Expanding Wings - Holistic Yoga

🌿 A new resource has landed in the Online Sanctuary

Creating Space is a gentle 30-minute practice exploring the spine in six different directions — moving, breathing and creating a little more space in the body.

It can be practised seated on a chair or on the floor, making it an accessible practice to come back to whenever you need it.

I especially love this practice for times of transition — as we move from one season to another, through the phases of the moon, or simply through the changes and transitions of our own lives. 🌙

Sometimes we don’t need to push forward or have everything figured out.

Sometimes we just need to pause, breathe, move gently and create some space for what is emerging.

This is now waiting for you inside the Online Sanctuary 🤍

Come and join me there — a growing collection of gentle, holistic practices to support you wherever you are.

https://www.expandingwings.com.au/online-sanctuary.html

Bridging Winter into Spring

There is something beautiful happening around us…

The light is changing. The days are beginning to stretch a little longer. Tiny signs of new growth are appearing.

We are beginning to bridge from winter into spring.

And after a beautiful winter of slowing down, resting, turning inward and listening more deeply, I don’t think we need to suddenly become spring.

🌿 Our inner seasons don’t always follow the calendar.

You might still be feeling winter within yourself.
You might be ready for something new.
You might be somewhere in between.

All of it is welcome.

This week, our practices will gently explore that bridge between seasons — from stillness towards movement, from inwardness towards spaciousness, and from rest towards gentle awakening.

Not forcing ourselves open, but creating enough space and support for opening to become possible. 🌱

🪷This week’s classes

🌿 Monday 9:30am — Rest & Restore
A deeply supported practice exploring rest, gentle awakening and heart opening, with space to simply be where you are.

🌸 Thursday 5:00pm — Gentle Holistic Yoga
A gentle, breath-led practice moving progressively from groundedness towards greater spaciousness and openness.

🪑 Friday 11:15am — Holistic Chair Yoga
Gentle movement, breath and mobility from the support of the chair — creating a little more ease and spaciousness as we move into spring.

🪷 And in the Online Sanctuary…

I’ll be adding a beautiful seated yoga sequence this week, designed to gently create space through the body and decompress the spine.

A lovely practice to return to whenever your body is asking for a little more length, ease and room to breathe.

🪷A little reflection for the week:

What season am I in?

Not what season should I be in.
Not what does the calendar say.

Just…

What is true for me right now?

Perhaps something is beginning to rise.
Perhaps something still needs to rest.
Perhaps both are true.

There is no need to hurry the transition.

We can bridge one season into another gently. 🌱

I look forward to sharing this beautiful threshold with you this week.

With warmth,
Michelle x

🪷Class Booking link in Bio
🪷Online Sanctuary info through website
🪷www.expandingwings.com.au

Expanding Wings Holistic Yoga - Port Macquarie A holistic yoga practice to pause, breathe, and reconnect with yourself in Port Macquarie.

Our last winter Thursday session 🤍

This Thursday is our final Gentle Holistic Yoga class for winter — and we’ll be moving into a beautiful, yin-inspired practice.

A slower invitation to pause, soften and turn our awareness inward.

We’ll spend a little more time in each shape, allowing the body to settle and the breath to become a gentle anchor. There’s nowhere to rush to and nothing to achieve.

Just space to listen, release what you no longer need, and reconnect with yourself.

As winter comes to a close, it feels like the perfect time to slow down before we step into the energy of spring. 🌿

Thursday | 5pm
75 minutes • gentle • yin-inspired
All levels welcome 🤍

I’d love to share this last winter practice with you.

Bookings via Momoyoga.

https://www.momoyoga.com/expanding-wings/lesson/24142622/Gentle-Holistic-Yoga

A little sanctuary moment 🩵

This morning one of my students shared something that made my heart so happy.

She woke through the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.

Rather than reaching for her phone or simply lying there awake, she logged into the “Online Sanctuary” and listened to the Dirgha Pranayama breathing practice.

And then… she went back to sleep. 🌙

She said she had a really good sleep afterwards — and how wonderful it felt to have that practice available to her in those early morning hours.

This is exactly why I created the Online Sanctuary.

Not just for when you have an hour to practise.

But for those little moments when you need something simple, soothing and supportive.

At 4:30am.
After a difficult day.
When your mind is busy.
When your body needs rest.
Or when you simply need a few quiet minutes for yourself.

Your practice doesn’t always need to be a full yoga class. It’s about allowing yoga to become part of your everyday life, inviting its practices into the moments when you need them most.

Sometimes, a few conscious breaths are enough. 🩵

The Online Sanctuary is always there when you need it.

https://www.expandingwings.com.au/online-sanctuary.html

With love, Michelle x

🌧️ After so many beautiful days of winter sunshine, I’m finding something really lovely about sitting here listening to the rain.

Watching the earth soak it up.

Listening to the steady rhythm of the drops.

Allowing myself to slow down.

Perhaps we don’t always need to be doing, achieving or moving forward.

Perhaps sometimes we can simply pause.

Breathe.

Rest.

Receive.

There is a beautiful wisdom in knowing when to soften.

Tomorrow morning’s Rest & Restore feels like a perfect place to explore that together. 🤍

Monday morning • Rest & Restore - 9:30am

If you’re able to join me, I’d love to see you there.

