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If your body is not happy, you're not listening. If you want to feel better in your body, you need to be able to understand the practical functional reasons your body doesn't feel good. Then you might be able to do something about it. Often, if our bodies complain whilst we are just doing something, because we are busy 'doing', we ignore the signals and simply put up with the consequences of our actions later on when we've stopped. We even expect this to happen, and sometimes treat our aches and pains as a badge of honour that proves we managed to do the thing that we had decided to do. Or if it's an old injury, we assign the pain to the event that caused it, rather than the fact that we aggravated the old injury whilst we were busy 'doing'. And if we keep ignoring the signals the body will try its best to protect itself.... A joint under threat will stiffen with tension in an attempt to restrict the movement that could damage it. Your spine will lock into whatever shape it has to hold to make it safe for the rest of you to be upright, and it will get tired and sore wherever you hang off it for support when you relax.. Ignoring the body blocks the outcome you are looking for The ironic thing is that ignoring the body to fulfill the agenda of our identity, however well intentioned, leaves the identity experiencing itself, life and reality, through the lens of this complaining body that we have been ignoring as we misuse it. Simply learning to explore how your body feels AS you do things, can change your life. Originally inspired by the work of Vanda Scaravelli, my yoga has taught me that although this might be a common experience, it's not inherently 'true'. I've understood directly that my experience of myself is entirely dictated by the way I relate to life itself. The only way to engage with life is through our bodies, and our experience depends entirely on how we use it. Changing the way you do things so that your body is happier, changes your life! "Yoga is the song of the body - you just need to listen" "When you practice this way you become happier and more intelligent" Vanda Scaravelli "But this is just the way my body works" Changing anything you do habitually is notoriously difficult. Because we only 'know' what we already do, and any attempt to 'control' the body can only last as long as you think about it. And 'thinking; about the body to move it is by definition unnatural, so whatever you learn to do to your body cannot be adopted as natural. But if, instead of making the body surrender to the voice of the mind, you can learn to surrender the mind to the voice of the Body, all of a sudden 'new' ways of moving and breathing simply become new experiences of yourself that the mind can learn from. Yoga is .... You just need to start listening. And if you listen quietly but attentively to the body's signals whilst trying out familiar movements in experimentally new ways, the body will immediately tell YOU when you stumble on a better way of doing things... It will feel 'right', and both you and your body will be happy about the outcome... That's when you understand what 'Yoga' means. Whilst doing this, mind has unified itself with body, and both aspects of you benefit. The practice opens the mind to a broader intelligence and softens the rigidity of the identity construct, so that consciousness can receive new experiences of itself. Experiencing can ONLY be done through this precious body that has been gifted to us for this very purpose, and when the body is given the right conditions, it can let go of apparently permanent complications with a single cycle of the breath, and return to its natural state, along with the mind that is experiencing it. This uniting of body, mind and soul is what I believe the practice of 'Yoga' means. Anything else is destined to keep the wheels grinding in the way they always do, with the inevitable results that you might expect from continuing to do exactly the same things in exactly the same way with exactly the same issues arising. " Through dedicated practice the Yogi can escape the endless wheel of Kharma " The Hatha Yoga Pradipika If you want some guidance from someone that has been on this journey for the last 35 years or so, this is what I'm here to do. Book your free 15min online consultation here.

Meditation is a key practice that is mostly skipped over, simply because of how difficult it is to both still the mind and remain upright. However, there is a very good reason that daily meditation is advised by all wellness practitioners... A mind that runs on autopilot non-stop from the moment you wake up til you sleep, is working in the most inefficient way possible. How often have you been agonising over some problem that needs to be solved, but you just can't see a solution whatever you try? Then at some point after you have given up trying, and you happen to be relaxed and open, and then out of nowhere a solution to the problem just pops into your head - fully formed and obvious. And you wonder why it hadn't occurred to you whilst you were doing all the agonising. This is your deeper kind of intelligence kicking in. And it only has space to do so when you surrender the binary process of thinking about something, and allow your entire (subconscious) brain to process the task at hand with its 3 dimensional view of things. Daily meditation gives you this reset, because the thinking mind is assigned entirely to the embodied task of organising things so you can relax and breathe whilst balancing upright, and the purpose if it is to give you a direct experience of something in those moments of release. Whilst you are simply experiencing, the broader intelligence is present with you along with the embodied freedom that got you there. And with repetition, it becomes becomes something you can rely on to steer you well during your day. The first 15 mins is the set up (relaxing upright takes some work and new understanding) Then I offer a practical way of introducing a daily chakra meditation to your life with a 15 min guided meditation This will include observations and practices that will not only cause the mind to centre and become still, but it will also set you up physically for a new way of being in the world... If you would like to experience this meditation with my direct guidance, you can book a FREE 15 min consultation with me at wwe.acquaviva.yoga/book

