Immune Support AromaYoga

We had a very relaxing evening last night with Rachel at our Immune Support AromaYoga class.

We enjoyed a mix of yin and hatha yoga, with some gentle restorative, whilst Rachel shared and spoke about essential oils, in particular those good for our immune systems at this time of year.

I love this rollerball I bought from Rachel about a month ago, it smells so good.

After our class we enjoyed some nibbles and warm almond milk chai lattes whilst still wrapped up in our duvets.

I made sweet potato falafels and stuffed chestnut mushroom, both recipes from Deliciously Ella, the falafels included turmeric and cumin, both good for our immune systems.

To finish with we had brownies and clementines dipped in dark chocolate.

Rachel will return in the New Year with some new AromaYoga classes.

Last night's Candlelit Yoga Supper Evening

Bliss

We had a lovely group of eight in last night for a Candlelit Yoga and Supper Evening with Laura.

With the hall lit just by candles and the fire, Laura led a gentle restorative yoga hour, where we used the bolsters, cushions and blocks to assist our practice.

After a delicious (and nutritious!) supper of soup, brownie bites and warming drinks, we then returned to our mats, snuggling under duvets and warmed eye masks.

Laura talked us through a short relaxation and meditation, followed by a sound session, where she uses quartz bowls, tibetan bowls and koshi bells.

Sound Meditation has many benefits

It quietens the mind, promotes wellbeing, inner peace and calmness and feedback from our many evenings say a good night's sleep afterwards is the best one!

Our next evening is on Tuesday 23 March

7pm - 9:30pm

£30

Book Now as places are limited and tend to go very quickly

Relax & Restore Retreat Day

We had a really lovely and relaxing Retreat Day on Saturday

We welcomed in the New Year with the theme of Sankalpa, which is the setting of intentions.

Our group enjoyed a hatha yoga flow in the morning with Laura, followed by a delicious and nutritious lunch.

Laura led a meditation session in the woods whilst enjoying the peaceful setting.

After some warming drinks we had our wellbeing session as Laura then finished the day with an amazing restorative yoga and sound meditation hour.

If you would like to join us, our next Retreat Day is on Saturday 2 February

(beginners are very welcome)

11:30am - 4:30pm

£75

Laura is also here for our Candlelit Supper Evenings on

Tuesday 29 January

Tuesday 2 February

Friday 22 March

7pm - 9:30pm

£30

Happy New Year

We hope you had a lovely Christmas and wish you a happy and healthy 2019.

Classes start back at Treetops next week, starting with our new MONDAY MORNING YOGA class

We are now running one class from 9:45am - 11:15am, a perfect opportunity to begin your week with softness, comfort and intention.

Throughout the 90 minute class you will be guided through restorative yoga; supported by bolsters, blocks and cushions, engaging in softening breath work for your mind and body, floating into yoga nidra (yogic sleep) and relaxing deeply with sound meditation.

This class is perfect for any level of yoga knowledge, and for those who are nursing injury or illness.  Cost £15.  Please call ahead to book your mat.

Our next Retreat Day is on Saturday 21 January, there are a few places left so book quickly

The day runs from 11:30am - 4:30pm and our theme for the day is Sankalpa, this is the word used for yoga’s tradition of offering a refreshing alternative to making New Year’s resolutions.  Instead we practice sankalpa or intention, this comes from the principle that we are already who we need to be.

During the day we will enjoy yoga, relaxation, meditation, nutritious food, a woodland walk and sound healing.  Investment for this day is £75 which includes a goody bag to take home.

(We are also running this Retreat Day on Saturday 2 February)

Our next Candlelit Yoga Supper evening is on Tuesday 29 January

These evenings are really cosy and relaxing, Laura leads a gentle yoga flow by the fireside, followed by a warming soup supper.  It’s then back under some cosy duvets and eye masks for sound meditation.  The evening runs from 7pm - 9:30pm and costs £30

(We are also running these evenings on Tuesday 26 February and Friday 22 March)

Treetops Festive Gift Guide

(image from pinterest)

With 20 days to go until the big day, I thought I would share with you some of our tutor's lovely offerings, they would make great presents and it's always a good thing to support small businesses!

Starting with Laura our Relax & Restore Yoga tutor, she runs a website called The Wellbeing Feeling and is offering Treetops customers 20% off her Herbal Teas with the code 'Treetops'.  Last deliveries for Christmas will be on Saturday 15 December.

  Visit her website to see all her other beautiful offerings, which include gorgeous candles.

Next is Rachel our AromaYoga tutor, she has made some amazing essential oil aromatherapy rollerballs for £12 each, I am using mine daily!

There are 4 available (the oils are blended with a coconut oil base)

Relax: Lavender, Bergamot and Cedarwood

Uplift: Wild Orange, Grapefruit, Lime

Headache Relief: Peppermint, Lavender, Rosemary

Immune Support: 'On Guard' blend, Tea Tree and Oregano

To order them please email Rachel

Sarah our Aga Tutor has a great range of recipe books that are available from her shop including her really useful Christmas book;

Her other books are

Relaxed Aga Cooking

Casual Cooking

Effortless Cooking

Confident Cooking

Claire our Watercolour and Art tutor is selling some great Watercolour Starter Kits, over £80 worth of materials for just an amazing Christmas Offer price of £48!  The offer also includes a long brush case.

Inside you will find 5 paints, 3 brushes, a plastic palette, a pipette, a rubber, a fabel castell 9000 graphite lead pencil B

(NB: the christmas set includes 5 paints)

Claire's Watercolour Pads are always popular and make a great gift for any artist, they are £11.99 each or £20 for two.

A few years ago Claire developed her own range of watercolour paints, they are lovely to use.  The colours in her range are:

Warm yellow, Honey, Rose Pink, Poppy Red, Autumn Berry, Lilac, Aubergine, Sky Blue, Transparent Cerulean, Light Green and Dark Green (both warm colours) Cool Green

The paints are £6.50 per tube

£5.75 each for 3 or more

£5.25 each for 6 or more

£5 each for 10 or more

You can order any of Claire's items and have them delivered here next Tuesday 11th December, and they will be here for collection.

Or please contact Claire to arrange p&p, last orders by Saturday 15 December

Cosy Autumnal Classes

Hello Everyone

I'm just back from Cornwall, and it's definitely feeling chillier and more autumnal in Berkshire.

We have some cosy autumn classes coming up, some of which we will have around the fire!

New Woolly Drop in Club

Crochet and knit for charity

(Wool provided)

Monday 8 October

Monday 12 November

1:30pm - 4pm

£5

Autumn Leaves with texture Watercolour

Wednesday 10 October

9:30am - 3pm

£80

AromaYoga

Wednesday 17 October

7pm - 9pm

£25

Arm Knitting a Snuggly Throw

Thursday 18 October

7pm - 9:30pm

£80

Candlelit Yoga Supper

Friday 16 November

7pm - 9:30pm

£30

If you have any questions regarding any of the classes, please drop me an email

What's on in September & October .....

Schools are heading back, the new term is underway

Here are our forthcoming classes for September and October

There are currently spaces available on them all

Tuesday 25 September - Watercolour Greece

9:30am - 3pm  £75  lunch & materials incl.

Friday 28 September - Free From Cookery

10am - 1:30pm  £50  tasting lunch incl.

Thursday 4 October - An Intro to Papercutting

10am - 3pm  £60  lunch & materials incl.

Monday 8 October - Woolly Drop in Club

1:30pm - 4pm  £5  wool & refreshments incl.

Wednesday 10 October - Watercolour Autumn Leaves

9:30am - 3pm  £80  lunch & materials incl.

Wednesday 17 October - AromaYoga Evening

7-9pm  £25  nibbles & warm drinks incl.

Thursday 18 October - Evening Arm Knitting

7pm - 9:30pm  £80  fizz & nibbles incl.

Saturday 20 October - Relax & Restore Retreat

11:30am - 4:30pm  £75  lunch & goody bag incl.

Wednesday 24 October - Watercolour Beginners

9:30am - 3pm  £75  lunch & materials incl.

Thursday 25 October - Watercolour Wild Poppies

9:30am - 3pm  £75  lunch & materials incl.

Email Emily to book

Relax & Restore Retreat Class August

Laura returned to hold another Relax & Restore Retreat, we hold these on a Saturday and it's a great opportunity to escape, come somewhere quiet and peaceful, and have us look after you for the day.

The theme was Keep Your Cool, which we used in our yoga practice, our foods and our wellbeing activity.

After a delicious free-from lunch Laura took the group down into the woods, for some mindfulness (and whilst her back was turned, collecting nettles for the tonic we made in the afternoon) she discovered all of them zipping down the zip wire!

 In the afternoon we made some relaxing bath salts to take home, infused with lavender and rose petals.

We finished with a truly relaxing sound meditation and yoga nidra, below is a picture of of the bowls and bells Laura used.

Our next Relax & Restore Retreat is on Saturday 20 October

11:30am - 4:30pm

£75

Only 4 places left.

