http://www.serenalouiseyoga.com/

Serenalouiseyoga, Mandurama (2026)

03/06/2026

✨ Comparison: The Hidden Distraction

Have you ever looked around the yoga room and wondered why someone else’s pose looks deeper, stronger, or more graceful than yours?

Comparison doesn’t just happen on the mat. We compare our careers, relationships, bodies, achievements, and even our spiritual journeys. It is one of the mind’s favourite habits.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali teaches that suffering arises when we become entangled in the fluctuations of the mind (citta vritti). Comparison is one of those fluctuations. It pulls us away from the present moment and into stories about who we should be rather than who we are.

The purpose of yoga was never to create the “perfect” pose. The practice is about developing awareness. Every body carries different genetics, injuries, experiences, and samskaras (conditioning). Your expression of a pose is meant to reflect your unique journey.

When we compare ourselves to others, we lose connection to svadhyaya—self-study. Instead of learning from our own experience, we become distracted by someone else’s.

The invitation of yoga is simple: return to your breath. Return to your body. Return to your practice.

Because the person beside you is not your competition. They are simply walking their own path.

And your path is enough.

🕉️ Yoga begins when comparison ends and awareness begins.

03/06/2026

❄️ Ayurveda & Winter: A Season for Nourishment

In Ayurveda, winter is governed by Vata dosha the qualities of cold, dry, light, and mobile. As the temperature drops, these qualities can show up in the body as dry skin, stiff joints, poor sleep, anxiety, or feeling ungrounded.

Winter is an invitation to slow down and nourish yourself.

✨ Ayurvedic winter tips:

• Choose warm, cooked foods over cold and raw meals.
• Add healthy fats such as ghee, olive oil, and sesame oil.
• Sip warm water and herbal teas throughout the day.
• Practise abhyanga - self-massage with warm sesame oil.
• Prioritise restorative yoga, gentle movement, and adequate rest.
• Keep the chest, neck, and feet warm.

Yoga and Ayurveda remind us that health comes from living in harmony with nature’s rhythms. Winter isn’t the season to push harder—it’s the season to root down, replenish, and cultivate inner warmth.

🌿 Ground your Vata. Nourish your Ojas. Honour the season.

Ojas Abhyanga SeasonalLiving YogaTherapy HolisticHealth RestorativeYoga

02/06/2026

🌀 Mobility Where the Body Needs It Most

The shoulders and hips are ball-and-socket joints, designed for a wide range of movement including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and rotation. The knees and elbows, however, are primarily hinge joints, built mostly for flexion and extension rather than large rotational movements.

In yoga, we honour the intelligence of each joint. Rather than forcing mobility where stability is needed, we cultivate movement where the body is designed to move.

Many of us spend our days in anterior-dominant positions—sitting, driving, typing, reaching forward—which can reduce mobility through the shoulders and hips over time. Through mindful āsana, we create healthy movement in these joints, helping to nourish cartilage, circulate synovial fluid, and maintain the function of the rotator cuff and hip stabilisers.

Yoga reminds us of the principle of Ahimsa (non-harming): move with awareness, not force. Mobility is not about achieving the deepest pose, but about creating sustainable freedom of movement for life.

✨ Move often. Move mindfully. Lubricate the joints that are designed to move, and strengthen the joints that are designed to stabilise.

14/05/2026

One thing I often explore with clients in yoga therapy is how healing and growth happen in layers.

So often, when stress, discomfort, overwhelm or challenge arise, our first instinct is avoidance. We distract ourselves, minimise what we’re feeling, push it aside, or convince ourselves that if we ignore it long enough, it may disappear. In many ways, denial is often the very first stage of stress.

But what I’ve witnessed time and time again — both personally and through working with clients — is that avoiding the issue often supports the issue in growing. The more we resist looking at something, the more power it can begin to hold over us.

Yoga teaches us something very different.

Rather than encouraging aversion or disconnection, yoga gently invites us back into ourselves. Back into the body. Back into awareness. Back into presence.

Sometimes this process begins simply by showing up to class.

After a yoga class, many people notice they can reintroduce themselves to what they’ve been avoiding with a little more clarity, steadiness and softness. The nervous system settles. The mind quietens. What once felt impossible to face can begin to feel manageable.

