​As some of you are aware my wife, Carrie runs Hypnobirthing and Pre-natal Yoga Classes from the studio. The beautiful lady has put together a Luxury Babymoon Retreat package to the Byron Bay hinterland for 3 days and 3 nights at the stunning Gymea Eco Retreat.
The retreat will offer quality education for the ‘mum and dad to-be’, learning proven skills, techniques and coping mechanisms for the birth.  For the men there’s education on how to support your partner during the birth of your baby.
There’s yoga for the men. I’ll be running those classes along with offering Thai Yoga Massage.
SO if you’ve got any mates and their partners who are looking for some quality birthing education to prepare them for birth, along with lots of other stuff then get them to this link below.

I'm now a Level one Thai Yoga Massage Practitioner. I’m offering my services for a full 90 minute massage. Thai Yoga Massage is different from a normal massage in that it’s fully clothed and uses no oils. It uses a sequence of flowing movements and rhythmic massage to loosen and stretch the recipient’s muscles and to help with the range of motion in the joints.
​It can help with pains in your back, neck, shoulders, hips, legs and much more. It’s also great for stress relief and brings about a feeling of calm afterwards.

I took part in a Level 1 Thai Yoga Massage Course at the end of last year. It will be a great complement to my Yoga teaching. I shan’t be giving anyone a full-on Thai massage in class (!) but an occasional adjustment and extra work in a stretch or the use of an elbow to apply pressure will do the trick. No walking on any ones back though.  I doubt they’d get up off the floor afterwards.
(BUT! Thai Yoga Massages are available - next paragraph!)
I have a few other courses planned for the year and a hopefully a Meditation retreat will be slotted in.  All of this extra knowledge will keep on enriching my teachings which means all the blokes will benefit as well. So, everyone’s a winner. Choice.

​My Yoga Pose goal for next year is going to be a handstand without the aid of the wall behind me.
I started doing handstands probably 4 years ago. This was the first time I’d been in a handstand EVER, but I only really started concentrating on them since starting the YogaJak classes. Before this it was something that I did, upon request (in a Yoga Class) but wouldn’t just have ‘a go’ at home or wherever.  When I was a kid at school the boys were all playing cops n robbers or cowboys and Indians, the girls were all doing handstands. I should have joined in with the girls as you have no fear when you’re a kid. I’d have just got stuck in and popped up no worries.  As you age though you tend to look at things first and then make the call on whether it’s a good thing or not. I didn’t think it was a good thing!!
If you’ve ever tried to do a handstand you’ll know that the hardest part, in the beginning is getting up. There’s certain little things that you need to do which make it easier and obviously, practice makes perfect. There’s also certain alignments and rotations (of the shoulders) that you need to be aware of. Once you’re up, your next goal is to see if you can get your feet off the wall for a bit of ‘glide time’. This is where I am now. I like the feeling of knowing the wall is there behind me, to support me, should I need it, and I do need it, still.
The main movement I need to be able to execute is called an, ‘exit strategy’, it’s exactly what is says, a way of getting out of the pose without just falling into a heap on the floor and possibly damaging something. So the ‘exit strategy’, will be to do a cartwheel and elegantly (!) landing on my feet should I lose my balance and go over.  First though, I need to learn how to do a cartwheel!
Can you think of a pose that you’re keen on mastering? Make it a goal in class. Let me know what you’re focusing on and we can work towards it.