5 Ways to Fit Yoga Into Your Day

1. Practice with your baby or child

By practicing yoga with your baby or child, you will be giving your child the most wonderful gift of an introduction to yoga. Not sure how? See Baby Yoga or practice some simple yoga breathing or mantras with your child. Try, 'I am peace'.

2. Breathe

When you feel like you are stressed or upset, try counting to 10 and inhaling and counting to 10 and exhaling three times. Allow yourself to relax into the breath. You always have a choice in how your react and when you slow your breathing down, your body will make a choice from a better place.

3. Meditate

Try meditating, even if it's just for one moment each day.

4. Bring Yoga Postures off the Yoga Mat

Whether you're pushing your buggy or walking to the shops, be aware of your posture. Tuck in your tailbone, elongate your spine, feel like there is a piece of string lifting the crown of your head to the sky. Walk proud.

5. Use online Yoga Videos to Practice at Home

Tuilips, Windmills and Cloggs

Classes are busy, I'm running baby and children's yoga classes at Debutots summer workship, the Lollibop festival and I've been offered three private contracts to teach baby yoga and my middle child will be in school for full days from September.

So, just when I felt that my life here was falling into place, something comes along to change EVERYTHING. 

My husband has accepted a new job in Amsterdam from the middle of August. We have decided to move to Haarlem in October this year. 

This means leaving behind family, friends, our lovely house and garden and my thriving business in which I've invested so much into during the last two years.

We don't speak Dutch, the children can't cycle and we barely know anyone in the Netherlands.

However, we plan to move by the sea, the children are safe to play out in the streets, the pace of life will be slower and we will learn about Dutch culture and learn to speak some Dutch.

So here are some things I am learning about Amsterdam:

• Amsterdam is the home of the Montesorri movement

• Bank holiday's take place on Thursday's so people can enjoy a 4 day weekend (unlike UK, where we often have a 3 day weekend as the bank holiday falls on a Monday).

• There are more museums in Amsterdam than any other city in the world

• There are twice as many bikes as cars.

• Children have no school on Wednesday or Friday afternoons and take a packed lunch
• The work-life balance is valued. People leave the office generally no later than 5.30pm.

It will take a few months to settle into our new home. 

While we live in the Netherlands, I plan to deepen my knowledge of yoga, carry out research and study the benefits of baby yoga and run new classes in Haarlem from January 2014. 

It will be fun to cycle around and visit new museums and make new friends. 

Our new house will be a short cycle ride to the beach, so we will look forward to visiting the longest beach in Europe and flying a kite.

Gratitude is the Best Gift

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick,
and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.”

Today, my 6 year old asked, 'Mummy, are we rich'.  Regardless of our personal circumstances, I wanted her begin to understand gratitude. I answered, 'Yes, we are very rich. We have shoes to keep our feet warm, food to keep our tummies full and we are all healthy and we have each other. There are many people in the world who don't have any of these things. We are very lucky.' 

Gratitude is something we should be conscious of.  In a society where children are given a much coveted gift, only to see the next television advert and then immediately start asking for the next material item, we should be teaching our children that there are more important values than material goods. A child will never be satisfied when given the latest toy.  To start showing a child to appreciate what they have and give them some exposure to those who have very little is a good step forward. Another idea is for us ask our children to think of three things they are grateful for each day.  

To give a child an understanding of gratitude is possibly the best gift you can give them.

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach