It’s common to find practitioners struggle with activating the spinal muscles while moving through a Vinyasa class, in poses like Virabhdrasana III (Warrior 3) and/or Ardha Uttanasana (Halfway Lift), and I put this down to 2 main reasons. Firstly, the engagement of these muscles can be a rather unfamiliar sensation, and it’s often evident when students return with a blank stare when I point them towards this activation. It’s not a feeling that our body is used to and not what we regularly use in our day-to-day activities, unlike lifting an object, we’re familiar with the using of muscles in the arms. Secondly, the activation of these muscles happen through subtle movements, so it often goes unnoticed if we’re not paying attention to them, using the example of lifting with the arms, that’s a prominent and obvious action in contrast and easy to notice in our own bodies.

But to activate the muscles in our back isn’t a difficult thing to do – many of us can find this feeling through Salambasana (Locust), it only becomes hard when those muscles are not the primary focus of the pose.

Looking at Ardha Uttansana (Halfway Lift) today - this pose appears twice during Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A) – at the start of the sequence and then again, at the finishing of the sequence. Offering strengthening and lengthening qualities from the heels to the crown of the head and also the hips, the pose is alive, full of activation throughout the entire back of the torso and lower body. The pose is alive, full of activation throughout the entire back of the torso and lower body. However, what’s often 

* Red arrows represent energetic lines above ​

On the subject of food and nutrition during Yoga Therapy training, our lecturer made a statement which really took me by surprise – she advised that instead of throwing out vegetables that are starting to yellow, we may want to consider eating them as the process of yellowing actually produces certain nutrients that aren’t present when their green!

​My partner can attest, I’ve always been one to try to use up every leftover ingredient in the fridge, past their sell-by date, so long as they’ve not began to mould.

The post-war generation of Chinese are big on not wasting food. This attitude has been passed down from grandparents to parents, then parents to children; though it’s doubtful if its influence continues with the new generation, it’s certainly etched into my mindset.

I still remember vividly – after emptying what’s leftover in the rice cooker – my elderly nanny used to pour hot water down the cooker dish. The purpose is to soften the remainder grains that were caked to the walls of the dish. She would scrape the grains off and eat them like a rice congee. Not a single grain ever goes to waste, as she often teaches us the importance of appreciating the food that’s available to us, but also to understand how painstaking it actually is to grow and produce rice.

The need to not waste, perhaps it’s one of the reasons why, the Chinese have developed recipes and cooking methods that are particularly suited to turning stale ingredients delectable. Braising is a great example, less common in English cookbooks but certainly a method that appears in French cooking. It’s uncertain who originated the technique but it’s one that serves this purpose well!
 
In braising, you sautéed the ingredients at high heat for a quick moment and then finish the dish by covering and simmering it, in a small amount of liquids, for a longer period. Flavours between ingredients and condiments are infused and enriched by one another with this method of cooking, and the results are usually rich in flavour.

There’s no other pose that’s more strongly associated to modern yoga as Downward Facing Dog, aka Adho Mukha Śvānāsana in Sanskrit. So recognisable that it’s often the asana of choice to illustrate or accompany yoga-related features and promotions.
Commonly referred to in short as ‘Downward Dog’ too, it’s obvious that the name of the asana (Sanskrit word for pose) comes from its shape, which resembles the action a dog getting up to stretch out across the torso from lying down.
So widely practised that it’s almost inevitable for any practitioner to encounter this pose in a hatha yoga, especially Flow or Vinyasa style classes. The pose itself sits within the family of inversion and is considered one of the more accessible option within this category. In flow-style practices, it’s often thought of as neutralising; a restorative posture slotted between dynamic, moving sequences to give practitioners a moment to recalibrate and reset.

Some of you who've been to my classes or follow my posts would know how much I attribute the mood and energy of a room, to the role of music and how much it can help in this aspect. Music can absolutely be a complementary and contributing element to setting and creating the scene. 
And to find inspiration, I try to search with an open mind. I try not to restrict myself by looking across different genres and a broad spectrum of musical styles when I'm putting together compilation for different moods, sequences and moments of the day. 
Using a wide variety of sounds for this particular playlist - Set 25 - I've combined tribal, primordial  drums with ambient electronic sounds and sweeping, keyboard scores, the intent is to encourage a lift of spontaneous energy and enhance the sense of sooth and calm. I hope this playlist will make a wonderful companion if you're practising at home and looking to fill the silence in the background. 
Spotify Link - 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0GmgqfKj7H1SaKrGiYhpqu?si=Pp0ac0kEQ5KV6X8tZcxahQ