Ceri Wheeldon of Fab after Fifty interviews Ntathu Allen of Yoga Inspires You about the benefits yoga and meditation can bring to midlife women.

We talk about the different types of yoga and the benefits

How to get started

Why you don't have to be 'bendy' to do yoga.

Some simple yoga and meditation exercises you can do straight away to feel calmer, less stressed and more centred.

How simple things such as brushing your teeth with the opposite hand can help you be more 'mindful'.

Helpful links to accompany this episode:

 

Free online mini course 

https://meditation-for-beginners.teachable.com/p/relax-destress

Simple yoga poses (including the Mountain pose mentioned in the podcast.

 

https://ezinearticles.com/?Yoga-For-Beginners---Three-Basic-Yoga-Standing-Postures-to-Improve-Your-Concentration-and-Balance&id=1743815 

 

Useful articles written by Ntathu on the Fab after Fifty website

https://www.fabafterfifty.co.uk/2014/06/30/three-quick-and-easy-yoga-breathing-exercises-to-quieten-your-mind/ 

https://www.fabafterfifty.co.uk/2014/05/12/3-ways-to-wake-up-with-a-smile-for-a-happier-you/

https://ezinearticles.com/?Yoga-For-Beginners---Three-Basic-Yoga-Standing-Postures-to-Improve-Your-Concentration-and-Balance&id=1743815

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Full episode transcript:

 [00:00:04] I'm Ceri Wheeldon. Welcome to the Fab after Fifty podcast. Leading the pro age conversation, talking about all things life after 50.

 

[00:00:17] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Fab after Fifty Podcast. I'm delighted to have with me today Ntathu Allen who is an author, yoga and meditation teacher and she focuses on working with working women who feel worn out, burnt out and stressed out and yet still push through. And Ntathu helps them to release, tension and worries, find calm and reconnect with themselves. And Ntathu is also a resident expert on the website. This podcast is a great opportunity for you to meet her. Hello Ntathu  and welcome to Fab after 50.

 

[00:00:49] Hi Ceri. So thankful to be here on your show. Thank you,I'm looking forward to chatting with you today.

 

[00:00:56] And what are you going to be sharing with us?

 

[00:00:59] I'd like to share with you just some nuggets from yoga and meditation, really for simple practices and things we can do when,  I think  we all go through hard times.  I know I have we've got means like yoga, meditation when things aren't working for you and we're struggling to find the way through. And I just find that through teaching, yoga and meditation these are really simple tools that I'd love to share with our readers and listeners that we can use anywhere, any time just to help you feel better, get a sense of calm, let go of tension and stress.

 

[00:01:38] And how does it actually work to help relieve that sense of stress? Because we all, I think especially in the Instagram era now, when we think of yoga, we have people sharing images of themselves in  what would be impossible for me to do poses. And that tends to be what comes to mind now. And you think of yoga. Sort of, you know, these sort of people with legs that seem to go at almost the humanly impossible angles.

 

[00:02:05] Yes. Yeah. And that really makes me sad. The way yoga's betrayed now in the media, it's really portrayed for young, slim, white, women. And it's really not. Yoga is an ancient system of well-being. And traditionally, you know, you didn't have to do those poses to do yoga. We could just simply focus on our breath or even sitting up taller, relaxing your shoulders. For me, that's yoga. It's becoming aware of how you're feeling in that present moment. That's yoga. Meditation. It really isn't. It is and it isn't. There is an element of  yoga where they do the head stand on a cliff. But that really isn't what yoga is about. It really isn't.

 

[00:02:57] I would love to dispel that myth. How do you think that's come about? I'm not quite sure. I'm not sure.  I'm in the yoga industry myself, and it seems that this has cre