Michelle x

https://www.momoyoga.com/expanding-wings/lesson/29002846/Rest-and-Restore-Gentle-Yoga-for-Stress-and-Burnout-90-mins

🌑 A new moon cycle begins…

Tomorrow in our Gentle Holistic Yoga class we’ll create space to pause, soften and gently turn inward as we welcome the beginning of a new lunar cycle.

The New Moon offers a beautiful invitation to begin again — not by striving or needing to have everything figured out, but by simply noticing what you might like to nurture, create or make space for in the weeks ahead.

Through gentle movement, breath, stillness and rest, we’ll reconnect with ourselves and listen inwardly.

🪷 What would you like to make space for in this new cycle?

Come exactly as you are. There is nothing you need to achieve.

Gentle Holistic Yoga
Tomorrow • 5:00pm
A small, nurturing space to move, breathe and reconnect. 🌿

I warmly invite you to join me.

https://www.momoyoga.com/expanding-wings/lesson/24142620/Gentle-Holistic-Yoga

RestAndRestore ExpandingWings PortMacquarieYoga

🪷 A little space to pause.
🪷 To breathe.
🪷 To soften.
🪷 To come home to yourself. 💕

I’m really excited to share something I’ve been quietly creating — the Expanding Wings Online Sanctuary.

I often talk about creating a self-care toolkit — having simple practices we can return to when we need a little extra support.

The Online Sanctuary is my hope for creating a gentle space like this for you.

There is certainly no shortage of yoga available online. This isn’t about adding more yoga videos to the internet.

It’s an extension of the space we’ve created together through Expanding Wings.

A place to pause, breathe, soften and reconnect.

A place where you can practise in your own time, from your own home — whether we’ve practised together in the studio, or you’ve simply connected with me through my emails and social spaces.

I hope that when you press play, you feel a little of the same steadiness and care that we share when we practise together.

And it’s only just beginning. 🌱

At the moment, you’ll find:

🌿 A 30-minute Rest & Restore yoga practice
🌿 A gentle Grounding Meditation

Each month I’ll be adding a new resource, along with occasional bonuses, as the Sanctuary grows.

I’ll also be adding breath practices, including Dirgha Pranayama, a beautiful three-part breathing practice that can be a wonderful tool to have in your self-care toolkit.

The Sanctuary is opening at a special Founding Member price of $20 per month. There’s no lock-in commitment, and you can cancel anytime.

I’m so excited to finally open the doors and share this little space with you.

Not because the world needs more yoga videos.
But because sometimes a gentle practice, created and offered with care can meet us exactly where we are. 🤍

I warmly invite you to explore the Online Sanctuary, and if you know someone who might benefit from a gentle, supportive space like this, please feel free to share it with them too.

🪷 Explore the Online Sanctuary — link in bio

With love,
Michelle x

The Practice of Reciprocity 🌿

There is something quietly beautiful about reciprocity—the gentle rhythm of giving and receiving.

Nature offers this wisdom all around us. The earth supports us, the breath sustains us, and when we pause long enough to notice, we remember that we don’t have to carry everything on our own. We are invited not only to give, but also to receive.

This Thursday evening, we’ll explore this theme through gentle movement, mindful breath, and deep rest, creating space to reconnect with ourselves and perhaps receive exactly what we need.

There are just 3 places remaining, and I’d love to welcome you if this feels like the practice your heart has been asking for.

🌿 Thursday Gentle Holistic Yoga, 5pm
💛 Book here: https://www.momoyoga.com/expanding-wings/lesson/24142619/Gentle-Holistic-Yoga

Feeling grateful to have been part of this special visit. 💜 I’m honoured to support this work in my role as Recovery and Healing Coordinator at Liberty, alongside an incredible team walking beside women and children on their journey towards recovery and healing.

This week has been full of simple joys. ☀️🧶

I finally finished crocheting this bag for my daughter Sienna. It was made from a “simple” (🤦‍♀️) Kmart kit, but the skill of crocheting itself is something much more precious. It was lovingly passed down through the women in my family—from my great-grandmother to my grandmother, to my mum, and now it’s arriving to me.

As I stitched each row, I found myself reflecting on how much of who we are has been shaped by the people who have shared their gifts with us.

The same feels true for yoga.

Everything I offer has been influenced by yoga teachers who have generously shared their wisdom with me over many years (30+). Their teachings have become woven together with my own experiences, my counselling background, my work supporting recovery and healing, and my love of gentle, trauma-sensitive yoga.

One word has stayed with me this week…

Reciprocity.

The quiet exchange of giving and receiving.

The winter sun offers its warmth.
A grandparent shares a skill.
A teacher shares their wisdom.
A friend offers kindness.

We receive these gifts, they become part of us, and in time, we find our own way of passing them on.

As I soaked up this beautiful winter sunshine, I found myself wondering…

✨ What have you gratefully received that has shaped who you are?

✨ And what gift are you now sharing with the world?

If you’re longing for a little space to slow down, breathe and reconnect, I’d love to welcome you to one of my gentle, trauma-sensitive yoga classes here in Port Macquarie. Whether you’re completely new to yoga or returning after some time away, you’ll be warmly welcomed.

🤍 Monday – Rest & Restore
🤍 Thursday – Gentle Holistic Yoga
🤍 Friday – Chair Yoga

You can book via the link in my bio or send me a message if you’d like to know which class might suit you best.

Wishing you a week filled with warmth, gratitude and little moments of sunshine.
Michelle 🤍