Did you know that we have a secret weapon right under our nose? One that can help us calm our nervous system; helping us to feel grounded, centered and connected to ourselves.
And what is this secret weapon I hear you ask…? Well, it’s the simple act of breathing mindfully.
Join me, Jules. on Monday mornings here at PCHP and together we’ll explore different breath practices that help not only improve our quality of breath but also help us relax and re-charge ready for the week ahead.
10-10.30am – Breathwork, seated warm-up and guided meditation
10.45-11.30am – Yoga Practice
*** Women Only ***
Want to know more? Get in touch with us via email: hello@pchp.org.uk
Three-minute bouts of yoga have been found to significantly lower blood glucose levels and reduce the risk of diabetes, a study from Glasgow Caledonian University has revealed.
The research carried out by a team of physiotherapists, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde team member, Alex Colvin, investigated the effects of breaking up sedentary behaviour with short bouts of yoga and tai-chi on glycaemic control, concentration, and wellbeing in healthy individuals.
The study, which involved 15 adults aged 26-28, found that the effects of short bouts of yoga to break up the working day significantly lowers glucose levels to reduce the risk of diabetes without compromising concentration or wellbeing.
However, tai-chi did not provide the same significant effect on glucose levels but allowed better maintenance of concentration and wellbeing. The research concluded that these interventions provide effective ways to combat the harmful effects of prolonged sitting while maintaining concentration and wellbeing.
Alex, also lead author of the study, said:“Through this research, I want to make people aware that you can break up your sedentary time with things that are good for your mental and physical wellbeing, and to reduce the risk of diabetes.
“There has been a lot of research into the benefits of yoga and tai-chi, which show favourable effects, but this is the first research that I am aware of that investigates the use of shorter three-minute bouts to break up a working day and shows results that this can help to reduce the risk of diabetes.
“This is also good news for employers who dislike the use of physical activity to break up sedentary time because they have this misplaced perception that it will negatively impact on production, as we have found it’s quite the opposite. We measured concentration and wellbeing throughout the study. Although there wasn’t a change with yoga and tai-chi, at least it didn’t get any worse, which disproves that doing these types of things is bad for worker productivity.”
Alex graduated with a Masters in Physiotherapy in 2020 from Glasgow Caledonian and became an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde specialist physiotherapist. He began the research during his studies with fellow students Lynne Murray and Jillian Noble, under the supervision of Professor Sebastien Chastin, but results were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex explained more about the methods used in the two-year study: “We took finger-prick glucose readings every half an hour throughout a seven-hour working day and standardised the participants’ diet as much as we could, along with that we broke up the sedentary time and the groups with either three minutes of yoga or tai-chi, or just sitting for the whole time and measuring their glucose.
“Although the study involved a small number of 15 mostly healthy adults aged between 26-28, it doesn’t change the fact that the glucose levels were still lowered. By using this group it might even be more beneficial to people who are prediabetic and the results might even be more significant.”
Professor of Health Behaviour Dynamics Sebastien Chastin, from the University’s School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), highlighted the benefits of this research study.
He said: “Clearly we all spend far too much time sitting in the office or working from home. This shows that short bouts of yoga that can be done anytime during the day and it has the impact we expected that it can be turned into one of the interventions or reduce the risk of diabetes.
“What’s also really important about this research is that it demonstrates that it doesn’t reduce the productivity of workers. That’s always the worry of the bosses. Allowing them to have that time shows that it actually doesn’t reduce productivity at all, if anything it probably increases productivity so there’s not just a health incentive for the workers to do it but also for the employers to support that and implement it.”
Join them for DUSK, where you can experience a new wellness movement. Move your body through a glorious yoga practice to a DJ, reclaim the dancefloor, and still be home in time to pop your feet up on the sofa and get up early the next day. Or if you’re really feeling it, you could continue to party the night away!
New year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep. January can feel gloomy enough without adding the pressure of ‘don’t do this’ and ‘you must do that’ to the mix.
Instead, Meadowlark Yoga is here to show you there is another way to harness the power of the fresh start without it feeling like a burden.
Meadowlark Yoga founder Karen Kirkness says: “Reframing our resolutions as an intention can be a great way to lighten the expectation and instead create opportunity.”
For many, it is a question of motivation – mainly, we aren’t really sure how to get any – but perhaps it is just a case of re-evaluating what it is we want to achieve and why.
“We often refer to the act of rolling out our mats and doing yoga as “practice”. The term reminds us that we are always in the process of learning, and that we will never reach an end goal or final posture. We are teaching ourselves that we approach this beautiful practice without expectation or ambition; we are just here to witness the experience – mindfulness, meditation and contentment. Indeed, yoga practice extends off the mat into our daily lives where we learn to apply the teachings to our ethical, moral and social lives.” – Karen Kirkness
Merging the ideas of ‘intention’ with the concept of ‘practice’ is a way to gently move into the New Year, without harsh agendas or prohibitive lists, just a soft opportunity to explore a new learning experience and a healthy habit.
“There’s no bad time to start a yoga practice but if you need that added momentum to get up off the sofa, step away from the Christmas leftovers and onto your yoga mat, there can be no time like January. You don’t need fancy gear or expensive equipment, just a yoga mat and some comfy clothes. Show up, roll out your mat and we’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
Meadowlark Yoga’s 6 Week Vinyasa Beginners Courses have seen hundreds of students move from their first time on the mat, into a regular, steady yoga practice. In these foundational courses students learn about breath, movement & alignment along with a sprinkling of the philosophy that goes behind the practice. After 6 weeks participants will be ready to join any yoga class or continue a home practice of their own.
Kirkness: “We invite you to join us in the New Year, here at Meadowlark Yoga to foster healthy habits, mindful movement and a lifelong practice, just for you.”
