Yoga
Why Yoga?
Because the physical and mental benefits of Yoga are countless! It involves low-impact movements and postures which increase flexibility, and tone and strengthen your entire body. In my opinion, Yoga will benefit you more than any other physical pursuit – least of all for its physical payoffs which are plenty, but for its mental benefits.
Yoga is:
- Great for toning the muscles and improving flexibility
- A challenging workout, but you are encouraged to rest when you need to
- Not just a physical workout, but includes meditation and relaxation techniques that will enhance your life
Regular participation in Yoga classes:
- Increases fitness
- Strengthens your muscles
- Reduces overall stress levels
- Enhances your psychological well-being
Remember:
- All shapes are welcome
- All ages are welcome
How will it benefit me?
With dedicated practice of Yoga, you’ll feel better physically, but best of all, Yoga is not just a physical exercise. It supports your psychological health through meditation and relaxation and it’s these aspects of Yoga that help to ease stress, clear the mind, and develop a more positive and loving attitude to yourself and the world around you.
What are the classes like?
My classes are welcoming and pressure-free. There is no competition between participants, and you can reduce the intensity of the practice whenever you need to. Like anything new, Yoga can be a little daunting at first, but with persistence you will learn – and the immense benefits of Yoga are worth pushing through the difficult first stages. In time you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see your body and mind greatly improve.
Fashionably late?
Two words of advice on this: don’t be. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it’s nice to be on time out of courtesy to the teacher and your fellow students. Secondly, being late means that you miss out on some or all of the warm up and that’s not a safe way to practice Yoga. Preparing the body is all-important to reduce the risk of injury, so please do your best to be there for the start of class.
What about equipment?
You’ll definitely need to invest in a Yoga mat if this is something you’re interested in doing long-term, but a towel will do in the interim.
What should I wear?
- For the bottom half: NO to skirts, dresses, jeans, baggy pants. YES to dance pants, fitted track pants, leggings, shorts
- For the top half: NO to anything big and baggy. YES to fitted t-shirts or singlets, tank tops, leotards
- For the feet: NO to any type of shoe. YES to bare feet (ideally, bring socks for the relaxation at the end)
NOTE: The preference for fitted clothes is for safety reasons: I can clearly see what you’re doing and fix incorrect technique. You’ll also be able to move more easily – baggy clothes an ride up and down and can get in the way of movement. And for the feet, being barefoot means you can take advantage of the stickiness of the mat and perform the poses to your best ability.
What if I’m uncoordinated?
Yoga requires no co-ordination, so this is not a problem.
What if I’m overweight?
People of all shapes and sizes can attend class, so there’s no need to worry about looking a certain way – my classes are very friendly and no one will judge you on your body shape. Best of all, you’ll see the difference in your body quite quickly by coming to class every week, and not only that, you’ll find that the positive mental attitude fostered by Yoga will mean you’re feeling better psychologically too.
What if I’m not fit?
You don’t need to start off being fit as you’ll attain fitness through regular practice of Yoga. In fact, if you come to class week after week, you’ll be hard-pressed to avoid getting fitter. Yoga definitely works all your main muscles, plus it will help you make improvements to your mental health through the relaxation and meditation techniques that are practiced during class. Improving the health of your mind will unquestionably help improve the health of your body.
What if I’m a late starter?
It’s never too early or late to start practicing Yoga and enjoy the vast benefits dedicated practice brings.
What if I have an injury?
You can still participate in a Yoga class. So long as your health professional has given you the go-ahead, you are most welcome to come to class. It’s important to inform me of your injuries as we might have to modify various poses. If you feel pain during class the reason will probably be that your technique is incorrect and with a few tips, that can promptly be sorted out. Remember that safety always comes first. Even if you don’t have an injury and it hurts to do a particular movement, don’t persist in doing it through the pain. Stop and let me know immediately.
On a similar note, it’s important to comply with any requests I make as your teacher. Yoga classes – like any physical pursuit – can involve risk of personal injury and while I take all reasonable care in the conduct of my classes, I can’t accept responsibility for injury caused during classes. You, as the participant, are responsible for ensuring that you are physically and medically fit for the class and during the class you must at all times take care of your own personal safety, including listening carefully to instructions.
What if I’m pregnant?
If you were practicing Yoga before you got pregnant and your doctor says you can continue your regular activities, then you should have no problem practicing Yoga all the way through your pregnancy.
What you must do, however, is let me know that you are pregnant, as there are some moves that should be avoided or done gently if you have a bun in the oven. On the other hand, if you haven’t practiced Yoga before, it’s probably best to wait until after the baby comes to start classes. Even if you are active in other forms of exercise, starting something completely new is not advisable when you’re in a delicate state such as pregnancy.
