Posts by Clare Francis, Author at Harmonise
9th September 2023. .
I have noticed a distinctive shift in my energy over the past few days, aligning with the super blue full moon and changing seasons; a time for letting go, turning within and coming home to self. Initially, I planned to work on my book at a friend's place this weekend, however when the time approached, it didn’t feel in my alignment. Instead of frustration, I sat with the realisation that
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11th August 2023. .
I just loved the energy and atmosphere at the recent Brighton Yoga Foundation's 10th Brighton Yoga festival; a gathering of like-minded teachers, entrepreneurs and volunteers came together to create a buzzing charity event.
The festival not only showcased the holistic benefits of yoga and other wellness practices but also told the stories of those whose lives have been transformed by the activities of the BYF. From trauma survivors, addicts
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22nd June 2023. .
Hands up who suffers from summer allergies? Winter sniffles? Or other seasonal, environment or health-related sinus issues? - Breathe easy!
Breath is central to both teaching and participating in an effective Pilates or Yoga class. Everything begins with the breath – including the very first thing we do when we are born into the world – we take an inhalation.
Breath and the nervous system
Inhalation is associated with the sympathetic nervous
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5th June 2023. .
When people ask me how I came to yoga, I reply that it wasn’t something I found.
It’s very simple. Yoga found me.
My yoga story
As the saying goes ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear’. I had dipped in and out of many classes over the years and can even remember buying a book on sun salutations in 1997 when I was travelling, and practicing on the
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4th May 2023. .
Every time I deliver a yoga teacher training course, students are surprised at how much MORE there is to the practice of yoga. They experience how much yoga can enhance our quality of lives on a day-to-day basis – physically, mentally, energetically, emotionally and spiritually. Hence the increasingly popular phrase ‘transformational yoga’.
It can help us to make decisions; it influences the way we communicate; the words we choose; how we
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20th April 2023. .
"Where awareness goes, energy flows."
During a practical class, one of the students on our 200hr yoga teacher training course shared that she saw an image of her chakras and the related colours on the wall opposite her! It was during bow pose (Dhanurasana), a deep heart opener*.
“Was that my chakras opening up?” she asked.
I gave this some consideration. We had practiced some supine hands-free alternate nostril breathing at the start
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5th April 2023. .
"You can only heal others when you yourself have TRULY healed."
I have been feeling a draw to run yoga and wellbeing retreats for many years. Last year I ran my first 2 successful retreats and witnessed some profound shifts amongst the participants who joined. At the end of my last retreat, I understood for the first time what it truly meant to hold space, to shine your light and to
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21st March 2023. .
Meditation and pranayama are powerful tools for reducing stress, improving mental clarity, and increasing overall well-being. But you don't need to be able to access advanced postures to reap the benefits!
During the recent history of yoga workshop I delivered, I shared that there are 84 yoga Asana (postures) identifed in the Hatha Yoga Pradapika. In a series of workshops, Yoga Master Marcel Andres Hopegen stated that, of these, 4 were
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14th March 2023. .
An authentic yoga retreat calls for some kind of withdrawal; from our hectic, busy, day to day life; from thoughts which tend to come from our subconscious conditioning and habits; and from fulfilling the expectations of our ‘human self’ and others.
A retreat is a place where we can slow down, turn within, reflect on how we are living our lives, and whether we wish to make changes to improve our balance, emotions,
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14th March 2023. .
I completed my initial training in pre and post-natal exercise during my personal training diploma a few years before I became pregnant with my first daughter, some 22 years ago. Yet, even with all the knowledge I had, the specialist workshops and classes I gave and research I had done around the subject; when I reflect now, there were times when I didn’t listen to the deeper needs of my
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