adore yoga blog

15 May

Posted by Nikola Ellis

Angelina Jolie's bravery inspires Pink Yogi's

Angelina Jolie’s recent disclosure that she has undergone a double mastectomy because she has the high risk BRAC1 gene has put breast cancer well and truly on the front page this week.

With one in nine Australian women being diagnosed with breast cancer, I have seen increasing numbers of women turning to yoga to help them manage their journey with the disease. There has been plenty of research to demonstrate the benefits of yoga and meditation for women with breast cancer, including:

• Improve physical functioning
• Reduce fatigue
• Reduce stress
• Improve sleep
• Improve quality of life

A 2003 study into yoga and breast cancer involved 126 women recently diagnosed with Stage I or II breast cancer and who were about to receive chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. The women assigned to regular yoga classes over a 12-week period had a 12% improvement in fatigue, physical functioning, and quality of life compared with those in the program who did not practice yoga

Another study in 2006 followed 61 women receiving 6 weeks of radiation treatment for breast cancer. Half the women practiced yoga twice a week; the other half did not. Compared with the women who did not do yoga, the women in the yoga group reported having more energy and less daytime sleepiness, better physical functioning, and better overall quality of life.

These and other studies, along with the increasing popularity of yoga, have prompted many GP’s, oncologists and breast care nurses to recommend yoga to women with breast cancer. However, as the US based not-for-profit organization Breastcancer.org points out, “Because of the variation in certification requirements for yoga teachers, it's possible to take a class with a yoga teacher who has very little experience. This is not always safe and can result in injuries.” Breastcare.org goes on to recommend some simple questions to ask a prospective yoga teacher:

• Where did you receive your training?
• How many hours have you trained?
• Are you continuing your study of yoga? Do you still attend classes and seminars?
• How many years have you been teaching yoga?
• Do you regularly work with people who have had breast cancer?

If you can find an experienced teacher who offers private or group classes especially designed for women with cancer, this will not only provide specialized modifications to meet your individual needs, but the classes will also become a valuable source of support and friendship on your journey with cancer.

Taking positive action to deal with breast cancer, whether through a preventative mastectomy or, for women diagnosed with the disease, facing the treatment with courage and using every available resource, including yoga, to achieve the best possible experience, is empowering. As Angeline Jolie says “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."

Adore Yoga offers free Pink Yoga community classes every month and discounted private yoga therapy sessions for women with cancer. Nikola Ellis is the founder and director of Adore Yoga and organizer of the 2013 attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Longest Yoga Chain, raising funds for women with cancer in partnership with the Cancer Council.

09 May

Posted by Nikola Ellis

Teacher Profile - Debbie Lawson, Yin Yogi Extraordinaire

Have you met our Yin Yoga expert, Debbie Lawson? She’s a wonderful teacher who has apprenticed with Sarah Corbett and trained extensively with acclaimed international teachers. If you haven’t made it to one of her very special classes yet, here’s your chance to learn more about this uniquely talented teacher.

Adore Yoga: How did you discover yoga?
Debbie Lawson: My first real experience of yoga was 5 years ago when I was taking a much needed sabbatical from a very high pressured job in fashion. I was very lucky and found an excellent yoga studio with dedicated and well trained teachers. It was the start of a lifelong and transformative relationship.

AY: Who or what has inspired your yoga teaching?
DL: My teachers have all studied in the tradition of Krishnamacharya, so this has been the greatest influence. His teachings enable me to keep my teaching and my own practice authentic and safe and vibrant.

AY: What does your own daily yoga practice mean to you?
DL: Without my practice my daily life can be a little chaotic. It is the place I come to before I start each day to find my centre and my stillness before fast pace of my day descends. It enables me to stay more centred and flow with life a little more. It makes me a better mother, friend and daughter.

AY: What is your approach to teaching yoga?
DL: I care about every student and aim to make each class individual for them. Each time we go to practice yoga we are different, at the very least we are a little older. I like my classes to meet each students wherever they are in that class on that day.

AY: Why do you choose to teach small groups of students at Adore Yoga?
DL: I love the way you can work individually with students, making sure their practice changes with their needs. Teaching in this way allows students to go to deeper depths with their practice, safely and confidently. It is the most wonderful thing watching students come without any previous knowledge of yoga and over time blossom into confident and capable yoga students.

AY: What advice would you give someone thinking about trying yoga for the first time?
DL: Find a studio that can give you as much 1-2-1 as possible. Smaller classes are a must for first time students. Check out the reputation of the studio and the lineage of your teacher. And lastly have no expectations and have fun.

