Just As Well, The Women's Health Podcast - How To Build A Regular Yoga Practice

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Starting point is 00:01:36 My name is Roshun Derbyshoyne. I'm senior editor on women's health and this is your weekly chance to plug in, be inspired and get expert advice on how to achieve the health and wellness goals that matter most to you. This week, we're looking at the goal of creating a regular yoga practice that you actually want to stick to. Maybe you've never really got yoga and you're keen to dip your toes to see if you can access those juicy, mind, body, soul everything benefits that people go on about. Or perhaps you're someone whose relationship with the mat is more of a fair weather affair. So you'll kind of be hot and heavy for two weeks of regular vinyasa but then say a new bar program turns your head, your progress is paused. And when you come back, a month later, cap in hand to yoga, it feels like you're starting from scratch. Or maybe you're someone who gets a real buzz from practicing in classes, but you're just not ready

Starting point is 00:02:28 to take part in a group class. Whatever your relationship with yoga is like right now. I'm confident that by the end of this episode, you'll want to unfurl that mat and flow through those asanas before you can say Shavasana. Women's Health, Junior Fitness writer Morgan Fargo, is joined by two experts to chat through why it's so worth getting into yoga and how to make that habit last. The first is Nahid de Beljean, founder of the Human Method, a South London-born, former yoga skeptic who has discovered the benefits of the practice in her early 30s and has been learning and teaching ever since.

Starting point is 00:03:02 The other is Jessica Oli, a former elite swimmer and sports science grad, who, as she brilliantly puts it, came to yoga for the handstands but has stayed for so much more. She's since trained as a yoga teacher, has built a 900,000 strong community around her online yoga workouts and let's start yoga e-books. Together they discuss the importance of starting small, how to find joy from your self-practice and why looking back at the origins, history and philosophy of yoga can really help you get more out of it today. Enjoy. Hi, Naheed. Hi, Jessica. I am so thrilled to be chatting with you today. Thank you so much for being here. I'm just so excited about our chat and discovering a little bit

Starting point is 00:03:45 more about you and your journeys. Thank you for having me. Yeah, me too. It's good to see you. So, Nahed, I would, I'd love to start with you in your journey and how you found yoga and how yoga found you. Sure. Well, I was always the person who. least likely to practice yoga. Lots of people had told me that I ought to do it, I think, because they thought I was a real stressful, politely telling me that it was a stressful. And I didn't really think it was for me. So I was a kickboxer, I was a runner, I was addicted to, you know, I just loved action, action, action. And I had been to a few yoga classes and I just thought, nah, not for me, didn't believe in the teacher, thought they were talking hocus pocus,

Starting point is 00:04:28 didn't they think that they explained things very well? And they relied on a lot of mystery, a lot of like woo-woo to kind of make you think this was this spiritual path. And I just didn't believe in them. And then what happened was I just got to a stage in my life. It often happens with people where I left a very well-paid job. It was my only job that I ever had because I've worked for myself all my life, a very well-paid job that was really stressful.

Starting point is 00:04:54 And I thought, do you know what? I had no plans at all. I'm going to go and reinvent myself. I know I don't want to be this. I want to be something else. So I've googled. I found a teacher who sounded quite good. I found the country first, a nice warm country to go and do it in at a time that I could do it. I found an excellent teacher who had come from the music industry's named Simon Lowe. And his language really resonated with me, like someone who'd burnt out, who needed this new thing, was very clever about educating himself, studying a lot and then he was able to kind of transmute his knowledge to people. And I just had the most

Starting point is 00:05:33 amazing epiphanies on this. I took my husband along and I said to him, I don't, I didn't want to share with anyone on yoga holidays. I was like, no, I'm just too uptight for that and I still am. And so I took him along saying, you can come and share a room with me. Don't do the yoga. You don't have to do it. Just come with me. And because this teacher was just so welcoming, his language was so inclusive. My husband did it. And from this day, this was, you know, 25 years ago, my husband has a daily self-practice, and just comes to my classes every now and then. And it completely changed me. I finally, I suddenly saw there was another way to be. So I'm a Londoner. I'm from South London originally. If somebody bumped into you, you kissed your teeth at them. I was kind of bought, I was brought up to just be constantly reactive. And so it completely changed me. And I then set off on that path of really practicing for myself. I had my studio. and we were doing power plates only at the time.

