Skin is the primary conduit to touch which is critical for comfort, development, good health and well-being for baby and parent. Massage nurtures touch, and the process for attachment of baby and bonding for the parent. Skin, as well as a sensory organ, acts as a temperature regulator, hydration manager, waste eliminator and protective barrier – baby’s first line of defence.

This is why it’s really important to ensure that you choose the most appropriate oil for you and your baby. In this article I offer some information and research to help you decide on the oil you’d like to use, and you can also decide not to use any oil at all.

Baby MassageSarah CloverSeptember 14, 2022Baby Massage

How I make my classes accessible

Postnatal Yoga, Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga PracticeSarah CloverAugust 14, 2022yoga class, yoga practice

Pelvic stability in pregnancy - 4 top tips

It's really important to have an understanding of your pelvis in pregnancy, how to keep it healthy and stable and how best to use it during labour and birth.

The female pelvis is designed with childbirth in mind, it is an amazing structure. The down side to the amazing ability of the female pelvis to not only be flexible, but also to house a growing baby, placenta, and all its usual organs and systems is that a lot of pressure is put on both the bony pelvis and the muscles and ligaments such as the sacroiliac, symphysis pubis and pelvic floor.

Read on to find out more about how to keep your pelvis stable and healthy during your pregnancy…

Yoga for Pregnancy, Yoga TipsSarah CloverJuly 13, 2022Pregnancy Yoga

Moon Salutation - 3 ways

I'm sure you've heard of the yoga Sun salutation. If you are a yoga student you've probably done a few of them in your yoga practice. But have you heard of the moon salutation?

Find out more about the moon salutation in this blog post and there’s a free 40 minute class where you can try out 3 variations!

Why you should learn to relax in pregnancy

We're not usually taught to relax, for some of us it's fairly easy to stop and chill out. For others it's really hard. Pregnancy may also bring additional challenges of physical discomforts and new worries as you navigate your pregnancy, labour and birth. Relaxation can be a challenge.

When we relax we support our parasympathetic nervous system, the side of our nervous system that dials down stress, anxiety and busy-ness. When we release tensions through the body we immediately feel better and this also helps to signal the mind to become more relaxed as well. When we relax, our heart rate slows and our breathing becomes more easeful.

Your baby feels everything that happens in your body. Tension and tightness, release and relaxation. A calm and relaxed body signals to your baby that all is well, they are safe and secure.

Read on to find tips on ways to relax and resources to help you…

Yoga for Pregnancy, Pregnancy YogaSarah CloverMay 15, 2022Pregnancy Yoga, relaxation, stress

50 Ways to Meditate

I've recently started to swim a couple of times a week. I've always loved swimming, but never made it a regular hobby. I took my boys to baby swimming classes from about 6 months old as I know how important it is as a life saving skill, and also how much fun children (and adults!) have splashing around, jumping in and generally mucking about in the water once they are competent swimmers.

But there's something else that I notice when I swim, it's a quietness, a focus and an ease. When I swim it takes me to that quiet space of being that happens in meditation or deep relaxation. My mind quietens and I can just be with the action of 'swimming', of being in the present moment.

In this blog I talk about how we can use the hobbies and activities we lobe to drop into meditation, we can all do it, find out how…

How to begin Postnatal Exercise

Your pregnancy and birth may have been pretty smooth sailing and you want to begin to explore your new postnatal body and how to find your way back to fitness. Your pregnancy and birth may have been hugely challenging physically and mentally and you don't feel very much like you any more, or really connected to your body. Or you may be somewhere between the two. The important thing is to be where you are right now and start there.

Postnatal fitness classes are a good way to meet other parents and do something for you now that life seems to be all about baby.

Find out more about how postnatal yoga can help you and how to choose the best postnatal exercise for you.

Yoga is not about touching your toes

What I have always known is that yoga is not about touching your toes, despite the images we see of yoga in the media. There's a famous quote 'yoga is not about touching your toes, but what you learn on the way down'. Being flexible is not what yoga is about (although you might become more flexible in time) you might never be able to touch your toes (and it's fine whether you can or you can't) but yoga will teach you about where you are in your body. With each pose/position (done in the way that suits you best) you learn more about what your body can do, what it can't do, what it likes to do, what is a challenge to do, what is calming, what is energising, what feels good, what doesn't feel good.

In this blog post I talk about how I study, practice and teach yoga to suit each individual and why you don't need to be able to touch your toes to do yoga.

Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga Practice, Yoga TipsSarah CloverJanuary 12, 2022yoga quotes, yoga practice, yoga tips

Rest and Digest

I love the autumn time, the leaves turning, the cosiness of the darker evenings where lights twinkle in warm homes and we can begin to hibernate. But autumn for me also comes with some challenges.

There’s a cycle to this rhythm of challenge and back to ease for me which I can observe. A cycle that usually lasts for a few weeks at time (but I sometimes notice it over days or longer over months). There’s usually a beginning, a growth phase, some status quo and then a challenge. Then back to the start again. I notice it in my activities, my nervous system, and particularly in my body and mind in the form of anxiety or overwhelm or tiredness. You may also recognise this in your own day to day life.

In this blog post I talk about what this cycle looks like for me, how I let go of challenges and the tools and techniques of rest and digest that work for me to get back to the beginning, to feel brighter and stay well. I also offer you a downloadable Yoga Nidra Practice – created in collaboration with my teacher Barrie Risman – to help you to let go of challenges this autumn and enjoy some rest.

A relaxation especially for new parents

In this blog post I invite you to take a moment to be with the miracle of being a parent, this is especially for new parents, but if you are a parent of any age child you may enjoy this practice too and you can adapt my words to suit. You can read the relaxation and follow my guidance as you read, or you can listen to the 5 minute MP3 link on the blog page and follow my voice.

Occasional Thoughts Blog

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