Wellnatured - Yoga Therapy & Nature Fitness

That was one of the most amazing south coast sunrises just now. Sat crossed legged in a dryrobe on a rock, breathing, meditating, being. Feeling very humbled by and connected to the vastness and beauty of nature. (Photos completely unedited BTW, snapped on my phone). What a treat to start the day.

If getting up early in the morning for a moment of silence, stillness or nature connection is yet to be your thing, then be a little inspired today.

Mini Sleep Retreat - Last Minute Space Opened Up

1 place has become available on the Mini Sleep Retreat this Sunday. Contact to grab your spot today.

Because Not Sleeping Sucks
Because Sleep is VITAL for your health & wellbeing.

Sleep hacks and a thoroughly yummy relaxing evening.

Where are you looking?

If you have an established yoga practice then you might want to add or review your Drishti - Your Yogic Gaze point of concentration. Perhaps it is a while since you concentrated on your concentration? Your practice can become more subtle yet empowering with this attention to clear, true perception, which is the deeper intention and goal of Yoga in its infinite form. It is taught in different ways in different yogic approaches, for example in ashtanga yoga there are 9 described focus points depending on which asana you are practising. But broadly speaking you use your eyes to focus on a single point - as a general point use a place about a foot in front of your nose, so you are not actually looking at anything in particular but that you have a single pointed focus which is of no strain to your eyes or Bodymind - your attention follows. Use the regularity of yogic breathing to maintain and then let your perceptual apparatus (i.e more than just your eyes) to drop through the focus point itself so you are seeing / holding your gaze on a deeper perceived place. At this point words do not bring clear understanding until you have reached an experiential level with this, as it is not of the logical thinking mind that we use day to day. Just practice. It comes. You know when someone is achieving such gaze - they have a soft yet intensely steady look in their eyes, which is both calming and empowering to be around.

Overlaid into daily life this becomes a powerful ability to avoid distraction and to see what is true from false perceptions, to hold your mind where it needs to be. Where our eyes go - outward or inward - is where our attention follows. If you are distracted outwardly then you may find closing your eyes and focusing in an upward way towards the third eye helps. If you are distracted inwardly then try this kind of focus on something external. If you can do this in nature then you’ll add that extra bang for your buck. Our attention is an invaluable tool which the modern world - overstimulating and luringly addictive - is ever trying to steal. So lets sure it up.

For anyone who has reached the end of this post finding it somewhat foreign but curious - try standing on one leg in a challenging but achievable way for you (eg use a wall to help, or no wall and a higher positioned raised leg) without a regular breath or focus, then add in a focal point (look at a spot on the wall in front of you) and breath into that point and draw the exhale back from that point into you. Notice the difference in your ability to balance. When a student falters in an achievable balance pose it is most often the concentration that goes first, before the ability.

A shout out for Camp Wild

Wellnatured excitement going on over here for the recent discovery of Camp Wild.

It's a pioneering and smart venture opening up some wild spaces of the UK - with varying degrees of remoteness - for members to book. They are working with conservationists and local land owners to do so in a careful way that brings a unique, conscious camping experience to fruition whilst looking after our beautiful wild spaces. It brings some facilitation to the member to take on a perhaps a more remote camping experience too, whilst generating income for land owners and an environmentally, nature loving community. We desperately need more ways to connect to nature to balance living in this modern world, this is a great boost to that. We are planning to support Camp Wild with some Wellnatured top tips towards getting maximum wellness benefit from nature and mindfulness, so watch this space.

Membership is only £20 and you'll have access to a whole bunch of places you didn't know about. That's like exclusivity for less than a night out. Amazing.
Check them out at

CampWild | The Adventure & Wild Camping Platform Plan a wilder camping trip on CampWild. Our campsite directory, exclusive Wild Spaces, and expert advice make it easy.

Its not too cold for comfort!

When we turn up the house heating and get habitually cosy our self regulating homeostatic systems don't get the challenge they need. We need to keep in balance with enough outdoor time to keep our natural systems in check and functioning well. This November is still mild enough for some mindful time outdoors even if you're of winter hibernating nature. Wrap up (there's no such thing as bad weather... only the wrong clothing???).... take a flask of sugar free home made hot choc (milk, cinnamon good quality cacao, stevia) or something like a Kelly Kettle and go find a den with your kids. Even half an hour of success is worth it. Choose a tree to sit against, drink the choc mindfully, get them to savour the sips and appreciate its warmth. Even if I have a reluctant 'tween' in tow we nearly always find something interesting that we didn't expect ... this weekend was Fox Earths. (dens). Nordic walking sticks keep the youngsters entertained too.

What Can Nordic Walking Do For Me?

As well as a low to medium intensity work out that uses 80% of muscle groups (so is of added benefit to standard walking) and a method of maintaining summer fitness for cross country skiers, trail runners also use Nordic poles particularly when going uphill. It's as physical as you want to make it.

Important to note is that the poles are different to hiking poles with a glove style attachment allowing you to add propulsion pressure to the pole in the rear position.

Where Wellnatured finds invaluable benefit of working with poles is in adjusting habitual gait patterns for walking or running. They act as guidelines allowing self adjustment so that balanced effortless and efficient stride length, arm swing, body rotation and forward momentum can be established. With this improved functional movement, comes improved functional breathing and a massive boost to well-being and sustainable health. Then you can add these new patterns to your running, exercise routine and daily life. Or just get hooked and join a group walk!

