Stillpoint Yoga, Special Needs Yoga & Craniosacral Therapy in Leicester

Back to yoga classes with me this week, finding stillness through our movement, soothing our nervous systems with our breath, finding clarity in our inner landscapes & finding ease in our bodies. These few weeks are a block of 3 or come as drop in. Tuesday’s & Thursdays 6-7.15pm.
Drop me a message to book on

End of term reflections from staff at a SEN school I work in.

🌟 Yoga for SEN Children: Empowering Minds and Bodies 🌟

Did you know that yoga offers incredible benefits for children with special educational needs (SEN) Here's how it can make a difference:

Improved Focus & Concentration 🧘‍♂️
Enhanced Motor Skills & Coordination 🤸‍♀️
Reduced Anxiety & Stress 🌿
Boosted Confidence & Self-Esteem 💪
Better Emotional Regulation ❤️
Yoga provides a safe and supportive environment where every child can thrive at their own pace, promoting both physical and mental well-being.

💖 Why I Love This Work 💖

Seeing the joy and progress in each child is truly rewarding. Each session brings a new opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives. Their smiles, their growth, and the trust they place in me inspire me every day.

✨ Why I Don't Post Photos of My Clients ✨
Respecting privacy and maintaining a safe space for my clients is my top priority. Every child deserves to practice without the pressure of being on social media. By keeping our sessions private, we foster trust and ensure a comfortable atmosphere for everyone involved.

I’m away this week for a half term break, here’s a plan for some home practice. Skip the first 3 poses if it feels better. Look forward to seeing you next week xx

Happy New Year from my hearth to yours. I look forward to sharing yoga practices with you next year to support & nourish your wellbeing xx

Nourishing practices to support us into the winter.
Movement & stillness.
Breath & deep rest.

It was back to school for me today, teaching across age groups in a SEN school. What wonderful children, from those that couldn't stay on their mats & twirled around the room in their first yoga class, to those who just wanted to sleep, some bubbling with excitement to be back, others nervous & shy & many shades of being in-between. We chanted & sang & made funny sounds, played games the children helped to make up, we made yoga shapes, we settled our nervous systems, we explored ways our bodies could move and we took some deep breaths & we explored some feelings we found in our bodies, we found moments of stillness & laid down and rested deeply. I grinned all day. I remembered why i'm quite so exhausted as the term progresses, but it does't matter, what a privilege to share this creative, heart centred and loving practice, meeting us where we’re at & helping us to meet life. Big love xx

Looking forward to returning to sharing yoga next week after our summer pause. Brightening our inner worlds, through breath, movement, stillness, awareness & deep relaxation. Tuesdays & Thursdays 6-7.15pm. However you are you are welcome 🌻

After 20 years of yoga, I’m hanging up my mat for good | Anita Chaudhuri The practice’s modern iterations – including pricey paraphernalia and cultural appropriation – have left me cold, and I’ve had enough, writes Anita Chaudhuri

Wonderful Shiatsu sessions in leicester this Saturday, I thoroughly recommend Tracy unfortunately I’m busy so will miss out 🌳 🙌🏽 💆‍♀️

Shiatsu appointments available this Saturday in Leicester! Are you in need of some time out, to invest in your own wellbeing? PM to book in.

Here’s some blackthorn blossom & lichen.
It doesn’t have much to do with yoga sessions restarting with me this week, just beautiful nature & a beautiful practice. Join me however you are, you’re welcome.
See you on the mats, big love xx

You’re Never Too Old for Yoga While not a cure-all, yoga offers countless health benefits to seniors.

Looking forward to being back in the studio very soon.
Rather than trying to make perfect looking shapes let’s find a yoga practice to support improving our movement and reducing any pain, to find deep rest & peace of mind. To me a room full of different bodies in different shapes is a beautiful embodiment of yoga asana practice.

Arrived home from a few days away at the end of term to a card from a school I work in each week. I do about 7 sessions in the day I’m there with children aged about 7-19, who for whatever reason don’t attend main stream education provision. I love the work & feel so privileged to spend my day with these wonderful students & their staff, so coming home to this has made me so happy today. Thank you West Gate special school, you guys totally rock. Thank you for showing up each week & having a go with some of the resources that yoga, movement, breath work, self awareness practices, mindfulness, embodied fun & deep relaxation can offer us

A free 4 week course starting this Wednesday 🙏🏽 spaces are limited and pre booking is essential. Call Sue Young Cancer Support on 01162230055 🙏🏽💜🙂

New classes at Create Studios

New classes alert!

