learnings from a year in lockdown, with lucy sesto yoga
We spoke with yoga teacher, Lucy Sesto on coming out of lockdown, her reflections from the last year and rituals that have helped to ground.
Lucy says “My heart has always been drawn to fitness and movement. I used to represent Great Britain in Acrobatic Gymnastics, competing across Europe. I started taking yoga classes at university and fell in love with the practice instantly. To me, yoga is so much more than being able to bend your body in different positions. It's about discovering who you are and taking yourself on an incredible journey to get you know yourself better. By linking our movement to our breath we become more in-tune with ourselves. By practising yoga, we can discover our bodies unique potential by connecting the mind, body and breath.”
Do you have rituals that help to centre you throughout the day?
I use the headspace app to meditate in the morning, whether thats 5mins or 20mins I make sure to do it every morning. This helps to keep me centred and grounded throughout the day. I think a morning routine is so important, I never used to be a morning person until the first lockdown. I also have a matcha oat latte every morning and take my supplements. I know these seem like very little tasks but they truly help me feel set up and ready for the day. No matter how small the tasks is I try to do it mindfully to be present. When you start your day In this way it makes it easier to continue that feeling of being grounded and present throughout the day.
With lockdown easing and our social calendars getting busier, which practices will you be turning to to allow in some slow living and calm?
Yoga will always be a practice that helps me to ground and stay slow and connected to my body. Finding a regular practice can be quite hard, especially with things starting to reopen and our calendars might be a little more busy. So I like to take the pressure off myself and instead of thinking it has to be a long practice, I remember that sometimes it can just be 5 or 10 mins of movement on my mat and that’s all it takes to come back to myself. I think creating space and time for yourself is so important. It’s different for everyone, maybe that means going for a walk in nature, baking something or even painting, everyone has their own little thing that they like to do and so giving yourself the space to do these things can help us reconnect to ourselves when things get busy.
How do scents inform your practice?
Scents definitely have a huge place in my practice! When I am practicing slow flow, yin yoga or even meditation I tend to go for more calming scents like lavender, Palo Santo or vanilla and I will normally light candles in these scents to set the calming ambience. I love to use the Epoch London Palo Santo candle it’s so beautiful. If I am practicing something which involves a little more energy I might go for a stronger woodier smell, maybe even use Epoch London white sage sticks or incense. I also use lavender in the evenings as it helps allow the body to destress and unwind for bed.
What has been your biggest learning or take away from this past year in lockdown? Is there anything you will be taking forward as we ease out of lockdown?
From all the changes that have happened over the past year I feel like I have changed and grown so much as a person. One of the most important things I came to realise and that I will be taking away with me is how important it is to focus your energy inwards and work on yourself. Self care may be seen as a buzzword at the moment but there is such a great reason for this. Looking after yourself is such a great decision to make, when we start to work on ourselves all of the things around us start to fall into place a little easier. It can be easy to be swept up into work and life that we don’t take time to sit down and ask ourselves what it is that we need to grow. Find that time to switch off and tune out from the outside world, will not only benefit yourself but also those around you.
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