Starting point is 00:06:26 I then decided to do my teacher training with him, and that was great, just for myself. I didn't want to teach particularly at all. And then I started offering it in my studios, it really took off, and I love teaching. I absolutely adore it. I didn't think I would. I absolutely adore it.

Starting point is 00:06:43 So it's been a practice that has just really helped me to navigate my emotions over the years. And do you find that being a South Londoner and having that real world experience helps you communicate your message in a way that is equally as demystified and inclusive and accessible for people. Without a doubt. So I need to know the neuroscience behind things. I want the science.

Starting point is 00:07:07 I want the rationale. Because if you tell me something does this because your aura shines brightly, that means nothing to me. And it means nothing to the people that I teach. So rather than high, and I've had some really bad experiences as well in classes where I think somebody told me, that I had to relax my vagina.

Starting point is 00:07:26 Man, tink. While I was in a horse pose, with him not very far away from my vagina, I can add. I've had people tell me that I wasn't enlightened enough so I can do backbends or whatever they have said. Instead of giving me the real facts about how you need to suffer, good anatomy and movement, no good knowing anatomy if you don't know about movement.

Starting point is 00:07:47 And so just arming people and empowering people with facts so that they can look after their own bodies is completely what I'm about. And, you know, I often say that my clients are, you know, they're stressed out and the real skeptics. I have quite a lot of male clients. I've got professional athletes as well, lots of boxes. But people who are real skeptics about this, and I have managed to transform them all because I give them facts, I empower them. And it's a no-nonsense approach, but it can take you into the magic, of course. Do you know what I mean? So I like to think that I kind of have demystified teaching it, but without taking the magic out of it.

Starting point is 00:08:27 And I think that's a special thing as well. When you come from a place of it being inclusive and normal, the magic feels even more magical because you feel like you're not being taken on a ride. Yeah, absolutely. And also, if you tell, rather than telling people what to do, so when sometimes poses as described as all that alignment, which I think is nonsense, you know, that's everyone's body is different. But when you actually empower people to say, well, actually the thigh bone rolling in that hip socket feels really nice and juicy. And if you turn it into that, look, now we're in Moria too, just feels much more empowering. So they're because they're actually figuring it out. They're working it out. They're trying things out. You give them real agency of their own bodies so that they're in it.

Starting point is 00:09:10 They're in control of it. And we're learning together. So it's that relearning kind of aspect of it that I really love. and that lovely beginner's mind where you're exploring possibilities. And that's what I love. That's what I love about it. And that's what I hope I am imparting. Definitely.

Starting point is 00:09:29 That's fascinating. Thank you. And Jess, how about you? What was your journey into yoga like? I know you've been doing it for a while and been very visible doing it. But what was your initial steps getting into it? Yeah, before I guess I journey into sort of that, I just want to say, say how much I resonated with what you said, Nahed. And yeah, it was such a, I guess,

Starting point is 00:09:54 comforting feeling to know that you have a lot of the same practices and ways of thinking that I feel like I have maybe at the beginning felt too shy to share. Yeah. And I think this is a practice of, you know, coming back into yourself in many, many different ways and find who you are and finding your voice and also having the courage as a student, as also as a teacher, to share your experiences and encourage others to find their own experiences because I think everyone gets drawn to this practice for different reasons. And I think that we all find very different things when we step onto the mat.

Starting point is 00:10:42 And usually we find what we need, maybe not always what we want and for me i think that was the case i started i started i kind of fell into this practice unintentionally and it was during a very very stressful time at university i was in my final year of my degree i was studying sports science i just retired from competitive swimming a year before and i just felt very very lost and over the the last, I guess, six years, I've found that actually yoga was very, very similar to my swimming career in terms of the meditative effect. I think that I had every single day swimming up and down, up and down. You know, there's no distractions. You're in your head the whole day pretty much

Starting point is 00:11:34 when you're training. And so I'd stopped swimming and I was just found myself in this rut. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what I wanted and I was searching for movement to bring me back into myself in a way that made me feel connected. And I tried running, I tried boxing, I tried lifting, I tried everything you could imagine. I tried spinning, you know, all the gym classes, um, legs, bums and tums and body power and, and all of that because I wanted to move, you know, it's in my blood. And my friend said, why don't you try yoga? You know, they've got yoga classes at the gym.