If the hips or lower back feel stiff, tight or painful in postures, the chances are that you habitually support yourself with a holding pattern of the psoas and/or illio-psoas muscles, and if you do that in an unbalanced way (if you are right- or left-footed), it leads to scoliotic holding patterns to compensate. Knowing this does nothing to help you, because trying to 'open' or 'stretch' these muscles will simply cause them to resist your efforts. The problem is that they are being given the job of supporting you whatever you are doing (including trying to stretch them). The solution is simple Take the job of support away from them by giving yourself other ways of supporting yourself ! Working to support yourself differently will lead to an intense strengthening of muscles you probably don't even know you have (because they are currently not needed), but the good news is that this 'other way' can become effortless, because the muscles I am talking about naturally take part in both support and breathing (IF you are not holding yourself up with the hips and spine). The Class: The first part will give you the direct experience of what it actually feels like to let go of the Psoas family of muscles, and what follows will develop the support you need to replace it - support that relates to the breath and the ground beneath you, then we apply the same efforts in a posture or two to experience the difference in action. Enjoy! If you would like to get some direct and personal support for whatever is going on for you, you can book a FREE 15 min consultation with me at www.acquaviva.yoga/book

De-bunking the norm... There is a reason for the 'inhale up/exhale down' instruction that makes 'doing' yoga postures easier for the mind and body, giving the impression of 'flow'. However, that reason is more to do with habit and stress, than it is to do with the natural flow of a body and mind in harmony with each other in action. Lifting to breathe, and collapsing to release the breath is kind of how we do things when we are both stressed and tired, and practicing yoga in this way entrenches this behaviour into our movement. Here I guide you into an experiential understanding of how the breath itself can become the source of support and free movement, simply by adjusting your intent, at the specific moments of arrival and release of the breath... (full 1hr class version available to all Premium members here) Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it helpful. I am happy for you to share this around wherever you see fit. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership so you can access the full class version of it, together with ~ 200 or so 'Yoga Solutions' mini-classes (the full version of this one is about an hour) : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/membership You can sign up for Silver for a 1-week free trial, then its just ~ £1/week for a brand new class every week, as well as access to over 150 of my previously recorded sessions on-demand. (Cancel any time) And if you want to take things deeper with me, most Saturday mornings, I put on a 2.5hr interactive workshop on Zoom (£27 drop-in … free for Gold and Platinum members) - usually centred around or developed from my current current Yoga Solutions theme, but always tweaked to meet the needs of the onscreen participants ((you can also book a view-only place for just £15… recordings available to anyone that books whether you attend or not). Latest workshop info: https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me here : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside

Student Question: "How do I know what is unnecessary muscular tension when I'm in a yoga posture?" Marc's Answer: One of the clearest signs of unnecessary effort is muscular tension appearing in parts of the body that, on paper, have nothing to do with the task at hand. Of course, the body isn't actually made up of separate parts—it functions as one interconnected system. So, the real question is: what's being activated, and what doesn't need to be? Appropriate effort in yoga, or any movement in life, isn't about using as little effort as possible. It's about using the right effort, in the right place, at the right time. A simple way to define inappropriate effort is this: if the effort you're making causes another part of your body to contract in order to protect a joint or your spine, it's not appropriate effort. A body moving without internal conflict doesn't need to brace against itself. It can organise itself without creating compensations elsewhere. The most common example of inappropriate effort is holding your own structure up—your head, your upper body, your rib cage, anything. Because we all do it. Most people assume it's normal. I do it too sometimes, but whenever I notice it, I can immediately trace it back to a part of my spine that's taking the strain. Over time, this is what wears bodies out. It's at the root of so many familiar problems: neck pain, shoulder issues, hip pain, knee pain, and the gradual changes we accept as ageing, including the way the organs slowly lose their natural position and expand into available space. In my experience, this pattern underlies far more of our health and wellbeing than we realise. The effort itself doesn't feel particularly dramatic because it's often quite subtle. But over years, that subtle holding creates pain, compression, and structural adaptations that eventually become permanent. Marc's Understanding of Appropriate Effort in Yoga Appropriate effort is the effort required to organise your structure so it can largely support itself through gravity and breathing. This is the essence of what many yoga teachers are pointing towards when they talk about alignment. The problem is that if you're holding yourself into alignment with muscular effort, the moment you relax, you collapse out of it. You never actually experience support. True support is something that travels through the axis of your structure—through the spine when you're upright, or through whatever orientation you're in when your breathing mechanism is strong enough to organise you there. Released alignment can only happen if your breathing is what creates it. Most people have experienced that it's difficult to breathe during moments of extreme effort. That's not simply because the task is hard—it's because breathing has stopped participating in the movement. Instead of collaborating, it has been sidelined. That's why, when you work with me, three principles underpin everything we do: Stop holding yourself up—especially with your neck and lower back. If something needs to be lifted, let your breathing mechanism move you there. As your breathing takes over that role, your core becomes genuinely strong. Your entire rib cage—including the ribs that currently don't move—begins to participate. Your relationship with the ground changes, and your diaphragm becomes strong enough to let you literally breathe what you are doing. Interestingly, this way of moving often feels much more effortful than the way most people are accustomed to moving. But it's a different kind of effort. It's effort that brings life back into the centre of you. It helps restore your organs towards their natural relationships. It improves circulation, digestion, and the function of every system that depends on movement and pressure, which is everything! It's the way we naturally move when we're fully engaged—when something matters deeply, when we're wholehearted, when we're responding with genuine feeling rather than simply getting through the task. When that happens, your limbs no longer have to work in the way they've become habituated to, i.e. lifting and holding themselves up in isolation. Everything I teach about feet, hands, ankles, wrists, knees, elbows, hips and shoulders comes from this place. These joints already know how they'd like to function. Their natural movement emerges when the whole body is organised from the centre, rather than each limb trying to function independently. The difficulty with understanding appropriate effort, is knowing what you're comparing it to. If your reference point is your normal way of moving, then anything different will probably feel harder than it ‘should’. Muscular effort isn't a reliable measure. The real test is this: · If you've reorganised your structure through your breathing, can you then let go of your weight and still feel supported? · Is your spine still free to move you wherever you choose, using the power of the ground beneath your base? · Can you also let go to breathe into the shape you are making? If the answer is yes—if you remain organised without gripping or bracing—then you've experienced something profound. You've discovered what a yoga posture really is. If you are looking for more guidance on Marc's approach, book in for a 121 and to explore what this means in your practice.

'Change Perspective, Transform Practice' This is a recording of a full 2 hr workshop of my teaching a CPD for the British Wheel, taking practitioners into a different mindset and intention in practice. Appropriate for all dedicated explorers of the mind-body relationship.

Yoga Solutions: There is a familiar principle in Scaravelli inspired yoga of 'gathering together ' before 'opening out'. It is an idea that makes zero sense to the 'stretch' camp of yoga, and is often misinterpreted by those familiar with it as a kind of 'contraction' so they enjoy 'opening out' after... Here I try and make practical sense of the thing... what you are actually trying to do AND why it works. . A full half hour guided practice on this topic will be available later on today for my premium members. For ~ £1/week (Silver membership) you can get a weekly class on my 'Yoga Solutions' subjects, as well as access to over 150 previously recorded sessions.

