So the second week of personal yoga practice in the Boardroom. This new routine is working well for me. I finished my practice today feeling calm and looking forward to the challenges of my day.

I work through the body as my body guides me, feeling where I need to stretch and loosen out. This is working well for me, however, I do feel that the number of postures I am practicing could be increased so I am going to aim to add one more posture a week.

For the past few months I have been ignoring myself a lot! My eating habits have changed dramatically and I have conveniently ignored the ever increasing tightness of my clothes. Something had to be done so last night I joined a slimming club with a friend of mine. This is all good and positive. However, the slimming membership includes an aerobics class. I had not given this much attention or thought but as the class started I realised why I stopped going to this type of exercise class years ago. Apart from the fact that I am very uncoordinated! The class involved twists of the waist, twisting and stepping at the same time and generally no thought to what is happening to the body but just flinging yourself around. Whilst this was funny on one hand (my friend and I kept on going the wrong way), I had little to laugh about by the end of the class. I realised once we started the mat work that I had ignored my back completely – it was not happy, I was not happy and I am sure my chiropractor will not be happy either when she see me!

Why am I relating this tale? Firstly because I spent the majority of my morning yoga practice easing out my back. I am very thankful that I have the awareness to do this, years ago I would have popped a painkiller! But secondly and more importantly (I think) I could not control the chattering in my head. On and on I went recalling the events of last night, how could I have gone against everything I believe in, how easy it was to forget all I have learnt and just ‘go with the crowd’, would I go back next week?

So all in all, a very disjointed and distracted practice today. Interesting though J

I awoke to the most wonderful frosty morning! Everything looks so beautiful today. I am the only one who is awake and so I take advantage of the silence to get my yoga mat out. I have really started to enjoy practicing on my own. Where I was struggling before to decide what to do next my body is now leading me into the next posture. This is a little repetitive but I do not think that matters. I am sure I will slowly build up to incorporating more variety. I will carry on listening to what my body wants. I am beginning to notice an improvement in my arm strength. My yoga teacher, Khatun, has suggested that I widen the distance between my hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. This feels more comfortable to me and so I will make a conscious effort to remember this change.

I have started to incorporate a short Pranayama sequence at the end of my practice. I find this a quiet but a more energetic way to finish my practice rather than Savasana which leaves me with low energy for my day.

Getting up at 6am and landing straight on my yoga mat before I have woken up has not been working for me. I am so fuzzy headed that I cannot think what to do and end up stumbling through my practice just for the sake of it. So this week I have taken my yoga mat to work with me. I have arrived at work at 7 – 7.15 am, settled down in the boardroom and practiced for around an hour. This has worked really well for me although I do need to be super organized the night before and I am sure one day I will forget my shoes or worse still my trousers! I have changed and been ready for work by 8.30am feeling awake, alive and looking forward to my day. My colleagues have noticed a difference in me and several have asked when I will be starting to teach. It’s a great way to get peoples interest!

So this will now be my routine:

Sunday, Monday, Thursday – yoga at Bo Co yoga

Tuesday, Wednesday – yoga in the boardroom!

Saturday – yoga at home

Friday – day off (I have to start work at 8am on a Friday so not a good day for boardroom yoga J)

I’m finally sorted and feeling better about a personal practice.

I dragged myself to my mat this morning grabbing Sue Delfs lesson plan on the way. I have slept through my alarm and have to work today so every excuse possible goes through my head as to why I should just jump into the shower and forget this practice – just for today.

I start my practice feeling incredibly stiff and not connected to my body in anyway at all. Just going through the motions really. Then I get to Trikonasana. It feels wrong for my body to be in this pose today. I try again – no not ok for my body at all. So the lesson plan goes out of the window and I practice a few sun salutations. This is feeling better. I then go through my body doing some stretching exercises. I start at the top and work my way down. My body creaks and groans with stiffness. I finally find the floor for the final part of my practice.

40 mins of practice and I am feeling lighter and my body is thanking me for releasing some of the stiffness and tension that I have been ignoring.