Starting point is 00:12:21 And I just looked and I laughed. And I just said, absolutely, no way. I need something that's going to get my heart rate up. I need something that's going to challenge me. I need something that is athletic. You know, I'm an athlete. And we said, if you don't like it, you never have to go again. and that was something that I think my parents had always instilled in me

Starting point is 00:12:46 and give something a go and if you don't like it if it's not for you then you never have to do it again you've lost nothing so I went to this class and I really enjoyed how my body felt but I didn't enjoy the environment I wasn't ready to I think dive into that practice in the way that it was being delivered at that time so I went away and got all my books out from my degree and I obviously had a very good understanding of the body from years and years of swimming and through my degree and that kind of stuff I started to link the physical practice to what I had learned and connected the two. And I fell in love with a self-practice and I think that that was really where my passion was ignited, you know, discovering things in my own way. And just like

Starting point is 00:13:38 he'd said that our bodies all move in very, very different ways. So what looks good for one might not feel good for another. So I really started that journey inside my tiny little university room, doing what I could. And it was, you know, 10, 20, 30 minutes a day, whatever I could squeeze in outside of, you know, spending nine hours in the library that I could just forget everything. And I was so present. I was so inspired and I was so grateful to be able to have some relief from the stress of everything else that was going on in my life at the time.

Starting point is 00:14:20 And it was when I graduated, so I made it through. And I honestly think that if I hadn't have found yoga and that this practice, I'm not sure where I would have been mentally. So I really do think that finding that at that time, it did give me everything that I needed to push through. And I was hungry to learn. I wanted to connect my degree to this practice. I wanted to connect the two. I wanted to understand the philosophy behind yoga.

Starting point is 00:14:51 I wanted to understand, yes, we have this pose, but like where did it come from? What is the idea behind it? There must be more behind this. And I just wanted to learn. I was in that zone. I just finished my degree. And I think I've been home for a week. And I was like, yep, I'm going to do this course.

Starting point is 00:15:11 So, yeah, I started the teacher training. I was living in Dubai with my family at the time. It took a few months to complete the course, and I just fell in love with it. Then people started asking me to teach. I started sharing my personal journey on social media. And at the beginning, I was just like, there is no way that I'm teaching. I don't know enough.

Starting point is 00:15:40 Who do I think I am? This practice is so new to me. How can I help someone? There is no way. So I think I felt a lot of imposter syndrome, but I'd always loved teaching people. You know, whether it was teaching my sister to ride a bike or it was teaching little kids how to swim. I used to be a swimming teacher. I just loved being able to help someone do something that they didn't think that they were capable of doing before.

Starting point is 00:16:10 And, you know, all these postures that I was drawn to were very, very athletic. And I think that comes from my swimming background. So I wanted to do the handstands. I wanted to do the splits. I wanted to do the tricks because they really challenged me. But I always, I think I found that each posture sort of built a bridge. back to myself in a different way. The handstands hooked me and they drew me in,

Starting point is 00:16:35 but I stayed for the Ford Folds and the Pigeon and the Child's Pose and the Sun Salutations. So, yeah, that's kind of the beginning of that journey and I'm still on it. Now streaming on Paramount Plus is the epic return of Mayor of Kingston. Warden? You know who I am. Starring Academy Award nominee Jeremy Runner.

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Starting point is 00:17:15 Mayor of Kingstown, new season now streaming on Paramount Plus. It's so interesting that you say that the poses were helping you build a bridge back to yourself because it sounds like discovering your love for teaching and rediscovering that love was such a huge part of you becoming who you are as a yoga teacher today that you already had inside of you? 100%. And I feel like yoga is obviously a name for this practice, but I feel like the essence of what it does

Starting point is 00:17:47 can be found in other different practices that bring you more in tune with yourself and stripping back the layers and being. healing them back until you actually discover, you know, who you are, who you want to be, how you want to make a mark in this world and in a way that feels most authentic to you. I love that, Jessica, because I agree with you. I really love multi-disciplines and I think lots of things can offer you solace. And for me, actually, it all comes down to the breath. So being able to breathe more fully fully being aware of your breath, I think is the actual thing that gives you peace and brings you back to home. And I love moving in lots of different ways as well.

Starting point is 00:18:39 And actually, you know, this thing that you call yoga, I thought that was a really great thing to describe it because I'm sometimes unsure if I'm teaching yoga because I'm just teaching lots of different movements that really resonate with the breath. And so it's really about breathing almost through your skin, if you like. 100%. Yeah, I love that description. It kind of transmutes and changes. And just like you, I really loved, I love hearing people's description of how they get into yoga, be they a teacher or a student or whatever, because the beauty of people.

