. It is a great way to start each morning. Please know that you can always reach out for support. Some feelings can feel 'a lot' and there is no where that states we have to do it alone. 
Yoga means union - it could mean the union of mind, body and breath but it can also mean the union of us all coming together in this human experience. We are all in this together.

So when ever your emotions are running wild, please just stop and think of your feet. 

The Importance of Self-Care
As parents, we take on a lot of responsibility for someone else’s needs and happiness. Sometimes we can neglect our own needs because we are so busy looking after our loved ones. Of course, taking care of them is great, and you should do it with love, but you are important too. Self-care should be made a priority so that you are in a good position to help others and you don’t end up burning out, feeling over worked, overwhelmed, and underappreciated. It can be helpful to schedule in time for self-care on your daily planner just as you would an important meeting or appointment. Taking some time for you can make all the difference. I’m sure you have heard the Cliché saying about filling your own cup first as you cannot pour from an empty cup. Cliché it may be, but it is so true.
We cannot teach what we haven’t learned. We can’t expect our children to grow up strong, happy, and carefree if we don’t model that behavior ourselves. Taking this time for you is not selfish. It will make you a better parent. It will allow you to show up at your best, less likely to snap at the smallest thing or to be too fatigued to listen whole heartedly. Taking care of yourself will allow you to recharge and feel balanced again.
What is something that you love doing? Maybe you haven’t done it for a while, maybe even not since having children. If you’re stuck for ideas give this next exercise a go. Have a pen and paper ready to jot down your ideas.

Sit in a cross-legged position on the floor (you can use a pillow or yoga block to lift the hips slightly) or sitting up tall on a chair with feet firmly on the ground. Allow your hands to rest naturally on your lap or palms open to the sky.
Take between 5 – 10 deep, slow breaths. Allow the mind to clear as you focus your attention on the breath. Any time your mind starts to wonder, bring it back to the breath. Close your eyes if it feels right to do so.
Once you are settled, think about when you were a child. What activities did you really love doing? How did they make you feel? Did you enjoy baking, painting, horse riding, dancing, singing, playing board games, getting out in nature? The sky is the limit here. Think of anything you can.
Once you feel inspired open your eyes and start to write down as many activities you can think of that you once enjoyed.
Now look at the list and see if anything listed would spark joy in your life now. 

I have new yoga classes starting next week (23rd September 2020) for parents wanting to connect with themselves and other parents and to move their body in a way that feels good. No need to worry about childcare or traveling as it is all from the comfort of your own home. Click here to book now. 

Check out my free 7 day self care challenge here. 

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Self love, that inner critic and breaking out of comfort zones.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in Ireland. Anxiety can feel like it is taking over everything. It can make our heart race, our thoughts run wild, our stomach sick and social situations exceedingly difficult. It can lead to panic attacks and feelings of unworthiness. The good news is that we can regain control. We can experience anxiety; we can feel it fully and then we can choose to let it go. Anxiety is a feeling and feelings are created with our thoughts. We can choose to change our thought patterns with practice. Children may be feeling more stressed, worried, and anxious with the challenges that 2020 is bringing us. Understandably. This is a strange time. If we can provide our children with tools to get through these challenging times, teach them to find their own calm within the chaos, they will be able to come back to their calm through anything. In this guide I have laid out a few simple ways we can help our children get back to the present moment and get back to their own true selves. 

Contents 
• Poses for anxiety
• Breathing techniques
• Aspirations
• Meditations 

Click here to download -> anxiety_yoga_toolkit.pdf

I am so happy to have received such positive feedback for this booklet. Please let me know if this has been any help to you. I would love to hear your reviews on it. 

Everyone on my mailing list received this booklet a week ago. If you want to grab your freebies and useful tips for yoga and mindfulness, please sign up to my mailing list. 
You may also be interested in these Free ABC yoga cards --> Click here.

How can Yoga help? 

​Yoga can help with anxiety as it really allows us to be in the present moment. By focusing on moving the body with the breath and how each pose feels we are staying in the moment and quietening busy minds. It can be challenging to go straight into a mediation so yoga can be a really good tool to prepare ourselves for stillness. Yoga can also help to release built up tension from our bodies and align us energetically.