Adult Education resuming a limited face to face programme – with a few courses starting at Leith Community Centre from 8th November for a 5 week term.
All precautions will be taken with distancing, mask wearing, sanitising and ventilation to Keep students and tutors safe. So the class can get on with being fun, informal and informative!
Courses available are:
Activity
LVL
Start date
Day
Time
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (8/11) – LCC12311N
ALL
08/11/2021
Monday
10:00 – 12:00
Yoga: Gentle – All – (9/11) – LCC65852N
ALL
09/11/2021
Tuesday
17:30 – 19:00
Russian – Beginner – (9/11) – LCC55512N
BEG
09/11/2021
Tuesday
15:00 – 17:00
Russian – Post Beginner – (9/11) – LCC55752N
PBG
09/11/2021
Tuesday
18:00 – 20:00
Writing Creative: Life Writing – All – (9/11) – LCC64652N
ALL
09/11/2021
Tuesday
18:30 – 20:30
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (10/11) – LCC12313N
ALL
10/11/2021
Wednesday
10:00 – 12:00
Yoga – All – (10/11) – LCC65753N
ALL
10/11/2021
Wednesday
17:30 – 19:00
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (10/11) – LCC12353N
ALL
10/11/2021
Wednesday
18:00 – 20:00
Discover: Archaeology Today – All – (11/11) – LCC32614N
ALL
11/11/2021
Thursday
15:00 – 17:00
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (12/11) – LCC12315N
You can book on our website: www.joininedinburgh.org – the courses will be available to view and book from today – Thursday morning.
Telephone enrolments will be available for 2 days on Thursday 21st October and Friday 22nd October this week from 10:00 – 16:00 by calling (0131) 469 3003 or (0131) 469 3005.
Courses will be charged at £41.25 for the standard fee and £16.50 for benefits, senior citizens and students.
Why Meadowlark Yoga wants to see your Downward Dog in person
Founder Karen Kirkness on the top five benefits of returning to classes post-pandemic
We have all leaned into our online communities over the last 18 months and there’s no doubt that virtual wellness is here to stay.
Working out in the comfort of your own home, the decreased worry of being amongst others and the ability to fit classes in as and when, have us all questioning why we would go back to in-person movement. However, evidence suggests getting our mats out and stepping back into the studio could be just what we need to boost both our mental and physical health.
Here Meadowlark Yoga owner and teacher, Karen Kirkness, offers five reasons why as a community we need to consider reconnecting over a Downward Dog:
Satisfaction vs Somatic closeness
Jumping into zoom yoga classes is one way we have all stayed fit and sane, and for many of us, the online format continues to deliver a feeling of satisfaction. However, the online space is bereft of the sensory stimulation that you get walking into your community yoga studio. In-person, your olfactory sense is presented with a note of myrrh followed by the sight of a friendly face at reception and a continuous stream of somatic inputs that combine to form a visceral imprint on your consciousness.
This sensory experience reinforces our choices by creating and strengthening deeply rooted psychosomatic memories that help us navigate future behaviour and strengthen our health and wellness choices. This richly physical phenomenon promotes the euphoric feeling of closeness to other humans that can only happen through proximity to like-minded others who are similarly dissolved in the same sensory circumstances forming connected memories. A connection we have sorely missed.
Convenience vs Connectedness
There is no easier way to smash through a yoga practice than to roll out of bed and onto your mat in your PJs. When you have to actually get dressed and present yourself to a room of humans, you’re coming together with those people in a shared social contract. There is an unspoken acknowledgement: ‘Hey, well done class, we all got here despite the many obstacles facing each and every one of us.’ In the moment we all decide to be here, now, even though it was hard and required some sacrifice, there is a kind of next-level connectedness.
Accountability vs Actual joy
Showing up to a studio class is about the authentic feeling of wanting to be there, doing the yoga that you love, surrounded by people who feel the same way.
Accountability is an underlying motivator, but you’re going to that class in-studio not because you care about your name being seen on the participants list. You’re there because the sheer joy of being physically present and experiencing it in real life adds to your overall workout; the joy lives in tandem with a sense of accountability that is magnified by the in-person experience.
Mammalian basics
Pandemic notwithstanding, as mammals we need eye contact, shared biorhythms, hugs, vocal subtlety, pheromonal interaction, and many other aspects of nonverbal communication that the online format can never accommodate.
Our fascial instruments need to vibrate in proximity with other humans as a matter of physical and spiritual health. Our neuroendocrine system is very sensitive to loneliness and in biological terms, our zoom-based lives have left us biochemically and vibrationally isolated. Being in-studio offers our bodies a higher vibration.
Being in-studio amongst people is a pro-mammalian experience, offering unquantifiable benefits that play on every level of our biologic instrument as individuals and as a community. With most of us double-vaccinated, ventilation and hygiene measures permanently levelled-up, and capacities down by 25%, we are now at a point where the benefits of communal interaction now outweigh the individual and collective risk of getting together in enclosed spaces.
Performance Enhancement
A final major reason for getting back in the studio is to get gently but firmly pushed, to feel the burn of training in that zone of opportunity where our bodies learn how to be stronger. Under the guidance of a teacher with others working on the same project is where most of us would rather practice and train. In-studio, the teacher can focus on seeing and feeling the students in the room, respond to the nuances of physical proximity, not having to spend valuable time and attention on the tech aspects.
Getting the best out of ourselves is never an easy project! By definition, we have to nudge ourselves and become uncomfortable to transform and progress, a process that is much more achievable in person.
So, whether you need to connect, feel the vibrations or get in touch with your mammalian instincts, Meadowlark Yoga is here to guide you through your next practice with open arms and a sun salutation!
Friday 16th June
7pm
The Bongo Club | 66 Cowgate | Edinburgh
