I’m so excited to be hosting monthly Menopause Yoga workshops, open to all stages of menopause and a variety of other Well-being workshops at this historical ancient venue.

The original Llancaiach Fawr Manor house was built in 1550 and is said to be haunted. Guided tours of the Manor and Ghost Tours are available to book. I highly recommend both as you are greeted by costumed interpreters and are transported back in time to the early 1600 hundreds and the rein of King Charles I.

There is also dining available in the Lounge or Conservatory depending on availability with stunning views of the Welsh countryside. The Cafe is open from 10am – 4pm with hot meals served until 2pm. The Lunch Menu includes freshly made sandwiches, jacket potatoes, homemade cakes and a variety of hot meals.

Sunday Lunch can be pre-booked between 12 – 2pm every Sunday and offers a choice of two or three courses, main course is served carvery style. Afternoon Tea is also very popular and available to pre-book.

Yoga with Geri at the Manor

Llancaiach Fawr, Nelson, CF46 6ER

Our workshops will take place in the Education Block, with free car parking in the nearby overflow car park.

Complimentary refreshments, tea and coffee will be available on arrival at the Education Block. Weather permitting we will also enjoy a ‘Walk for Well-being’ in the gardens.

Date	Morning Session 9.00am – noon	Afternoon Session 1.15pm – 4.15pm
Sunday 9 Jan 2022	Yoga for Menopause – Anger, Anxiety & Overwhelm	Hatha Yoga – Yoga for Winter Wellbeing
Saturday 5 Feb 2022	Hatha Yoga – Yoga & Chakras	Yoga for Menopause – Insomnia & Fatigue
Saturday 5 Mar 2022	Hatha Yoga – Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness	Yoga for Menopause – Hot Flushes & Night Sweats
Sunday 12 June 2022	Yoga for Menopause – Bone, Heart & Muscle Strength	Hatha Yoga – Yoga Summer Wellbeing
Sunday 3 July 2022	Hatha Yoga – Yoga & Ayurveda	Yoga for Menopause – Low Mood, Lethargy & Sluggish Digestion

Each 3 Hour Workshop is available to book for  £30 per person or £50 for the whole day (two workshops) on the same day.

Menopause Yoga Workshop

Our first Menopause Yoga Workshop is open to all stages of menopause and will focus on Anger, Anxiety & Overwhelm.

• yoga
• breathwork
• meditation
• women’s circles
• journal writing
• information on signs and symptoms of menopause
• treatment options
• nutrition
• complimentary therapies

Hatha Yoga Workshop

Yoga for Winter Well-being Workshop includes:

• 90 minute Hatha Yoga
• 30 minute Meditation/Mindfulness
• Walk for Well-being/Nature Bathing
• 30 minute Yoga Nidra (psychic sleep – deep, restorative relaxation

How to Book

If you would like to book please complete and submit the new student questionnaire using this link.

I will process your booking and send payment details, COVID-19 Policy and further details upon receipt of £10 non-refundable deposit.

I look forward to welcoming you soon in 2022.

Please note: These dates are subject to change based on Welsh Government guidelines.

The post Aura Yoga with Geri at the Manor, Llancaiach Fawr appeared first on Aura Yoga.

I am really looking forward to restarting our yoga sessions both at Plas Mawr and at Studio 54.

However, we are bound by The Welsh Government Guidance on COVID-19, which came in to effect from 26 December.

The Guidance says:

Keep Wales safe:

• • get both jabs and when invited, get your booster
  • limit your contacts
  • outdoors is safer than indoors
  • do a lateral flow test before seeing others
  • if you have symptoms, self-isolate and book a PCR test
  • wear a face covering

From 26 December

• up to 50 outdoor and 30 indoor spectators can attend community sports events
• 2 metre social distancing will be required in offices and all public premises
• maximum of six people can meet in public premises
• licenced premises will need to take additional reasonable measures to protect customers and staff
• a maximum of 30 people can attend indoor events and a maximum of 50 people at outdoor events
• people attending weddings or civil partnership receptions or wakes should take a lateral flow test before attending.
• nightclubs will close

As our venues can only hold less than 30, we are ok to go ahead with our yoga classes, and I am very much looking forward to them restarting and seeing you all again.

