Jimi chats with Nikki Ralston, world-class yoga teacher and creator of The Ralston Method about how yoga can be one of the best tools to have in your mental fitness toolbox.
Nikki explains the importance of regularity in a yoga practice and how doing a little bit every day or just a few days a week will benefit both your body and your mental fitness.
She tells us how yoga helps ‘turn down the volume’ of the loud voice we often have in our heads and how it guides us back to clarity. She describes it as “the clearest mirror you’ve ever looked in to observe yourself and your habits”.
Jimi gives us insight into his love-hate relationship with yoga and that while he still thinks it’s hard and not enjoyable he explains why committing himself to a consistent practice has been so important and why it’s not just about putting on your stretchy pants and doing a few moves. He also lets us in on the epiphany he had at the end of one particular class while lying in savasana.
Jimi and Nikki discuss that despite the stereotype of a modern day ‘yoga person’ the practice of yoga should be available to everyone and Nikki reveals her ambitions to make yoga accessible to a far broader group of people and communities and talks about her diversity scholarship within her teacher training series.
They discuss the importance of shopping around for different varieties, teachers and classes until you find the right one for you and the benefits of choosing to turn up for something every day, especially on the days you don’t want to.
LINKS
The Ralston Method - www.theralstonmethod.com
Diversity Scholarship - https://static1.squarespace.com/static/541e8f00e4b09194f767acdf/t/606be7c326be53510a79dc8e/1617684420785/Equity+in+yoga+scholarship+info.pdf
Books - The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel Van der Kolk
Trauma Sensitive Yoga (with funding available through ACC sensitive claims) - Google: Trauma Sensitive Yoga to find practitioners near you.
Fat Yoga NZ: www.fatyoganz.com
Five Tibetan Rites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Tibetan_Rites
The original 1939 Tibetan Rites book: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhZdtOt69M2bkzEx4Al0jmU3lXKc?e=MrAUFe
