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Sandra Palmer Yoga & Wellbeing Practice
Welcome
Welcome. I am so glad you are here.
My vision is to create a Yoga & Well-being platform that is accessible to every body and in particular those living with cancer and other long term health conditions. I love to offer kind, caring, trauma informed, mental health aware, compassionate practices which enhance wellbeing and ease; a space where you can come to take time out for YOU.
Many of the modern diseases and afflictions such as cancer can be seen as diseases of disembodiment. And its only natural to disengage with the body when we feel it has let us down. The practices I offer are those which have helped me on my cancer journey and support ways to enter back into a relationship with your body, using breath, movement, mindfulness and meditation.
The monthly live Embodied Yoga for Cancer classes are for anyone living with or recovering from cancer or other long term health conditions. These classes have a focus on increasing lymphatic flow, necessary for our wellbeing and increasing our immune functioning. These classes are suitable for anyone wanting to boost their immune system.
All classes take a trauma informed approach which simply means offering choice in movement - based on what you want to do in YOUR body in any particular moment, rather than being told what to do. It can feel very refreshing to move as YOU want.
These offerings are suitable for all, but particularly useful for those who:
- are living with or recovering from cancer or other long term health conditions
are living with the impact of stress and being busy
are caring for others - either informally as a parent, child of an elderly or ailing parent or more formerly as a therapist, nurse, social worker, GP - and need some self-care tools and practices
living with chronic pain/chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia/anxiety /PTSD
Benefits of these practices include
- helping with cancer and chemo fatigue
Calming your nervous system
Enhancing sleep
Reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression (also known as diseases of “disembodiment")
Increasing overall well-being and resilience
Filling your cup so you can care more for others
Reducing inflammation and pain
increasing mobility
Increasing the ability to self-regulate and respond rather than react to the world
Increase interoception (the ability to sense back into our body’s signals
If you have a membership to the Online Sanctuary, watch the introductory videos and learn to take a baseline of how you are and choose your practices accordingly. Sometimes we need to move to look after ourselves, and at other times we need to be still. Both are offered here.
Join the uploaded classes and do them in your own time, in the safety of your own space.
And most of all enjoy.
About
Kia ora. I am a Registered Psychologist, qualified yoga teacher and a certified iRest (R) yoga nidra meditation teacher. I have also completed specialist yoga training in working with cancer and trauma. I am in the midst of my own cancer journey and am on my own lifelong journey to lead a slower, more embodied, less stressed and spacious life. I have a heart felt desire to live in balance and harmony - with all that that entails.
I know what its like to live a life that is busy, too full and with no space to look after myself and do what I need to do for self-care. I call myself a "Type A Personality in recovery". But I am learning. This online studio is simply about sharing practices that support me in my well-being. And I hope you also find them useful.
I am also a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with gastric cancer in September 2022 and am on a healing journey. I offer yoga and meditation practices that I use myself and that I have found useful.
I believe we all have the right to be embodied.
I believe we all have the right to live a life of ease and peace, regardless of what is going on around us- and that includes global pandemics and cancer and other long term health conditions!!!
My offerings are based on a huge amount of training I have undertaken. My offerings are based upon:
- Post lineage teachings from Contemporary Yoga (senior teachers with Donna Farhi) (Karla Brodie and Neal Goshal)
- Embodied Flow (TM) 200 hours and yin training (Adele KInghan and Dr Scott Lyons)
- Somatic Stress Release training (Dr Scott Lyons)
- Restorative Movement Psychotherapy (Amber Gray)
- iRest training (Fuyuko Toyota)
- Mindful Self Compassion (Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer)
Lymphatic and yoga training - Yoga Medicine
- Yoga for Cancer training (60 hours) with Yoga for Cancer Academy UK
I hope you enjoy what is here. May the practices support your well-being.
From my heart to yours, Sandra
Practice Content
Previously hosted in Sandra’s online Studio and accessed via subscription - all of the below are now free and available with best wishes & love