A lot of beginners and experienced yogis alike can find it uncomfortable and a little bit strange when they are invited by their teacher to chant ‘om’ at the beginning or end of a yoga class. For many people who go to yoga for the more physical benefits, it might be tempting to completely dismiss this aspect of yoga. But when you understand the meaning behind it, you might find a whole new depth in the practice of saying ‘om’…
When I say I am a yoga teacher, a really common response is “Wow, you must be really flexible.” At a wedding recently a girl I had just met went so far as to scream “You do yoga, DO THE SPLITS ON THE DANCE FLOOR!” When I laughed that off she started chanting “Do the WORM, do the WORM!”. I can do neither so I didn’t… much to her disappointment and everyone else’s relief. The screaming girl at the wedding…
Hot yoga is really popular at the moment and a lot of people are trying it out as a way to work up more sweat in their yoga practice and get some heat into their day. I teach hot yoga and I really enjoy the feeling of a total workout along with tension-release. I love the satisfaction I feel when I walk out of a hot yoga class – my muscles are physically more relaxed from the heat, but they’ve…
At the core of Flow yoga classes is vinyasa – which you’ve probably heard your yoga teacher mention more than a few times. If you’ve never had the phrase explained to you, it can be a little confusing! But no worries, we’re here to clear it up for you 🙂 But what exactly does it mean to ‘take a vinyasa’? Very literally, vinyasa means: to place in a special way. In a vinyasa based flow class, that means linking movement…
If you’re new to yoga and joining mixed level classes with more experienced yogis, it’s normal to feel unsure of some of the postures when a teacher cues them to the class. Here’s a cheatsheet with 3 commonly used yoga cues and how I interpret them. Chaturanga In flow classes, you’ll usually have a lot of ‘chaturangas’. This is when you flow down from a plank position to slowly lower your body to the mat on the exhale. Keep your…
Is it just me or is Yoga frickin’ everywhere right now? You can’t go on to Instagram or Facebook without seeing another YogaGirl sensation strutting her stuff Yoga style in the brightest pair of leggings known to (Wo)-man! Russell Brand is at it and owns his own Yoga studio, Colin Farrell swears by it, Madonna’s been at it ages and so has Sting! If you don’t know who that is that means I’m just showing my age 😉 There’s articles…
It’s never been easier to start a Yoga practice with so many tools online and Yoga studios opening up everywhere. If we were to look at even 20 years ago you’d probably have to get to a library in the hope that they’d have one or two books on Yoga and you’d end up analysing the poses by yourself with no instruction or guidance. Well we’re now in the information age and it has never been easier to find anything…
I don’t pretend to be Eckhart Tolle or DeePak Chopra (if you don’t know who these people are don’t worry about it). Sure I own a Yoga Studio (YogaHub) and have been a Yoga Teacher since about 2008 and although you might think all I eat is lettuce, I can wrap both legs around my head and I meditate from 3am to 4.30am every morning after standing on my head I can assure you I struggle with routine just as…
I don’t know how many times I have heard, ‘What style do you teach?’ while I was teaching a lot of Yoga classes. Now at the studio it’s, ‘What style’s do you have?’ We have so many people arriving at the studio with past experiences with all kinds of Yoga styles. Usually, there is only one Yoga for each person who asks either of these questions at that time and the rest………..well let’s just say the rest are the rest….