AromaYoga Class with Rachel

We recently held an AromaYoga evening with Rachel, which was really good.

It was great to welcome some new faces to Treetops too.

Rachel talked us through the oils she had chosen for the evening and their health benefits.

We enjoyed a gentle yoga flow class that incorporated the oils.

After 90 minutes, darkness had fallen and we relaxed into our savasana positions whilst Rachel soothed our brows with some lavender oil.

Truly relaxing.

The evening finished with some warm drinks and delicious nibbles.

Rachel will be back with us in the Autumn.

Treetops through the Summer .......

Treetops is open throughout the Summer for Relax & Restore classes.

We are here every Monday morning for Restorative Yoga and Meditation/Breathwork

9:30am - 10:30am

10:45am - 11:45am

£10 per class

We have our Retreat Day on Saturday 11 August

11:30am -4:30pm

£75

A great day, full of relaxation, yoga, meditation, time outside, nutritious food, creativity ...

Next Friday we have our new class AromaYoga, this is with guest tutor Rachel, the evening is a mix of gentle yoga flow with essential oils.  I went to one of Rachel's recent classes and thought we must have an AromaYoga evening here, it was so relaxing, both in our poses and the gorgeous smells.  Rachel talks us through which oils are useful for various ailments and their health benefits.

The class runs from 7pm-9pm and includes time for drinks and nibbles

£25

We also have another date booked with Rachel on Friday 17 August.

I'm busy putting together our new Autumn timetable of classes, the usual mix of watercolour, pen & wash, oils, yoga and Aga BUT with some new additions and new tutors!

Dates will be sent out mid-August, watch out for an email in your inbox or keep checking the blog.

Enjoy the sushine

New Class AromaYoga Book Now!

Join us on Friday 17 August for a new class

AromaYoga

7pm - 9pm

£25

A great way to wind down the week, a gentle yoga flow with Rachel, our guest tutor, which incorporates various essential oils.

Rachel explains how oils can help with various ailments, chronic illnesses and other health conditions.

The room smells amazing during the course of the evening.

After our 90 minute practice, we will enjoy a drink and some nibbles and there will be an opportunity to ask Rachel any questions.

Rachel's Facebook

June's Relax & Restore Retreat Day

We had a great day on Saturday at our Relax & Restore Retreat Day, a lovely group joined Laura and I for a day of wellbeing and relaxation.

We started outside, it was warm and peaceful as Laura led a gentle yoga flow.

Our theme for the day was Bee You, so our lunch was delicious and nutritious with Laura's 'fresh from the hive' honey used in our dressings and as a drizzle.

We enjoyed warm Persian Lentils with Honeyed Roasted Veg

A yummy baked feta with thyme, figs and honey

A green salad with edible herbs & flowers that was served with a honey, mustard and thyme dressing.

And a very summer pud, home made meringues, baked peaches in basil and honey, served with dairy free vanilla ice cream.

Laura took the group down to the woods after lunch for some meditation and breathwork, it was really relaxing and they were surrounded by birdsong.

Once back at Treetops, I led a Wellbeing and Creative session which was all about the health and body benefits of honey.

We made some honey and lavender bath melts along with some oats, sugar and honey scrub.  Perfect things to take home and carry on the relaxation.

At the end of our day Laura took a calming yoga nidra and sound meditation session, with everyone under their duvets and warmed eye pillows.

It was a perfect end to an idyllic day.

* Laura *

Our next Retreat Day is on Saturday 11 August 2018

To book now, please email me.

A perfect start to the week ahead ....

Welcome back to everyone who came to Yoga this morning.

It's such a perfect way to start the week.

We had our Restorative gentle yoga to start with, lots of soft poses that are held for slightly longer than usual, using props such as bolsters and blocks.  Finishing with a lovely savasana.

Savasana may appear to be a little snooze at the end of a yoga session, but it is a yoga pose, one that is awake, yet relaxed.  (Also known as the corpse pose - as you lie down on your back with your eyes closed so that you can truly relax both your mind and body). 

It is really good at ridding the body of tension, as well as having many other positive benefits, such as helping relieve mild depression, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure and insomnia.  It's great for calming the whole nervous system.

Join us at 9:30am to 10:30am if this sounds like the yoga class for you.  Beginners are more than welcome, come and give it a go.

***

After Restorative Yoga, some stay and others join us for Meditation and Breath-work. 

This is such an incredibly relaxing and calming hour.

If you've always wondered what meditation is about, please come and give it a try.

