The Wellness Uprising

Restorative Yoga and how it can be used to help transform ethnic and race based traumatic stress with Dr. Gail Parker

What’s so special about yoga is that there are so many ways to practice it and its benefits extend far beyond just the physical. Dr Gail Parker is a psychologist, yoga therapist and author based in the US. She chats to me about how restorative yoga and even incorporating even small parts of restorative yoga into your daily life can help manage stress and trauma.

Making Yoga more accessible with Dianne Bondy

With yoga being commercialized by the West – it has been sold as something only flexible white women do that have a tall, slender build. When in reality the practice of yoga was intended for everyone – yoga does not exclude anyone from the practice as its very meaning is to “yolk” or “connection” – to bring better connection with ourselves but also with the world around us.  This modern manifestation of yoga has left many to feel excluded and unwelcome in yoga spaces. Dianne Bondy is a yoga teacher based in Canada and she aims to change the narrative – she is a specialist in ‘accessible yoga’, she has written two books on the topic. I chat to her about her work, how she suggests teachers make their spaces more inclusive and how you as a yoga practitioner can find the best space to practice yoga that makes you feel comfortable to be yourself.

Yoga is more than Asana with Nadia Gilani.

Yoga is an ancient practice from South-East Asia, but once it was brought to the West it was whitewashed, commercialized and focused mainly on yoga asana (poses) when in fact it is so much more. Today it is a multi-billion-dollar industry.  While it has become trendy in the West, many South-East Asian people have grown up with the practice, much like Nadia Gilani, she was first introduced to the practice as a child. She is a yoga teacher in the UK, a freelance journalist and now author of the book “The Yoga Manifesto”. We chat about her journey with yoga, her book, and where the yoga industry is now.

Health and Wellness in the broader context with Krishen Samuel

In this episode of the Wellness Uprising we want to expand your understanding of what health and wellness means in the broader sense when we look at our community, our greater ecosystem. Remember, if there is anything we have learnt from this season, is that true wellness encompasses far more than nutrition and exercise and can look different to different people depending on their context.  We cannot impose our personal benchmarks of wellness on someone who is not living the same quality of life we are. Krishen Samuel is a lecturer at the University of Arkansas and is a PhD student studying health behaviour and promotion.

Are you getting a restful night’s sleep with Dr Bonney Cheyip

So many people neglect this corner stone of good health, wellness and longevity. We underestimate the effect sleep has on our bodies and the huge knock-on effects when we don’t get enough of it. I spoke to neurologist Dr Bonney Cheyip who runs the sleep clinic at Morningside Medi-Clinic.