When you start yoga you begin an amazing and transformative relationship with yourself. You are never to young or to old to begin and you will never regret it. It gives life a richer tapestry and a greater depth to all our relationships.

AY: What do you love about life?
DL: Apart from yoga, I love to write and journal.I also love the snow and the mountains. I am a keen skier and like nothing more than being able to ski down a mountain in fresh snow as the sun rises.

Debbie Lawson teaches Yin Yoga at 9.15am on Thursday and 10.30am on Saturdays at Adore Yoga. She also teaches Ashtanga at 7am on Saturdays and Hatha yoga at 9.15am on Saturdays - book a class with Debbie now. YIN YOGA WORKSHOP! Discover the joy and release of Yin Yoga with a special 3hr workshop with Debbie on Saturday 22nd June. BOOK NOW.

19 Apr

Posted by Nikola Ellis

It's never too late to start yoga

Despite images in the media, yoga isn’t just for beautiful, bendy young things. Increasingly, students in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond are discovering how yoga can help them manage their physical and emotional health. Last month Anita, a woman in her late 50’s, came to her very first private yoga lesson with me. Referred by her chiropractor, Anita was desperate for relief from backpain and insomia but was anxious that she was too old and inflexible for yoga. Anita might not have been flexible, but yoga certainly is. It can be modified, adapted and personalised to suit every individual regardless of their physical condition.

Anita soon discovered that a personalized practice in a safe, supportive environment, can have astonishing results. After just a few sessions, Anita has not only reduced her physical symptoms, but has experienced a profound change in how she feels about her own wellbeing. This week, she expressed regret that she didn’t discover yoga earlier in her life. Her comment moved me to write an open letter to students who discover yoga later in life, or come to yoga as a result of pain and illness.

An open letter to a student who has come to yoga later in life.

You’ve found yoga at exactly the right time in your life. Now is when you need it most. For years, you’ve given your body and mind in service to others- work, family, children, your community. Bit by bit the pressures have built up and you’ve responded by soldiering on, picking up the pieces each time there’s a crisis and marching forwards. But this time, the pieces can’t be picked up so easily. Your body is rebelling and your mind cannot rest. These symptoms may be extremely uncomfortable but they serve an important purpose. They are the doorway to a fulfilling and liberated future. The pain and dis-ease that you are experiencing is a catalyst for change as you transition to a new life stage of wisdom and wellness.

It’s time to prioritise your own wellbeing.

It’s never too late to transform your health and change the way you feel about yourself. Peaceful sleep, freedom from anxiety and relief from pain are all available to you, but that’s just the start. Making an active choice to take control of your wellbeing will set you on a path of extraordinary discovery, exciting new possibilities and positive experiences.

The choices you make now will determine your future health and happiness. The things you decide to do today will influence how you feel tomorrow. The yoga practice you have embarked on builds day after day to deliver increasingly rewarding results as your body and mind let go of confusion, tension and pain and embrace calm, balance and ease.

Your personal yoga practice brings immediate relief from physical and emotional symptoms, but the benefits linger on long after you leave the yoga mat. The way your brain processes external stimuli actually changes as a result of regular practice so you feel the benefits even when you’re not on the mat.

You’ve found yoga at exactly the right time. Now is the time that you will gain the most from the benefits of a mindful yoga practice: lowering cortisol levels, managing pain, reducing inflammation and helping you sleep at night. You are in the right place at the right time – exactly as you were meant to be.

Nikola Ellis is an experienced yoga teacher and yoga therapist. Founder of Adore Yoga, Nikola works privately with individual students to help them manage the physical and emotional effects of illness and life changes.

17 Apr

Posted by Nikola Ellis

Power Positions

Discover how your body shape determines the way you feel, think and behave.

How do you want to feel today? Brimming with joy and optimism, or wilting with exhaustion and anxiety? Bubbling over with confidence and strength, or feeling disempowered and defeated? You have the power to choose how you feel and it all comes down to your body shape.

Now, I’m not suggesting your happiness is dependent on your shoe size or the shapeliness of your legs. But there is plenty of research to show that your mood and behaviour are directly affected by the way you hold your body.

Amy Cuddy, an associate professor at Harvard, discovered that ‘power posing’, standing in a position of strength and confidence, directly affects testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain. Simply changing the way you stand will alter your brain chemistry and make you feel more confident, powerful and, she argues, may even make you more effective and successful. As Cuddy puts it “Our bodies change our minds, and our minds can change our behavior, and our behavior can change our outcomes.”

