Feature

Yoga For Long COVID: The Mancunian helping sufferers recover through exercise

The six-part online programme consists of very gentle movements to help sufferers of long COVID get back on their feet.

Olivia Stringer Olivia Stringer - 12th June 2021

After Charlene McAuley’s aunt died from COVID last November aged just 51, she decided it was time to try to do something to help fight the illness: She’d use yoga.

Charlene, who grew up in Manchester, has been a passionate advocate for the discipline and its benefits – having taught yoga since 2012 and worked with Everton FC’s first team for seven years; assisting injured players with rehabilitation. 

Given how yoga has been used to help sufferers of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, Charlene thought these exercises could also benefit those infected with the lingering after-effects of coronavirus – an ailment now known as ‘long COVID’.

With the help of Dr Christoph Seiland, her dedicated ‘Yoga for Long COVID’ classes were born. 

“What I love so much about practising and also about teaching yoga is that when it’s really practiced in its truest way it can be applicable to everybody so long as they want to practice it,” Charlene told The Manc. 

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“For me, it’s really helped with my anxiety and helped create this sense of equilibrium, this sense of calm that I didn’t have before I started practising.” 

ONS statistics statistics recorded in May revealed that an estimated one million people in the UK are currently suffering from long COVID. 

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The most common symptoms of the condition include fatigue, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Sufferers can often do little exercise and struggle with simple tasks such as climbing the stairs.

The Yoga for Long COVID programme is a six-part online course designed for recovery – and participants can do the classes at their own pace, whenever they feel ready. 

Sessions are mostly chair-based and start off with very gentle movements, meaning those suffering with constant fatigue can still participate.

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Charlene set up the course to help sufferers of long COVID

Charlene wants to make sure the course is accessible to everyone and is offering the classes for free for those who cannot afford them. 

“This course is about giving people the tools to empower themselves to help themselves to get better and giving them something they can do which will hopefully make them feel more in control of their condition and confident to do more,” she said. 

Charlene emphasised that people should not sign up for the course before consulting their doctor or before any underlying health conditions that could be causing their symptoms have been ruled out. 

The programme is, however, a solution for long COVID sufferers who have been told by their physician to do light workouts and breathing exercises.

Charlene stated the course is also applicable to sufferers of asthma or chronic fatigue syndrome.

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If participants complete the sessions and feel confident enough to try something more challenging, Charlene has a library of yoga classes available on her website and also teaches live classes online. 

Charlene’s yoga sessions are gentle and light – meaning those suffering from fatigue can still participate

As part of her research into the benefits of practising yoga to help treat long COVID, Charlene consulted with Dr Selina Dunn, a GP specialising in system pain management.

“I think what’s important for me is that, in medicine, there are so many things out there that could potentially work that we don’t have evidence for yet. I think this is one of them. I really believe that this could help,” Selina explained. 

“It’s just so sad to see that a year down the line there are people still suffering.” 

Selina is involved with a group researching long COVID and hopes to use Charlene’s programme by contrast a group of long COVID sufferers who have taken part in the programme with people who haven’t – comparing how classes affect breathing, confidence and emotional wellbeing. 

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The Yoga for long COVID programme is in its infancy and has only been available for the past few weeks, but Charlene reports that those who have signed so far have praised its approachability. 

To find out more about the course visit the Yoga for Long COVID website.

Feature

Yara, the family-run Syrian and Lebanese restaurant serving Manchester for fifteen years

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Take a trip down to the Stockport village of Cheadle and you’ll find a surprising glut of great Middle Eastern eateries nestled on the Cheshire border.

Amongst them sits Yara, a family-run Syrian and Lebanese restaurant that’s been serving Manchester for fifteen years.

First opened in Altrincham in 2008, today it has five sites across Greater Manchester – all serving up traditional Middle Eastern favourites like succulent kebabs, crispy donut-shaped falafels, and fluffy pittas with flavourful homemade dips.

A table full of gorgeous Lebanese and Syrian food at Yara. / Image: The Manc Eats
Mixed kebab on the grill at Yara. / Image: The Manc Eats

With further restaurants in Whitefield, Chorlton, Cheadle and Alderley Edge, it’s clear that people just can’t get enough – so we made the trip down to see what all the fuss is about.

Suffice it to say, after tasting their sharp and citrussy babaganoush, stuffed vine leaves, and tabbouleh – a super fresh herb and bulgur salad dominated by parsley – we fell head over heels just like the rest.

Read more: Beloved Jamaican street food shop Eat n’ Sweet under threat as building sold

Yara is a haven for those on the hunt for some finger-licking Middle Eastern goodness, with vegetarian starters like charcoal-grilled halloumi and creamy pots of homemade hummus pooled with rich olive oil sitting alongside crunchy pastry treats.

