These are the moments I live for!

Hi there!

I trust you’re healthy, happy & thriving this week!

Do you remember the story from last week of the lovely woman who wandered into my Mind Body Spirit Festival stall, scared to move because everything she'd tried before had hurt her? Who then, a few years later, turned up at one of my Chair Yoga Teacher Trainings? (If you missed it you can catch up on all the recent past emails here!)

Well, it made me feel like sharing some more stories with you! I have so many! Don’t worry I won’t share them all today or you’d be reading my email for a week but I will just share a few because maybe you’ll relate to them or feel inspired by them.

Hopefully they’ll make you smile. They definitely give me hope that anything is possible and renewed belief in the power of practicing Yoga! 

Over the years I've been so blessed to witness so many little what I call “mini-miracles” through teaching Chair Yoga. So many times I get to class and someone comes up and says "Claire...I want to tell you something….". 

Joan did just that! She told me that when she wakes up in the middle of the night, now she knows how to relax and can fall back asleep again easily. Joan carries a lot on her shoulders in her personal life, and it was soooo good to hear that after practicing Chair Yoga with me for a while, her nervous system had finally learnt how to relax. She wasn't lying awake for hours anymore...she was actually getting back to sleep.

I knew exactly what she meant as I too have experienced this benefit of Yoga! Sometimes our bodies simply forget how to switch off, and it's amazing what can happen when they finally remember.

Then there was Lucy. She came up to me and told me that she had been at a family gathering on the weekend…and she said  "Claire! I'm the only one in the whole family who can sit down on the low chair at home and get back up again!" Now, someone else might hear that and think, "Oh...that's nice." But I knew exactly how big that moment was for her.

Seeing how my grandfather lost his movement as he aged, and eventually couldn’t get up and down from a chair - I know how important this movement is! But not just the movement but the impact on someone’s independence, confidence and freedom it can have. And for Lucy, it meant she could do something for herself again that she'd thought she'd lost.

And last but not least there was Joel. Joel had been living with depression for quite some time. He finally came to Chair Yoga with our group. After a couple of months I looked across the room and thought…’Wow! Joel is really tall!’ I never really knew how tall he was because he carried himself with rounded shoulders, and a hanging head. Now his shoulders were back, his chest was open and he even had a smile on his dial! He was slowly beginning to feel happy again.

I still think about that moment, I think about ALL the moments…ALL the time. That’s why I wanted to share them with you. Seeing these little “mini-miracle” moments like that reminds me that healing is possible, and it happens in many different ways for each individual.

Sometimes it is seeing a smile on someone's face, or someone standing a little taller or sleeping through the night. Or sometimes it’s someone starting to believe in themselves again.

These are the things I live for!! I really do not care if you can touch your toes or not, or stand on your head (although that is pretty amazing!) but I do care that you are finding your everyday life is becoming more manageable, or that you’re sleeping better, feeling calmer or experiencing a little more happiness. That you’re finding hope again…that you are finding your way to wholeness and healing. Back to your true Self. 

I personally know from seeing these mini miracles over and over, plus from my own personal experience - these little life changing moments are some of the greatest gifts Yoga can give us.  

And it's also one of the reasons I love teaching other people to share Chair Yoga. Because every time another teacher learns how to create safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces, there are even more opportunities for these little miracles to happen. 

And there’s that ripple effect changing the world again - one Chair Yogi at a time! 

Love Claire x

P.S. I would love to know - have you experienced a ‘mini-miracle’ from Chair Yoga? Or have you had students who have? Please feel free to reply to this email and share your story with me if you have. There is nothing better than celebrating these moments together!  

Find out more about our Self-Study and In-person teacher training here!

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