The Yoga Suits Her Blog

I’ve been blogging for 12 years now. At first, I was quite nervous about publishing my thoughts. Because I was shy about writing, my old posts were almost exclusively photos of the view from our bedroom in our Tambourine Bay house.

Remarkably, my original Ville Blog still exists. Does anything on the internet ever go away? It ran from November 05, 2006 to January 12, 2010 and it’s still just where I left it. If you’d like to have a look, the address is http://thevilleblog.blogspot.com.au/.

These days, because there are way too many YSH posts to browse through-over 1200-I’ve put some major themes together in The Vault. I hope this makes it easier to find exactly what you want.

Supported Sirsasana: An Uplifting Version of Headstand

Jun 9, 2014 | Healing, Health, Inversions, XPoses, Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

Sirsasana is known to be a beneficial posture for dozens of reasons. One of them is that it’s a mood enhancer for many people: it can make you feel happy and uplifted. But not everyone can do it with ease.
A few years ago a student who attended one-to-one sessions learned to do the above version of headstand. Until he found a supported way of doing the pose, he couldn’t do it at all because of his excessive weight. […]

A Little Yoga Hammock

Jun 8, 2014 | Anatomy, Healing, Health, XAnatomy, Yoga practices, Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

The head is proportionately a heavy part of your body. The average weight is 6.6 to 8 pounds. So your neck may end up feeling compressed, especially from long hours at your desk or from doing detailed work.
Here’s a way to lengthen the back of your neck. Use a wide strap with a looped to make a sling from which to suspend the back neck. The strap goes over a chair and then round the occiput (base of your skull). […]

The Yoga Therapy Vision

Jun 7, 2014 | Community, Healing, Health, Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga teaching , Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

I’ve just finished my stint of teaching in the Byron Bay Yoga Therapy Course, which will continue until next week.
My contribution to the course is in the area of “Working with the Older Client”, i.e., what are the complaints of the Aged and how can yoga help.
Even though the above photo of the group shows us behaving like silly mugs, these trainees are very inspiring. Yogis decide to train as teachers because of a huge love of yoga. […]

Savasana with a Neck Roll

Jun 6, 2014 | Healing, Health, Restorative, XToolKit, Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

This may be just what you need to feel a neck extension that is thoroughly supported by a firmly rolled mat. […]

Therapeutic Leg Stretches: Supta Padangusthasana

Jun 5, 2014 | Menstruation, sciatica, XToolKit, Yoga Sequences | 0 Comments

Supta Padangusthasana, nicknamed ‘lying-down big toe pose’ is one of the most versatile yoga postures. Apart from its therapeutic benefits, it can be used in many varied sequences.

Savasana with a Difference

Jun 4, 2014 | Yoga practices | 0 Comments

[…]

Supported Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

Jun 4, 2014 | Health, Inversions, Restorative, XPoses, XToolKit, Yoga practices, Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

Benefits:

Stretches your shoulders and improves the flexibility of your upper back.
Calms the brain and nervous system
Improves digestion ans massages and stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Flushes mucous from your lungs.
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause.

Here’s a youtube video to help you find your way into the pose (easier than you think):
[…]

Yoga Therapeutics: The Lazy Dog Trick

Jun 3, 2014 | Yoga Therapy | 0 Comments

Here’s a way to get the that delicious back stretch of Adho Mukha Svanasana without having to bear your own weight. Your back muscles will release simply because they are supported in letting go.
You can do this pose over the back of a soft, stuffed chair or by padding a yoga chair with blankets. You drape your body over the blankets, with the top of the chair at the hip creases which tractions your legs away from your hips and spine. […]

The Burgeoning Field of Yoga Therapeutics

Jun 2, 2014 | Age, Yoga practices, Yoga teaching , Yoga Therapy | 2 Comments

Tomorrow I’m heading off to the yoga capital of Australia, Byron Bay.
I’m part of the faculty of a Yoga Therapy course that is run annually at this time of year over the course of 12 days.
My particular contribution to the course is in the area of Yoga for the Aged, which it would seem I am qualified to teach by dint of my advanced years and experience!
I thought it fitting to contribute a-therapy-pose-a-day to “Yoga Suits Her” this week in case you are interested in seeing what some of these poses look like. […]

Get a Grip on Your Mind!

May 25, 2014 | Wisdom, Yoga teaching | 2 Comments

I got myself into a scrape last weekend – literally. I want to tell the story because it reminded me of the power of my mind and how easy it is to create negative fantasies. It’s something we all do rather than face unpleasant feelings that lie beneath the surface.
I had just finished leading my ‘Restorative Yoga’ workshop in Port Stephens. I packed up the Prop-mobile with bolsters, belts, blocks and blankets, all ready for the 2.5 hours drive home.
Backing out of the driveway, I neglected to look behind and drove smack into a concrete gate. […]

Yoga and Age: Do Yoga Practitioners Get Old?

Am also encouraged by recent findings that the body may cease aging when one is past 91. The study (reported in a 2016 New Scientist) by Michael Rose (a professor of evolutionary biology), says that if you are lucky enough to live that long, you stop ageing. He notes that one’s health may not improve but it certainly does not get any worse. Whilst that advice is far not mainstream, population statistics do show that ageing seems to stop at 93 – and does not speed up again until we get a telegram from Queen Elizabeth (the Last) at 100.
Thus, if one makes it to 99, you are no more likely to die at any given point than someone of 93. (From 110 plus may be a different matter but I’ll let you know). …
The Yoga Approach to Hysterectomy

In the absence of internet information, I decided to create my own holistic way of dealing with my upcoming surgery.
I started talking with my friends to share my journey. The simple fact that I was willing to be open and vulnerable helped eliminate any residual shame.
I started keeping a journal in which I could collect information on hysterectomies, and more importantly, write down questions and feelings as they arose. …