Restorative Yoga
The truth is that yoga is for EVERY body. There are many styles available so it's important to find a practice that suits your body, that you enjoy, and it leaves you feeling good for a few days.
If you work from home or at the desk for hours, Yoga for Back Care will ease out the muscular tensions, strengthen and balance your posture without involving pretzel shaped poses. Restorative Yoga uses lots of cushions, belts and blankets to support your body in a few comfortable lying down poses which let you profoundly rest.
Meeting yourself on your mat, paying attention to yourself and finding out what you need to feel at ease, is a kindness we could all do with in these times.
Yoga for Back Care
This class is for anyone who wants to maintain a healthy back. Sprains and strains along with mild non-specific back pain are very common, and not necessarily barriers to doing yoga. Your spine is designed to move and benefits from a considered practice. Back Care Yoga focuses on forwards, backwards and side bending, within your range of comfort to develop awareness of your natural spinal curves and how they feel day to day. In this class we modify traditional postures and use yoga plus movements derived from physiotherapy and pilates to strengthen and balance the spine when lying, sitting and standing. We go slower, work with what feels good, no pushing or competition, and return frequently to the neutral shape to relax and absorb the practice. The class ends with one of the many relaxation poses for 5 minutes.
Note: this is not a back treatment class. If you have new pain, injury, unremitting pain, bladder/bowel symptoms, weight loss, sweats, loss of appetite or feeling unwell, you should consult your GP for investigation of the cause.
Hatha Yoga
Hatha emphasises the stilling of the mind and although the tradition of yoga may be thousands of years old our modern postural practice dates back only about 150 years. Many threads of the tradition can be woven through the various modern styles of practice available and yoga continues to evolve - there is no one right path for everyone. Achieving a steady balanced physical pose allows attention to turn to the breath and from there inwards, to what is happening in the mind. This class presents an opportunity for you to explore your comfortable limits and find what suits you. We begin with warming-up movements before kneeling, standing and seated postures followed by relaxation focussing on the breath for 5-10 minutes at the end of the class. This approach gives the body time to absorb the practice and find stillness and space at the centre of our being where new insights may emerge.
