Q:How often should I practice Yoga?

A:Ideally one should practice daily, as the discipline of practice helps to relieve stress, maintain body health, and develop inner calm and mental peace. One should aim to do 1 or 2 classes weekly to keep your practice on track, and at least practice 3 or 4 times by yourself. The “Yoga for Everyday” Video and DVD can be excellent tools to help you practise regularly. You can practice the whole video, or if time is short just do a section or two….

Q:I relax by reading a book, watching TV, or listening to music. Do I really need to practice Relaxation?

A:Research has shown that like being awake, or asleep, deep relaxation is a different state, where the mind becomes still and quiet, the body relaxes, you release stress, heal and renew yourself. When you read, watch TV etc, the mind and body remain active, so this deep recovery doesn’t occur. Relaxation should be practiced daily… Try the Yoga Plus Therapies “Deep Relaxation” CD to learn how to relax deeply on a regular basis….

Q:I walk daily, keep active, eat well, however as I am getting older I find it harder to do the the physical things I love to do? Why is this happening and what can I do?

A:After the age of forty, we start to lose 1% of our muscle every year, thus we become weaker, and find physical things harder to do. Often activities you do daily are not enough to stimulate your muscles and prevent this muscle loss, particularly for people who are more sedentary. Strength training has been found to stop this muscle loss and even reverse the problem. Strength Training should be done 1 to 3 times per week. Try having a personalised strength training program developed for you by James. These programs are simple, don’t take too long, and give good results, and you can do them at home, if you don’t like going to a gym.

Q:I have this pain, which I have had for over 12 months, that never really goes away. I have seen many doctors and practitioners, who can’t find any cause to my problem? What can I do?

A:This maybe a chronic pain condition, which is to do with changes, which have occurred in your nervous system and brain. Such changes can’t be assessed by normal tests. This problem can be quite complex. Research has shown that understanding what is going wrong, education on management and systematically returning to your activity can help. Also treatments such as Bowen Therapy, which can help release stress and aid healing can be helpful, or an adjunct to treatment, but the main solution is in self management.

Q:Do I need regular treatment, if I have a chronic condition?

A:Yoga plus Therapies believes in the self management of a chronic problem. Research has found that most chronic conditions are managed best by yourself, in partnership with your doctor and health practitioner. You may first need to learn these self management skills. However, due to our busy, often stressful lives, and sometimes our failure to exercise regulalry, eat properly, worry too much, or through inattention, re-injure ourselves, we may need occasional treatment to return our balance, remind ourselves of what we need to do, and to keep us on track…..