Benefits of Yoga - Improve Health & Wellbeing

Should we be Rigid When it Comes to Rules of Alignment?

By Nikki Shilling | 15 April 2017

According to my online dictionary, the definition of “kinesthetic” relates to learning through feeling such as a sense of body position, muscle movement and weight as felt through nerve endings..And this stuff, is far more important and relevant than rules.

Joining the Culture Club! Keeping it simple when making water kefir & kombucha

By Nikki Shilling | 20 March 2017

Fermenting is all the rage right now and why not? Many of us have compromised gut health either due to genetics or stress/lifestyle and so it’s important to ingest as much good bacteria as possible from as many different sources as possible. Here are my simple, so-far-haven’t-failed, recipes for water kefir and kombucha.

On International Women’s Day, Let me just say…

By Nikki Shilling | 8 March 2017

On International Women’s Day can I just state this one, particular digital-age observation; There are tons of amazing (and some not so amazing..) blogs, tips, websites and Facey pages out there written and hosted by women. Some are factual, researched and well written while many are just rubbishy blah blah. But, it is true that…

The Truth About Calcium (and How to Manage It)

By Nikki Shilling | 21 February 2017

Believe it or not, most humans are born with plenty of calcium and the trick is to enjoy a diet and lifestyle that doesn’t cause too much of it to leach from the bones into the blood. This can happen (for one example) if the system is too acidic and the body is trying to…

How to Practise Tadasana or Samasthiti (in Daily Life as Well as Class)

By Nikki Shilling | 7 February 2017

Samasthiti or tadasana helps us create awareness of our “normal” posture. It can help us realise the habits we have slipped in to, the strength we have lost; the tension we might naturally hold on to in order to try to keep ourselves upright.

Tadasana translates to mean mountain pose whereas samasthiti means “upright” or “equal”. In other words, to establish a sense of power and relaxation in a dynamic yet soft way. Tadasana and samasthiti represent a kind of “proforma” for all the standing poses. What we do in these poses, we try to recreate in most of the other standing postures in some way.

Happy 2017: The Importance of “Satsang”

By Nikki Shilling | 25 January 2017

The word “satsang” is a sanskrit word that means something along the lines of community gathering. Satya is the yogic yama meaning truthfulness or honesty and “sanga” means community. Along with the laughs, what I realised after my week in Bellingen, was the importance of community and connection and how the creative arts – and indeed all group activity – is so important on a deep level.

“Get Your 2017 Yoga Body Now!” (& Why This Matters Much but Should be Ignored)

By Nikki Shilling | 5 January 2017

Every New Year, many of us embark on self-improvement plans and challenges. Some resolves and intentions we may stick with for the longer term, but mostly, the standards we can set ourselves at the beginning of January are so high and unattainable, that we often fail miserably and revert back to normal habits pretty quickly – only with an…

Mango & Cashew Salad

By Nikki Shilling | 20 December 2016

The original creator of this salad was Neil Perry for the SMH’s Good Weekend magazine. It’s so tangy and delicious that I make it all the time, but I generally never follow recipes to the letter so it always changes a bit depending on what I have. Neil’s original recipe for example was with macadamias but…

When you Squeeze, your Organs Wheeze!

By Nikki Shilling | 2 December 2016

The Secret to all Balances….? In a fitness or yoga class situation, if you are instructed to “engage your core” what do you automatically do? Chances are you will tighten and/or squeeze something. Or even a lot of things – and it would take a lot more than a few lines of text here to…

Easy Poached Pear with bircher-style oats and almond crumble

By Nikki Shilling | 17 November 2016

This is so easy and you can prep the eve before or do a small batch to last a few days. – Soak a handful of organic oats in water or milk or coconut/whatever milk overnight. – Cook the oats in the morning – add more liquid if you need. – Pop the sliced, peeled…

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