Wellness Archives - Page 2 of 27

What is Yoga Therapy and who does it benefit?

February 10, 2025/in Wellness

What is Yoga Therapy?

Empowering you with the self-knowledge and the “tools and techniques” to heal yourself, yoga therapy is fast-emerging as a leading therapeutic process that bridges the gap between complementary natural health-care and modern western medicine. Treating the mind, body, energetic body and spirit, it is both an art and a science that gives you the keys to your own self-healing. Utilising ancient yogic models combined with an in-depth anatomical and physiological assessment, grounded in medical knowledge, the therapist invites the client to experientially create inspiring personalised home-practice programs that treat both the immediate pain/presenting symptoms and through this, enable a profound and insightful self-exploration that raises awareness of the links between the mental, physical and energetic symptoms and the root causes embedded in emotional blockages and lifestyle patterns in a liberating journey of self-discovery.

Incorporating therapeutic asana (postures), pranayama (breathwork), meditations and guided visualisations) and other yogic tools to deeply relax over-stimulated minds and nervous systems such as yoga nidra (yogic sleep) and restorative yoga, the, the 1:1 sessions are grounded firmly in a clinically standardised, yet compassionate process which is goal-oriented and tailored to each individual’s lifestyle needs. So if 10 minutes in the morning is what works for you – your therapist will give you a written practice for you to do at your optimum time each day.

Imagine that your yoga therapist is your own private taxi driver, yet you have the keys and can dictate how fast or slow you want to go. New generations of highly trained yoga therapists are graduating annually to raise the caliber of professional care. They are dedicated to accompanying you along YOUR preferred path of self-discovery, at every level of body, mind, spirit and heart:

On a physical level (in yogic terms: the Anamaya Kosha)

Your therapist aims to empower you to build confidence through conscious breath-led movements so that you feel safe and grounded in your body, and able to incrementally physical strength, enhance your flexibility, invite more spaciousness as needed. As you develop trust in your own resources, you are able to dive deeper to the emotional issues and hidden causes that lie beneath the physical pain…. yet only when you are mentally ready to do so.

On a mental level (in yogic terms: the Manomaya Kosha)

Your Yoga Therapist invites you to lead inner-exploration so that traumas can be revealed and delicate emotional matters can be gently explored only when you feel ready. They seek to create a safe, non-judgmental space for you to observe the thought patterns and belief systems running through your mind and dictating your habitual actions and behaviours which can contribute to postural problems and/or energetic blockages. Proven techniques, such as mindfulness meditation and guided visualisations, mantras and affirmations enable you to centre and calm.

On an energetic level (in yogic terms: the Pranamaya Kosha)

By connecting you to your breath, on which rides the “prana” (life force energy) you connect more deeply to your body and can create spaciousness, release muscular tension, which in turn frees the mental tension whilst optimizing the energetic pathways through asana (postures) and vinyasa (breath-synergised movement) sequences.

On an intuitive level (in yogic terms: the Vijnyanamaya Kosha)

Through body, mind, breath awareness, and awareness arise as you begin to connect to your “inner-compass”, intuition, or inner-guidance system resides.

All so you can feel good…. Naturally! In yogic terms: the Anandamaya Kosha is the bliss key that is turned on when you feel turned by experiences that uplift and inspire you, physically, emotionally or energetically. Yoga therapy invites you to recognise what genuinely enables you to feel GOOD in life, to make the life choices, from work, to how you sit when you are driving, that optimize your health, happiness and holistic wellbeing.

Beginning with an in-depth health questionnaire, the first session begins with assessing postural issues (such as stiff necks and frozen shoulders from too much time at the lap-top or on the mobile phone), continues with reviewing breathing patterns that reveal energetic and emotional blockages. All whilst encouraging you, as the client, to self-observe so that you can become aware of “links” between mental, physical and emotional issues, and to feedback, throughout your journey together, on what triggers pain and discomfort, both on the mat and in daily life so that you can make healing choices that enable you to experience more positive states of rest, rejuvenation and release.

Yoga Therapy is good for you if you:

Are anxious, highly stressed, suffer from panic attacks, are depressed or overwhelmed and are seeking holistic solutions to create more balance, calm and a lasting sense of control in your life.

Have a functional illness such as fibromyalgia, auto-immune related conditions, IBS, Fertility concerns, and have been to many different specialists without being able to diagnose or find proper treatment for your condition

Have asthma or breathing difficulties

Are in recovery from Cancer or other long-term illnesses

Want to replace “props” such as caffeine, painkillers, sugar, alcohol with proven body-mind relaxation and energy rejuvenation techniques

Have been experiencing recurring pain in your body ie: lower-back or sciatica, without being able to find the right treatment.

Feel regularly exhausted and lack the energy to embrace exercise or have physical ailments, chronic conditions or injuries that prevent you from joining group / yoga classes.

Wish to create a carefully facilitated bridge from dependency on prescription drugs ie: anti-depressants

Are ready to commit to a program of self-led practice, designed to suit your lifestyle, and can embrace your innate ability to heal yourself

Yoga therapy is goal oriented, working with your short and long term Sankalpa (intentions) and goals, which are reviewed at each session to focus on the present needs. 1 session offers a powerful springboard into new levels of self-awareness, yet with 3 – 5 weekly / bi-weekly sessions to shape and sculpt your practice to complement and enhance your life-style and bring you the benefits you seek.