These include chicken or cheese and spinach bourak (often referred to as Assyrian or Middle Eastern egg rolls), lahembajeen – filo pastry topped with minced lamb, pomegranate sauce, pine kernels and onions – and mossahab, a chicken-stuffed puff pastry with added onion and herbs.

Potato kibbeh at Yara. / Image: The Manc Eats
Crispy donut falafel rings at Yara. / Image: The Manc Eats

As for the main attraction: the meaty charcoal grill. This, more than anything else, is what we really came down for. At Yara, tender cuts of lamb and chicken come rich with Mediterranean spices and herbs, whilst lamb kebabs come in the shish, shawarma and kafta varieties.

Read more: Karen’s Diner hit with zero food hygiene rating following inspection

Ultimately, we opt for the mixed kebab – a combination of succulent chicken and lamb, plus lamb kofta – alongside Yara’s special rice and extra pitta.

Honestly, it’s not hard to see why these restaurants have been a fixture in Manchester for so long.

To see the full menu click here and to find out more about Yara restaurants head over to their Instagram page here.

Oh, and to save on your next Deliveroo order from Yara make sure to use our code 5OFFATYARA when you check out.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Feature

Where to find a great pint of Guinness in Manchester city centre

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

When it comes to finding good pints of Guinness, it’s fair to say that not all Manchester boozers are created equal.

Some pints are thin and watery, some have a very bitter taste, and some are missing that all-important signature creamy head. All things you want to avoid. In fact, if you go into a pub and see any of this our advice is to run.

Any bartender worth their salt will tell you that there’s a certifiable art to pouring out a proper pint of the black stuff, starting with a two-part pour – a practice considered sacrosanct for literally hundreds of years.

Your pint should be properly poured with 3/4 of it filled with old stout, rested, then topped up with new, and when the glass is emptied a white, creamy residue should remain.

These, as we know them, are the basics but serious Guinness drinkers can likely reel off a whole list of other criteria that we haven’t even touched on. For now, though, that’ll do.

Keep reading to find the best places to drink Guinness in Manchester.

Mulligans of Deansgate

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Widely renowned for having the best pint of Guinness in Manchester hands down, if it’s authenticity you’re looking for then Mulligan’s is a must.

An authentic Irish bar with live music and plenty of cosy snugs to tuck yourself away in, it’s typically packed to the rafters and bartenders pride themselves on never, ever leaving a bubble in your pint.

The Bay Horse Tavern

Image: The Bay Horse Tavern
Image: The Bay Horse Tavern

This Northern Quarter boozer on Thomas Street is another favourite for those looking for a great pint of Guinness.

This St Patrick’s Day, lovers of the black stuff can get a pint for just £4 between 4-7pm. as well as £5 double Jameson and gnger and £2.50 Jameson all day long.

The Peveril of the Peak

Image: Adam Pester Photography
Image: Adam Pester Photography

A historic city centre boozer, The Peveril of the Peak is not just one of Manchester’s most beautiful but also one of its most unique public houses.

Run by one of Britain’s oldest and longest-serving landlords, come for its bold green tile-clad exterior and stained glass windows and stay for a creamy pint of Guinness.

Read more: All the March Manchester restaurant deals, discounts and offers you need in 2023

The Castle Hotel

Image: Flickr

Another great Northern Quarter boozer, this time on Oldham Street, The Castle Hotel is another spot you can completely rely on for quality Guinness. Its pours have even been accredited.

The real ale pub boasts several cosy snugs, a small beer garden out back and a gig room where you can watch local bands whilst sipping on proper pints.

The Crown & Kettle

Image: The Crown & Kettle
Image: The Crown & Kettle

This gorgeous Grade II-listed freehouse sits the border of Ancoats and Northern Quarter and dates all the way back to 1774.

Reopened in 2005 in cooperation with English Heritage, it has an incredibly fine and unusual ceiling and one of the best pints of Guinness in the neighbourhood.

Edinburgh Castle

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Whilst we’re talking about Ancoats, Edinburgh Castle also deserves an honourable mention for its Guinness pour.

This lovingly refurbished Victorian boozer not only boasts Manchester’s most elite chip butty and a stunning upstairs restaurant, but is also widely considered one of the best places for a pint of Guinness in town.

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O’Shea’s Irish Bar

Image: O’Shea’s Irish Bar
Image: O’Shea’s Irish Bar

Obviously, we have to talk about O’Shea’s. This Irish bar is widely considered a go-to fo a good pint of Guinness, with some even reporting they prefer their pints to Mulligans.

During Covid, the bar made a splash in Manchester by opening a giant outdoor Guinness garden. This year on St Patrick’s Day, it is opening from 10am for breakfast pints.

The Deansgate

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Another historic boozer reborn after two years of sitting boarded up on the busy Manchester stretch from which it takes its name.

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The Deansgate is now under the ownership of Greene King and serves a cracking pint of Guinness from its ground-floor and first-floor bars alongside a menu of hearty pub grub.

Feature image – The Manc Group

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