Yoga

Hatha Yoga includes a physical asana practice, meditation and pranayama (breath) practice. Yoga works to harmonise body, mind and spirt. Balancing the chakras (wheels of energy in the body). Yoga will keep the body agile, improve strength and flexibility. Meditation will relax the body, bring peace to the mind and engage spiritual practice.

Vinyasa is one of the most popular styles of Yoga right now. It’s known for linking asana (poses) together with breath and moving through flowing sequences. Vinyasa unites mind, body and breath together, creating a moving meditation that cleanses the body. Without breath there is no Yoga! Breath brings focus allowing us to quite the mind and stay in the present moment.

Yin yoga is known in the modern world as a style of yoga where you hold static poses (shapes) for a longer period of time. This is so the meridians of the body can be fully nourished and Chi can be directed along certain pathways.  We will aim to hold shapes for 3-5 minutes.  Within this practice we are targeting the tissues, ligaments, and tendons. This is a slow moving practice where we relax the muscles and move with minimal effort. When holding a shape, the tissues are compressed and placed under an appropriate amount of stress.  We will be mindful to apply the right amount of stress in each pose, we are not looking to stretch or create the perfect shape, but to find a soft edge.  On a scale of 1 to 10 you will be working at about 3 – 4.  Yin gives us the opportunity for stillness of the body, where we can observe fluctuations of the mind connect with our natural breath.  This practice calms and balances the mind and body.