Thinking about going ‘Stimulant Sober?’

February 8, 2025/in Wellness

Join me on my Seven Day Challenge…

By Susie Howell, Co-Director of Ibiza Retreats

On the first day of the year, I made the decision to go ‘Alcohol Sober’ for January, to honour the end of what had unexpectedly turned out to be a really tough year for me. I decided that what I needed was to embrace the New Year and the new decade with clarity and focus! And I must admit, throughout the long month of January, this decision has helped me to feel clear, calm and newly positive; so much so, that I am considering extending my abstinence as long as it continues to feel good for me.

Of course, exercise, healthy diet and plenty of sleep are factors that are also contributing to my Feel Good factor, as part of my self-care routine and holistic wellbeing, but this month of abstinence has given me food for thought.

It’s not that I felt I was drinking too much necessarily, although having an active toddler combined with all the availability of the Christmas indulgences, it felt more like I was finding myself reaching for, let’s call it, “a something” on a more regular basis.

During my January month of alcohol abstinence, I’ve now noticed that “the something” I reach for has switched to the odd coffee or a black tea. And whilst caffeine is not an alcoholic drink, or nicotine or drugs, it is still a stimulant or “a fix” of sorts that I am using to change something in this moment.

It feels like something to reward, distract, divert or suppress a feeling or emotion and which offers that sense of instant gratification. Life ‘stuff’ happens, it ebbs and it flows and there are the inevitable ups and downs along the road, but I wanted to explore this pattern a little more closely.

For me, it’s less about the stimulant itself, but more about the intention behind it.

And here’s the science bit. Dopamine is known as the feel-good neuro-transmitter. This is the chemical which the brain releases when we eat food we crave and have sex. It is even released when we receive positive messages or social media feedback or undertake in any generally pleasurable activities. It gives us feelings of satisfaction and it’s linked to indulgent and addictive behaviours and patterns. Just so dopamine doesn’t get a bad press – it’s very necessary in us as it’s responsible for motivation, mood, attention and it also helps regulate movement, learning and even emotional responses.

So these “somethings” or stimulants literally take you out of your body and into your head.

Dopamine is active in the frontal cortex of the brain as well as the limbic (or reptilian) brain which in turn, sets off our fight, flight or freeze response. It stimulates the sympathetic side of our autonomic nervous system. Once the fight, flight or freeze response if activated = less patience = reactivity = anxiety = for example, lack of trust. In every day life this translates as living our lives in a state of constant reactivity and flux. That’s not the goal we really want in our day to day life – and it’s ultimately very draining living in this constantly ‘hocked up’ state!

So I would like to offer you to take part in the Seven Day Challenge with me.

First up in the challenge is the removal of caffeine! I’d love to know how you get on and what you notice during the week. Any positive affects or any observations…? Let’s talk about it!

So what can you do instead? How can we increase our Dopamine levels naturally?

Your diet! Eat foods rich in Tyrosine. In order to make dopamine, your body needs tyrosine which can be found in almonds, bananas, avocados, eggs and beans for example
Exercise – only 30 mins a day can boost your mood exponentially. This doesn’t mean an expensive gym membership – just get outside! Walk, cycle, hike in nature, take a yoga or pilates class – just bring daily movement into your life!
Undertake a meditation practice. Meditation improves dopamine. Fact. Check out our Ibiza Retreats Soundcloud page for Guided Meditations by our very own Larah Davis, or check our my favourite app Insight Timer, which has the best content of all the online meditation apps.
Prioritise sleep. This is the time when our body can rest, repair, regulate and regenerate and those all-important neuro pathways are repaired and renewed.
Listen to calming music. It’s a cliché, but it works! You can try this in conjunction with a deeply restorative yoga pose; Viparita Karani – or to put it simply, it’s just legs up the wall as the direct translation! This is a favourite of ours at Ibiza Retreats – and it really works! Lie down on the floor, facing a wall, on your back with your bum as close to the skirting board / floor to ceiling join as possible. Shuffle your bottom up against the wall until it is as close to the wall as possible, with your legs up against the wall. And breathe…slowly, deeply, keeping your legs vertical, resting against the wall. This is a game-changing pose – it’s my ‘Go To’ restorative asana.
Add nutrients and supplements into your self-care routine. For example the nutrients iron, niacin, folate, the B vitamin family and magnesium and the supplements Ashwaganda , curcuma, oregano extract and (caffeine free!) green tea have all been linked to increased dopamine production. You can have a blood test to determine if you are deficient in any of these. Add a high quality pro-biotic to keep the gut (the second brain) in tip-top health.

If you’d like to learn more about topics like this and how to make those big life changes, that will optimise your physical and emotional wellbeing join us in 2020 for one of our carefully curated yoga and holistic wellbeing retreats.

Here is a link to our full calendar … and we are offering 10% off for retreats booked before February 14th – which we are taking the liberty to re-frame as the day of…

LOVE AND SELF-LOVE!