This doesn’t mean forcing ourselves into discomfort or pretending life isn’t hard. It means learning how to lean into life’s challenges with support, patience and compassion rather than resistance.

Stress can arrive acutely and unexpectedly, shifting the ground beneath us. But supporting denial rarely creates lasting change or growth. True transformation usually begins the moment we are willing to acknowledge what is there.

Yoga therapy is not about “fixing” you. It’s about creating space to gently move through the layers, allowing the body and mind to process what they need to, in their own time.

If this resonates with you, perhaps your practice right now is not about avoiding what feels difficult — but learning how to meet it differently.

🤎

06/05/2026

The Yamas: Your Inner 🧭

The way we relate to the world begins with how we choose to show up.
In yoga, the yamas are ethical guidelines — not rules, but invitations.

Ahimsa (Non-violence)
Soften the edges.
In your words, your thoughts, your actions.
Notice where harshness lives — and choose compassion instead.
This is where practice begins.

Satya (Truthfulness)
Be honest, but be kind.
Truth isn’t just what we say — it’s how we live.
Are you aligned with what feels real for you?

Asteya & Brahmacharya
Asteya (Non-stealing): Trust that what is meant for you will not pass you.
No grasping, no comparing.
Brahmacharya (Moderation): Honour your energy.
Where are you overextending? Where can you come back to balance?

Aparigraha (Non-attachment)
Let go of what you don’t need to carry.
Expectations, control, old stories.
Freedom lives in the exhale.

The yamas aren’t about perfection — they’re about awareness.
A practice you return to, again and again.

21/04/2026

THE FIVE VAYUS 🌬️

In yogic philosophy, prana (life force) isn’t just one energy—it flows through us in five distinct “winds” (vayus), each governing a different movement in the body and mind.

✨ When these energies are in balance, we feel grounded, energised, and clear. When they’re not, we feel off—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Here’s your simple guide:
🌬️ Prana Vayu (inward & upward)
Located in the heart + chest
→ governs breath, senses & intake
→ think: receiving life
🌱 Apana Vayu (downward & outward)
Located in the pelvis
→ governs elimination & grounding
→ think: letting go
🔥 Samana Vayu (inward to centre)
Located at the navel
→ governs digestion + assimilation
→ think: processing & integrating
💫 Udana Vayu (upward)
Located in the throat + head
→ governs speech, expression & growth
→ think: your voice + expansion
🌊 Vyana Vayu (outward from centre)
Flows throughout the whole body
→ governs circulation + movement
→ think: connection + flow

💡 The magic isn’t in mastering them—it’s in bringing awareness to how energy moves within you. Even subtle attention to breath and sensation can create more balance and harmony in your practice and your life.

✨ Yoga isn’t just movement… it’s learning to feel the currents beneath it.

30/01/2026

YOGA & RANGE OF MOTION, THE EXERCISE YOU DO NOW WILL BENEFIT THE FUTURE YOU 😌

We’ve been told the same story for years: “As you age, your body declines and there’s nothing you can do about it.” But that story misses one key thing — the body loves to play.

Mobility and movement don’t need to be rigid or intense. They work best when they’re fluid, curious, and a playful. That restless, fidgety energy we’re taught to suppress when we’re children? It’s actually a powerful cue to move. Channel it — don’t shut it down - research shows now that certain people need that fidgety movement to help their brains process thoughts 💭

Recently, I’ve shifted toward lower intensity, slower movement, and the impact has been huge. Not dramatic. Just consistent. And that’s the key — consistency over force.

For the past 18 months I’ve been breastfeeding with a dominant side; Instead of pushing symmetry, I’ve leaned into slow, playful, asymmetrical movement — letting my body explore, balance, and stay mobile on both sides without restriction. I heard an analogy recently which went a little like this, keeping your joints mobile depends on how much you work on keeping their range of motion, if you don’t move it, you don’t keep it; much like flossing your teeth.. floss the teeth you want to keep 😬

We don’t lose movement because we’re aging.
 We lose it because we stop exploring.

Mobility isn’t about perfect shapes.
 It’s about freedom, adaptability, and letting your body move the way it wants to — safely, often, and with curiosity.

