We caught up with Urban pro Maddy to talk about her journey into yoga teaching and how yoga and meditation can help with better sleep.
Hey Maddy! Mind telling us what services you offer on Urban?
Yoga and meditation for corporate clients.
How long have you been practicing?
I’ve been practicing yoga since I was seventeen, when I bought a VHS video on yoga in Woolworths. I practiced on and off in my twenties and then became obsessed with Bikram Yoga.
Now I practice a lot of Yin yoga (slow still deep postures) which is basically the opposite of Bikram yoga. I have a much healthier relationship with my body, which I have cultivated through mindfulness. I have been practicing Buddhist meditation for eight years and my experience includes some time on a silent retreat.
What do you enjoy most about working with corporate clients?
Guiding yoga and meditation for a team of people together is rewarding. Within these groups people get to see each other through a fresh lens, which can lead to an opening and deepening of these relationships and often results in a stronger sense of team spirit. I also enjoy the mixture of people that arrive in these classes, people who might never otherwise step into a yoga or meditation class.
March coincides with Sleep Awareness Week – what are your top tips for getting better sleep?
Yoga and meditation are very helpful for getting better sleep. As you wind down for bedtime, turning down lights in your home can help with the release of hormones that aid sleep.
When you are actually in bed, meditation itself can be one of the best things to help you sleep. Perhaps scanning through your body, feeling the weight of your body on the mattress or counting down your breath from a number like 57 (in 57, out 57, in 56, out 56).
Listening to a guided meditation on an app like ‘Insight Timer’ can be really beneficial too (although keeping your phone out of the bedroom is always best).
Spending 10 minutes in some relaxing yoga postures, with the lights down low, can also really help prepare the body and mind for sleep.
What made you want to become a yoga and meditation teacher?
My absolute love for the practice. I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to spend my life working in such a wonderful environment.
What do you enjoy to do on days off? / How do you like to unwind after a day of bookings?
Sometimes the best thing can be practicing and connecting with my own groups and teachers. I love to play music and luckily I have a dog who seems to enjoy being serenaded. I always find that it brings me a lot of new energy. Other than that I just love doing all the simple things like cooking and spending time with loved ones and taking care of my plants.
To book Maddy for your team head to our website.