Today's guest, Carmel Taylor, is a yoga teacher and stretch therapist. From her years of experience, Carmel has a wealth of knowledge which she generously shares with us in this episode. Carmel took up yoga over 30 years ago when it was still considered a "hippie" thing to do, unlike today where it has become mainstream and features in one form or another in most gyms. What Carmel loves most about yoga is the mind-body-soul connection and how that contributes to overall wellbeing. She also enjoys bringing yoga to as many people as possible, including those who, for whatever reason, cannot get up and down off a mat; her chair yoga classes cater for those people.
Stretch therapy is distinct from yoga although they can complement each other nicely. Carmel explains the concepts of stretch therapy and its numerous benefits such as reducing the risk of injury for athletes and loosening up tight muscles, like tight shoulders many of us have from sitting at desks for hours at a time.
In or busy lives, most of us only breathe into the first third of our lungs forgoing the benefits of deep breathing which can help reduce stress and relax the mind. During the podcast, Carmel shares a couple of easy breathing exercises with us and I urge you to try them - it is remarkable how focussing on your breath for only a short moment can have a tangible impact on how you feel. We discuss how anyone can take little moments of their day to restore their energy be it by deep breathing or stretching or focussing on the moment.
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