Move like your future and younger self is watching 🧘‍♀️

         PostpartumMovement BreastfeedingBody AsymmetricalMovement ConsistencyOverIntensity

24/01/2026

🌿 For the mothers who never get to “switch off.” 🌿

Being a parent can put us in a constant state of alert—not just watching our kids’ physical safety, but scanning for what might go wrong in every moment. Dr. Benejam describes this as emotional hypervigilance—a nervous system that stays in “alarm mode” even when things are safe. It can look like nonstop worry, tension in the body, interrupted sleep, and feeling like rest is dangerous rather than restorative.

✨ This isn’t a personal flaw—it’s a learned survival response that developed to keep you and your child safe. And yes, that care is real. But it also takes energy and can leave you exhausted over time.

Here’s how yoga and Ayurveda can help👇

🌸 Yoga is more than stretching:
📌 Gentle movement and focused breath help the nervous system shift out of fight-or-flight mode and into rest. Even 5–10 minutes of mindful asana or breathing (like slow inhalations/exhalations) signals to the body that it is safe to relax.
🌱 Pranayama (breath work) calms the mind and nervous system—the core of hypervigilance isn’t just thoughts but sustained physical tension.

🍃 Ayurveda’s view:
Ayurveda sees stress, anxiety, and “never-off guard” states as imbalances—often of Vata dosha, which governs movement and the nervous system. When Vata is high, the mind can feel scattered, tense, and restless. Ayurveda supports:

✨ A regular routine (dinacharya)
✨ Warm, grounding food and herbs like Ashwagandha or Brahmi
✨ Gentle yoga + calming breath practices
✨ Restorative self-care rituals (like self-massage or warmth)
All of these help steady both body and mind—supporting a nervous system that has been on high alert for too long.

❤️ Takeaway: You don’t have to be on guard 24/7 to be a good mother—or a good human. Yoga + mindful self-care can help your nervous system learn it’s safe to rest again.

18/01/2026

Today was my first Vin to Yin series of classes at 🎀 thank you for joining me!

The little raw sweet treat was a chocolate strawberry raw slice and as promised, here is the recipe 💖 so easy and so fresh! X

Ingredients

Base

1/2 cup cacao powder raw
60 ml coconut oil melted
12 medjool dates pitted
150 g raw cashews

Filling

1/3 cup dessicated coconut
125 ml maple syrup pure
250g Strawberries or whichever berry you fancy fresh or defrosted
150 g raw cashews
1/4 cup freeze-dried berries (optional)

Topping

1/3 cup coconut oil
80 ml maple syrup pure
1/3 cup cacao powder raw

Instructions

Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper so that it overlaps on opposite sides (a loose bottom tin helps too).

For the Base:
Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until the mixture forms very fine breadcrumbs and sticks together when pressed between your finger and thumb.
Spread and press mixture evenly into the base of your tin to form the first flat layer. Freeze for 1 hour.

For the Filling:
Place all ingredients into a clean high speed blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Spread this mixture evenly over the base layer and return to the freezer for 1 hour to set.

For the Topping:
Put the coconut oil into a small saucepan and place over a low heat until just melted. Add maple syrup and stir to combine. Add cacao powder and stir again until mixture is completely smooth.
Pour this topping quickly and evenly over the berry layer, tilting the cake tin to allow the chocolate to cover the entire surface before it sets.

Freeze slice for at least 3-4 hours or overnight to set.

To slice:

Gently remove slice from tin by holding the overlapped sides of baking paper, and easing it out gently.
Slice with a hot knife (run knife blade under hot water and dry. Repeat after every cut to achieve clean slices) into 18 slices. Place slices into an airtight container lined with baking paper and freeze.

Remove slices from freezer 5-10 minutes before eating.

Slices will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

🎀🫶🏻

31/12/2025

2025 that’s a wrap! 🌯

Thank you for trusting me with your bodies, thank you for sharing your stories with me and allowing me to be part of your Yoga journey. It is a privilege to teach you something I am so passionate about 💖 this year was a year of sooooo much learning for me, bring on more learning and growth in 2026 🩵

🥳 ###x

Serenalouiseyoga

03/06/2026

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02/06/2026

14/05/2026

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30/01/2026

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31/12/2025

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