Merry Christmas Everyone!

Needless to say, there won't be a yoga meet this Sunday. It's that time of year when we're all probably more in need of some yoga therapy but the classes are all on hiatus. Remember yoga is just a mat away. Chanel that ujjayi breath and salute the sun for ten minutes. It'll make a world of difference!

I'm Up With That Downdog!

Thanks to everyone who came along to Truby King Park for yoga yesterday! It's a quirky little park with one little flat spot suitable for "yoga-ing". It was a little slanty though (gave a new meaning to the old downward facing dog pose). Still, this is turning out to be a fabulous way to explore the parks of Welly and chill out on Sunday afternoon.

Yoga in the Park - Week Four

Last week was literally a blow out for park yoga, but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny as. The location this week is a rather obscure place past the Wellington Zoo called Truby King Park. It's just a few minutes drive (10 minute walk) past the zoo on Machester Terrace. You'll see the sign for the park on the left off Manchester St. It's a small park, so we won't miss each other once we're all there. Send me an email if you have any questions.


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Ooooo! Love that Anatomy!

Ever wondered what the difference between a sprain and a strain is? Been positively plagued by the fact that you didn't know? Well, today is the day you find relief from that" inflammatory" question. A strain is an injury to a muscle or it's tendon. It may range from a minor pull to a total tear. A sprain is an injury occurring at a joint when it is pushed out of its normal range of motion, resulting in over-stretching or even tearing of the tissue surrounding the joint (i.e. the ligaments, joint capsule or even the tendons). So a sprain can result in a strain if the muscle surrounding the bones is pulled/torn.

In general, muscles heal more readily than ligaments. Now I've got you dying to know why right? Simply on the edge of your seat. Muscle fibres have a rich blood supply, but ligaments, a form of dense connective tissue, do not. What's more, once ligaments are over-stretched, they do not go back to their original length.

So, be gentle with those yoga stretches! More is not necessarily better!

Windy Welly Exerts It's Mighty Force

Arghhh! No club meet today. Last week may have been breezy, but today was downright blow-you-down windy. I went to Parliament park just in case any brave soul decided to chance it. Saw some random guy walking around all bundled up in his sleeping bag. Oddly enough, that made more sense than attempting yoga outside today.

Yoga in the Park - Week Three

We've been very successful with park yoga so far. Good turn out and the weather, although breezy, has co-operated. Can we successfully tempt fate and make it three weeks in a row? Yes, yes we can. The inspiration for this Sunday's venue is from last week's climate change march to Parliament. I usually have no real reason to hang out at the Beehive, but last week was certainly an exception. Turns out, it's got a pretty nice park attached to it. So why not meet there Sunday at 1pm for our weekly yoga club gathering. No specific spot, just somewhere in the field once you enter the gate. Bring snacks for the after-yoga picnic!

New to the club perhaps? Check out my November Yoga in the Park blog for details

A Bit Breezy!

(A Creative Commons image)



Phew! That was definitely a different sort of yoga class today. Heard of "yogic flying"? Well, the famous/infamous Wellington wind practically took us there in the park this afternoon. Just a little bit breeee-zy. Thanks again to all who came! Good memories!

Hmmm... methinks it's on!

Let's give it a go I say!

Hmmm...

Well, yoga in the park today will have to be a play-it-by-ear event. Weather forecasts indicate increasing cloud and rain. But - this is Wellington after all and we all know how unpredictable the weather can be. I intend to be at the gardens by the look-off at 1pm (unless it's raining). I'll update any changes to that plan by 12pm.

Yoga in the Park

So this Sunday's park yoga will be at the botanical gardens (weather permitting of course). Let's meet at the cable car lookoff just before 1pm, then we can all make our way together to the top of a hill just a few feet away. Bring munchies. We'll picnic as well. Hope to see you there!

Ooooo! Love that Anatomy!

Time for another anatomy post! There are four muscles that flex the hand as a whole at the wrist. One of them, palmaris longus, is actually missing in about 14% of the population. It can be present on one hand, but not the other, or absent in both. Want to know if you're muscularly deficient, missing a palmaris longus tendon? Here's how: the tendon is quite superficial to the skin at the wrist (looking at your hand with your palm facing you). It lies at the center of your forearm in a line that points toward your 3rd finger (not your 2nd or 4th - there are other tendons in line with those). Resist bending/flexing your wrist with your other hand and, voila, your palmaris longus tendon becomes visible as a short, taut band lying amongst the veins at your wrist. That's if you own one! Oh, and don't worry if you don't. There's no evidence to suggest it actually makes a difference to your grip strength. So your downward dogs and arm balance poses will not suffer because of it!