Restorative Yoga: cultivating harmony, inside out

What is the difference between yin yoga and restorative yoga practice?

It looks similar… but intention can change the whole experience. Read more and perhaps try this for yourself with our new Tuesday evening Rest & Restore class!

Myofascial Release and Yoga: The What, the How, and the Why

What is Myofascial Release, how does it work, and how can it bring relief, spaciousness, connection, and all those juicy things we relish in our experience of body?

A short exploration of MFR and ways we can attentively weave this into our practice, and the maintenance of our changing bodies. By David Gorvett // Edit by Lucy Lawes.

Spinal Extension | Spacious and Steady

Extensions are the most subtle of the spinal motions, which is more felt than seen. Where is this evident in our yoga practice, and how can this be useful in daily life?

Twisting | Contracting for Expansion

There is an 'ahhh' feeling which comes with releasing a twist - why is this spinal motion so satisfying?

Side Bending / Lateral Flexion | Energise and Expand

It is a delicious feeling to stretch and yawn open the sides of our bodies. How does side-bending benefit our spine, and our state of being?

Back Bending | Strong Centre, Open Heart

To approach backbending with a dedicated breath, and the equanimity to accept what is available in that moment, is an advanced practice. Here are some reasons to add backbending to your yoga practice, as well as your day-to-day movements.

Forward Folding | Cooling the Mind, Calming the Body

Instead of constantly moving energy outward, as we do in speaking, gesturing, doing, giving - forward folds invite us to quietly listen, without agenda or judgment, for what might be seeking our attention internally.

Understanding The 5 Spinal Movements

Holistic wellbeing is closely linked to the smooth and clear flow of signals - physiologically and energetically - within and along this elegantly designed architecture of the spine. What are the primary spinal movements, and how can our asana practice support the spine?

practice, yoga, meditation, conscientious livingLucy Lawes19 October 2020Estuary Yoga Spacerestore, community, peace, practice, breath, pranayama, steadinessComment

Staying Connected in Isolation | Insights from our Teachers

A yoga practice, as it was originally intended, is not about making shapes with your body; it is about becoming increasingly attentive of how we shape our lives. See how a few of our teachers have been adapting their personal practice to the times.

practice, yoga, meditation, conscientious livingLucy Lawes23 September 2020Estuary Yoga Spacerestore, community, peace, practice, pandemic, COVID-19Comment

3 Years! A Tribute to Community + Spiritual Hope

A short tribute to our community, the current changes, and a resource for spiritual hope.

practice, yoga, meditation, conscientious livingLucy Lawes19 August 2020Estuary Yoga Spacerestore, community, peace, practice, Tara BrachComment

Yoga Nidra for Sleep | Relax with Gill Forsyth (Favourite, revisited!)

Yoga Nidra, sometimes known as yogic sleep, is a practice where the body-mind is guided into a sleep state while the mind is intentionally led through a meditative journey. This time to refresh ourselves on a cellular level is integral for taking action in a wise, discerning and effective way.

A 17 minute practice for anyone, anytime you wish to soak into a deeper, more rejuvenating rest.

practice, yoga, meditation, conscientious livingLucy Lawes15 March 2020Estuary Yoga Spaceyoga nidra, sleep, rest, restore, meditationComment

The Evidence of your Practice | Part 4: A Discerning Self

To reveal and unravel our stories is also to liberate ourselves from being stuck in the same grooves or patterning. This is a pathway towards new possibilities, and deeper layers of understanding.

Part 4 of a series of reflections on how our practice can flow into our lives - and how we can direct these ripples conscientiously.

The Evidence of your Practice | Part 3: The Witnessing Self

To re-frame a situation through a clearer lens of conscious awareness is to become the witnessing Self.

Part 3 of a series of reflections on how our practice can flow into our lives - and how we can direct these ripples conscientiously.

The Evidence of your Practice | Part 2: Agency in your Choices

Cultivating agency in your choices. Part 2 of a series of reflections on how our practice can flow into our lives - and how we can direct these ripples conscientiously.

The Evidence of your Practice | Part 1: Manas, the Mind

To reflect on how and why we practice is to investigate how these transformations ripple into our lives, and all the lives we intersect with. This is svadhyaya - a form of self-study.

Part 1 of a series of reflections on how our practice can flow into our lives - and how we can direct these ripples conscientiously.

Your Natural Self: Open, Present Awareness

'Mindfulness is loving all the details of our lives, and awareness is the natural thing that happens: life begins to open up, and you realize you're always standing at the centre of the world.'

- Pema Chödron

On coming home, moving forward, and the challenging ease of simplicity.

Little self and big Self | 3 Minutes to Re-membering

In the yogic tradition, Self (as opposed to little 's' self) refers to the state of a vast consciousness.

You may have felt this inter-connected, seemingly boundless feeling of peace or contentment as glimpses in your day - when you are most rested, most joyful, most at ease.

What if you’re able to inhabit this space more frequently, and more purposefully?

This practice involves few simple gestures, a few intentional breaths. It won’t ‘fix’ everything, but it will offer you an invaluable wider lens, past habits, fears and habits, on what is truly integral right here.

The Sacred Pause | How Stopping Helps Us Move, With Purpose

We are all too frequently taught to seek what is comfortable, averting from discomfort or challenge. We get caught in this loop of avoiding the things which will eventually need to be dealt with. It's a bit like leaving dishes in the sink, hoping that when you come back they will be a little easier to clean...

A short reflection on the power of pausing at the crossroads of each moment. A way to create purpose in how you direct the course of your day - and thus your life.

Moon Piercing Breath: A Return to Calm

Chandra Bhedana, or Moon Piercing Breath, is a simple, quietly powerful pranayama. It involves taking mindful breaths through your left nostril.

Learn how to guide your body-mind towards o a more intuitive, steady state of being. A place from which we can make decisions and take action more patiently, wisely and kindly.

meditation, practice, conscientious living, pranayama, yogaLucy Lawes26 June 2019pranayama, presence, breath, moon, calming, nurture, sleep, restComment

5 Minutes to Cool Your Insides: Sitali & Sitkari Pranayama

Sitali means ‘cooling’ or ‘soothing’. It only takes a few minutes, through the powerful medium of breath, to still your body, gather your awareness, and draw a clear stream into your inner landscape.

Learn how to practice this accessible pranayama anywhere, to centre and calm the body-mind.

We live, work and co-create on the sacred lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Worrong people, of the Kulin Nation.

With deep gratitude, respect and commitment, we endeavour for an on-going practice of solidarity and reciprocity with land, sea and sky, informed by the guidance of its innate harmonious wisdom.

Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.