You can email info@ibizaretreats.com for more information, or call us if you want to chat to a friendly human voice for all the details on 0034 663 093 499.

February is the new January!

February 1, 2025/in Wellness

‘New Year – New You’. How many times have we heard or seen that phrase? The idea that once the clock strikes midnight, we don’t actually turn into a pumpkin, yet we do suddenly leave behind all our ‘bad’ habits and become a new person overnight…

Statistics show that 75% of people break their resolutions just one week into them. So, how about a different approach? Now January is over and many of us might feel like we’ve failed already, let’s start again. You can make positive changes at any time and it’s even easier when the pressure is off! February is the new January.

So as I’m on my own retreat and taking time to reflect on the year past – practising gratitude for all that I’ve learnt and how I’ve grown – and the many blessings in my life, I’m still making that resolution to make big changes. And I’ve been in this business a long time now! I know that setting huge, unrealistic goals is like setting ourselves up for failure. So this time, I’ve changed the way that I look at my resolutions / promises to myself / life commitments at the turn of this year. And here are some top tips I’ve learnt along the way from my own experience and also from some of the incredibly wise souls that I’m lucky enough to meet on my path.

Make your Resolutions En-JOY-able.
Avoid negative language like “Stop doing X” or “Don’t do Y”. Make your resolutions something you can look forward to doing – make them more positively focused, with the emphasis on the outcome.
Sleep More!
Research shows that as a population, most of us don’t get enough sleep. And sleep is so important for not only our appearance, but also the regeneration of our organs, our memory and also our nervous system. So allow yourself to lie-in when you need to and don’t feel guilty about taking a nap!
Travel More!
There is nothing more inspiring that taking a life adventure. New places, people and experiences can help us to get out of any ‘ruts’ that we’ve been sitting in, in ‘comfortable discomfort’. Feel rejuvenated and replenished by saving for, planning and going on a trip – discovery and learning is great for the mind, body and spirit!
A daily practise!
This is probably the most important piece of post-retreat advice we give. Take time daily to connect to yourself. We are so quick to get up, pick up our phones or switch on the TV and get out of the door, that we forget the most important thing – a daily connection to ourselves and our body, mind and spirit. Just taking the time in the morning to sit, breath and listen to yourself can change you whole day. If you feel under particular stress, then take the time to acknowledge what’s making you feel stressed, tap into your intuition and then set your intention for the day ahead. Often just imagining yourself fully protected and safe, before you go and give your energy away to the outside world, can be incredibly powerful. Even better if you have time to do a yoga practise!
(Psst! Watch out for our new February newsletter, where we will be including bite-sized yoga sequences and guided meditations and visualisations every week.)
Create a vision board!
This is basically a great excuse to get a load of magazines, photos, words and colours that inspire you and to get the creative juices flowing. We like to use as much glitter and fairy dust as possible! If you’re inspired and would like more information on how to create your own vision board, then feel free to email us at info@ibizaretreats.com – or of course you could always join us for a retreat.

Gently does it, be kind and take it one day at a time. Happy New Year.

Namaste…

Susie x

Tune in to switch off – introducing you to the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous systems

January 25, 2025/in Wellness

– your KEYS to Evolving to your HIGHEST potential, consciously.

The parasympathetic nervous system restores the body to a calm and composed state and prevents it from overworking.

It helps you to:

Rest
Digest
Pro-create
Eliminate
Restore balance and equilibrium physiologically so that your body can heal and return to its natural state of wellbeing.

The sympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, prepares the body for fight and flight response.

* Stimulates adrenals (the glands that sit on top of the kidneys) to

* Release adrenal/noradrenalin and cortisol which are hormones that

* Make you think/act/move more quickly

* Veins tighten so that your blood pumps more quickly

* Heart-rate rises and senses are magnified “you feel totally switched on”

Whilst being on and active is great for achieving your goals in small doses, when we are constantly “on” we become reactive rather than responsive, and find ourselves making choices out of pressure (anxiety & fear-driven) because we feel we have to – rather than because of pleasure (because things truly feel “right” or good to us).

When we are ”on” too much the switch between the Symp and Parasymp nervous systems can get “stuck” in the Sympathetic side. Which means you feel “wired” and tired but cannot sleep because our whole being – our mind-body-soul system – has forgotten how to switch off and slow down.

The restorative yoga, guided breath-led relaxations, yoga Nidra (yogic sleep) and guided Visualisation within the retreat are all designed to take you into the Parasympathetic side of your nervous system, so you “remember” and “reset” to create, be and, even, achieve more, from a place of holistic wellbeing in a state of “rest”.

After all, in the wild, Zebras would run away from Lion’s – and then simply stop and eat grass again – and this is why we as human beings had the same “on-off” system installed. So it can be good to ask yourself: which wolves and lions are you running away from? What do YOU need to do to reassure your MIND that you are safe and secure enough to slow down, so that your system – as a whole – can restore?

Join us online from 29-31st January to learn these tools and techniques and so much more! Join the Human R-evolution.

Photo credit: Sofia Gomez