At the start of a new year we often tend to make resolutions to do more exercise, eat healthier food or give up bad habits. What if we decided that instead of doing more, we would do less. Life is so busy we tend to wear our 'busy-ness' like a badge of martyred honor. What if instead of saying 'Yes' to everything we said 'No' and we decided that we would work on being more present with our children, more centered in each moment, more balanced. What if we decided to give up our addiction to our mobile phones and social media!!
For some people the hardest part of a yoga class is the fifteen minutes of Yoga Nidra at the end, where we are invited to enter into our own stillness and just be present to ourselves, where there are no distractions.
​This year I invite you to meet yourself on your yoga mat, it might just transform your life. 

Registration for New Yoga Courses Tuesday 8th of Jan 2019 8pm - 8.30pm at Pilates for Life studio, Newbridge, Kildare. Phone Susan 087 6972679 for details

Mindfulness has thankfully gained popularity thanks to our hectic on demand lifestyles, necessitating a real need for some peace and quiet. 
But our lives have become so crazy that we have even forgot how to enjoy peace and quiet,  so we need to re-educate our bodies and minds to switch off and relax.
This can be difficult for many people who find that as soon as they stop being busy, and try to enter into the well of stillness  within,  their 'monkey mind' kicks in and suddenly they are drowning in endless inner mind conversations, what if's and maybes. 
But this is why we call mindful meditation a 'practise'. We patiently try to train our mind to be still.
A good place to start cultivating a mindfulness practise is to learn to connect with our breath. Our breath is the doorway through which we can find the stillness and calm that is often lacking in our lives. We do this by harnessing the breath and drawing it down deep into our bellies and exhaling it nice and slowly. But if there is chronic tension in our body it is difficult to find the physical space within, where the breath can find an opening to calm our over stimulated nervous system. This is why yoga is the perfect practice to cultivate mindfulness. Our bodies are busy making beautiful shapes to facilitate the easy movement of breath throughout our body, calming our nervous system and giving our mind something to focus on. Give it a go, you might be nicely surprised.

Yoga Roots Newbridge. New exciting timetable coming for September. Watch this space!

Spend some quality time with baby and enhance your enjoyment of your pregnancy with Pre-Natal Yoga classes. Specific Asana postures and breathing techniques will teach you how to stay calm and focused during your labour. You don't need to have any previous experience of yoga to benefit from the class as it is tailor made with the pregnant Mum in mind and you get to share your experience with other pregnant Mums. An experience not to be missed.

Pregnancy Yoga is suitable from 16 weeks onwards.

Call Susan on 087 697 2679 for further details.

I had a lovely relaxing Christmas this year. Apart from the 3 days I stood in the kitchen preparing the Christmas dinner for my family, after all the preparations were made, I really did nothing else except sleep, have a few drinks, and eat - almost a whole delicious home made Christmas cake by myself - on top of all the sweets and yummy dinners and desserts. But that's what Christmas is about, time to indluge in a bit of hibernation, whilst reflecting over the year that has gone and looking forward to the New Beginnings that will unfold over the coming year.

 So in the spirit of the theme of New Beginnings, I hauled my sugar soaked body through a gentle de-tox for the first week of January. The results?
A 4lb lighter, fresher, more relaxed and less agitated me. Yes - even dedicated yogis get irritable and cranky despite their practice and  pranayama (breathing exercises) to purify and balance their system. But sometimes even dedicated yogis forget about the importance of good diet. And I didn't realise the negative effect that my coffee habit was having on my nervous system, coupled with the sugar overload I was ingesting to keep my energy on the up after the caffeine 'crash'.

My New Years resolution? To be the fittest and most fabulous version of myself for 2014. Onwards & Upwards!! Happy New Year. I hope to meet you on your mat.

Sometimes even in yoga you just have to move it up a gear to shift the stress out of your body. This yoga workshop uses the flowing and fiery rhythm of Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation to help you burn off stress and restore peace and harmony to your mind and heart. Let the light shine in your heart during the 'dark days of winter' This class is suitable for beginners and there are some places left.
Phone Susan 087 697 2679 to book your place.Workshop costs €15.00 per 90min workshop.
I look forward to meeting you on your mat