As someone who is susceptible to negativity and afflictive emotions, the New Year sans modification is anathema. The older I become the more incessant my belief that there must be something more... as thoughtful, sentient beings I feel no need to define ‘more’, I obviously don’t mean it in the materialistic sense, of this we have too much.

The Splits have always held such a fascination for many yogis. The sheer force of upward power of outreached vertical arms coupled with the immense grounding of legs split at the groin, creates a perfect symbiosis between the lower and upper regions of the body. It is challenging and energising on a physical level and one that, if mastered, gives a raw sense of self-belief.

Today I heard youth workers talking about how we need to stop teenagers feeling disenfranchised by society and how we need to open up the communication lines between society and the young illiterati of today. Another youth worker said we need to grab children at 5 and 6 and teach them a way out of the gang culture. But why just go back to 5 and 6? At 5 and 6 the damage is already done. Criminality starts in the womb.

Many yoga teachers feel wary of teaching pregnancy yoga classes. However apart from offering a valuable service to your local community the addition of pregnancy yoga classes to your repertoire can give you an edge in the marketplace.

Birthing pools help women to reduce adrenaline levels, adrenaline suppresses the natural hormone 'oxytocin' which is needed to precipitate labour, if labour is long then a birthing pool can be a very good idea.

The science of Ayurveda advises that optimum health and energy throughout the day is attained by laying a good foundation in the morning and honouring the rhythms of our body as the day progresses.

There is a strong case for introducing Yoga as movement therapy to young children in schools. Physical exercise plays a much less important role in the education system, children spend more time at their desks and less time exploring physical movement; resulting in an upsurge of RSI, poor concentration, fatigue and irritability.

In our society when it comes to baby making everything is geared towards an EDD, an estimated due date. Every woman in her heart knows that it is a yardstick not a precise piece of data.

Twenty four hours a day every day of your life, you breathe. Respiration is the foremost function in the body, but how much time do you actually consciously occupy yourself with it? How would you like it if you turned your twenty-four hour day into twenty-five? By regulating and increasing the awareness of your breath, you may feel like you have achieved just this.

hatha Hatha yoga consists of the postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama). Hatha means union of the Sun and Moon. This is a symbolic term for the uniting of the positive and negative energies of the body. The word ‘yoga’ is derived through the Sanskrit language and can be translated as ‘union’ or ‘identification’.