Training & Nutrition

Surviving City Madness | Grounding Yoga Practice To Stretch Out Your Back And Relax The Shoulders

No matter how hectic your day, always take a few minutes out to ground yourself and breathe....

Everyone gets tense neck and shoulders when they get stressed. It doesn’t matter how physical your job is, whether you’re moving around all day or sat at a desk, physical stress can affect us all.

Yoga is an amazing way to de-knot and de-stress your body when the pressures of modern life have got it feeling stiff and on edge. This routine from the awesome Yoga Carrot is designed specifically to ground you in the middle of a stressful day and give your back, neck and limbs some much needed time to stretch out and loosen up.

Another fantastic way to keep your stress levels low is to ensure you reach the recommended levels of sleep each night. If you have issues with sleeping through the night, however, do not reach for any over the counter remedies. Many foods have calming and sleep-inducing qualities, tart cherries are one of the few natural sources of melatonin, which is responsible for the regulation of the body’s internal clock and sleep-wake cycle. Try drinking cherry juice in the day to get a better nights sleep and feel stress-free the next day.

Pose By Pose | A Guide To Our Balance Session

Stand at the top of your mat, feet hip width apart.
Draw your shoulders up towards your ears and exhale, then roll them down the back
SPread all ten toes and plant them down and soften your knees
Inhale, arms up to the sky and exhale, draw them back into the centre
Repeat, Inhaling and gathering energy and tchi, exhale bring it back
Repeat again, inhaling and opening the body, then exhale grounding a centering yourself
Bring big toes to touch and inhale and lift your arms
Bend your knees, sinking your heels into the ground to come into chair pose
Look up towards your fingertips, roll your shoulders down the back and squeeze the knees together
Interlace the fingers together and open the heart space and exhale forward fold
Interlace the fingers and come into a shoulder stretch, thinking about sending the fists to the front of the mat
Breathe in, then breathe
Inhale, coming back through Chair Pose
Exhale and forward fold
Inhale, halfway lift and prepare
Exhale, step or float the feet back and take your connecting vinyasa
Inhale, lift your heart and exhale lift the hips back into downward facing dog
Hands shoulder width apart, feet hip width apart, spread your fingers
Come onto the knees, knees as wide as the mat, take a rest in child’s pose

Rest in the pose, sinking the weight back in the hips and breathe
Coming onto your back set up for back bend
Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet to the met, make sure you can tickle your heels with your fingertips
Inhale, then exhale peeling your hips off the mat and
interlace your fingers under your back and lift your heart up to the sky
Ground down through the feet and take five breaths
Slowly and with control, lower each vertebrae and roll down until our hip are back on the mat
Take your feet as wide as the mat and gently sway your knees from side to side
Second round of back bends, either take bridge again or press up to full wheel pose
Take five breaths and then lower with control
Draw knees towards chest and go into Happy Baby
Rock and roll up and down the spine
Ground down through sit bones, lift the arms
Exhale forward fold, reach forward and place hands around the feet
Draw shoulders away from the ears and use your breathe
Inhale create space, exhale and forward fold
Lay back into your final pose, Savasana