More of the same tomorrow J

I have been researching the market for a while to find new products which I feel compliment the Manduka range of yoga mats, bags and accessories. I believe I have found the ideal partner in Sun Salutation yoga mats and bags.
So why chose Sun Salutation? Firstly because Lotta Jörgensen (founder of Sun Salutation in 2003) is a yoga teacher and a designer who is passionate about yoga and the enviroment. Lotta believes in adding pure enviromental values to the products she designs and following this through with good enviromental practices when looking at the manufactuer of her yoga mats, bags and accessories.
Secondly7 because Lotta has produced some fantastic products!
The Sun Salutation Bhu Yoga Mat is a biodegradeable, has a spongy texture and good grip. It is a light weight (1.2kg) mat making it easy to transport to class and comes in three great colour ways.
The Sun Salutation Yaa Mat is very different from any of the mats I sell. It is made from natural rubber, jute, cotton and orange peel; is bio degradeable and contains no toxic glues.
The Yaa Mat is double sided, one softer side with a jute mesh and a firmer side with super grip and closed cells. This Mat is denser to provide stability and support on almost every surface. The materials have been carefully selected to meet the highest demands on grip, durability, appearance and minimum environmental impact. The Yaa Mat is produced with a high percentage of recycled materials. Simply good karma!
To compliment these two new yoga mats we are now also stocking the famous Sun Salutation Street Bag in various colour ways and the Sun Salutation Manipura Yoga Bag which has plenty of room for a yoga mat of your choice and all your yoga props.
I hope you enjoy these new products as much as I do. Namaste

I recently submitted three samples of the Manduka eKO Superlite Travel Mat to OM Magazine. OM were testing a huge range of yoga mats for the biggest survey on yoga mats available in the UK. They sent the mats off to three yoga studios for the teachers and students to try out.
The Manduka eKO Superlite Travel Mat scored very high marks as a travel yoga mat, notching up several 10′s in their survey…..
‘Good marks with each body contact, would use as a travel mat’
‘Great travel mat, I would buy, really safe’
‘fantastic travel mat’
‘packs up small’
I have loved this travel yoga mat since its arrival in 2010. I have used it on a trip to Turkey where it performed well in the heat and also regularly take my travel mat to class with me. Its great to put on top of a studio mat. Fantastic grip and so much more hygienic than using a mat which has been used by countless others!
The mat is designed to be folded so is ideal to carry in your bag to work or in your backpack when on your travels. To top it all, its completely bio degradeable and so leaves no footprint in landfill.

We recently ran a feedback competition to win a pair of Yoga Show tickets. I am pleased to announce that Neil Pigott, Zoe Watt and Michelle Fennimore will all be receiving two tickets to the Yoga Show. Congratulations!

If you would like to hear what the winners thought of their Manduka yoga products please read below…..

Manduka eQua Yoga Towel
After using this since June it has become better and better. Needs a bit of spray to get a grip at the beginning of my Ashtanga practise but absorbs buckets of sweat and provides good platform on top of my extra long black mat. I find that tucking the end under the front of mat also helps keep it in place for vinyasa movement. N.P

Manduka Bikram HOT Yoga Towel

I bought an olive hot yoga towel from you over the summer and just wanted to let you know that it is working really well. I no longer slide during routine and the towel absorbs my ….. erm sweat really well! In fact towel still feels dry on the surface even though you can feel the weight of the sweat on the towel at the end of each session. And bonus is that towel is very comfortable to lie on – lovely and soft and great for relaxing into when meditating. M.F

I don’t know what I did without this towel. I was skeptical when I bought it but on first use I was seriously wowed by how fantastic it is. No pooling, no sweaty bits, sticks perfectly to mat, soft yet provides serious traction for serious Ashtanga and Bikram practice. I need two! Great to go travelling with instead of a mat. Z.W

Manduka Black Mat PRO
LOVE my new mat, really worth the money, it’s so sturdy it even works

well on my carpet and doesn’t move or slip or rumple.

Following on from the sucess earlier this year of Mandukas’ Black Cherry PRO yoga mat, Manduka have come up trumps again with the very beautiful Manduka Black Magic PRO.
This Manduka yoga mat in deep purple is simply stunning! We will be bringing this mat to the Yoga Show with us next month so come and try it out!
Also look out for the new coordinating Black Magic eQua Yoga Towel

We have been waiting all year to be able to bring Mandukas’ new yoga mat wash into the country. These products are not your run of the mill yoga mat cleaner….
Mat Renew contains citric acid to neutralize hard water, positively charged cationic surfactants to attract dirt, and essential oils with anti-microbial and therapeutic properties.
Mat Restore contains vinegar to disinfect and restore color, citric acid to neutralize hard water, positively charged cationic surfactants to attract dirt, and essential oils with anti-microbial and therapeutic properties.

Both Manduka Yoga Mat Cleaners are bio-degradeable, phosphate and alcohol free. They keep your mat in tip top condition helping with the longevity of the mat and restoring the surface. The mat is left disinfected and smelling fresh.