Inspire Yoga

In yoga, there are two aspects for your mind to focus on: the stretch and your breath. Bringing all your attention to your breath has meditative qualities as it frees you from any other thoughts that preoccupy your mind. When stressed or burdened by emotions it is advised to take a minute to focus on your breathing; taking deep inhalations and slow exhalations, bringing a sense of calmness and lowering your heart rate.  Pranayama,  yogic breathing , influences the flow of energy throughout your body using your nervous system (especially your spine) as the pathway of energy movement.  Our breath is affected by our circumstances and moods. We take more forceful breaths when angry and slower breaths when relaxed. The ratios in which we inhale and exhale vary depending on what state we are in. During sleep, exhalations dominate bringing rest, and during the day inhalations predominate as it is influenced by activity and the external environment. Furthermore, the flow of...

Having come from a background of investment banking I saw my yoga practice as a time to dissolve tension from my body and release stress from my mind. I used to be a derivatives trader and coping with the time pressure of the job left me feeling very stiff and exhausted. It was then when I realized it was because my mind and body were so disconnected, my mind racing all day and my body completely sedentary at my desk. Yoga helped me to realign the connection by bringing mental stillness and physical agility. It made a tremendous impact on my energy levels and made me feel much more alert at work. I realized by address my body through stretching, strengthening and balancing poses I needed to focus on the subtle rhythm of the breath which in turn freed me from the mental inner chatter that kept me feeling so tight. In the ‘work hard, play hard’ environment of Hong Kong I wanted to be able to share this gift of inner calm and proper alignment with my colleagues who were burnt out and ...

Brain health is intrinsically connected to wellness. Do you feel like your mental sharpness is predetermined? Your intelligence and memory will fade over time? In this workshop we demystify the brain and mind to bring tangible differences in how much you retain, absorb and learn. Discussing diet, lifestyle and awareness we are able to change our state of mind from stressed to active which transforms our ability to think and assimilate information. The takeaways from the workshop you can expect are as follows -The one food that promotes inflammation and decay -The role of stress on the brain -Breathing techniques to balance right and left hemisphere of the brain The first step to making a change is to bring awareness of the problem, these seminars facilitate open discussion and reflection so we are more empowered to direct effort into healthier habits and more sustainable practice. We combine yoga and mindfulness with scientific research and findings for an effective wor...

Remember the days where we all huddled around the TV to watch the weekly episode of the X-files? Getting together and watching a favorite show as a family was a time of bonding, we waited the whole week for it and would excitedly discuss how the story would evolve in the next episode. We would go to the toilet only during the commercial breaks and sshh anyone who spoke during Skully and Moulder’s dialogue. Fast forward 15 years, we all have our own personal devices that we can watch a show on, there is a plethora of options available to us to choose, we can access hundreds of episodes immediately and commercial breaks during shows don’t exist anymore. Wow, this is a real change, moving from an addiction to screen time, a mode of isolation, binge watching for hours at a time- all this has drastically affected our relationship with screen time, our health and our family, all in the name of innocent entertainment. We are at a tipping point where more is no longer better, our overdos...

Have you ever noticed that sometimes your thoughts can run on autopilot? The incessant mental chatter is what is addressed in  stress management . Entertaining the same thoughts day in and day out which corroborate with our routinized behaviors and causing the same experiences as a result which feedback to reinforce the same thought patterns. This is a cycle of thinking, behavior, and results. The input takes place on a mental level and the output is experienced on a physical/material level. Have you ever dreaded a meeting? Thinking you can’t stand the person, the upcoming meeting that you’ve been resisting is stressing you out putting you in a bad mood (behavior), as a result the meeting goes terribly and this reinforces the initial seeded thought that this person infuriates you, do you see how this cycle of thought, behavior, and result is affecting so many aspects of your life? It can also be a beautifully  virtuous cycle , thinking “I am healthy” and the corresponding ...

The yogic ideal of movement encourages the body to move freely and increases your range of motion. By regularly practicing yoga postures you will begin to experience your spine and muscles becoming more supple thereby preventing joint stiffening and muscle shortening that often accompanies injury, inactivity, and aging. The 4 main elements of yoga pose used in Spinal Care Therapy include: Forward Bends Backward Bends Lateral Stretches Twists A Basic Yoga Exercises Can Protect & Develop a Healthy Spine Maintaining a healthy and limber spine is of utmost importance as it has a direct effect on your health and vitality; the structure is the foundation of your body. The 33 vertebrae enclose the spinal cord which houses all the nerves that stem to the brain. Each vertebra has nerve openings that branch out to every part of the body. During a yoga class, we often stretch our back in 6 directions: forwards and, laterally on each side and on each side. This creates a ...