Over the past several years Yoga has gained acceptance among athletes and triathletes and with very good reason; its effects are both physical and mental and it has endless benefits including increased strength, balance and flexibility, injury prevention and improvement in existing injuries and general health.  It even helps increase lung capacity and function which is a key part of any endurance sport and is something I will be elaborating on much more in the future.  But this isn’t anywhere close to where the benefits end for on top of all the physical benefits it also teaches the art of relaxation and improves concentration and focus.  It teaches the practice of integrating the body and the mind.  If you’re already competing then you should know the importance of a healthy mental attitude when racing.  If you haven’t realised this then be sure that you’re nowhere near hitting your potential!  And for anybody considering a future that may include swimming, biking and running for anywhere between 2 and 10 hours then I promise you, it’s the mental attitude and focus that will get you through it.  Train as hard as you like but if your mind isn’t in the right place then the finish line will feel a lot further away!

Many of you may be wondering how you might find the time to fit yet another thing into your already full schedule but a decent yoga practice can be incorporated into your existing training programme in many different ways.  Many professional and amateur triathletes choose to do a yoga class or practice on their rest day but you can also use yoga as part of your warm up and cool down routine and a restorative yoga practice once in a while can be massively beneficial to help open up tight muscles and help relax your body, particularly after a gruelling training session or a challenging race.  No matter how busy your schedule there is an element of yoga that is right for you and your lifestyle and ultimately, wouldn’t you rather spend an extra 15 minutes here and there improving your body and decreasing the likelihood of injury than spending a potential 3 weeks or more not being able to do anything at all because of an accident, injury or illness that could well have been avoided if you’d only spent a little more time focusing on the recovery and maintenance part of your training?

If you’ve not tried Yoga before, then give it a go and see if in a few months everything feels a little better, maybe even a little easier and a little more enjoyable.  You tweak and tune your bike to perfection, you expect the best out of it and so you should.  Why not make 2010 the year you tweak and tune your own body to perfection and see what you might be able to get out of that too.  Imagine the possibilities, expect your best!

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Over the festive period things can get so busy for us all.  Between the work parties, having the kids off school and trying to visit friends and family there seems to be a never ending list of things for us to do.  Even though you may miss a class or two during the festivities I encourage you to continue with your yoga practice as much as you can even when you can’t get to a class.  A  relaxing 15 minute Savasana followed by a  hot drink and a little time to yourself can make the world of difference especially if things start to get a bit too busy and stress starts to take over.  You’ll find you stay calmer and get much more done in the long run if you dedicate even just a little bit of time to yourself.  It’s important to remember that time for yourself isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity and everybody will thank you for it when you manage to keep your cool throughout all the madness that can arise during the season.

My classes will be running up until Tuesday 22nd December and will restart on Tuesday 5th January 2010.  If you can’t get to your normal class then do consider coming to one of the others so that you still get your yoga fix, your class passes can be used for any class, anytime!

Wishing everybody an enjoyable festive season and don’t forget to relax and take care of yourselves!

Namaste
Clare
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A great friend of mine Tony has recently started a brand new company called UK Bike Skills, a progressive bicycle skills coaching company based in Hertford but offering training all over the UK.
Tony has been riding since the age of 4 and has since been a competitive Triathlete and Time Trial Racer but now commits his riding mainly to technical freeride mountain biking.  He rides like nobody I’ve ever seen before!  With a very professional and experienced team of instructors between them they can offer the best coaching you will find anywhere in the country, with a little more time I’ve no doubt they’ll have taken over the world!  They truly raise the stakes in progressive bike riding and I would be happy to recommend them to anybody as they really ooze passion and professionalism in what they do.

For more information please see their website www.ukbikeskills.co.uk and mention my name if you take the wise decision to get in contact with them!

Look forward to seeing as many as possible on Tuesday!

Namaste
Clare
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I will try to source an alternative venue for these two nights so please do check the website for more information and I will be sure to let anybody on my mailing list know.  If you would like to be added to my mailing list then please drop me an email with your name and email address.

Thanks!
Clare

Thanks to all who came and I look forward to many more magical yoga classes and potentially some great workshops in the same venue!

Om Shanti
Clare
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I had promised a new Monday morning class to start during August but sadly I have now had to postpone the start of this class indefinitely so massive apologies to those of you who were interested in beginning this class.  As soon as I know more you’ll know more.

For the time being the Tuesday night class is still going ahead as normal and I hope to be adding more and more classes throughout the next month to 6 weeks.

Keep breathing and smiling!
Clare
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In time to get you all calm and confident for the summer I will be starting a brand new 90 minute dynamic flow yoga class in Hertford at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 7th July at St Andrews church hall behind St Andrews Church on…..you guessed it, St Andrew Street!

As an introductory offer you can come along to the first class for only £5.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Hope to see you there!
x

I’d like to offer up energy and well wishes for his soul, and huge heartfelt thanks for dedicating his life to being such a prominent and influential being within the world of Yoga.  Without him we wouldn’t know yoga as we do today within the western world.  May his soul rest in peace and may his memory and work live on forever.  Om shanti shanti shanti x