As always, please practise caution, if you are feeling unwell, it is always safer to stay home.

The post Aura Yoga with Geri – Welsh Government Covid Guidelines 2021-22 appeared first on Aura Yoga.

Our online soiree was well attended by glamorous ladies and gents. We had feather boas, high heels, smart shirts, sequins galore and lovely dresses. The drinks varied from San Pelgrino Limonata, to Prosecco with raspberries, cocktails and mocktails galore.

Our wonderful quiz host used a wheel of fortune type app to offer us a choice:

• Yoga Question
• Yoga Move
• General Question
• Question Help
• Challenge
• You Ask Anyone
• Truth
• Story

We had so much fun, often with side-splitting laughter. It was great to discover hidden talents, learn more about each other, relax and have fun off our yoga mats. I particularly enjoyed the singing a few lines of a song from a well-known Musical for us to guess the name of the Musical and mime a film title. Some of the stories were hilarious. Our challenges included balancing a teaspoon on the nose, using a banana to make a pretend phone call, balancing a cushion on the head for 10 seconds.

I had anticipated that we’d finish early and there’d be a rush to end the event to don our pyjamas but I was wrong. It left us all wanting more as it was the perfect prescription for the pandemic blues.

I was glad for a rest after the last round as I was expected to answer questions (general knowledge is certainly not my strong point), tell a story, truth, challenge and strike a yoga pose – several in fact!

We had a tie for first place quiz prize so I was pleased to present a £5 Aura Yoga & Homoeopathy Gift Voucher to each of our worthy winners.

We’re hoping our next online soiree scheduled for Friday 19 Feb 2021 will be just as good or even better.

The post January 2021 Soiree Update appeared first on Aura Yoga.

I’m hosting this event as a big “Thank You” to my Aura Yoga with Geri students and because we enjoy spending time together.

Yogapedia.com defines the Sanskrit word ‘KULA’ as a “community”, “clan”, “tribe” a “community of the heart”. “This kula, or community, of yogis is considered sacred because it is a group of people who come together freely, with intention and a shared sense of purpose.” This definition describes what I refer to as my ‘yoga family’, perfectly.

Some Photos from our earlier Parties

Last term we enjoyed a Christmas Advent theme whereby each week we adorned a particular theme. There were lights, sequins/sparkle, animal print, Christmas accessories, Christmas jumpers and fancy dress. Most students embraced these and each week was filled with a great deal of fun and laughter. I dressed as a pirate and Beyonce. It was the perfect prescription to lift our spirits and soothe our souls during ‘firebreak’, ‘lockdown’ and living life in the Covid19 Pandemic.

Thankfully, I’m able to continue to run a few yoga classes via ‘Zoom’ and I’m eternally grateful to those students who continue to support these sessions, especially when there are so many other yoga classes available online.

At the start of each ‘Zoom’ class we enjoy up to 15 minutes time to chat and I take the register. There’s lots of chat – shared experiences, joy and sorrow, coping strategies at this time. Every class is friendly and supportive with lots of fun and laughter. I’ve created a What’s App group for each class and we regularly keep in touch this way – sharing quotes, jokes and photos.

Lockdown 3 is certainly taking its toll, on the majority of us, as its ongoing, currently with no end in sight. We are missing our family, friends, freedom, holidays and our Aura Yoga with Geri social events. We do like to party!

I’m quite a frugal soul but last year I bought not one but three new dresses for a wedding, however, it was cancelled so the dresses remain in my wardrobe. I miss dressing up in nice clothes, high heels, jewellery, wearing make-up and doing my hair to got out to eat, drink, dance and be merry. I love dancing.

Then I decided to host a Soiree for Cocktails, Quiz, Song and Dance. I’ve applied my self-tanning lotion and decided on my outfit. At this week’s online classes we’ve been discussing the forthcoming event and what we plan to wear. I’m not quite sure how smoothly it will run however I know it will be memorable and fun.

I will let you know how we get on and perhaps share the quiz and some photos if you would like?

The post A Virtual Soirée of Cocktails, Quiz, Song and Dance appeared first on Aura Yoga.

Alert Level 4 Lockdown will remain in Wales for at least another 3 weeks

Aura Yoga with Geri classes will continue via Zoom as timetabled below.

Hatha Yoga

Monday 9.30-10.30am & 7.00-8.00pm

Wednesday: 9.30-11.00am

Meditation

Thursday 7th, 14th, 21st January 2021 6.15-7.15pm

Yoga for ‘Hot’ Women

Thursday 28th January, 4th & 11th February 2021 6.30-7.30pm

Please contact me directly to reserve your place or complete and submit the new yoga student questionnaire.

£5 per session

Aura Homoeopathy Clinic will continue online via FaceTime, Skype, What’s App and Zoom.

Please check out my website for further details or message me directly to book a no-obligation 15 minute chat.

The post News Update Friday 8th January 2021 appeared first on Aura Yoga.

Aura Yoga with Geri Meditation is hosted by me, the most unlikely of meditators, as my mind is naturally very restless. Regular Meditation practice has transformed my life. In my youth I was plagued with anxiety, worry, stress, digestive issues, skin problems, insomnia and fear that was so self-limiting.

• Do you feel worn down by the un-quiet of your own thoughts?
• Do you feel anxious?
• Do you worry constantly?
• Do you have trouble sleeping?
• Do you feel isolated, alone, foresaken?
• Do you suffer panic attacks?
• Do you feel apathetic?

Would you like to regain mastery of your mind?

Our minds already know how to naturally retreat from the stress and strain of our frenetic lifestyles and the many environmental factors that impact us deeply.

Mindfulness and Meditation may offer a retreat from these feelings, emotions, sensations and symptoms. Now more than ever we need to regain control of our mind, breath and body. This pandemic and lockdown life is directly impacting our mental health as well as our physical well-being.

Mindfulness and Meditation has so many benefits that ultimately help restore balance, harmony, equilibrium to us physically and emotionally.

We begin each session by focusing on the correct way to breathe, recognising how we hold tension in the body and mind and how to release it.

Breathing in expands the muscles of the diaphragm down and out. Simultaneously we then amplify the tension in your body by making fists, scrunching your toes up, stiffness in your limbs. Drawing in life giving Prana (life-force/vital force/universal energy) into your body, flowing into your organs, bathing your entire body and cleansing it.

When we exhale we push the diaphragm muscles in and up, possibly allowing the air to flow from your open mouth, sighing the breath out. Simultaneously we let-go and release the physical tension you’ve amplified. Perhaps visualising fatigue, anxiety and exhaustion being expelled from your body.

In this way the lungs fully expand, air rushes into them, then is vigorously expelled.

After a minute or two of breathing this way you will notice a difference.

Do you remember the Mary Hopkins song “I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony”?

Well I’d like to teach the world to meditate in perfect harmony.

Do come and join me on Thursday 7th, 14th or 21st January 2021, 6.15-7.15 pm via zoom, £5 per session.

Please contact me directly to book your place.
#meditation
#mindfulness
#yoga
#pranayama

The post Come Meditate with Me – Zoom Sessions on Thursdays 6:15-7:15 pm appeared first on Aura Yoga.

Due to the Welsh Government imposing a national lockdown in Wales from this Friday 23rd October 2020 until midnight 8th November 2020 our proposed classes for next term will be postponed a week.

We will provisional begin our next term on 9th November (if lockdown restrictions lifted by then)!