Cat / Cow

Start in a tabletop position (knees below hips, wrists below shoulders). Inhale and drop the belly down towards the mat as you look forward. Exhale round your spine, arching your back like a spooky Halloween cat and relax your head, looking towards your belly button. Inhale, move through back to your cow pose, lifting your heart, dropping the belly. Exhale back to your cat. Move with the breath here, repeating at least three to five times.

Childs Pose

Start on all fours and then bring your hips back so that your arms are stretched out in front of you. Bring your forehead to rest on the mat or on a yoga block or bolster. Having the legs together will help to support your spine. This may not feel like a resting posture for everyone, so another option is to bring your big toes together and knees as wide as the mat and then fold forward, bringing the forehead towards the mat.
 
Forward Fold

Begin standing with your feet together or hip width apart. On an exhale, bend your knees and fold forward bringing your belly against your thighs. Bring your hands to the ground and let your head hang heavy. You may like to work on straightening the legs in time.  You can stay here for three to five breaths or for just one exhale as part of a flow.
 
Puppy Dog Pose

Begin on all fours, knees above hips. As you breath in walk your arms out in front of you and bring your chest towards the mat. You may like to have a yoga block underneath each forearm if that feels better. Rest your forehead on the mat keeping your legs exactly where they started. Breath here for three to five breaths.
 
Legs up the wall

This is a wonderful restorative pose that helps your body to relax and restore. Start by sitting sideways against a wall and then swing your legs around so that you are laying on your back with your legs up the wall. Doing it this way will help you to get your bottom as close to the wall as you can. Straighten your legs, resting your heels on the wall. Your arms can rest beside you or bring them to your belly. Anytime you need a break during this pose you can bring your legs into a butterfly position by bending your knees and bringing the soles of your feet together. The more you practice this pose the longer you will be able to stay in it for. Try staying in this pose for at least two minutes or longer if you feel you need to.


How is your child feeling about going back to school? Do they have at least one thing they are really looking forward to?  These poses can be used before school, after school or any time you and your child has time. You could practice them all or just choose one or two for that day. Legs up the wall is one of our favorites before bed! 
 

This is a beautiful meditation for children and teenagers that can be done at home. Adults can benefit just as much from this practice so feel free to set a timer and join in. So often people think the idea of meditation is to have no thoughts but actually trying to quieten the mind so that we can allow ourselves to hear our unheard thoughts can be very empowering. 

To be able to direct these thoughts, we must first be aware of them. Bring an awareness to these thoughts without judgement, without labeling them good or bad. Each time a thought comes to your head return back to the number one so that you are not 'running away with the story'. One to two minutes is a good time frame for this exercise. You may choose to journal after or to talk to someone you trust about what came up for you. 



Did you make it to ten? 

When the clouds bring us rain, it can leave us pretty limited as to what to do at the moment. Sure we can still get out and enjoy nature but what if we feel like hiding out at home for some of it? How can we still stay active and avoid boredom? 
With yoga of course!
Here are three games that we love to play at home rain or shine!

Sometimes the simplest games are the best one! If there are 2 people playing, stand to face each other. If there are three or more, stand in a circle or pair up. 
You can include some yoga poses, some funny dances, jumping over things and so much more. Be sure to go first so that you can show them a few possibilities and then let everyone have a turn to be the leader.

Start by asking the child / children what they think ‘rock’ would look like. We usually go for a pose that looks most like child’s pose or knees to chest. Then do the same for paper and scissors.
Get into partners if there are more than two of you. If there is an odd number, someone can play on the next round. Once in a partnership, stand back to back with one another. As you count one, take one step forward. Two, take another. Three, and another. Say ‘Draw’ and quickly get into your poses, either rock, paper, or scissors.
As we do not have winners and losers in our yoga practice instead, we focus on how we can join these poses together. We sometimes stack the rocks, scissor massage the rocks (chopping hand motion), join the scissors together by coming into a double boat kind of posture and so on. The possibilities are limited only to the imagination. Then we go again.

​

Another resource you may find useful is my free ABC Yoga Card deck download with pose guide and game ideas. You can find that here.