Starting point is 00:19:19 it is, is exactly as you said, that thing of coming home to yourself and you can do that again and again and again. And, you know, it's so self-sufficient, isn't it? That's what I love about it. Yeah. And I think something that I really loved is when you said that you want to give people agency over their bodies, I think the best tool that I think any human, whether you're a teacher or not can give to another person is the empowerment of knowing that they know what they need and they if you can give them the tools and you can teach them how to move in a way that feels good for them then they won't need you anymore and I think that that's what I want I don't want people to depend on me forever I want to be able to give them what they need to start

Starting point is 00:20:10 and give them the confidence and empower them to know that that this is their own journey. Just like I've had my own experiences, every single person that steps on the map will have their own unique journey. Yeah. Amen to that. And I think it's so interesting to hear you both talk about your different experiences as teachers

Starting point is 00:20:32 because recently during the coronavirus pandemic, women's health readers have been getting in touch with us to say that they have just fallen back in love with yoga and they've picked it back up because it's something they can do at home and is a nice contrast to the stress they may be experiencing working from home and the general stress of trying to live during a pandemic. But we've also had people who have got in touch to say, similarly to you, Jessica, actually,

Starting point is 00:21:01 I never considered yoga. It wasn't something that I ever thought was for me. And I've picked it up and I just love it. And it gives me space and time for myself and to calm down. have you, Jess, I'll ask you first, but have you noticed any sort of uptick in people engaging with you and your content during coronavirus, perhaps finding yoga for the first time or trying to deepen their relationship with it? It's been absolutely wonderful and I think obviously the world has been a really crazy place the last few months and I think one of the silver linings of this pandemic has been social media. and its ability and capacity to bring people together in the way that it has in the health and wellness and fitness community. I have always found something special about a home practice and a self-practice.

Starting point is 00:21:57 It's something that is very, very important to me. And it's the essence of the e-books that I released and the app that I have. And just giving people that power to step on their mat wherever they are and know that they have a safe space. But during COVID and lockdown, so many people explored new ways of movement. And I felt almost a responsibility just through my platform to be able to provide people with the tools that they needed to rediscover their practice. And, you know, doing the live workouts and the live yoga classes was something that definitely

Starting point is 00:22:40 helped me. And I think it also helped a lot of my community. And I think it was a great way for us to connect, even though, you know, I isolated alone, completely alone. So it's a beautiful way for me to connect to people that were not anywhere near me, but I still felt, you know, their presence in a way. So it definitely kept me going. It sounds like it was a mutually sustaining experience for both the people absorbing the content and also for you making it and thinking of new and creative things to do, definitely. Yes, 100%. Nehid, I would love to ask you this, as I know you've been teaching for years, a lot of

Starting point is 00:23:21 which has been spent in person, both with classes and students privately. What does the tradition and the history and culture of yoga bring to you and your practice and how you are as a teacher? It's an interesting one. ongoing debate about it and there's a continual ongoing debate about it. So I know that the teachers that I have chosen are teachers who have got years and years of experience behind, you know, under their belts. And they've travelled all the different fads and fashions in yoga. And I really love that because they're not really phased by what comes in and what comes out, but they're kind

Starting point is 00:24:02 of teaching a truth. And the truth being that the breath will help. you to regulate your emotions. Moving helps you to mitigate your responses and kind of to help flush hormones out that kind of spike when you're getting stressed and so on. And the teachers that I've also loved are eternal students as am I. So actually I think just like a culture, which is really relevant right now, isn't it? As a culture shouldn't be set in Aspect, neither should the yogic tradition because it needs to include all of us. And so, for instance, I come from a Muslim background.

Starting point is 00:24:43 I don't practice, but, you know, Islam was my background. And, you know, it was really frowned upon to do anything yogic because it was thought of as belonging to Hinduism. Because, of course, it happened in that part of the country. It got very wrapped up in it. But what people don't know is that actually, when the yogis came to the West, they were also very influenced by the West.

Starting point is 00:25:05 and they took away that and they took that back to India. And actually in India, you know, Jainism and Buddhism and Islam and all of those different traditions were practicing forms of yoga. The Tibetans were, the Chinese were practicing a form of yoga. So I suppose my teaching and my ethos is that it's forever changing and it rolls and it takes in lots of good things from other disciplines, possibly, And it just keeps changing to the landscape to fit it so that we're teaching people to be really resilient and adaptable. So not just physically, but emotionally as well.

