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Three yoga poses to try.

WORDS CAROLYN ENTING PHOTOGRAPHY TONY NYBERG LOCATION EASTWEST.CO.NZ

Yoga is great for clearing the mind and improving body circulation, flexibility and spine health.

It’s a practice Sophie Correia of Crossing Paths feels fortunate enough to have discovered at school, where she used it as a stress release.

“I’m a typical overthinker,” Correia laughs. “For me it was a kind of oasis and a time that I dedicated to myself.”

She continued her yoga practice through university and found it helped her with her academic success and corporate career.

Having always put her wellness on a pedestal, she was passionate about all the benefits she was receiving and wanted to share those with others, so she trained in Pilates, yoga, meditation and sound healing, eventually giving up law to work in wellness full-time and founding her business Crossing Paths, where she teaches yoga and Pilates, hosts popular sound healing events and day retreats, and works with workplaces to integrate wellness practices into their culture.

She has also created free guided meditations and breathwork and mindfulness techniques to reduce stress, cultivate calm and enhance wellbeing which can be found on InsightTimer (a free app for sleep, anxiety and stress).

Correia is an advocate for taking time out for a yoga session during the workday, especially when the pressure is on. And she knows how that gets, having been a lawyer, consultant and senior manager of more than 25 sta .

“I worked in a really fast-paced environment. It was so easy to just eat your lunch at your desk, or not take time for yourself. The benefits of carving that time out and taking it are profound. If you can get rid of the guilt and take a break, you’ll actually be more productive because you’ve created more oxygen, more blood flow, your muscles have been stretched and you’re diversifying the way you think and feel.”

Her aim is to make wellness practices as accessible to people as possible.

“I think sometimes it can be quite daunting when you see images of yogis doing handstands. Bringing it back to the simplicity of moving mindfully with your breath is so important to me – it breaks down those barriers of needing to be flexible to do yoga.”

She says rolling the yoga mat out at home is a great place to start and she o ers an online class programme, Four Weeks to Wellness, that students can download and practise at their leisure.

“With a consistent practice you become familiar with the exercises and feel the benefits beyond your mat,” she explains. “And from there you might feel more confident to go to a class but sometimes you want to start in your bedroom before you venture out or just like doing it in a space you feel most comfortable.” g crossingxpaths.com

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2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://good.pressreader.com/article/282394108552676

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