Yoga instructor Julia Morton has been working to instill calm among her followers during lockdown.
As well as the stress of the pandemic, many people may be feeling less motivated to turn to their usual stress-buster of exercise, or be struggling with the personal and mental well-being.
For Ms Morton and the team at The Haven in Stonehaven, it has been important to help people relax and switch-off, or at least, have some of the tools to deal with such an anxious time.
To do this, staff have been running guided yoga and meditation sessions – which are proving popular with all ages, and well beyond the Mearns.
Mrs Morton had recorded several classes with moves designed by children from Dunnottar Primary School, before the lockdown took full effect.
The 38-year-old said: “Initially taking this stuff online was to remind the children that they already have these skills and this is the perfect opportunity to use them.
“But, also to reach out to children that hadn’t been exposed to these well-being skills and introduce them to ones that other children had come up with.
“Quite often in times of crisis we look to adults for all the wisdom and actually children have a lot of wisdom and insight too.”
All of the poses utilised in Mrs Morton’s animal meditation decks have been developed by school children across the Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen.
Usually the Haven offers the public up to 45 classes a week which range from baby yoga to massage and pilates.
Ms Morton added: “People at home can come and tell us what they need and we will do our best to deliver it.
“We have moved as much as possible online, we like to take early intervention into mental well-being if we can.”