After some gentle settling breath-work whilst sitting we then lay on our mats with our eyes closed, with the warmed eye masks and duvets whilst Laura led a sound meditation. 

Below are her quartz bowl and bells.

The sound from the bowl creates vibrations that really resonate and echo within you, assisting the release of emotional and energy blockages.

Apparently it slows the brainwaves as the soundwaves send us into a dreamlike state.

There are many benefits such as it:

improves memory

helps with relaxation and meditation

improves attention span and focus

stimulates creativity

strengthens resilience

releases tension

reduces anger

The high intensity and low frequency combination of bowls, known as singing bowls, gongs and bells in a sound meditation can induce a deep relaxation response.  Sound healing has been used for centuries.  

Come and give it a go, this class runs from 10:45am - 11:45am

***

NEW for the next few weeks is our Outdoor Vinyasa Flow class, from 12 noon - 1pm.

It's so lovely to enjoy yoga outside with the fresh air, warmth and bird song.

This class takes the energy levels up a notch and we do some great stretches and poses.

Think warrior pose, downward dog, lunges amongst many. 

I really enjoyed this morning's class, it definitely showed me where my body strength needs some work!

Each of our classes cost £10 and you don't need to bring anything with you.

All equipment and filtered water is provided for you, along with plenty of free parking.

To book, please email me to book your yoga mat (just incase we have a full class) up to 8am each Monday morning.  We are just 5 minutes from the centre of Newbury town centre in a peaceful corner of Wash Common.

Namaste

Latest Relax & Restore News

(The calm and reflective shores of Lake Ullswater)

Relax and Restore News

There will be no Yoga/Meditation classes this Monday 30 April, but we will be back on the mats on Monday 14 May (no class Monday 7 May as it's a Bank Holiday).

As a reminder we have Gentle Restorative Yoga from 9:30am - 10:30am followed by Breath-work and Meditation at 10:45am - 11:45am.  Each class costs £10, please book your mat up to the Sunday evening before the class.

Our next Candlelit Yoga & Supper Evening is on Tuesday 8 May from 7pm - 9:30pm and costs £30.  This includes a soup supper with warming drinks.

Laura and I are really looking forward to our Retreat Day on Saturday 16 June, a great day relaxing, restoring, re-energising whilst taking part in gentle yoga, meditation, breath-work, yoga nidra, time spent outdoors in the grounds and woodland, a creative activity and a delicious and nutritious lunch.  The day runs from 11:30am - 4:50pm and costs £75.  Our theme in June looks at the many benefits of bees, honey and the outdoors.

Relaxing Candlelit Yoga & Meditation Evening

We enjoyed a lovely and relaxing evening last night with Laura.

She led us through an evening of gentle and restorative yoga flow by the fire, with candles glowing.

There are many benefits to Restorative Yoga, it stills the mind, deeply relaxes the body, enhances flexibility, balances the nervous system and boosts the immune system.

Laura chooses supported poses that we hold for several minutes, this helps the body to fully engage, soften and relax.  We use props such as bolsters, pillows, blocks and belts.

Restorative Yoga balances your central nervous system by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.  By taking deep breaths and relaxing into the postures, the heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and emotions slow down.

After a delicious and nutritious soup supper we took part in a meditation session which led into a lovely Yoga Nidra under the duvets with warming eye masks, with sound from Laura's koshi bells.

Our next evening is on Tuesday 8 May

7pm - 9:30pm

£30

Relax & Restore Retreat March

On Saturday we held another Relax & Restore Retreat Day with Laura from The Wellbeing Feeling.

It was a lovely relaxing day and great fun.

We started the morning with a gentle flow yoga session and meditation.

Followed by a delicious lunch.

The theme of the retreat was "Sowing the Seed", whether quite literally sowing seeds, eating seeds and psychologically planting seeds of thought etc

Seeds have many dietary benefits, and are great added to our cereal in the morning, our salads at lunchtime, our cakes and bakes at tea time, and our casseroles and pies.

I made a vegetarian cottage pie, very vibrant thanks to the beetroot!

recipe here 

With a winter slaw salad, with an extra sprinkling of seeds and a tahini dressing.

After lunch Laura took everyone into the woods for a mindfulness walk, some meditation and lots of chat!

And they returned to sowing seeds, which was fun, coir pots and interesting seed mixes.

And after all that exhausting work (!) it was time for relaxation and a good lie down.

Finishing with a wonderful Yoga Nidra session

(More than one person fell asleep!)

If you would like to join us on our next Retreat Day, we are holding one on Saturday 5 May.

11:30am - 4:30pm

£75

Namaste