Yogi Claire Newsletter - Summer 2016

I thought I would try a little experiment and use my blog page as a way to get news about my classes out to everyone in a concise and effective way.  Goodness we've come a long way since I used to do a real life newsletter printed on paper!  (Not very environmentally friendly I'll admit!)

The Summer months see a few changes to my schedule but I don't stop teaching altogether.  We settle into a different rhythm in the summer months so it is good to honour this and have a little change.  If the class you usually come to is not on, then maybe think about coming to one of the other classes or contact me if you think you would like a one to one yoga session (see website for full details)  Click for link  (this is ladies only)

Monday: Parent & Toddler yoga - last class was on 18th July - returns 5th September.  Please let me know if you would like your name putting down for this.   See more details here: Click for link


Tuesday: Red Sky Yoga Studio Lunchtime Class 12-1pm - Last class on 19th July - returning on 6th September.  I have a couple of regular spaces come up for this class so email me if you would like to put your name down.

Tuesday evenings: 6.15-7.15pm & 7.45-9pm These 2 sessions which are usually at Sale United Reformed Church, Montague Rd are to be held at Sale Moor Methodist Church, Northenden Rd just over the summer until Sept 6th - this is due to the usual venue being painted.  This is run as a drop in class.

**Note that on Tues 2nd Aug I am scheduled to teach the outdoor session at Walkden Gardens in Sale (weather permitting) please note that this session will start at the slightly earlier time of 6pm-7pm.  If it is wet we will be at Sale Moor Methodist Church and will start at 6.15pm. My Mum's class at 7.45 remains unaffected on this day.

Thursday evening class is unaffected - everything remains as normal, see website for details: Click for link  this is also a drop in class.

Friday morning: 10-11.30am at The Avenue Methodist Church is NOT on over the summer - but we will return to a revamped room on the 9th September.


*Please note my DW Fitness classes remain unaffected over the summer - I will be teaching both of those as normal, remember these are for DW Fitness members only.


If I don't see you over the Summer please have a really wonderful time, spend lots of time with your family and friends and get outside, enjoy nature and try to do a little yoga each day!!



I've included one of my favourite poems for you to enjoy too, I've found it very comforting on many occasions recently, so I hope you enjoy it too.

Namaste.

If you like the flower photos be sure to connect with me on Instagram - my profile is @yogiclaire99 









Claire Pickin is a Hatha Yoga teacher, teaching classes in Sale.  For all details see website:
www.yogiclaire.com

 

 
 
 
 
 

Full Moon Toddler Yoga!

Yesterday we were hovering around full moon time.  It was also a Monday which is the day I teach my toddler yoga class.  Now usually around full moon, it's a lively, hectic, high energy class.  But yesterday was really calm, the toddlers were keen to get back to their yoga after a 3 week break and we welcomed a couple of very enthusiastic new little yogis.

We did our usual warm up songs, bending, stretching and singing our hearts out - with everyone joining in and having fun.  I talked the toddlers through the story, a simple affair involving a lonely scarecrow being befriended by a large, noisy crow.  We moved our bodies, breathed deeply in and out and danced around the room being excited scarecrows.  As I usually do, we did the relaxation at the end of the story as the characters lie down to relax and reflect - then I take Tommy the Turtle around the room to visit each child in turn whilst his music is softly playing, each child gets the chance to spot the crescent moon on his shell.  We then usually jump up once again to get moving and singing, but yesterday the children lay quite still and quiet - almost reflective, not keen to leap up for more songs just yet.....  Perhaps the moon's energy was a little too strong and they needed a little extra time to relax!

Anyway we eventually got up and used my breathing ball toys to open and close with our breath - again the toddlers were concentrating well and really understood what I was asking them to do (some of them are not even 2 years old yet so I was amazed at how focussed they were)

We then had our usual healthy snack which was rice cakes this week - mindfully eaten by smelling first, listening to the crunch and then closed eyes whilst chewing!  We then sang some more songs and did accompanying yoga moves.  We played 'Who is in the bag?' each child taking a toy animal out and then we all do the pose for that animal before the next animal can be retrieved from the bag.

Next we rolled the mats up and lined them end to end to practice balancing and to practice turn taking.  Each child walking along, tight-rope style with arms out to the side - it's always a winner!
Finally we all sat down together and chanted Om three times, this is usually a favourite part of the class for the children (and for me) they all joined in with hands pressed earnestly together in Anjali Mudra. Then we all said Namaste.

So for Full Moon, Summer Solstice and the eve of International Yoga day - my toddler group did superbly well and I think for the first time in almost 5 years of teaching toddlers - I almost stuck to the class plan!  It really goes to show you how you just cannot predict how things will turn out.  Next week could be a whole different story.....

Happy International Yoga Day!