There are two very unusual vertebrae in the neck that are related to expression and thought - and moreover whether you are free in these vertebrae or not is dependent on how you are interacting with the world! On this short Yoga solutions podcast, I explain what I mean by this as well as give you a direct physical exploration of how you can liberate natural movement between head and neck, and awaken the thoracic spine so that neck and shoulders no longer need to suffer from the job of holding you up all day... Enjoy! and click the like button if you find some benefit. The full hour-long class exploring this topic will be available for all premium members later on today on the 'Yoga Solutions' page. (You can browse memberships and their benefits on the side-tab on the member's area here)

Hips are quite a tricky thing to understand because what people understand as 'hips' depends on where they 'feel' them. Articulations of the hips involve how the thigh bones, pelvic bones, and the sacrum all move relative to each other. Tightness/difficulty in the hips is a result of holding patterns between these things (all permutations), which is always because of how you hold yourself up. Freedom in the hips relies on each component part of this intricate set of joints being free to move in the way 'it prefers' without any particular part of it being left responsible for catching and holding your weight. Here is a bit more of an explanation of what we are looking for... a taster for what I will be working with on this weekend's Saturday morning deep dive workshop on Zoom (You can book a place here - discounts for members)

Many teachers recognise the importance of the breath in posture work, yet breathing practices (aka pranayama), are mostly practiced 'separately' because it is considered as 'advanced' compared to posture work. However, if we are free to explore how the breath is naturally involved in active support whilst preparing for a posture, it makes complete sense of the pranayamas. And understanding the nature of the pranayamas make sense of the posture! If you really allow yourself to absorb everything I share here on this 20 min class, I believe it will shift your practice in a direction that you will love! You may not recognise it immediately, but you take this on for a little while, it could well be one of the most significant short classes you've ever done! Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave any comments you have, which I will be happy to respond to. LAST CHANCE DISCOUNT ON MEMBERSHIPS (ends this Thursday night): Browse what's on offer in my Members Area : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/members-area Join me this Saturday for my regular online Yoga deep-dive (10:30am start on zoom) : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events

A regular question i get is about how to be free in the shoulders... but whenever I run workshops in new places with large groups of people, one of the things not asked is 'how to reach up with the arms during sun salute'... Yet absolutely everyone in the room is lifting their arms with their shoulders and neck when they come up... which is exactly what gives them the tight shoulders in the first place. Here is a 5 minute short class that will get you to understand how shoulders are supposed to move, leaving you totally free in the spine and neck, so that shoulders can actually relax when your arms are all the way up..

Sitting upright is really quite tricky for many people - and if so seated forward bends are even harder. Here I show you why and what you need to do differently if you want to 'get' seated postures. Enjoy! Click the like button for me and share it anywhere you like. If you want to work with me, there is currently a more-than-50% discount on my memberships (varying for different levels of engagement). This ends in September 2023, but what ever price you sign up for is locked in for the duration... https://www.acquaviva.yoga/memberships

Dog pose is such a ubiquitous 'in between' posture in flows and the like that it is rare for people to spend any time finding out if there are better ways of doing it.. here I offer you a broken-down-into-parts approach, so you can feel how best to use your arms and legs so that the posture does what it is meant to do for you... All paying members get the full version of this under the 'Yoga Solutions' link in 'Resources for members'... And I have plans to offer even more value for premium members (new series on specific postures, and monthly online 1:1s included). The prices of various premium memberships will be going up in September. So if you have been thinking of joining, your best bet is to do so now and the old (ridiculously cheap) prices will be locked in for you, together with the new benefits that are coming next month.... www.acquaviva.yoga/membership

