Toddler yoga class every Friday at 10am with Hajni . Suitable for toddlers from 1-3 years old. Cost £8.00 . For more information or bookings, please email info@putneyclinic.co.uk .

I have just celebrated my 50th birthday-Here is a wonderful video put together by my beautiful and talented daughter Cally.... the inside story of yoga mama.

Cat pose or Viralasana is a fairly accessible pose for most people-It is a great pose for practising vinyasa (or breath and movement) and can help to establish a rhythm with the breath. It can also help to ease some back pain, and encourages mobility throughout the spine without strain. I personally practice inhaling when the head is up and exhaling when the head is down, lightly drawing the lower belly in with each exhalation. The last pose; child's pose or Balasana is a fantastic pose to compliment cat pose, and not only stretches out the spine but can also be really relaxing and nurturing.

My local park and I too have a dog who thought chasing deer might be fun ;-)

After an exhausting few months and the official opening of our new clinic The Putney Clinic of Physical Therapy, my husband and I headed off to Wiltshire for some rest and relaxation. I have stayed at Bishopstrow House before and find it so relaxing. In its previous life, it was a country manor house, set in amazing grounds behind an old stone wall. It has the feel of another era, without the pretentiousness that some hotels of this ilk have. The staff at Bishopstrow House are fantastic. When the room we had booked wasn't quite right for us, we were promptly relocated without any fuss to the most beautiful Shaftesbury Suite, room service and 10 hours of the most refreshing sleep I have ever had. I headed over to the Halcyon Spa, while my husband swam for an hour in the outdoor swimming pool. Running a very busy clinic, and teaching yoga in London doesn't allow for much “pampering” time, so I booked myself an Elemis facial with the lovely Rachael in the Halcyon Spa. T

It's getting crowded on the road to enlightment...  This is the title of third item in three weeks that the Times has written about yoga and "enlightenment". This is obviously a good selling tactic at the moment, but it might be useful if they got their story straight. In the first item they wrote "how wonderful yoga is for you". Item two said the opposite "yoga is not good for you". Item three mixes up yoga, Buddhism and Kabbalah and how many people are rushing off to India in search of enlightenment, and how much it's all costing us gullible Westerners. The item then goes on to say Julia Roberts converted to Hinduism after appearing in Eat, Pray, Love;  Demi Moore, Britney Spears and Madonna are all followers of Kabbalah; Tiger Woods said his Buddhist Faith would help him recover from sex scandals;  Steven Segal announced in 1997 that he was the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama... Is the Times therefore using the above statements to reassur

Here is another great recipe form Adam and Theresa over at The yogi Kitchen , which is soon to be called "Keen on food".  Adam and Theresa are currently practising yoga in Mysore India so follow their food journey at the above link. This particular item was posted during their stay in Tarifa, Spain, where they taught yoga and hosted international yoga teachers. Chickpeas are the ubiquitous bean of a vegetarian diet, but here in Andalucía, we are still amazed at the freshness, plumpness and largeness of the ones here.  Vindaloo is a Goan dish, originating when the Portugese brought chillis to the area and introduced cooking with wine, traditionally it is served with pork, but here we have used chickpeas and vinegar instead of the meat and wine, to an effect that I have to say is one of my new favourite dishes.  It has been a bit of a chilly week here in Tarifa, with temperatures dipping to 10 C, and I was craving the combination of chickpeas with potatoes,

Uttanasana-Forward fold , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . Uttanasana (Forward fold)

So my son has gone off to university, leaving a bit of a gap in our household. Gone are the football boots strewn around the floor, the smoke alarm blaring when he cooks any food, late night worrying “is he home?”, the random chanting that he sometimes does, drum and base music blaring from the top of the house... This has been replaced with discussions on the telephone about his course, student life and the never changing topic “can I have some money?” He did a marvellous job on Skype recently showing me his ribs and telling me all about his lack of nutritious food. So a quick online payment into his bank account settled this and - judging by his facebook status - this nutrition came via a Manchester night club. Little darling! Looking forward to having his smiley home for a few days soon. (Oops, maybe we look a bit too happy in the photograph?!)

Straight arms with hands near the feet? I thought hands were near the knees! I'm going to give this variation a go.

This delicious salad is from Yogi Kitchen , a foodie's delight of a blog site. Head over to their website for lots of wonderful dishes. Four Bean Indian Salad Adapted from Mysore Style Cooking by V. Sandhya Serves 2 Ingredients 250 g (8oz) green beans 1 handful fresh dill, chopped 4-5 tbsp toor dhal 4-5 tbsp mung beans (whole) 4 tbsp sprouted mung beans 4 tbsp minced red bell pepper 4 - 5 cups of water Salt to taste Tempering 1 tsp oil 1 tsp black mustard seeds 2 red chillies, minced 1/2 tsp asafetida 2 tbsp coconut, (grated fresh is ideal if you have it, we used dried) Instructions Chop green beans into small pieces. Chop the dill finely. In a heavy bottomed pot place the toor dhal and mung beans and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft not mushy. Add the chopped fresh green beans and dill. Cook well until they become just soft. Add salt to taste, then drain the water and set both broth aside and place the vegetables in a large bowl. He

Dwi Pada Sirsasana variation , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . Dwi Pada Sirsasana variation (full postion feet behind the head.)

I tried this pose for the first time earlier this summer. I managed to bring my knees down, assisted by my teacher, but getting them back up was a different story. I think this is a useful tip that Kino gives about practising from headstand first and moving the leg back to come into lotus makes sense. Now to practice and possibly fall on my head :-)

Ibiza 2011 114 , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . On my recent trip to Ibiza, we visited a friend on a nearby island. This is where he gets to swim every day. I wont say exactly where it is as I think he likes having it to himself. ;-)

Padmasana , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . Padmasana, Lotus position.

Yoga 004 , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . Vrishchikasana. I am still practicing this pose close to the wall when I am on my own.