For details of Claire's teaching schedule and further information on Toddler Yoga see www.yogiclaire.com

Breakfast Bars - Recipe

I have yet another oaty recipe for you, this one has no honey or added sugar.  This is the recipe I have been using recently for the bars I serve at my yoga workshops - most people seem to love them.  The basic idea is from Nigella but of course I have changed it to suit my taste and budget!  Nigellas recipe states Medjool dates which do work well but I have used ordinary supermarket chopped dates and also did a batch with some dates I bought in B & M Bargains - 39p for 200g, which is a real bargain.  They all seem to work.




Ingredients:

250g/9oz dates
1 tsp mixed spices
75g/2.5oz dried cherries
75g/2.5oz dried blueberries
100g/3.5oz mixed seeds (I use sesame, pumpkin and sunflower)
25g/1oz chia seeds
25g/1oz any kind of crispy cereal (I used one from Rude Health which has all manner of wholegrains)
100g/3.5oz porridge oats

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven at 170degrees/Gas 4 and line a tin with greaseproof paper, I squirt the tin with coconut spray oil to help the paper stick in place.

2. Pit the dates and tear them up if you are using whole ones, then place in a small saucepan with 325ml of water and add the spices.  Bring up to boil and let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes.

3. Beat the mixture with a fork or you can use a hand blender to puree.  I have done both methods - both work.

4. Put all remaining ingredients into a bowl and then add the date mixture and stir thoroughly.

5. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for around 20-25 minutes until it looks really set and golden brown on the top with slightly darker edges.

6. Leave to cool before cutting.

You can use any kinds of dried fruits, nuts, seeds - I have made them a bit more of a treat sometimes by adding choc chips.  Enjoy with a cup of liquorice or cinnamon tea!

www.yogiclaire.com

Spelt Soda Bread, easiest & speediest recipe EVER!!

It's been a while since I have blogged, but I really want to share this wonderful recipe with you.  Actually it seems so quick and easy, it hardly even seems like a recipe! 

If you like your bread light and airy then perhaps this is not one for you, this is for those who like things rustic and nutty.  It has quite a closed, cake-like texture.  


When I used to work over in Ireland I always had soda bread and jam for breakfast, for me it seems easy to digest, is filling and satisfying too.  I've had a love hate relationship with bread over the years, sometimes cutting it completely out of my diet, but then missing the pleasure of a really tasty piece of toast.  So I have experimented with many types of bread and even used a bread maker every day for years. But now I have discovered how easy soda bread is to make - this is my loaf of choice every time.



There is no yeast, no proving, no kneading, no waiting and no messing about!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

9oz Spelt Flour

Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Half a teaspoon of salt

7 Fluid ounces of milk mixed with a dessert spoon of lemon juice (traditionally buttermilk is used but this is something I never have in the fridge!)

Melted butter for painting on if you want a less crunchy top.

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas
2. In a big bowl, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Add the milk/lemon juice mixture and mix until a soft and sticky dough forms.
4. Make sure it's all gathered together and tip onto a greased baking tray in a rough round shape.  The more craggy it is the more crunchy it will be.
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 200C/400F/Gas 6. The loaf should be golden-brown and sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
6. Paint with melted butter whilst still warm if you want a softer crust.
7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. This is best eaten on the day of baking, but I cut into slices and freeze then toast from frozen.

This is perfect for breakfast, lightly toasted and spread with coconut oil and honey, or dipped into homemade thick soup.

 

As you can see from the photos it is a very honest and not very pretty loaf with a close texture but tastes divine and is cheap and so easy to do!!

 

Happy baking - let me know how you get on with it!!

 

 

www.yogiclaire.com

 

 

Some Things Never Change!

As usual I struggled over the title for this piece - it may be a bit of a departure from my usual 'everything is changing, nothing stays the same' ramblings and it is a strange one, as it all started with a mouse.....

We had a strong suspicion we had a mouse in the house (you can read that last sentence with a Scottish accent if you like) this suspicion became fact when I came face to face with our little friend a few weeks ago.  It was in the middle of the night and I didn't have my specs on but I heard its tapping claws on the lino and saw it scuttle out of the bathroom door.  (it had also left me a mousey present on the bathroom mat) Anyhow - this triggered a memory of childhood when my Nanna lived in this very same house where I live now, and she too had mice in the house!  Now of course it's not the same mouse - and our house is now very different from when my Nanna lived here, we have modified it somewhat.  My grandparents had a market gardening business and the field and greenhouses stretched for what seemed like miles into the distance behind our house.  There was an old well and some large, black scary water tanks which I would stand on my tiptoes and look into and imagine all sorts of mystical worlds in the ominous, inky depths!  There was even a story about how one of my great Aunts had fallen down the well, she escaped unscathed though - thankfully.