We’ve got 3 new classes starting next month.

London Magic School - lessons for young magicians age 8-14

Little Massage Oadby, Aylestone & Surrounding Areas - baby massage classes

Hartbeeps Leicester and Market Harborough - multi sensory classes for babies

Contact them directly to get booked on.

yoga for strength & mobility

Muscle strengthening lowers risk of death from all causes, study shows Half an hour a week of activities such as gardening, sit-ups or yoga a week could help reduce the risk of dying from any cause by a fifth

For peace

“For Peace” from the book “Benedictus” by John O’Donohue

positive news for children & young people in special schools ☺️

Disabled children should exercise for 20 minutes a day, first UK guidelines say Chief medical officers’ recommendations also include strength and balance activities three times a week

fortnightly meditation group in Leicestershire

Everyday Mindfulness Saturday 29th 9-10am

With gorgeous blue skies and warm sunshine today I am reminded that spring is definitely in the post. After a few days of grey cloud blankets devouring the light, I felt a shift in energy as I powered around the park this morning!!

Our mindful community meets on Saturday where we are reflecting on the qualities and practice of Self Care & Self Love.

Whether you are a seasoned meditator or just starting out, you are most welcome to join our
circle and see if it’s the right fit for you.

Always by donation, we are asking those who join to give something to Care4Calais as the situation for those seeking refuge and asylum becomes
ever more hazardous.

Please message for the zoom link if you would like to join. These sessions run fortnightly and are alternately facilitated by experienced practitioners Carole Pearson and Vicki Marston.

What a brilliant return to work, I spent Tuesday in one of my favourite special schools sharing yoga techniques with the staff, helping them to understand why I do what I do when I’m with the students & the benefits they reap. Hugely grateful to be able to share this work, so grateful my daughter who introduced me to all those years ago, setting me off on the path of yoga for children & adults living with disabilities, neuro-diversity & other challenges, to Nicole for the new ideas I gained from her recent training, all the other teachers formal & informal along the way & most of all to the wonderful students I get to share with each week, I learn so much from each one 💜

What a brilliant return to work, I spent Tuesday in one of my favourite special schools sharing yoga techniques with the staff, helping them to understand why I do what I do when I’m with the students & the benefits they reap. Hugely grateful to be able to share this work, so grateful my daughter @candy_pow_pow who introduced me to @jyotimanuel_sy all those years ago, setting me off on the path of yoga for children & adults living with disabilities, neuro-diversity & other challenges, to Nicole @yo_tism for the new ideas I gained from her recent training, all the other teachers formal & informal along the way & most of all to the wonderful students I get to share with each week, I learn so much from each one 💜

"A yogi, a practitioner, is an artist who knows how to handle their fear and other kinds of painful feeling or emotion. They do not feel they are a victim because they know there is something they can do.

You listen to the suffering in you and you get in touch with it. Breathe in and out deeply to see, “Why am I suffering? Where has it come from?” Your suffering, your fear, may reflect the suffering of your parents, your ancestors, and the planet. It also contains the suffering of your time, your community, your society, your nation. It’s very important not to cover it up with music, movies, or computer games. To have the courage to go home to yourself, to recognize and hold the suffering inside and look deeply into it, may be the most important thing for you to do as a meditator.

The meditator breathes in and says, “Hello, my fear, my anger, my despair. I will take good care of you.” The moment you recognize the feeling and smile to it with love and care, embracing the fear with mindfulness, it will begin to change. That is the miracle of mindfulness. It’s like morning sunlight shining on a lotus flower. The bud has not opened yet, but as the sunlight pours down, the photons pe*****te into the bud, and after one or two hours of being pe*****ted by the light, the flower opens itself.

We have the energy of mindfulness generated by mindful walking, sitting or breathing. With that energy we embrace our fear gently as the light embracing the flower. When the two kinds of energy encounter each other, there will be a change, a transformation. The energy of tenderness pe*****tes the fear, anger or despair. You hold it as dearly as you might hold a wounded child."

Thich Nhat Hanh in “Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet”
(HarperOne 2021, available: https://smarturl.it/zenartofsavingplanet)

It is difficult to make useful changes to your body and mind if you are unaware of their state in the present. This dictum is particularly true of breathing. Your breath changes from each minute to the next. In fact it can change substantially in a span of just seconds.

Breathing is a vital function and it requires careful attention to be managed effectively. Nowadays, we hear so much about watching what we eat, but we hear very little about watching how we breathe.

On any day your breath changes with your stress levels, diet, exercise, posture, speech, emotions, what you see and hear, and more. Noticing your breath helps you get a handle on these changes, so that you begin to understand what influences your breath and how.

Observing the breath is a key to working with the breath. It is the foundation for all the other breathing practices and should be a natural part of your regular self care routine.

Dr. Ganesh Mohan

✨ Learn in-depth, classical pranayama with the Mohans at: https://on.svastha.net/3sRSxpT

I spend Mondays & Thursdays in special schools in my city. Yoga really can be tailored to so many different kinds of body, brain & abilities. I love this image, it gives a teeny snapshot into my day. I come home exhausted & very happy after a day in school, each week we explore together some of the tools yoga offers us for living life with more ease .mead thank you for the image

Hello all, just dropping by to say there are spaces at my Thursday evening yoga session, 6.15pm to 7.30pm, at the lovely Create Studios in the heart of Clarendon Park. With a new block starting this week, be in touch if you are interested.

Trauma, trust and triumph: psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk on how to recover from our deepest pain His 2014 book, The Body Keeps the Score, has become a huge pandemic hit, topping bestseller lists this summer and becoming a meme on social media. What does it tell us about the world we live in?

“We are not separate from this Earth; we are a part of it, whether we fully feel it in our bodies yet or not.”

Spaces left for Yin Yoga starting this next Tuesday, 7.45pm to 9pm for a 7 week block. At the spacious, warm and airy CREATE Studios, Hartopp Road, in the heart of Clarendon Park - https://mailchi.mp/8b443c6aa5f8/moving-into-june-with-our-online-yoga-practice-6252647

How many students start practicing yoga, then quit and never do it again? If they started with a reasonably good teacher, and they felt good with the practice, most will keep returning to yoga.

Students usually begin with an asana class. They do movement with good breathing and attention. Then they gradually try some pranayama and meditation. Each step adds a layer to their wellbeing. It becomes harder to stay away for long. If a month goes by without doing their yoga, they notice the decline in their physical and mental wellbeing. The reasons behind dropping out from classes are usually accessibility, life situations, or cost. The practice itself, when taught well, is hard to say no to.

There are many directions the discussion could go from here, but I’d like to highlight one point: If you have a positive experience with yoga, it is likely that you will learn yoga lifelong. Even if you stop for a while, you will restart in some time. Therefore, if you choose your learning pathway with the long term, lifelong journey in your view, you will save a lot of time, money, and effort, and get much better results too.

For example, let’s say you find regular pranayama helps you. You decide to do just 5 minutes of pranayama every day—at home or in a quick break at your workplace—or 10 minutes on alternate days. That is still over 30 minutes a week and 30 hours a year. You could skip a week every month, and that would still be >22 hours of pranayama a year. On top of this, let us assume you skip 3 months of practice over a year. Still, over two decades, you will accumulate around 500 hours of pranayama practice!

Once you think of pranayama as a 500-hour journey—or a 1000-hour journey, easily, for even moderately serious yoga students—it makes sense to invest 5-10% of that early into learning the theory and practice of pranayama really well.

The key: what you learn should be clear and deep enough to support your lifelong journey. Your teacher should aim to make you self-sufficient in knowledge and practice.

This is one of the most important principles of Svastha—in all courses, we try to teach students to support their lifelong journey. When you look back at your studies from year ten, what you learned in year one should make deeper sense to you, because the teacher always had the long-term pathway in view.

Thank you for reading! 🙏

Dr. Ganesh Mohan

Learn pranayama with the Mohans for lifelong knowledge and practice: on.svastha.net/3sRSxpT

Yoga & nutrition tools & ideas to support the changes & challenges of perimenopause & menopause ☀️

Yoga Leicester This one day workshop has been designed for all women looking to stay healthy before, during and beyond the menopause. Please note this workshop is non refundable.