Mythbusting
There are many myths and misconceptions about Yoga. One is that it’s just about stretching. Another is that you have to be flexible to attempt Yoga. And last but not lease, that Yoga’s easy. Let’s look at those misconceptions one by one to start giving you an idea of what not to expect in class (which will ultimately give you an idea about what you could expect in a Yoga class!)
Misconception 1: Yoga’s just about stretching
I should point out that Yoga IS about stretching - but, it’s not JUST about stretching. It’s about strength too. Dedicated yogis are extremely (sometimes mind-bogglingly) strong. So if plain old stretching isn’t your thing, Yoga might be what you’ve been looking for: because it combines stretching with strength work, making it 10 times the challenge of a basic stretch class. The other thing that Yoga involves is meditation and relaxation - this is also something that you won’t find in most fitness classes. What if you’re not a big fan of meditation and relaxation? From personal experience I can tell you that I never was for a long time either – but it’s those of us who are the least interested that often need it the most. The busiest, running-around-est among us is the one least likely to enjoy being still for any amount of time and we (yes, I’m very much including myself) are the ones who desperately need it more than anyone else. This doesn’t mean you have to become an un-busy person. On the contrary, the kind of calm you will find from regular meditation and relaxation will assist you in your busy lifestyle, helping you to cope with it and thrive.
Misconception 2: you have to be flexible to attempt Yoga
You needn’t be flexible before starting Yoga in the same way that you don’t need to lose weight before joining a gym. It’s the other way around! With dedicated weekly practice, Yoga will, without doubt, help you become much more flexible. You don’t need to go to a Karate class as a tenth dan blackbelt, just as you don’t need to go to a Pilates class with abs of steel – these are things that those classes help you develop. Same with Yoga. Increasing your flexibility might not be your biggest goal in fitness, but being more flexible will help you to achieve your ultimate goal. Why? Because your muscles will love you for stretching them out, and work a hundred times better for you.
Misconception 3: Yoga’s easy
Let me assure you that Yoga is not easy. I don’t say this to put you off: Yoga isn’t so hard that it’s impossible, but what I’m saying is that it’s not easy-peasy either. Those of you who enjoy a strong workout might think that Yoga would be too much of a walk in the park: on the contrary, you WILL find it challenging. Don’t expect to just roll around on the floor, breathing through your navel, and meditating on your ovaries. No, my friend - there’s much work to be done in a Yoga class and you will find it a challenging experience.
So what is Yoga in that case?
That’s a fair enough question. Put simply, to me Yoga is in many ways the ultimate workout. Remember too, that I say this not just as a Yoga teacher. This is the opinion of someone who’s a big fan of pretty much all areas of fitness - you’ll find me participating in a variety of physical pursuits: happily punching away in boxing classes, pitting muscle against metal in the gym, walking my dogs, bike riding, et cetera. I love it all! But as a teacher of various disciplines for me Yoga has to take the cake as s the workout of workouts because the added meditation develops the most important ‘muscle’ in your body: your mind.
Time to try it!
As you can see, there are many reasons to try Yoga. You’ll find it will increase your strength and tone your muscles immensely. Plus there’s the stretch factor and we all know that lengthening out your muscles by stretching will help them to respond better to exercise. In the long term, Yoga can also help relieve period pain, backache and headache. Best of all, it assists in decreasing the power of the Western world’s number one killer: stress. If nothing else, it will assist your participation in other classes because the more variety you get in your workouts, the better it is for your body overall and in the long term. Meet the Yoga challenge - your body will LOVE you for it!
What can I expect in any given class?
I try to use a variety of poses week by week so that students are constantly challenged, however there are some constants in any given class, as you’ll see below. In my classes you’ll have a combination of the following components at different degrees of complexity and difficulty. Although all classes aim to be challenging, the choice is yours as to how hard you feel you should work that day.
A Yoga class with me includes:
- Breath orientation: we connect with the breath and use this time to calm down from our rush-around day and ready ourselves mentally for a Yoga practice
- Warm up: this is typically using Surya Namaskar (or Sun Salutes)
- Standing Postures
- Inversions: variations are given for menstruating women and those who prefer not to be completely upside down
- Backbends: variations are given for pregnant women
- Seated Poses: including forward bends and twists
- Cool down: this involves guided relaxation in Savasana (Corpse Pose), ending with a seated meditation and some final thoughts
And finally…
I hope to meet you some time soon – see you in class!