Lockdown yoga regime created

A YOGA teacher from Mirfield has devised some coronavirus lockdown exercises that anyone can do – even from an armchair.

Susan Cossey, who admits to being “over 70”, has been teaching yoga for more than 35 years.

She took classes around Huddersfield including at the town’s university.

Susan said: “I first studied yoga in the USA for two years with a genuine yogi who lived a very simple holistic life out in the New Mexico desert. On my return to the UK I started teaching whilst I obtained my yoga teaching diploma.

“In the early 1990s I went to stay in an ashram in south India with other yoga teachers and some students. We experienced a very intense month of being totally immersed in a yoga lifestyle.”

About 20 years ago, a self-help group for MS patients asked Susan to devise a chair yoga session for their weekly meetings.

It became very popular and a Parkinsons group also asked for the same.

Susan said: “It was such enjoyable work for me as I saw them benefitting from our sessions, which are therapeutic and fun.

“I’m retired from all but the Parkinsons group and some voluntary chair yoga sessions at Mirfield Library now.”

Susan said now was the ideal time to try yoga and added: “Yoga is more popular than ever and there are many different sorts of yoga.

“They are all beneficial and all embrace the body/mind/breath that are the fundamentals of the ancient practice.

“I devised bed or floor yoga for people at home – which I thought might possibly be of therapeutic use to the NHS for recovering patients – and I’m happy to share this simple self-help sheet with Examiner readers who may want to try it.”