Triangle (all versions from all traditions) is quite a difficult posture in terms of 'finding the yoga of it'. The bigger wider versions of it can only really be enjoyed and understood whist using a plethora of blocks and other supports - without which the practitioner is likely to strain and pull on their spines (wide angle triangle is notorious for 'causing' sacro-illiac distortions which can become devastating injuries). The clue that you're not doing a particularly useful version of triangle posture is when the front leg hip is holding on like crazy whilst you move yourself into and 'hold' the pose. Here I offer an approach to a modified version of the posture that might give you a direct somatic experience of what it's supposed to feel like (intense, but light and pleasurable) Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it useful. And help me out by sharing it anywhere you think people might benefit. The full class version of this is available to my premium members on this website (Silver membership is currently very low cost and gives you access to hundreds of 'yoga solutions' mini-classes on a plethora of subjects.) Membership prices are going up very soon, so if you want to have ongoing access to the inspirations and guidance I share, you should lock in the low price for your membership whilst it is still available. www.acquaviva.yoga/membership If you would like a discovery call with me, or have a question about your body and your practice, you can book 15 minutes with me for FREE at www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online. I regularly put on a Saturday morning workshop (10:30am start) on Zoom. It's interactive, and I run these centred around a cohesive theme of practice, and offer individual on-screen participants guidance as we go through the class. You can book to drop in to any of these, or attend with up to 100% discount depending on your membership level. www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events Other events... I'll be teaching at the World Yoga Festival (Friday 3pm and Sat 11am in the Water tent) I hope to see you at something soon! Marc x

It is regularly stated that the physical practice of yoga is only a part of what yoga is, but even by those that say this, it is treated as 'separate' from other practices like pranayama and meditation. And by those that prefer meditation or breath-work, the physical is even relegated to a lower status than the 'higher function' practices of meditation, and its gateway practice pranayama. This is a huge mistake, that leads to an entrenchment of the experienced separation between body mind and soul that leads people to yoga in the first place. The avoidance of the physical is an avoidance of learning how to actually apply the realisations that arise from pranayama and meditation to real life. Unless the body is in harmony with the mind and breath, then no amount of 'control' of these things will cause a real-life manifestation of the change that is being sought after. I started my yoga journey with a desire to 'fix my body'... but I soon realised that my body was complaining because of the way I felt about and interacted with life itself. The body's complaints were not my body 'going wrong' - it was complaining in a very straight-forward fashion about simple things like having to hold me up; it didn't like it when doing things made it harder to breathe; and old issues like my neck and lower back would flare up when I didn't like what was going on in life around me... Before I became aware of the relationship between what my body was telling me, and my own feelings/actions/behaviours/ideas about life, I could easily persuade myself that I was 'right' to think what i think, do what i do, and believe what I believe. I could persuade myself of anything that suited my personality as it was without any need for change. Which of course made any kind of real change impossible. Once i discovered this relationship, I knew that really, I had no idea what was real and what was some mental construct I had learnt/adopted from someone else of decided for myself to suit my agenda. BUT, in applying principles of practice - ideas that i had, like 'kindness' - to my physical practice, I could directly DISCOVER what the real meaning of the word is... Because if kindness to my body during action should help it heal, then if I wasn't healing, it was the meaning of 'kindness' that I was applying that needed shifting - until it worked, because then the body would heal and I would understand what kindness actually is, rather than what I have pre-decided it means. In the recording below I share something of my own story and a longterm healing of a mild scoliosis that felt to be the source of a plethora of postural issues that got me to begin my journey over 30 years ago. And how the process of discovery through practice and deep self-inquiry has led to an understanding of things based in reality rather than opinion and bias... and to a life where I get more comfortable, and in many ways younger in my body as I get older. I also share a little something at the end that shows how the breath is the vehicle for marrying up intention with the natural body in movement. Enjoy! coming up: *Saturday morning workshops as usual (on Zoom 10:30am start) *A rather special 1 week yoga retreat and holiday in Turkey (starts July 10th - spaces available) The week will be centred around pranayama and its application to real life and practice. * I am teaching at the World Yoga Festival in August.

THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF 'YOGA SOLUTIONS' ... Developing a true somatic experience and practical understanding of what they actually are, together with relevance to your life, health and state of being... 'Chakras' are spoken of as if they are a universal experience that some people feel 'in tune with', and others see as a belief system rather than anything of practical use. During this morning's pranayama I gained some insight that I wanted to share with you, because it may help you gain some clarity of your own about the areas of your body that they relate to, and how it is that 'bringing a chakra into balance' can be beneficial to both state of mind and physical health. On the 'Yoga Solutions' below, I touch on the Sacral chakra/pelvic organ area, and go deep into the Solar plexus. And if I get enough positive feedback I will continue next week with other vital areas. (this particular one is the FULL Yoga Solutions session ~ 40mins or so, usually reserved for premium members). For anyone already into the chakra system, this will give you practical ways to intensify your experience as well as understand it. And for those of you that are 'anti-woowoo', this will give you something practical to hang your hat on, so you can discover for yourself why 'Chakras' have been incorporated into the system of Yoga for mind-body health... Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it helpful. I am happy for you to share this around wherever you see fit. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership so you can access the full class version of it, together with ~ 200 or so 'Yoga Solutions' mini-classes (which will include the full versions of the ‘Chakra series’ as I do them) : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/membership You can sign up for Silver for a 1-week free trial, then its just ~ £1/week for a brand new class every week, as well as access to over 150 of my previously recorded sessions on-demand. (Cancel any time) And if you want to take things deeper with me, most Saturday mornings, I put on a 2.5hr interactive workshop on Zoom (£27 drop-in … free for Gold and Platinum members) - usually centred around or developed from my current current Yoga Solutions theme, but always tweaked to meet the needs of the onscreen participants ((you can also book a view-only place for just £15… recordings available to anyone that books whether you attend or not). Latest workshop info: https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me here : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside

A definitive understanding of how to permanently free yourself of ongoing nagging neck/shoulder pain and the tiredness that this brings... Many people get neck/shoulder stiffness or pain, and the reason is simply because we spend all day every day holding the head in space with those muscles... The head has an important role in you deciding where to move to in space, but here, I explain how the atlas, the very first vertebra of the neck, can be released so that the head's weight can always be given down through the axis of the spine, regardless of what you are doing, leaving your neck and shoulders free of any weight-bearing responsibility. I also give you something to practice, that will write this way of moving into your nervous system... If you ever suffer from stiff neck and shoulders (or just have a kind of tiredness that makes you want to be inactive all the time) this practice will make you feel free and light… Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it helpful. I am happy for you to share this around wherever you see fit. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership so you can access the full class version of it, together with ~ 200 or so 'Yoga Solutions' mini-classes : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/membership You can sign up for Silver for a 1-week free trial, then its just ~ £1/week for a brand new class every week, as well as access to over 150 of my previously recorded sessions on-demand. (Cancel any time) And if you want to take things deeper with me, most Saturday mornings, I put on a 2.5hr interactive workshop on Zoom (£27 drop-in … free for Gold and Platinum members) - usually centred around or developed from my current current Yoga Solutions theme, but always tweaked to meet the needs of the onscreen participants ((you can also book a view-only place for just £15… recordings available to anyone that books whether you attend or not). Latest workshop info: https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me here : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside

Many people end up hurting their lower backs through some kind of physical labour whilst being bent over - and I am no exception. I strained my lower back doing some DIY... and when I noticed my own fear reactions together with the 'normal' attempt to 'relax' so things didn't hurt, I realised that this standard response was doing me no good whatsoever. So I had a word with myself (I have solutions right?) and did some practice on the day of injury - following my own understanding and honouring of the notion that 'the body is intelligent' in order to unravel the issue. And it worked ! The next day I was back to DIY without any problems ... in fact the following day I was more balanced, and stronger than before the back-strain happened. So here I share both the thinking behind what I did together with the intention behind, and 'how to' details of, the simple practice of balancing on one foot in order to release the issue... You don't have to have a strained lower back to feel the benefits of following this, and if you do ever suffer from that, this will give you a get out of jail free card when it happens... Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it helpful. I am happy for you to share this around wherever you see fit. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership so you can access the full class version of it, together with ~ 200 or so 'Yoga Solutions' mini-classes : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/membership You can sign up for Silver for a 1-week free trial, then its just ~ £1/week for a brand new class every week, as well as access to over 150 of my previously recorded sessions on-demand. (Cancel any time) And if you want to take things deeper with me, most Saturday mornings, I put on a 2.5hr interactive workshop on Zoom (£27 drop-in … free for Gold and Platinum members) - usually centred around or developed from my current current Yoga Solutions theme, but always tweaked to meet the needs of the onscreen participants ((you can also book a view-only place for just £15… recordings available to anyone that books whether you attend or not). Latest workshop info: https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-events If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me here : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside

