Back pain is an common ailment in our increasingly sedentary lives. We drive rather than walk, we sit rather than stand and during these times of covid we spend even more time hunched over screens, often at a desk that has not been set up with back health in mind. As someone who has suffered […]
We are generally familiar with the sun salutation sequence which is a lovely warming flow often done at the start of a class or the start of the day. The moon salutation is a standing series of postures, all likely familiar to anyone that practises yoga regularly. It is traditionally done before bed or in […]
Sun salutations are the foundation of many contemporary yoga practices but are actually an ancient vedic ritual rather than a form of exercise. The sun salutation is a graceful set of postures performed at dawn, facing the rising Sun and worshipping the Sun God, in Hindu mythology. The traditional salutation has 12 steps to represent […]
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. […]