So the fields are now a housing estate and the greenhouses and tanks are gone, but the house lives on with us living in it and it's latest family of mice.  It is indeed a house full of memories, one of my great aunts had started to write a book about her childhood here a few years before her death and it details some amazingly happy times she spent in this house where I now live with my family.  There are some wonderful descriptions of the walk to school - the school which my Granddad, Mum and my sister and I and now my children attend.  The present school building is spanking new but it's on the same site and has the same name.  In the book my Great Aunt detailed happy Christmas times, hanging stockings by the fireplace ready to be filled with nuts and fruits.

Great Aunt Ada also wrote about hot and humid school sports days that she and her brothers attended, just like my kids were doing a few weeks ago, and like I did errr several years ago but she writes that they won prizes like a necklace, a dressing table set and many other things - her recall of these things suggest they meant a great deal to her.  The sun is still the same sun that shone brightly down from the same sky.  Different people, different times but some things never changing.

So in a way this piece is about change - the people, some of the buildings, the surroundings but this is in contrast to the bigger stuff,  that same moon that I gaze at most nights, is the same moon that my Mum, Nanna, Granddad and all those other relatives looked at.  Same moon, same sun, same sky, same bricks and mortar holding all those memories from everyone who has lived here......including all the mice. 

Below are the first words transcribed from Great Aunt Ada's book which she began at the age of 70 but sadly never finished, there are about 30 pages in total and it starts like this:

"How well I remember the days that are gone,

Long days and golden we spent in the sun,

Green of the meadows and pink of the clover,

Magic of laughter, and innocent fun,

And my memories linger on of days long ago..."

 

"My memories are my dearest possessions, to turn back the clock, and to be once again in a loved place with loved ones......."

This is the old chimney pot which has always belonged in the garden of our house as well as the stone garden ornament below it, which has been around for as long as everyone remembers, we're not sure exactly what it is but seems to feature a pineapple!!


For details of Claire's Yoga Classes in Sale - see www.yogiclaire.com

Banana Flapjacks - you'll love this one!

At my seasonal yoga workshops I usually serve up some tea and treats as a thank you to my class members for attending. Click here for original recipe.

As great and tasty as these flapjacks/cereal bars/seed bites are, they are just soooo crumbly so it's a good job a class member's dog Maisie - the golden cocker drops in at the end to 'hoover' up the crumbs from the church floor!!

So I got my creative baking head on and decided to do a few experiments to see if I could come up with a better recipe, with less of the crumble factor (this is indeed a first world problem - flapjacks that are too crumbly!!)  Sorry Maisie, no more crumbs.....

Here is the final recipe:

Banana & Seed Flapjacks (makes about 12 medium sized flapjacks)

200g of porridge oats.
2 mashed bananas.
1 tablespoon of honey (or agave nectar for vegans)
1 large free range egg, beaten (vegans can omit this, this helps bind the flapjacks so there may be more of a crumble factor if omitted)
100g mixed seeds
100g mixed fruit
60ml coconut oil

1. In a saucepan melt the coconut oil and honey together.
2. Mash the bananas and mix together with the beaten egg.
3. Mix the oats with the fruit and seeds.
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry.
5. Press into a lined baking tin.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes on 180 degrees C.

Wait until the flapjacks have cooled a little before cutting.  Enjoy with a cup of green/chai tea!!  Or come along to the next Yogi Claire Yoga Workshop and sample for yourself!!
www.yogiclaire.com

A Yogaversary & a Thank You...

This week sees the 4th year anniversary of my Thursday evening class at Sale Moor Methodist Church.  I had been teaching for a while at LA Fitness when I decided I wanted to set up my own class at my chosen venue.  A location very close to my heart, my Mum attended Sunday School at this church, I went to Brownies there and play group.  Both my sons went to playgroup there and my eldest son attended Paint Box art club there and I even had my 9th Birthday Party in the cellar!!  I love all my classes but I always like to mark the anniversary of the Thursday class as it was my very first private class.

So here's a little thank you....

Thank you to all class members past and present....... thank you to those who come to class in snow, hail, rain or shine.  Those with broken hearts, broken minds and broken bones (yes really!!) 

Thanks to the ones who attend every class without fail and to those who come when they can.  Thanks to stressed out Nanas, tired out Mummies, to weary Daddies - hope the yoga helped!

Thanks to those who only ever came to a class once - I sincerely hope I ignited a spark of interest in yoga and you went on to join a different class or developed a home practice - I really don't mind, just as long as you didn't give up!

Thanks to those who have now moved away, I hope you found a lovely new yoga teacher in your new home town. 

Thanks to those who became too ill or frail to attend a yoga class - I hope you found some peace.

Thanks to other yoga teachers who attend my classes, it is truly an honour to have you there.

Thanks to those who fall asleep in savasana and those who struggle to relax but give it a good go every week! 

Thanks to those who are determined, those who are curious, those who try their hardest and those who allow themselves to slow down and back off when it is completely against their nature to do less than 100%  That truly is a challenge - I completely understand that!

Thank you to everyone who has supported my classes, here's to many more years of yoga!! 

www.yogiclaire.com