I will continue via zoom Monday 7-8pm the Wednesday 9.30- 11am class w/c 2nd November.

Some of you are £5 or more in credit from week’s sessions I cancelled this term.  This can be carried forward or used for other sessions.

I’m happy to run more online classes too subject to demand.

Stay safe and well.

The post Wales Circuit Break Lockdown appeared first on Aura Yoga.

In conjunction with the up-coming World Menopause Day on the 18th October, I’m so excited to be hosting a special Zoom event to celebrate the Day.

Whether you’re currently experiencing menopause, peri-menopause, or want to learn more about menopause or how to be a supportive spouse, you’re welcome to join me. I will be hosting and presenting 3 specially designed events via Zoom on Sunday 18th October 2020 from 10 am onwards.

Please contact me directly or complete the form below to reserve your spot on this exciting day.

1. Yoga for ‘Hot’ Women – Demonstration and Q&A

Sunday 18 October 2020 – 10.00 -10.45 hours BST

‘Hot’ Women is a term I use referring to Peri-menopausal and Menopausal symptoms in women, not necessarily hot flushes and night sweats as not all women suffer with these symptoms.

Yoga for ‘Hot’ Women is therapeutic hatha yoga practice specifically tailored to support, nourish and empower women through some of the many symptoms encounted at Peri-menopause, Menopause and Beyond.

Some comments from satisfied students who have kindly given me permission to share with you:

I had an early menopause at 38 but didn’t know about osteoporosis then. It was only when I was suffering from hip pain that a scan revealed osteoporosis when I was 55. I prescribed HRT in 2000 for 5 years and Alendronic Acid for 8 years. I take calcium supplements daily, practice yoga, line dancing, musical movement and walking. This combination has resulted in my condition improving to a diagnosis of Osteopina.”

On diagnosis of Osteoporosis my Consultant advised me I could break a bone by just sneezing so encouraged me to continue exercising, practicing yoga, along with taking my prescribed medication, healthy diet and lifestyle.”

I suffered with undiagnosed Endometriosis from my teenage years that was only discovered when I had a hysterectomy. I was prescribed HRT but developed a blood clot and had to stop taking it. Later I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis. I tried a variety of prescribed treatments, did my research and started walking, Zumba, yoga, following a nutrient packed diet, healthy lifestyle and zest for life. I’m in my 70’s now and feel better than ever!”

2. Yoga Meditation & Breathing to Calm and Relax

Sunday 18 October 2020 – 11.00 -11.30 hours BST

During this session, I will share techniques and tips to help calm and relax your Mind, Body and Soul. Meditation is remarkably simple, it’s like enjoying a date with yourself.

If I can do it then anyone can as I’m one of the busiest bees I know with an extremely restless mind by nature.  Probably that’s what attracted me to Yoga in the first place.  Yoga and Yoga Mediation have been my saving grace.

My students have kindly given me permission to share some of their comments and experiences:

“I drove home still with that beautiful peace that surrounded me throughout meditation. I ate dinner slow as that was how it felt was right.  So calm all evening. Thank you.”

“Thank you so much for our meditation sessions; it and the group has brought much needed rebalancing and resetting over the last few weeks.”

“I’m not naturally a calm person but totally agree that I too had one, if not the best, calm night’s sleep that I’ve had for a long time…”

3. Brief Introduction to Homoeopathy – Talk and Q&A

Sunday 18 October 2020 – 11.45 -12.15 hours BST

I discovered Homoeopathy almost two decades ago and have used it ever since. I was so impressed by its effectiveness that I trained to become a Professional Homoeopath.I find Homoeopathy so useful in helping to treat the many symptoms we experience with Menses, Peri-Menopause, Menopause and beyond.

During this session, I will share my story and my journey with you and provide and brief introduction to Homoeopathy.

Please fill in the form below to reserve your place and receive log-in details

I am so excited and really look forward to you joining me.

