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As some of you maybe aware I have recently had the privilege of going travelling in South America, and as part of this trip we went to the Amazon, and this blog is inspired by that experience. There is something revealing about watching people wildlife spot in the jungle. Some arrive as though they have purchased an appointment with nature. They have their cameras ready, their expectations carefully assembled: a sloth, a toucan, a monkey, perhaps something rarer if the gods o

Parkinson’s is often thought of as a condition that causes tremor, but its effects reach far beyond movement alone. It is a progressive neurological condition caused by the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain, affecting not only movement but also mood, sleep, cognition, digestion and overall quality of life. For some people, one of the earliest signs can be a reduced sense of smell, years before any noticeable changes in movement occur. Others may first experience c

Coming back to a yoga or movement practice after time away can often feel more difficult than expected. Not because the practice itself has changed, but because our relationship to it and our expectations of ourselves often have. There is a common assumption that wellbeing practices should be consistent and uninterrupted in order to be effective. In reality, human behaviour and physiology do not operate in a linear way. Our energy, capacity, and motivation naturally fluctuate

There was a long period of my life where I treated my body like a problem to solve rather than something to listen to. I would push through fatigue because I thought consistency mattered more than sensation, and I would rest when I felt discomfort because I assumed pain always meant stop. Living with a condition like Rheumatoid Arthritis eventually forced me to question that pattern, but this isn’t really a story about RA. It’s a story about something far more universal: how

Many people living with chronic pain are told that what they feel is simply a mechanical problem in the body. Something is worn out inflamed damaged or misaligned. The assumption is often that if the body could just be “fixed” then the pain would resolve. Yet in clinical reality and in lived experience pain rarely behaves so simply. In my work as a Yoga Therapist I see something different unfold. Pain is not just located in the joints muscles or tissues. It is experienced thr

The phrase “the body keeps the score” comes from the work of Bessel van der Kolk and is also the title of his influential book The Body Keeps the Score. It reflects a shift in how we understand psychological distress, moving beyond the idea that trauma is only held in memory or thought, and toward an understanding that it can also shape how the body and nervous system organise experience, safety, and response over time. This does not mean the body is broken or permanently stu

Grief is often associated with bereavement, but from a neuroscience and physiology perspective it is a whole body adaptation to loss, change, and disrupted attachment. In my work, I encounter grief not only after death, but in chronic illness, changes in physical capacity, shifts in identity, relationship endings, and the ongoing experience of life not unfolding as expected. Neuroscience shows us that grief is deeply linked to the brain’s attachment and threat-regulation syst

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t always have a clear name at first. It isn’t panic or obvious overwhelm, but something quieter and more constant. It’s the feeling of always being on the edge of the next thing going wrong, as if calm is only ever temporary and something will soon need fixing. Some people describe it as waiting for chaos, and others notice it as a constant background alertness that never fully switches off, even in quiet moments. In psycholo

One of the questions I often reflect on as I teach Yoga Therapy is whether the way we communicate contraindications genuinely supports safer movement, or whether it unintentionally creates fear around the body. Safety is essential in any movement practice, but there is a meaningful difference between offering clear, informed guidance and encouraging people to approach their bodies with caution that borders on distrust. In many movement contexts, students are presented with li

Summer often brings the promise of holidays, long awaited adventures and time away from everyday routines. Our social media feeds quickly become filled with airport check-ins, beach sunsets and travel photos, making it seem as though everyone is heading somewhere exciting. While this can be an uplifting time of year for many, it can also be a difficult season for those living with anxiety. Whether you’re preparing for a holiday, worrying about the journey ahead or staying at

Silence is often spoken about as though it is something we have lost, something we need to recover from a world that has become increasingly loud. But when we look more closely at our experience, silence is not actually missing. What has changed is our relationship with sound, attention, and the constant stream of interpretation that follows almost everything we hear. We live in an age where noise is not only external but also internalised through reaction. A barking dog, a p

A few weeks ago, at the start of a group yoga class, someone asked if we could do something with the big toe. I’ll be honest, my first thought was that it was a bit of a joke. The kind of request that makes you smile politely while wondering where on earth you’re supposed to go with it. Years ago, I would have steered us straight back to the carefully constructed lesson plan I had spent time preparing. Every posture sequenced. Every cue planned. Every minute accounted for. Bu

There’s a quiet but powerful idea running through modern neuroscience and cellular biology: that our relationships and internal states don’t just shape how we feel, they shape how we age. It’s a claim that sounds almost poetic, but the science behind it is increasingly hard to ignore. Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dan Siegel has spent decades exploring what he calls interpersonal neurobiology, the idea that the mind is not just something inside the brain, but something that

There are few health conditions that affect so many people while remaining so rarely discussed. Incontinence is one of them. Across the UK, millions of people live with bladder or bowel incontinence, yet public understanding remains remarkably poor. While the condition is often associated with women following childbirth, a growing number of men are living with incontinence as a result of prostate cancer treatment, neurological conditions, diabetes, ageing, and pelvic floor dy

When identity is shaped through the lens of those we admire, it can initially feel like learning and growth. There is a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there is truth in that. Over time, however, a different experience can begin to emerge. A quieter sense of disconnection. A feeling of not fully arriving in oneself. In many working environments and performance driven contexts, this can be particularly present. There can be a subtle pressure to con

Pride Month is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, recognise the progress that has been made towards equality, and acknowledge that for many people, the freedom to simply be themselves is still not guaranteed. Whilst attitudes have changed significantly over the years, discrimination, prejudice and exclusion continue to affect the lives of many LGBTQ+ people. Pride is not just a celebration; it is a reminder that visibility matters, that representation matters, and that

Yoga teaching is often associated with presence and care. Less often discussed is what happens when there are no clear boundaries holding it all together. In yoga and Yoga Therapy, we often speak about balance, presence, and awareness in the body and mind. Less frequently discussed but equally important is the role of boundaries in sustaining the work of holding space for others. Boundaries in yoga teaching and Yoga Therapy are not barriers to connection. They are the structu

This weekend I witnessed a pedestrian become understandably frustrated with a driver who failed to observe a crossing. It escalated into a very heated exchange. A small everyday moment perhaps, but it felt like a clear example of how quickly situations can shift when awareness of our environment, our internal state, and the people around us becomes reduced. With the heatwave potentially continuing for another week, many of us may already be noticing its effects. In warmer w

Yoga has always been about more than stretching the body. It’s about connecting mind, body, and breath whilst creating space to be fully present. In some of my classes, I’ve recently started introducing simple brain-training hand movements. Think of them as mini mind puzzles that invite curiosity, focus, and play. These movements engage the mind as much as the body. They help improve hand-eye coordination, following sequence memory, dexterity, and flexibility in the hands and

Recently, my cats broke his leg. Not a simple fracture that could heal quietly with time, but a complicated break that required specialist veterinary care, surgery, medication and strict confinement afterwards. He now has to spend six weeks resting while the bone heals properly, which, if you know cats, feels almost impossible to enforce. To help keep him calm and stop him from jumping or moving too much, he has even been prescribed anxiety medication. The whole experience ha