If you are embarking on something like a couch to 5k - this is an essential in your tool box as a supplementary practice (you don't need to run with them). Ladies in your 3rd week of your menstrual cycle your body wants lower intensity exercise so yoga or Nordic walking is the perfect balancing act to keep you optimised.

Although fundamentally simple, it's worth engaging with a coach, otherwise the key beneficial elements get a bit lost in the ether, you continue walking or running in your old habits and people are sometimes left wondering what is the point of the poles?

We recommend 3 sessions to really get it nailed and be corrective but equally 1 session may give you enough to be inspired and moving forward in your sustainable balanced health quest.

Check booking availability at wellnatured.co.uk/nordic-walking

YOMO - Feet Week.

"Yomo's... Yoga Moments to add to your day"

Pay Attention to your feet!!

Are your feet working well for the whole of you?

Your foundation and connection to mother nature, your feet also give the key rebound and uplift through your legs to activate and give a foundation the core area of the trunk, giving rise to an upright spine. They are crucial for balance and uplift against gravity when running or walking. They can be cause and effect of postural and gait imbalances. As one of our energy gates in/out of the body, flat, 'drab', stuck and non energetic feet can drag us down. They are waaaay more vital to your overall functioning that you may suppose. You can improve their functioning in 2- 4 weeks....

New 4U?
Rise up and down on your toes every morning and evening as you brush teeth and wait for the kettle to boil. Put a post it note on the wall to remind you. One foot at a time and use a wall or work surface for support is totally acceptable, progressing in time to both feet at the same time. Do it in slowly in front of a mirror too and notice how your feet like to align themselves on the rise and fall. Then add this to every time you are standing in your day - in a queue, at the coffee machine. You can do it as an almost undetectable micro movement and get just as much benefit, if not more, as a full range of movement. If this really is a new movement for you you may feel very uplifted and buzzy just from waking your feet up and working better!

That's Old Hat?
Add rising up onto your toes to every Mountain Pose and 1 at a time (with 1 bent leg) in Down Dog and in Warrior 1 (one foot at a time) in your yoga practice . Do this reaaaallllly sloooooowly.... use a whole breath cycle. Infront of a mirror to notice which way your feet habitually operate and reduce the movement until your feet run straight - thats ankle... over body of foot ...over toes. Watch out that your knees track straight too and are not compensating for any ankle correction.
You're aiming towards the ankle, body of the foot and toes to all be in a line. our day. Micro movements activate postural, balancing muscles which often get missed in favour of overriding major muscle groups or 'cheat' movements. Go Slow.
Add this as a micro movement into any standing situation in y

Then in the evening, before bed, find some oil (coconut, almond or olive) or some moisturiser and self massage the feet (If you cant reach your feet comfortably try rolling a massage ball) opening up the toes, running your fingers down the length of the foot - top and sole - to relax and release stuckness and stimulate nerve endings which positively affect the whole of your body.

Try building the habit for a week and see where the experience takes you!

Why a dry robe boosts your nature health (and saves you money)

In the Wellnatured camp we generally stick to the natural and steer away from the commercial unless there's something that boosts the main objective of a thriving, balanced wellness and a reconnection to your nature state. But a dry robe can be of great assistance to this end.

How so?

The simplest thing you can do to boost your re connection to nature is get in it! Preferably as often as possible. Unless you're fortunate (or chose well) to have a job that means you are predominantly outside, then it's really important to craft ways of spending time - even grabbed 5 minutes here and there - outside. Even if you cant access a living nature space for all the wellness benefits that it brings, and you have to settle for a staff yard or a balcony, seeing and feeling the daylight helps set or maintain your circadian rhythm and that's a key element to regulating hormones, sleep, body functions such as digestion and mental health. It's incredibly important. It helps your Being quite literally know 'which way is up'. But it can be chilly to step out at this time of year! Enter the dry robe.... simple to chuck on, you will be warm as toast and it won't matter if the seat's damp. In an oversized one you can even sit cross legged.

Take a 5 minute breath break or cuppa tea. Set yourself up for an outdoor work desk opportunity. The laptop grind is so much more enjoyable outside! The price tags can be high, but you can also pick dry robes up second hand from Facebook marketplace or ask for an arm/hood/body piece from everyone this Christmas. If you take to wearing one at your home work station ... you can also turn the heating down!,

Why get outside In the morning?

This morning ....Activating natural rhythms to be optimised ... and holding the day ready in hand.

Learn more here... wellnatured.co.uk

World Wellbeing at Work Week 2023

The Work Desk Dozen - Make It A Wiggle Week!

It’s Work Wellbeing Week this week (13th-17th November) and the shout out here is to ‘KEEP IT MOVING!’ when work dictates long hours sat (or slumped) on one’s rump! With the best intentions it can be extremely tricky to unhinge from the task in hand. But we are creatures of movement which impacts all our Bodymind systems for optimal functioning. …. think circulation, lymphatic waste drainage, digestion, breathing, structural balance. These in turn reciprocally affect the mind - clarity of thinking, focus and concentration, creativity. …..Hang on a minute !- aren’t those the very attributes that would make our work more efficient and fruitful? So - set a phone ping to remind you to move every 30/45 minutes, check out this video or article to get creative about what’s possible and give yourself a Wiggle Week!

Full article and video here https://wellnatured.co.uk/blog/2023/11/15/the-work-desk-dozen-wiggling-wellness-yoga-hacks-in-the-work-place