There! Three great yoga games that you can play at home! Will you be trying any of these games? Would you like to see more game ideas or have you got any that you would like to share with others? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

There are many different ways to practice mindfulness and meditation. There is no one right way or one way that suits all. You may even just be looking to mix things up a bit. This is a wonderful meditation that both children and adults can benefit from. If you are practicing with a child just guide them through the process. 

With the weather a little warmer it can be quite nice to take our meditation practice outside and I know for us, we have really needed it. A chance to unwind, process emotions and come back to ourselves. 

This meditation is quite a well known for improving wellbeing, reducing stress and for practicing self acceptance. It can also be a good one for improving our relationships with others, allowing us to be compassionate and choosing love. 

You should allow ten minutes for this meditation. I love practicing this when I am walking out in nature, whether its a park or a beach but you can practice anywhere, just be sure to keep a safe awareness around you i.e. watch out for traffic etc. 

Start by bringing an awareness to your body as you walk. How does it feel? How does it move? Is your breathing fast or slow? Next, repeat these loving kindness phrases as you walk:

May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I experience ease.

If your inner critic makes an appearance, practice self compassion. Gently but firmly close the door on that mean voice and come back to repeating the phrases.  Repeat these five times and then move on to the next part. 

Now, start sending out this loving kindness to someone you love, whom you think might need it right now. 
May they be safe.
May they be happy.
May they be healthy.
May they experience ease. 

Silently repeat these phrases five times
Next we focus on sending love to someone we don't know. Maybe you see someone walking past you, or off in the distance.

May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you experience ease. 

Now imagine all of you together. Yourself, your friend/person you love and the stranger. 

May we all be safe.
May we all be happy.
May we all be healthy.
May we all experience ease. 

After repeating this five times, bring your attention back to your breath. Notice any sensations or feelings that have come up or any insights that you may have gained through doing this meditation. You may even like to set an intention to bring these feelings of love, kindness and community with you into your day. 
This is such a beautiful practice, maybe now more than ever. We are all connected and one and going through something so surreal. Let us do what we can to look after our own health and wellness while hoping it for all around us too.  

Please let me know if you try this out and share any experiences you would like to in the comments. 

What is on our minds? Often a whole bunch of things. It can get very overwhelming. In this practice we look at slowing down. Letting go of our thoughts, even just for this moment, to come back to ourselves. We begin to notice feeling emotions, questions, sensations, worries and thoughts. Taking the time to do this can allow you to release nervous energy and of what is troubling you and allows you just to take the time to breath. This exercise is great for teenagers and adults. It can be practiced together or alone.

It can help to have someone guide you through this or you may like read this in full and then set yourself a timer of 10 to 15 minutes to practice this activity. 

Take a cross legged position on the ground or sit up nice and tall on a chair. You may like to close your eyes, or take a soft gaze in front of you. As we start to still ourselves, we may notice a lot of thoughts running through our minds. Notice this, and then bring your attention to your breath. 

Take five long, deep breaths to help calm and settle you into this moment. 

Now imagine yourself sitting on a grassy hill, Maybe you are sat up against a tree or on a nice blanket. Feel the warmth of the sun shining down on you as you breath in that nice fresh air. Next to you is a stream. Notice how the water is flowing. Is it flowing quickly or slowly? Does it seem calm or hurried? 

As you sit here, bring your awareness back to your thoughts. As a thought pops into your head, notice it. Notice if your body reacted to it in anyway. Notice if your breath changed at all. Now take this thought and place it on the stream. Watch as the flowing water takes it away, Do this as many times as you need to do. Some thoughts may be harder to let go, they may find their way back but just repeat the process. 

Now bring your focus back to your breath. Can you keep it here or is there a thought that keeps popping up? Acknowledge it and send it down the stream. 

When your timer goes off, take a few deep breaths, wiggle your fingers and your toes a few times and gently come back to the room. 

You may choose to journal after your experience. Did any thoughts keep coming up? Had you been aware of them before? Is this something that you can ask for help with? 

You can repeat this process as often as needed. Practicing regularly will help you to calm your mind for longer periods. It will also help you to check in with your body and mind and tap into the parasympathetic nervous system (a rest and digest state). We switch from worrying to nurturing our bodies systems for long term health including digestion, repair and immunity. 

You may like to visit this blog on Self love, that inner critic and breaking out of comfort zones: Click Here