Yoga Archives | The Northern Yogi

Exploring Dublin the Yogi Way

July 19, 2017 • By Sarah

I was lucky enough to spend last weekend in the beautiful city of Dublin, all thanks to my wonderful sister. It was a jam packed weekend with lots to do and see, but I still managed to squeeze in a yoga session.

Having never been to Ireland before I had no idea what to expect from the emerald isle, would it be ‘my kind of place’? I do love to travel to new locations, exploring cities I’ve never been to before, finding hidden gems and general getting lost in newness. And Dublin did not disappoint!

As soon as we arrived we hopped into a taxi to take us to our hotel and the taxi driver turned into our own personal tour guide, pointing out iconic locations, telling us where to go, what to see, how to get there, what to expect.

I knew it was going to be a good trip when passport control said ‘Have a great time Sarah’ in a thick Irish accent. Since when are passport control pleasant?! From here on out every single person we met was the loveliest, friendliest, most welcoming person ever!

We arrived at our hotel, the Clayton Hotel on Cardiff Lane to be greeted by the friendly reception staff who checked us in, gave us a map and pointed us in the direction of the ‘centre’. We pottered off in the direction of the shops to see what Dublin’s retail therapy had to offer and we stumbled across what I can only describe as Ireland’s version of Wholefoods, FRESH The Good Food Market where we bought big salads, donuts and coffee (we were on holiday after all).

Our hotel was located directly opposite Facebook HQ and the surrounding area was very modern, on a Quay and filled with cool independent eateries. I have to admit Dublin is a pricey city so if you have a trip planned take more than you’d expect. We bought two salads and it came to 25euros! That evening we went out for cocktails at The Spencer then hit the hay early ready for a full on day the next day.

Woke up early the next morning for some much needed stretching. I rarely get a chance to practise yoga on travel days and planes make me feel in desperate need of a good yoga session. Top Tip: after a flight practice legs up the wall. Not only will it help to stretch the hamstrings and lower back but will also reduce puffiness and fluid retention that is so common after flying.

I did a lovely practise in my hotel room, on a towel because I had no baggage allowance to pack my mat. No mat, no problem, just roll out the fluffy hotel towel!

We headed out for breakfast and pottered around the cobbled streets of Dublin, finding florists and markets and taking coffee breaks and sitting to watch the world go by. The city really is perfection.

We only go two days in the city so I’m already looking forward to returning one day soon.

Any travel tips you can share for my next visit to Dublin, where to eat, sleep, drink, stretch?

Advice, Yoga

FeetUp® Trainer – The Yoga Inversion Tool

June 9, 2017 • By Sarah

Yoga Inversion Tool - Northern Yogi

While I was a Yoga beginner I used to watch people float up into headstands like it was the easiest thing in the entire world, and I’d think “that’ll never be me”.

Headstands are too scary. I’ll never be strong enough or have that much balance. Is it even safe to stand on your head?

Feet Up Trainer yoga - Northern Yogi

The headstand in an Ashtanga practice comes at the end of the primary series. Meaning that if you’re a beginner and you turn up to an ‘all level’ yoga classes the teacher will, no doubt, have headstand in their sequence. A good teacher will set up the foundations of a headstand; the correct arm position, where the strength comes from, etc. Then the rest is up to you, the student. And it’s scary. A lot of teachers won’t let you go up against the wall because frankly there is no point in being against the wall, one day that wall won’t exist so best no to rely on at all. So how is one even suppose to learn what it feels like to be upside down?

Feet Up Trainer - Northern Yogi

If your yearning to lift up into headstand, or want to challenge yourself in inversions, you might like to give the FeetUp Trainer a try. I was lucky enough to be sent this product recently and WOW, game changer!

The FeetUp Trainer has been developed to make headstands accessible to everyone. By using this tool yoga students are able to progress with their headstand practice much quicker as it helps to build confidence in those challenging inversions.

No weight is placed on the head when using a FeetUp Trainer as the tool evenly distributes the weight across the shoulders. This means and pressure is taken off the neck, and the spine is gently stretched. The hands can be placed onto the handlebars and this helps massively with balance. Over time you can play around with releasing the hands, moving the legs, shifting the weight around and seeing what feels good for you.

yoga tools - northern yogi

I know my students love a good challenge in class and using this tool is fun, challenging yet safe. I’d recommend it to all my students and teacher friends. It really is a fearless way of practising yoga inversions and once fear is removed, anything is possible!

Yoga Inversion Trainer - Northern Yogi

To find out more about this latest yoga innovation visit FeetUp Trainer.

Follow me on Instagram for more yoga tips and tricks