Starting point is 00:25:46 And what I've loved about teaching online, I thought I would hate it. But I've loved the live aspect of it. Again, bringing people in community. That's what it's about. It's about coming together. It's about committing your time. It's about breathing together and practicing together and kind of letting all of our hearts beat as one. You know, and that's, that to me is kind of timeless and cultural less and borderless.

Starting point is 00:26:10 And it involves everybody. So, you know, I have been one of those people that didn't feel it was for me and not just because of my, you know, family background, but also I didn't feel welcome at the very white yoga studios. And, you know, I'm from London. So I've got no qualms about taking up my space in places. So I'm not a shy girl. But I would go along to those studios and, you know, you know, you. You weren't part of the crowd. You weren't the in-group.

Starting point is 00:26:37 You weren't, you know, the teacher didn't bother to learn your name until a really long time. It sounds like I've been to lots of awful teachers. But what I'm saying is there wasn't really an inclusion. So the teachers I'm drawn to were always very inclusive. And my teaching is very inclusive because just like Jessica, this is real, you know, it's miraculous magic. Because you are in charge. You're in charge of it. you can control your, you can regulate yourself really well and it's free. So why wouldn't you?

Starting point is 00:27:10 So yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a forever evolving thing. I mean, I tell you what I don't like doing. I don't record my classes to be played later personally because I don't want to be stuck in Aspect. You know, one day I'll think this and then I'll learn something new and then I want to try something else. And that gives me the freedom to have this live interaction with people so that they're, you know, we're all learning together. know, I've spent all my life and probably all my money has gone into training with brilliant teachers from around the world. I'm on a four-year Feldon-Christ teacher training. I'm coming to the end of it now. And that's all about, you know, neuroplasticity. So how to keep your brain constantly learning and alive so that we don't get stuck in our habitual patterns because when you do

Starting point is 00:27:55 that, you're in an emotional and physical cul-de-sac. There's nowhere for you to move. And what I'm loving is that I'm teaching people from all stages of their life. So quite young people in their 20s who have got quite lots of nervous system disorders because of this always being on, you know, a culture that we're in where you can't really get away from work because you're here with your, you know, with everything in your device. So there has to be some sort of re-learning about that, about how to create boundaries and this work allows that. And then I'm teaching people in their 70s and beyond, who are, you know, who either have kept quite fit or they've, they've pushed their fitness to one side to build their careers and now they have the time

Starting point is 00:28:39 to spend them themselves. And that's so rewarding as well. And I teach people with Parkinson's or if they're recovering from illness or injury, how again, to just be constantly evolving. And what I love about my 70 plus year olds is that actually, boy, do they show you that you can, you can, constantly re-learn and it doesn't stop. So sinility can actually happen at any age. It can happen in your 20s if you're not really using your brain and yourself fully, you're not breathing fully into your lungs. So it's a constantly rolling, evolving, changing, dynamic, exciting force. And that's what I love about it. And that's hopefully what I'm teaching people. Yeah. It's wonderful to hear both Unaheed and you, Jessica,

Starting point is 00:29:27 talk about that constant evolution and almost as if you alongside your students are constantly learning and evolving and a student of yourself on your own practice as well, which is fascinating. I think for the students who are at the very beginning of their journey, the ones who are trying to cement a regular practice and really find what space yoga will take up in their life, whether that means that they've done one live workout, maybe it's a vinyasa flow, on a Wednesday lunchtime just to break up the day, or if they're attempting to start doing yoga three to four times a week, what advice would you have for people at the very beginning of their journey?

Starting point is 00:30:09 Jess, I'll ask you this first. How can people stick with it? I think that things like that are always easier said than done. I think it doesn't matter what you're doing when something is new and it's not part of your regular routine. there has to be some kind of leeway with yourself while you figure out how to integrate this new form of movement into your everyday routine if it's going to become sustainable. I think the first thing that people tend to do is they jump into the deep end and they set unrealistic expectations and they place a lot of pressure on themselves to show up in a space that is completely new and uncharted territory. and I think that that can become incredibly overwhelming and off-putting in the long run.