'Inner space' is a description of a purely somatic experience that most people only have when resting and happy.... Here I give you a way of providing that for yourself directly, simply by using your hands for support. 'Inner support' is similarly a description of a somatic experience that will mean very different things to different people depending on what efforts and tensions they are accustomed to... So I also offer an approach to the same thing as above (as your starting point) to set things up so that the breath itself can give you the most natural inner support you can develop (through the breath), which in turn offers you a strength that leaves you free in your movements through space... Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment if you found it helpful. I am happy for you to share this around wherever you see fit. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership on my website : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/membership ... I take these Yoga solutions subjects and build on them to make at least a full half hour guided practice (this is available later on in the day for all my premium members) . You can sign up for Silver for a 1-week free trial, then its just ~ £1/week for a brand new class every week, as well as access to over 150 of my previously recorded sessions on-demand. (Cancel any time) And if you want to take things deeper with me, most Saturday mornings, I put on a 2.5hr interactive workshop on Zoom (£27 drop-in … free for Gold and Platinum members) - usually centred around or developed from my current current Yoga Solutions theme, but always tweaked to meet the needs of the onscreen participants ((you can also book a view-only place for just £15… recordings available to anyone that books whether you attend or not). Latest workshop info: https://www.acquaviva.yoga/workshops-... If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me here : https://www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside

We all have preferred ways of being upright, and our breath follows suit - OR we have preferred ways of breathing, and the way we become upright is determined by this. Most ways of becoming upright involve lifting with our spines (but definitely NOT the only way). Here I unpack this relationship to uprightness and breathing, and show you how you can use either (perfectly natural) pattern as a starting point to discover the 'yoga' of it... ie, how you can use the breath to discover a way of releasing into uprightness through an elongating spine, following a release of breath and tension.... Enjoy! Tap the like button for me and leave a comment to let me know how it went down for you. Share this around wherever you like. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to consider trying out Silver membership on my website (www.acquaviva.yoga/membership)

Something you can do lying down that will make a huge difference to your face, jaw and sense of calm... This was lifted from today's Saturday morning workshop ... join me live on Zoom (most Saturdays)

Here I explain the reason for any difficulty you might have in 'balance postures' or the even more misleading instruction of 'holding balances'. And i show you exactly the small shift in perspective and understanding that should make things much simpler... A full half hour guided practice will be available later on today for my premium members ( www.acquaviva.yoga/membership ). For ~ £1/week (Silver membership) you can get a weekly class on my 'Yoga Solutions' subjects, as well as access to over 150 previously recorded sessions. If you are drawn to working with me , but would like to see if we are a fit, you can book a FREE online 15 min consultation with me at www.acquaviva.yoga/book-online And that is also the link for directly booking a 1-1 session with me (all levels of experience welcome from absolute beginner to seasoned teacher) Live interactive workshops on Zoom every Saturday (10:30am-1:00pm) for the more intrepid body-mind explorer... anyone looking for the gateway to real and lasting change. www.acquaviva.yoga/workshop-events You can also find my in-person events this link ... coming up: Huzur Vadisi, Turkey July '23: 1 week retreat with myself and Tuesday McNeill World Yoga Festival August '23: Long weekend real yoga festival in beautiful countryside.