The post World Menopause Day Zoom Event 18 October 2020 appeared first on Aura Yoga.

Turn off the news, notifications.

Take a break from your ‘tech’.

Temporarily become ‘unplugged’.

Take time to breathe, pause and enjoy the spacious of your soul.

Breathe deeply and easily, focusing on the out breath.

Sighing is a great way to do this but perhaps just 3-5 ‘sighs’ at a time and tune in to what’s happening within you.

The space created by these good quality exhalations will result in slower, deeper, mind, breath, body connections.

This ‘Space’ is where the magic happens.

When you travel on the London Underground there’s signs and announcements to “Mind the Gap”.

I highly recommend you to do just that and notice the ‘gaps’, pauses, space in between your breaths. They are an integral part of the music of our soul.

It’s not just a matter of breathing In and Out. There is a pause after each Inhalation and a pause after each Exhalation.

There is peace, stillness, beauty, a certain magic in the pauses, gaps, rests.

I invite you today to “Mind the Gap”

The post How to deal with Anxiety using the “Mind the Gap” breathing technique appeared first on Aura Yoga.

I am happy to announce a return to face-to-face Hatha Yoga classes, however, at a different venue initially.

Everyone already on the register for set days will be contacted soon to check if they require their place as prior booking is part of the new regime, no drop-in, with online advance payment via BACS or Paypal. Some of you are in credit from the winter term before lockdown as we finished 2 weeks earlier than scheduled.

Aura Yoga with Geri will continue via ‘Zoom’ next week and possible on a Monday evening until we can resume at our regular venue on that day but subject to sufficient bookings.

Monday 7th September 2020 7.00-8.00pm
Wednesday 9th September 2020 9.30-11am

Meeting ID and Passcodes will be issued on receipt of payment and for newcomers, completion of a new student questionnaire/signed disclaimer.

Face-to-face Yoga Classes

Studio 54, High Street, Blackwood, NP12 1BB is our new venue from 15th September 2020 for a 6 week term, with a small car park and plenty of local free parking nearby (time restrictions may apply).

Tuesday 7.30-8.45pm 15th September – 20th October 2020
Wednesday 9.30-11.00am 16th September – 21st October 2020
Thursday 6.15-7.30pm 17th September – 22nd October 2020

There are provisionally 15 spaces available.

Prior booking and your own equipment, including your own drink, will be required please.
£30 for 6 sessions or £6 per session. (Space is limited to adhere to social distancing guidelines so block bookings will take priority).

Only the general Hatha Yoga classes will run initially before the introduction of short specialist courses such as Introduction to Meditation, Meditation, Yoga for ‘Hot’ Women, Chair Yoga, Yoga for Children, Yoga for Pregnancy, etc., will hopefully start up.

COVID 19 Policy

Numbers will be limited to comply with Welsh Government/Public Health social distancing guidelines.

You will need your own equipment – yoga mats, possibly blocks, straps, resistance bands, blankets and drinks.

2m social distancing is recommended.

There will be a 15-30 minute gap in between sessions to reduce contact between groups and allow for cleaning. The venue will be deep-cleaned daily and sanitised in between sessions.

There will be handwashing facilities and hand-sanitiser available. Toilets will be available.

Please remove shoes on entering the main studio hall and store along the back wall.

The kitchen will not be open.

It is a personal choice to wear a face covering.

A register with your contact details will be kept to comply with Track and Trace guidelines.

Please do not attend if:

You have any symptoms of COVID 19

• New continuous cough
• High temperature
• Loss of smell or taste
• Have been in contact with someone who has symptoms in the same household or elsewhere or via Track and Trace.
• On returning from some countries you may be required to Quarantine for a period 14 days.

Any questions please contact me directly.

I’m looking forward to welcoming new and familiar faces to your yoga mat to create some yoga magic @ Aura Yoga with Geri.

The post Face-to face Yoga Classes – Update 2nd September 2020 appeared first on Aura Yoga.