Starting point is 00:31:01 So something that I really like to just advise people is to find the movement that makes them want to come back to the mat. And in order to find that movement, they have to be open. They have to be receptive to trying new things. So maybe they go to a hot yoga class. Maybe they go to a vinyasa, maybe they do Ashtanga, maybe they try yin, whatever it is, but giving it a real shot and finding a movement that they crave is probably going to bring about the most long-lasting change in habit. Because essentially that's what we're talking about. We're talking about building a new routine, a new habit, and that takes time. It takes consistency.

Starting point is 00:31:49 It takes patience. but it also has to be a kind of movement that doesn't feel like a chore. So that would be my first thing is find something that you enjoy and find the kind of movement that you enjoy. And if you find that, then it's not going to feel like a chore stepping onto the mat. And also I think setting small goals, so maybe trying to write down what you want to achieve

Starting point is 00:32:16 and starting small a few times a week And just, you know, one thing that I still do to this day is if I don't want to practice, I roll out my mat. And that's my only expectation. Just get the mat on the floor and sit on it. And sure enough, I begin to move. Maybe I roll my neck or I roll my wrists or I focus on my breath. But usually nine times out of 10, I will find myself in a practice because the hardest part of anything is starting. once you start it's easy but you have to get past that initial barrier of beginning the movement.

Starting point is 00:32:57 So setting fairly low expectations and then seeing what comes up from there? I would not even set any expectations because I think sometimes when we set expectations on ourselves we put ourselves in boxes. My advice is to find the kind of practice that makes you feel good that makes you crave stepping on the mat. And then taking each day as it comes and trying to take time for yourself and reminding yourself in those moments where you're like, I'm tired, I don't want to do it,

Starting point is 00:33:32 I'm this or I'm that, I'm not good enough. Come back to why you want to do this. What is the reason for stepping on the mat? And usually when we have a why, we are much more likely to stick to something. thing. Definitely. And Nahed, how would you advise people to find that why that will keep them coming back to the practice and sticking with it? So for me, all throughout my life, I move to manage my emotions and I realized that when I was quite young. You know, I started running when I

Starting point is 00:34:06 home was a bit difficult. I started kickboxing when I left my first husband. I started yoga in, you know, when I, in my 30s, I was about 30 then, or late 20s, when I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with my life. So I've always, you know, I've always used movement and, you know, some sort of discipline to kind of help me to figure things out and to just kind of ponder and, and also to explore my possibilities at this particular point. And what I would say to everyone is, like, number one, what is it? What, what are you looking for in yoga? Normally when people, normally, Usually, most people are looking to de-stress, yes, because they probably already run and do this and that. And in my experience, most people are looking to reduce their stress, have better sleep and so on.

Starting point is 00:34:55 So therefore, after that, you know, choose the right class for you and start as a beginner. Put your ego to one side and just put the word at the beginning. Because if you have learned really well and you learn the building blocks for practice, you're going to have an amazing, sustainable, enjoyable, pleasurable practice for the rest of your life. And once you learn at the beginning, good building blocks, you can start to take that into your home practice. And the crucial thing for me was finding the right teacher. I went to so many to try and get this thing and understand what everybody was talking about. And I didn't find it in them.

Starting point is 00:35:35 But I didn't give up. I went and found another teacher and then another teacher. and I just kept going until I found the right person. And I think that's always true. You're always going to resonate with somebody's personality. For instance, a lot of my, you know, when I first started, I went for hard men, teachers, a stanga and bit cram. And it was like, yeah, yeah, because it was aping my boxing and my running.

Starting point is 00:35:55 And, you know, it's the same sort of thing. And then I came out of them, still feeling about anxious or a bit, you know, or a bit unsure or a bit overwhelmed with life. And so it wasn't really giving me the answer. And now I have a whole range of teachers. teachers, lots of them are in the 70s and lots of them are women, actually. I've sort of kind of just was really drawn to the kindness, the compassion and a real difference because I can do the hard stuff. I go running and I box and I can do all that elsewhere and that's pretty easy.