I I was doing my mail out for tomorrow's workshop and I found myself contemplating my own thoughts on and relationship to self-care. I think we would all agree that regular self-care of body mind and soul are all necessary for things to evolve in ways that we recognise as an improving quality of life. Over the years I've also become increasingly interested in why it can sometimes be so difficult to prioritise such pursuits. Life will continually present us with reasons for putting self-care low on the priority list - an indulgence for 'when we have time'. But in reality, all the imperative tasks and agendas that drive us on a daily basis are severely hampered when any part of the body-mind-soul trinity is at odds with any other part. I know through repeated experience, that when I have had a good practice, I can think more clearly so I make better decisions, I feel good in my body so I feel like doing what needs doing, and if it feels like I am walking my natural path, then I can be myself in company, and sleep easy at night. For me, my Yoga offers me all of this in one activity - but only if I put in the time to practice. And still, even though yoga is huge part of my life, there are times when I find it difficult to bring myself to do the very thing that I know would put things right (usually when I am stressed). It's actually why I chose to become a yoga teacher. For me, without the desire to share my discoveries with others, it would be all too easy for me to postpone self-care to 'when I feel like it' (which in reality is when I need it least). So I have always been very grateful to all of you that choose to turn to me for 1:1 advice and support, or join me in my weekly workshops - you motivate me to put in the time for myself so that I can always teach from an authentic and inspired place. And having real solutions to common-place physical restrictions would be meaningless to me if I had no-one to share them with. So firstly, thank you! But each of us need to find our own motivations for taking the time we need to unite body soul and mind. The purpose of Yoga is NOT to get good at yoga. I like to think of Yoga as something that is meant to support you in whatever it is you want to do with your life - and if you can make that association, you will have all the motivation you need to put in the time you need for true self-care. If you allow me to guide you, your mind will be taking part but it can relax as you assign it to following my guidance. The body should become clearer, simpler and more comfortable as I show you ways of doing things that honour how it best works. And the soul will no-doubt celebrate the fact that you took the time to sooth and repair its two louder companions. And sometimes, the reduction of noise can allow the soul's whisperings to be heard more clearly. So do join me for something so I can help, but when you find the motivation and time to regularly attend to these things for yourself, you have began to master the art of self-care.

A live recording of a workshop for the World Yoga Festival.. (1.5hrs - full class)

LETTING GO OF RIGHT VS. WRONG " To traditional thinking, breath retention and most other pranayama practices would be considered too advanced for initiates. My belief is that the only real qualification for all levels of yoga practice, is a drive and desire for change, a mind that is willing and humble enough to allow it, and a person that is willing to continuously 'begin again' until change becomes the simple flow of being." - Marc J Acquaviva - I wanted to share today's Yoga solutions broadcast with all my members, so I have posted it here on the Blog. I begin the session with talking about non-attachment to the 'rules' we learn.... Rules have a purpose, but unconsciously or dogmatically sticking to them, can keep us away from understanding the real reasons behind them, and away from the next breakthrough that is waiting for us ... So on this session I guide you through a practical exploration of the nature and purpose of breath retention in practice. Enjoy!

This is a 15 minute clip from a recent 'Yoga Solutions' Broadcast where I describe the life journey that leads to the physical and emotional limitations most of us experience as we grow up - and how the practice of yoga needs to become a journey that is centred on returning us to a state of innocence... (there is also a short practice guide at the end to show you how to do that!)

I don't usually talk anatomy because, as interesting as it might be, as a model for movement it can become thoroughly misleading. But If you want to understand why you might be 'stiff' or have tight hamstrings/hips/shoulders/back, here's an anatomy lesson for you that makes sense of it all as well as what you actually need to do to change things (and its nothing to do with manipulating connective tissue) #connectivetissue #fascia #yogaanatomy #cuttingoutthenonsense #yogasolutions

1. Surrender the mind to your heart, & your weight through your touch, From within allow space from the ground. 2. If you find you need space, then meet the space behind you, to either side, and when you meet above, let go from up to down... 3. With your hands and feet, gather your bones to the centre. The spine, the spaces within & your touch, must all come close together. 4. Give the spine & breath to your base, from hands & feet - thread through space, Then this rhythm can flow with no holding in place. 5. But when you feel you can float, trusting the space all around ~ 6.Just pause, with the breath ... guide the heart to the centre, Then just give back, through your spine - to the ground. - Marc J Acquaviva - ©2020

Here is the recording of my teaching on the World Yoga Festival online August 2020. The title of the workshop was 'The innate wisdom of the body' and it involved a gentle 1.5 hrs of guided practice and Q&A (always with practical answers) .. enjoy!

5 minute Yoga Solution (from 5th Nov 2019): what is strength?? Arm strength without strain: Crow, Cobra, Wheel