In this week’s classes we are exploring backbends and heart openers. Heart openers expand the chest and rib cage. These are particularly good postures for people that spend much of their day bent over a desk. Many heart openers are also back bends which is why I am combining them in this class. Back bends […]
Many women first encounter yoga classes when pregnant and yoga can indeed be highly beneficial bringing that mind, body, spirit connection as well as helping with mood, stress and anxiety, helping the mother-to-be with relaxation and breath techniques both in class and in preparation for birth. With significantly increased blood in the body as well […]
The last few weeks have seen us exploring a number of different themes in the yoga classes: balances, twists, power and more. This week I start a new class in Maple Cross so wanted to create a lesson plan that would function both as an introduction to yoga for beginners but would also work to […]
For the first week of March our lessons have a “Get Twisted” theme. We’ll be exploring postures with a bit of a twist – these are typically called “Revolved Postures” or “Parivrtta Asana” in Sanskrit. Twists generally mean moving the shoulders to face in the opposite direction of the hips. Think about them as wringing […]
This week’s classes are all about improving balance. We will be working through postures that strengthen the muscles that keep us upright including the legs and core. We’ll work on static as well as dynamic (moving) postures. Balance is a key component of fitness along with strength, endurance and flexibility – all elements that a […]
Plank pose: Kumbhakasana Planks are great for core stability and any of us (especially those with with bad backs) should be working towards 30 to 60 second holds on both front and side planks. Alignment is very important so do try and be aware of that – perhaps practice in front of a mirror if […]
Introducing the yoga wheel I have an ever increasing collection of weird and wonderful yoga props. The yoga wheel is one of my favourites as it enables you to really open the muscles of the chest – great when you’ve spent far too long sitting at a desk and quite tricky to do without help. […]
Ardha Surya Namaskar My half sun salutation is always popular in classes. Because it omits the runners lunge and plank it isn’t as aerobically or physically challenging so makes for both a gentle warm-up as well as a therapeutic sequence where we can really concentrate on the in and out breaths. Here it is. Stand […]
We start this series with what is arguably the best known yoga pose – the downward facing dog. It is a mild inversion (where your head is below your heart) and is an essential component of the sun salutation sequence. It is used as a transitioning pose, a resting pose and also a strength builder. […]