Starting point is 00:36:23 But actually to be able to do this stuff where you have to be contemplative and you have to be quiet and you have to sit with stuff, it's a really hard thing to face. I mean, I have to say, you know, I probably spent most of my life right up to about my 20s of really pushing my feelings away. And now I'm kind of welcoming them in and I don't have to use booze or weed to kind of cope with things. I can just be myself and accept it. And, you know, that's a really powerful thing. So what is it that you actually need emotionally and then go and find a teacher who will give you that? And it may well change over the years. That's cool. You know, but what it is, is it's a beautiful practice that will sustain you throughout your life. You probably won't be

Starting point is 00:37:04 doing handstands in your 90s, but that's fine. You know, maybe you will. Good luck on you. But do you know what I mean? You're going to change over the years. And that's cool because this practice will just roll with you. And that's what I love at Lanté. Definitely. And that growth that comes from leaning into areas that perhaps you hadn't considered before, but as you evolve, they start to seem more appealing and familiar. Definitely. Just to finish, I would love to get a quick headline from both of you on your most key piece of advice for people trying to nail a regular yoga practice. And I know that is a tall order because we've talked about everything under the sun, but if you could boil it down to just one thing that you would love to impart to people

Starting point is 00:37:47 trying to make this part of their lives, what would it be? I think that that is a tricky question. And I think if you ask me this question on a different day, I probably give you a different answer. But today, I think that with any journey that you want, to start and, you know, we've just been talking about your why and, you know, why you want to do this practice and why you want to start. And I think that that's such a valuable thing to come back to. But I think knowing and holding onto the fact that if you stay open, if you're receptive, if you are hungry to learn and to continue learning, and you do continue to learn, that this will change your life in many different ways.

Starting point is 00:38:37 As I said, at the beginning, I came for the handstands, but I stayed for much, much more. So I think my favorite thing that I've learned in this practice is how to be vulnerable, how to be open, how to really be in touch with myself. And that all starts with having the courage to step on the mat, to release the masks that you've been wearing, to shed the layers and to really explore.

Starting point is 00:39:07 So having an open mind, I think, is probably my best bit of advice that I think I would have loved to have heard at the beginning of this journey. I think it would have softened me into the practice much quicker. But also, I think trusting that everything unfolds as and when it is supposed to. Definitely. And being with the flow rather than trying to force it. Yeah. Everything ebbs and flows and nothing is,

Starting point is 00:39:37 we're not designed to feel good and inspired and motivated all of the time, but we have a choice to show up for ourselves. And stepping on that mat and making that choice for yourself is a way to show up for you. Absolutely. Absolutely. And Nahed, what would your headline be? I'm going to give everyone something really practical, actually,

Starting point is 00:39:58 to get down onto the mat. So a bit of information for you. Your spine is formed before your limbs. So if you can, and it's a sort of central axis of support for your body, and everything grows and flows from the spine. So if you organise your spine, if you, in one practice, you get on the mat and you make sure that you explore flexions where you're folding in on yourself, extensions, which are backbends, rotations and elongations where you take your arms up

Starting point is 00:40:27 and you lengthen through the spine, then you're going to do all. all of the movements that your spine needs to stay healthy and resilient, and the limbs will just flow out from them. So it's really good organization. You're getting oxygenated blood into the discs because after about the age of 25, you've got no direct blood supply to your vertebral discs. And in Ae Oveda, which is the Aeveda, which is the sister medicine to yoga, the more juicy you are, the more youthful you are. So the more you juice up, the discs in between the vertebrae and the more you juice up all of your joints, the more elegant and youthful and kind of,

Starting point is 00:41:05 full of possibility and potential you'll be. So that would be my advice. Get on the mat and move your spine in every which direction. That's fantastic. I've just turned 25, so now I'm nervous about the blood supply to my discs. All you're looking for Morgan is get up after this and just do flexions, rotations, extensions. Oh, Jessica and Neheed, thank you so much.

Starting point is 00:41:26 That was genuinely fascinating. and I'm so appreciative that you were both here and so open and generous with your answers and your time. Thank you. Nice to hear your story, Jessica. Yeah, lovely to hear you. I'm thankful for sharing this space with me. I so hope you enjoyed that conversation. And remember, if you want more yoga content, there is tons and the women's health website,

Starting point is 00:41:49 which we will link to in the show notes. If you enjoyed the show, please remember to rate and review on Apple Podcasts because it really helps other people find the show. and subscribe wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. If you've got a health goal in mind that you would like our experts to help you smash, then all you need to do is get in touch and let us know what it is. Just shoot us a message on Instagram. We're at Women's Health UK, putting Going for Goal at the top of your message so we can't miss it.

Starting point is 00:42:16 I'll be back next week with another episode and another goal to hit. But until then, have a good one. Bye.

Just As Well, The Women's Health Podcast - How To Build A Regular Yoga Practice

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