Another leading psychologist, Sonja Lyubormirsky, devised an experiment in which one group held a pencil in their mouths lengthways (triggering the facial muscles used for frowning) and the other group held a pencil in their mouths widthways (triggering the facial muscles used for smiling). Lyubormirsky established that pulling facial muscles into a smile-shape by holding a pencil widthways actually generated positive emotion, while pursing the lips decreased levels of reported wellbeing. This process is known as ‘facial feedback’ and throws a whole new light on the saying ‘fake it till you make it’.

If standing tall or holding a pencil in your mouth can change your levels of happiness and confidence, it’s little surprise that yoga poses can have a significant effect on the way you feel and, consequently, the way you behave. Think of the strength and confidence inherent in a pose like Warrior 1. Picture the stability and groundedness of Tree Pose. Imagine the peace and surrender of Corpse Pose.

A carefully crafted yoga practice can move your body in ways that have a deep and lasting effect on your thoughts and feelings. The right sequence can pick you up when you’re feeling low, while an alternative combination of poses can calm you down when you’re overwhelmed.

More and more studies are demonstrating the benefits of yoga for depression, insomnia, anxiety, cancer, blood pressure and other conditions. Therapeutic yoga is a powerful modality that can change our bodies, minds and behaviour, leading to happy, healthy outcomes.

Nikola Ellis is the founder of Adore Yoga. For individual yoga therapy sessions, contact Nikola or learn more about Yoga Therapy in our upcoming workshops.

16 Apr

Posted by Nikola Ellis

Wishful thinking V. Real thinking

“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be” Jack Welch

Do you find yourself indulging in wishful thinking? What if things were different? What if you'd made a different life choice or you could wish a problem away? If you want to stay stuck, miserable and trapped, keep up the wishful thinking! If you want to bring happiness and a greater sense of control into your life, it's time for some Real Thinking.

Some things can be changed, others can’t. Growth and contentment come from accepting the realities of our daily lives, even if we wish the things were different. If you want to make real positive changes in your life, you have to start by facing the present moment reality. If a situation can be changed, by all means take the necessary steps to move forward. If a situation can’t be changed, however, it has to be accepted. Failing to accept reality leads to constant frustration, driving yourself crazy by thinking ‘if only’ and ‘it shouldn’t be like this’. Sometimes, accepting things you’d rather not have to deal with is the only way forward. For example, nobody can go back in time and change something that’s already happened. We have to accept what has come before in order to be at peace with the present. We can’t radically change aspects of our physical capacity. We have to accept our bodies as they are if we are to find inner contentment. We cannot prevent suffering, loss and unhappiness. We must accept each experience and emotion as it arises; only then can we move forward.

If this all sounds rather too uncomfortable, you could always try the self-help section of the bookstore. There are numerous gurus who will teach you the one true secret of happiness, the five universal laws of success or the three steps to heaven. But the truth is, there are no short cuts. Living a fulfilling, contented and authentic life requires daily effort. The good news is that this effort can become pleasurable and even second nature. It’s simply a matter of practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a way of becoming present to each and every thought, feeling and experience in your life. When you experience, rather than suppress these thoughts and feelings, you can accept the reality of each situation and move forward free from the baggage of the past or fear for the future.

Practising mindfulness is deceptively simple but can be challenging to begin with, especially if you find it hard to sit still. But with 5 to 10 minutes practice every day, it soon stops being a chore and becomes something you actively look forward to. Try this simple exercise:

Sit comfortably in a chair, close your eyes and turn your attention inwards. Pay attention to the sensations in your body. Become aware of the sensations in your feet and legs. Sense the feeling of your clothes against your skin, the position of your foot, maybe the sensations are subtly changing from moment to moment.

Move your attention up through the legs into the torso. Feel the sensations around your stomach, the feeling of your arms resting just as they are. Notice thoughts that might come and go in your mind. Let them come, but there’s no need to ‘think’ those thoughts. Let them go again and return your attention to the sensations of the moment. Gently bring your focus to your breath. Feel the flow of air in and out of the body. As thoughts occur, simply notice them, then let them go again as you redirect your attention to the breath. If there is judgment about the quality of your attention, self-criticism as the mind wanders, let that go too. Simply return to the awareness of the breath.

Practicing this simple exercise regularly will make it much easier for you to accept the realities of your every day life. Facing reality each and every day helps us banish the regret, worry and wishful thinking that makes us miserable. I think that’s worth 10 minutes each morning.

Nikola Ellis is the founder of Adore Yoga and incorporates mindfulness techniques in all of her teaching. You can hear a recording of the meditation exercise in this blog post here.