By Em Armstrong

Hi Readers,

The beautiful Hayley from The Rural Naturopath has kindly asked me to speak out Yoga today! How perfect that it just happens to be International Yoga Day and what a day to celebrate!

Even if you are reading this and thinking “I’m not much of a yogi”, “I’m so inflexible ” or “I can’t touch my toes” you might be right…But hey, who cares. Yoga is about so much more, start to think of “I’m feeling good in my down dog”, “I am a boss lady on the yoga mat”, “how good is some chill time”, “I am getting strong physically and mentally” or maybe you are thinking…” what cool yoga pose will we learn today”. I love it ALL!

I love that yoga challenges me every single day! Not only on the yoga mat but off the mat! Not only by my own personal yoga practice but all of my amazing students, based locally within the Riverina or all over Australia via my online program.

Oh, sorry I think I forgot to introduce myself…I’m Em from Saltbush Stretch.

I hope you enjoy this read as much as I am enjoying writing this. I am so lucky that I have stumbled across Hayley at The Rural Naturopath. She is an asset for rural and regional people…Anyway have a read (with a cuppa or wine) whatever you are vibing and hopefully you enjoy xx.

Why yoga is important to me?

What a hard question to kick things off. For me…it gives me a purpose. Think about this…how lucky are we to be able to move our bodies freely? Maybe you haven’t thought about it before…. don’t take that amazing body of yours for granted yogis, not for one second. Being able to move freely is such a gift and that’s what gets me onto the yoga mat (most days).

Yoga is important for my physical health and strength (and people say yoga isn’t hard) haha. But not only is it important for my physical health and strength but also for my mental clarity. I feel like we all go through stages in life when things just seem a bit fuzzy and bit of mental fog if you like (sounds legit since we are in winter right) wink wink…. But getting on the yoga mat allows me to just move my body and for one time during the day I’m not thinking about all the crazy noise in my head. For me the yoga flow and movement is my medicine. Teaching also allows me to share the gift of yoga with all of my amazing yogi students! Think about this…How amazing is it that I have yogi students all over Australia! WOW! I get to hang out with people I don’t even know and help them in some way shape or form (well I hope so).

Sharing the love of yoga especially to women and men of the bush just brings me so much happiness, as I know how hard living on the land can be at times (born and bred on a property on the Hay Plains in the Riverina, NSW). Even if it’s not directly on the yoga mat…even an Instagram message or reply to someone’s story! I know it all helps in brightening someone’s day! And that’s what yoga is all about…brightening your day and feeling GOOD!

How you started yoga?

My first yoga class was on a Saturday morning when I was about 15 years old in Ballarat via a beautiful lake called Lake Wendourree. I didn’t think much of it and didn’t do any other yoga for a few years. But when I lived in Sydney (6 years ago) a beautiful friend called Annie was really into yoga and took me along to a few classes and I LOVED IT! Not sure what drew me in at the start…maybe a hot sweat after being in an office all day or just the combination of mental clarity but also coming out like a sweaty mess (I love a good sweat). But it wasn’t until I injured my knee in a half marathon in 2017 that made me really fall in love with yoga. I was unable to do any other form of exercise without being in pain and my love of yoga really flourished. I had never done a form of exercise that was so challenging mentally and physically!

In 2018 I did my yoga teacher training, and the rest is history! I will never be a perfect yogi or have the perfect pose…it’s a lifelong friendship with lots of bumps along the way! But I am so blessed for my beautiful friend Annie for lighting the yogi spark in me and thanks to my dicky knee – Everything always happens for a reason I think 

Benefits of yoga?

Everyone will always benefit from yoga in different ways, but I always find for myself some

of the benefits include:

Allows me to work through the daily mental fog

Helps me manage the stress of day-to-day life

Improves my strength! Holding chuttrunhga is HARD!

Allows me to breathe (especially at night to wind down and chill)

Patience – It’s not a overnight fix

How Saltbush Stretch has benefited the community?

Firstly, I feel like I am the luckiest person to live in such an amazing community. From Hay, Carrathool, Goolgowi, and Griffith to all my online yoga’s from all around Australia, we have created a Saltbush community. And it’s pretty awesome to be a part of. Allowing people of the bush to get moving physically and mentally is a pretty good feeling. I think offering a service to the community (physically or online) allows people to have more confidence, think clearer, and be a more positive person, which has ripple effects for the community from a personal and work-life perspective.

Over the years of meeting people within my community, I know how lucky I am to live where I do. There are so many amazing people here and I am also lucky enough to support a local footy club too. I am passionate about keeping country sporting clubs alive and love a good old Saturday game of footy or netball! So, make sure you get involved and support your local club and keep them alive and thriving!

So, wrapping up my International Yoga Day blog, a huge thanks again to Hayley from The Rural Naturopath for asking me to get my thoughts out of my head and onto paper. And if you are still here reading this and always wanted to give yoga a go – Head over to the

Saltbush Stretch website and subscribe to our email list for your free trial. Yoga is for EVERYONE and I can’t wait to continue to share the love of yoga with you! Click HERE to head to my website for more details.

Big love.

Em – Saltbush Stretch xx