Recent Articles in 40-60 minutes

Duration: 53 minutes

Emphasis: A Sun Salutation-based flow class that has a focus on retracting the shoulder blades (pulling them towards each other) that helps to broaden and stretch the upper chest and stabilise and strengthen the shoulder girdle. This movement is really helpful when doing poses such as Bridge Pose and Shoulderstand is it encourages extension of the upper spine, lifting it in and up away from the floor, rather than rounding and pressing down into the floor which can feel uncomfortable in these poses. Regular practice of shoulder blade retraction can help the upper back and chest area feel more mobile and spacious and improve your posture and breathing too.

Note: It is important to keep your head and neck still whilst doing Shoulderstand so please watch the instructions first so you don't turn your head to see the screen in the pose. If you haven't done Shoulderstand before or for a while you might want to watch and practise the 'Shoulderstand Using The Wall Tutorial - February 2024' first.

Props needed: Two blankets and possibly a yoga belt if you are tight across the upper chest and front of the shoulders.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 59 minutes

Emphasis: All the poses in this class use a chair so make sure you have a good sturdy one that won't move. Expect familiar poses, some done seated on the chair and some done standing with the chair for support, plus a nice restful Savasana too. 

Props needed: A chair and a blanket

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 48 minutes

Emphasis: After warming up with some seated stretches you'll do some Sun Salutations with extra poses that will stretch the arms and shoulders. Coming down to the ground you'll do some poses that stretch the legs and hips and then come up to do the pose that you've done all the preparation for - Gomukhasana (Cow-Face Pose). 

Props needed: A block, a blanket and a yoga belt (or tie from a bathrobe).

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.

Duration: 43 minutes

Emphasis: I loved recording this chair class - and I hope you do too. We repeat the sequence 3 times so you start to know where we're going and can focus on the sensations in the body rather than working out the instructions in your mind. Expect lots of twisting variations seated on the chair plus some poses kneeling on the floor with the hands on the chair so make sure your chair is sturdy and wont slip.

Props Needed: 2 blocks and a sturdy chair plus a blanket for under your knees if required.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 50 minutes

Emphasis: In this Iyengar-style class you'll hold each pose for a little longer than in a Vinyasa Flow practice. You'll do each pose separately, on the right side, then on the left, rather than joining poses together to make a flow.  It's strong, focussed work - feeling your way into each pose, noticing the nuances, being aware of your breathing - and then you let it go and move on to the next pose. After warming up you'll practise some different variations of the Warrior group of poses and the seated poses include Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana), Three Parts Forward Bend Pose (Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana 1 and II) and Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana). 

Props Needed: A blanket, a block (or maybe two if needed) and a yoga belt.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 52 minutes

Emphasis: I'm sure you've worked out from the title that this class features twists and lunges! You'll do a warm-up of seated twists plus a slow round of Sun Salutations then you'll move into a kneeling lunge flow. For the second flow where you'll be doing standing lunges it will help your balance to have a wall behind you to push your heel into. After the standing flows you'll come down to the floor for a bit of core work then a supine twist and finally you'll come back to a seated sequence before taking a nice long Savasana.

Props Needed: A blanket if needed for under your knees.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat against a wall if you have space (you could always use a door if you're sure no-one's going to want to use it! ;-)).

Duration: 46 minutes

Emphasis:  In this circular flow you'll warm up with Sun Salutation A and then in the next round poses such as Half Splits (Ardha Hanumanasana), a variation of Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana), Side Lunge (Skandasana) and Revolved Wide Legged Forward Bend Pose (Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana. The sequence is repeated once with kneeling poses and then again with standing poses and it will take you from the front of the mat to the side of the mat to the back of the mat, and around again to finish where you started from. Some supine leg stretches finish the focus on the legs and lead you into Savasana.

Props needed: A blanket to kneel on, two bricks and a yoga belt.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 49 minutes

Emphasis:  This vinyasa flow class will take you through a warm-up, a round of basic Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) and then some creative sequences which include Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana), Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), Warrior I Pose (Virabhadrasana I), Humble Warrior (Baddha Virabhadrasana), Garland Pose (Malasana), Standing Hand To Big Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana), Head To Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) and variations, Boat Pose (Navasana) and Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana).

Props needed: A block, a yoga belt and a blanket for Savasana.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 42 minutes

Emphasis:  After warming up with some Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar), a repetitive flow which moves from one end to the other end of the mat follows. Expect Crescent Moon Pose (Anjaneyasana), Revolved Side Angle Pose (Parivrtta Parsvakonasana), Wide Leg Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana) plus a twist, High Lunge (Alanasana), Single Leg Downward Facing Dog (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana) and Hand to Foot Pose (Padahastasana). A Child's Pose (Balasana) and then the possibility of a prone Savasana in Crocodile Pose (Makrasana) complete the class. Note: you might notice that the background is around the other way from the usual orientation ... I didn't 'mirror' you when I recorded it but realised that it would work better if I had so that you wouldn't be turning away from the screen - so I used a hitherto unexplored fancy thingummy on my editing software and flipped it round the other way!

Props needed: A blanket if you need one to pad your knee.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 46 minutes

Emphasis:  This class combines Sun Salutations and standing poses in the two vinyasa flow sequences which feature Warrior 1 Pose (Virabadhrasana I), Humble Warrior (Baddha Virabhadrasana), High Lunge (Alanasana) and an Eagle arm variation of High Lunge. The class then moves on to seated poses such as Bharadvajasana's Twist (Bharadvajasana), Half Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana), a variation of Archer's Pose (Arkarna Dhanurasana), Heron Pose (Krounchasana) and Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana).

Props needed: A block or blanket if needed.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen. Please note: when introducing the flow sequences I said we would be turning to the long side of the mat for some poses - that was said in error as all the poses in the sequences face the short edge.

Duration: 45 minutes

Emphasis:  After a seated and kneeling warm-up you'll move into Sun Salutations that take you from side to side on the mat. Expect standing poses such as Warrior II (Virabadhrasana II), Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana), Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), a Goddess Pose variation (Utkata Konasana) and Side Lunge (Skandasana). You'll then come down to the floor for Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) which takes you into Stargazing Pose (Viparita Parighasana). Finally, there's a gentle twist and side stretch before Savasana.

Props needed: You might want a blanket under your knees.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 40 minutes

Emphasis:  There are 4 rounds of Sun Salutations in this class - the first is a basic one to help you warm up then the following 3 rounds feature variations of Warrior 1 Pose (Virabhadrasana I) which will take your shoulder joints through their range of movement and help to release tension and tight muscles. After the standing flows you'll move to the floor for a short supine sequence featuring Side Reclining Leg Lift Pose, also known as Vishnu's Couch Pose, (Anantasana) and Supine Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana). The practice finishes with a few minutes lying on a rolled blanket to allow the muscles surrounding your shoulder blades to relax and the chest to gently open, and a few minutes flat on the floor for Savasana. Please note: You can use this class as a stand-alone practice or, if you'd like to do a bit more warming-up first, you could also do the Shoulder Mobility Sequence that can be found in the Hatha Yoga section.

Props needed: A yoga belt and a blanket.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.