YOGA
Beginners: A 10 week rotating course designed to introduce true beginners to yoga or current yoga practitioners to this particular style of yoga. How to step or jump the feet out to the correct distance, how to raise the arms, when to breathe, the fundamental standing postures, sitting and using the props, preparations for inversions and setting up in shoulder stand. This is not a class to stay in forever, it is a stepping stone into the practice and you can combine your weekly beginner’s class with general yoga until you’re ready for level 1.
General: Open to every body. We work on standing poses as the foundation of yoga asana practice, beginner’s sitting (upright) poses and twists, some forward bends and strengthening backward bends, restorative poses plus preparation for inversions and sarvangasana (shoulderstand).
Level 1: Building on beginners, this level includes more work towards inversions, deeper forward and backward bending poses, plus some dynamic and stronger postures. If your teacher has advised you to move up from beginners, or you are comfortable in general Yoga, you can attend Level 1.
Level 2: Building on level 1, this level includes working with inversions, deeper forward and backward bends, some vinyasa (movements put together) and pranayama (breath work). If you are comfortable with Level 1 and are able to practice sirsasana (headstand) against the wall and sarvangasana (shoulderstand) for 3 minutes each, (please check with your teacher) you are ready to attend level 2 Yoga.
Led practice: This is a practice with your teacher calling the poses and leading you through but also doing the practice with you. It is somewhere in between a class and a personal home practice and is good preparation for making the commitment to your own home practice. You must be comfortable to work partly unsupervised as although your teacher is monitoring you, they will also being doing the poses. You must be confident in headstand for 3-5 minutes with or without support of the wall.
Seniors 59+: For senior students, new and experienced. This class focuses on improving balance, building muscular strength, increasing bone density, improving joint mobility and creating freedom in the spine. The class runs a little slower than usual allowing more time for individual attention to set up the postures using the support of the wall and other props.
Inversions and restorative: This is a level 1 and over class and a nice way to wind down the week. The class includes preparations and practice of headstand and shoulder stand plus restorative postures. You don’t need to be able to do all the inversions, there will be a mixture of levels in the room but it provides a good opportunity to work on them and then enjoy the more relaxing poses afterward.
So which classes can I attend?
If you are brand new, beginners. If you have been practicing for a little while in another style, start with beginners or general and then speak to your teacher after class. If you are a regular or long-term practitioner or have been attending level 2 classes, you are able to attend general, level 1 and level 2/3. General rule of thumb – just ask. Talk to your teacher before class if you are menstruating, run down, suffering a head ache or dealing with an injury. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation, but we may ask a simple question or two to figure out which parts of the sequence planned may need modifying, if any, to leave you feeling better not worse after your class. We also want to know how you’re progressing, if that pose with the block last week just didn’t really work, or if that sequence yesterday made your back feel much better, this is all useful information for the teachers.