We have a wonderful bunch of experts we turn to for advice on the topics we discuss on our Wellness app and website.
Let’s meet Lyn Savage, who is a qualified yoga instructor.
“I discovered yoga later in life after a corporate career in the marketing sector. I instantly fell in love with it and I did my Teacher Training with no intention of becoming a teacher, it was more about wanting to delve deeper into what was making me feel so good in my own practice,” she says.
“Prior to the pandemic, my husband and I were spending six months every year cruising on our yacht in the Pacific Islands. I found myself often running impromptu casual yoga sessions with our sailing friends who seemed to like my approach.”
How the pandemic changed Lyn’s life
“When the pandemic prevented us from travelling I took the opportunity to open my own small and intimate studio, Soham Yoga, in Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“Teaching Yoga and introducing people to the benefits of this powerful practice is what brings me joy. I have a strong intuition that I have discovered my true purpose in life.”
Amazingly, Lyn specialises in students to feel connected to their bodies and breath.
“I specialise in teaching students to connect to self, to focus on breath as they move and learning to feel their bodies. Training them to let go of the past, to stop worrying about the future and instead learning to truly be in the present moment.”
What are the common health challenges you come across?
The biggest obstacle I come up against is people thinking they are not flexible enough for yoga. This is a myth.
You do not require any flexibility to practice. Yoga is a personal practice. You are where you are and you develop from there. Unfortunately, people let their ego’s get in way and this is where you run into problems and possible injury.
A good teacher will show you how to listen to your body, move within your current constraints and modify where necessary. Yoga is personal, your practice is yours alone.
What tips do you have for women to help them have a healthy and happy life?
I believe that happiness comes from inside. You can only truly be happy when you learn to love yourself. I am not talking about vanity love, looking in the mirror and gushing over how pretty you are, it’s about loving you, the essence of you, deep in your soul.
It comes from a place of compassion, acceptance, meeting yourself where you are at from a place of love.
We are our own worst critics and we put so much pressure on ourselves. This negative self-talk festers inside us and it is what we attract back to ourselves.
When you can let go of that, switch it to a more positive dialogue you begin to attract more of the same into your life. You feel a shift and as you shift you move into a new space creating a happier healthier life.
Are there any foods or exercises that you recommend?
I am against pretty much any processed food. Eat from the source wherever you can, the closer to source the better for you.
Eat organic and support local. Go to your local farmers market, buy fresh. Not only is this good for your belly but it is also good for your soul.
Love yourself and find food that nourishes you, it’s a cliché to ‘treat your body as a temple’ but I really believe this. What you put in is what you get out. The more you love and cherish your body the more it will give back to you.
What are the most common problems you face at work?
The most common problem I face is people not being comfortable with mental stillness. Yoga is all about this, stilling the mind so you can connect with your soul.
We spend so much time caught up in the chaos of everyday life that some people find it very difficult to step away, to find stillness and this is truly what they need. The movement of a yoga class gives you something to focus on while you breath in unison and quieten your mind, but truly achieving this takes dedicated practice.
What’s your favourite quote?
“The sea’s only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don’t know much about the sea, but I do know that that’s the way it is here.
“And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head.”
― Primo Levi
What are the most common misconceptions people have about your area of expertise?
That I have all yoga poses down to a fine art.
That is not what yoga is, it can be taught by anyone, even someone who can’t touch their toes. The asana/moves in yoga are secondary, yoga is so much more than your practice on the mat.
What we know as ‘yoga’ in the West is only one branch of an eight-branch practice. When you start to incorporate what you learn on the mat (stilling the mind) into your everyday life, then you really start to practice yoga.