Anusara Yoga

Anusara is a modern-day Hatha yoga system founded in 1997 which means “flowing with grace”.  The heart of Anusara Yoga and what sets it apart from other styles are the Universal Principles of Alignment, a unique way of teaching yoga poses that emphasizes core stability and spinal mobility within a vinyasa-style practice.

Our Anusara classes are lighthearted, positive, and fun. They often begin with a short meditation followed by a series of asanas (postures) and alignment work. We encourage the use of props, which makes the class accessible to students of differing abilities. The class will finish with relaxation and shavasana, a relaxing pose.

Ashtanga Led Practice

Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga is a systematic sequence of predetermined flowing postures linked together with the breath. Ashtanga Yoga has produced many off-shoots of yoga styles including Jivamukti, Rocket and Vinyasa Flow yoga to name but a few. If you like a strong yoga class then you should find this challenging and rewarding.

Intended to be a daily practice this powerful, healing practice is a specific sequence of postures (asanas) linking breath (pranayama) and movement (vinyasa.) Ashtanga is an athletic flow combining strength, flexibility and stamina for a complete practice. In the Ashtanga Led class, the teacher will lead you through the poses, supporting you to move and breath in the right places and adjusting you where necessary.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is different from many yoga classes in the West in that the order of asanas is completely predefined. A practice will comprise four main parts: an “opening sequence,” one of the six main “series”, a back-bending sequence, and a set of inverted asanas, referred to as the “finishing sequence.” Practice always ends with savasana.

Ashtanga Mysore Self-practice

Mysore is named after the south Indian town in which the late K Pattabhi Jois taught from the late 1930s until his death in 2009. With a Mysore class, the teacher doesn’t lead you through the sequence with generalised instructions or demonstrations. Instead, students turn up and make their way through a series of poses from memory. Beginners will be taught the sun salutations and then the first few postures of the standing sequence. When you have learnt this, the teacher will add a new posture when they feel you have memorised the sequence so far and you are competent and safe in the postures. Don’t worry though, if you forget, the teacher is there to help you.

Practising in this way gives you the space to focus. The cue to move on to the next posture comes from your own breath, instead of the teacher’s instructions. Students can therefore spend a little longer working at their own pace on something they find challenging. In effect, you become your own teacher. If there is something you are unable to do, the teacher will give you an easier version.

Sessions are characterised by the sound of ujjayi breathing – a powerful, rhythmic, “heating” breath. Everyone is working at their own pace, so it might appear that everyone is doing something different.  “Adjustments” are an important part of mysore self-practice and your teacher will use their hands to guide your body into the posture and to correct alignment so you are safe in the pose.

Holistic Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga refers to a set of physical exercises (known as asanas or postures), and sequences of asanas, designed to align your skin, muscles, and bones. It is often refered to as the oldest known form of yoga upon which many of the modern styles are based.  The postures are designed to open the many channels of the body—especially the main channel, the spine—so that energy can flow freely.

Hatha is also translated as ha meaning “sun” and tha meaning “moon.” This refers to the balance of masculine aspects—active, hot, sun—and feminine aspects—receptive, cool, moon—within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility. We also learn to balance our effort and surrender in each pose.

Postnatal Yoga

This a re-energising  and relaxing class especially for mum and baby. Our postnatal classes focus on strengthening the abdominal, back and pelvic floor muscles. The postures will also help to release tension in the shoulders and neck. The class will incorporate your baby, creating a fun atmosphere and more opportunity to bond. We recommend that you allow your body time to fully recover so therefore the classes are aimed for when the baby is 6 weeks plus up to when they are able crawl.

Restorative/Yin Yoga

This class is ideal for those wanting a slower paced practice. Due to the gentle nature of this style of yoga, the session is suitable for all and great for those recovering from illness, injury, stress and fatigue syndromes and for those just looking to drop it down a gear. Muscles and connective tissue will receive a stretch but through a more passive expression of the yoga postures, focusing on the joints and nervous system softening rather than the strengthening of the muscles – the perfect compliment to a muscular (yang) practice.

Postures in this class will be held for a minimum of 3 minutes to a maximum of 15 minutes. Restorative yoga is a form of yoga that seeks to emphasise physical, mental and emotional relaxation with the aid of props (cushions, blankets, bolsters and blocks). This makes it easier to maintain balance while both stimulating and relaxing your body. While some poses are beneficial to the entire body, others target specific parts of the body, such as the shoulders, chest, hips and back and their related energy centres and channels.

Restorative and yin yoga helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which enables automatic control of the body. As such, the regular nervous system will be at rest, and the muscles will become more relaxed. Regular practice of restorative yoga will make your body less vulnerable to stress-related illnesses and help you achieve optimal health. This style of practice is especially useful when you need to eliminate fatigue and stress that result from daily activities, lifestyle and work. It can also help support your recovery from fatigue, illness/injury and to balance any symptoms/imbalances due to emotional distress. People suffering with stress symptoms, depression and anxiety often find restorative and yin yoga and the relaxation it induces, to be a great tool to incorporate into their lives.

Vinyasa Yoga

This is the traditional form of yoga originally taught in India by Krishnamacharya, meaning to move and place in a special way.  The Vinyasa practice links body movement with the breath in a flowing sequence of asanas (postures).  The practice is dynamic, generating heat within the body with each asana linked to the next by the breath.  This class will generally begin with an asana sequence followed by a focus on particular postures such as inversions or backbends to deepen students practice.  They finish with shavasana, a relaxation posture.

Yoga FUNdamentals

This class is for beginners and is designed to break down the essential elements of the yoga practice, step by step.  Each class will cover the basic sun salutations and then introduce a different theme to follow including – exploration of the breath, the importance of alignment, pranayama, backbends, hip openers, twists, forward folding, finishing sequence.  There is no need to book, and when you feel confident of the basics, try one of our Level 1/2 classes.