Recent Articles in 1-20 minutes

Duration: 10 minutes

Emphasis:  In this short practice you'll combine the meditative experience of linking the breath and the movement together. It's simple - you'll raise the arms up on the inhalation and bring the hands together, down the centre line of the body on the exhalation - but effective. As well as encouraging you to focus on the present moment and deepening your breathing, it will gently stretch the muscles of the ribcage and encourage mobility of the shoulders.

Props needed: None required.

Mat direction: n/a

Duration: 19 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class we'll shake and swing the arms and legs. This is a fun and playful way to warm up before you do any exercise but these movements have other benefits too - they help increase the range of movement in tight shoulders, improve the posture, improve co-ordination, increase circulation and promote drainage of the lymph. I hope they will help you to feel relaxed, loose and limber and that they'll bring a smile to your face too.

Props needed: n/a

Mat direction: n/a

Duration: 7 minutes

Emphasis:  This is a lovely relaxing technique to calm and centre you when you're feeling stressed or anxious. Simple and easy to do anywhere (except, of course, if you're driving) the exercise traces the outline of your fingers in time with the rhythm of your breath - try it and see how you feel afterwards.

Props needed: None needed.

Mat direction: N/A

Duration: 14 minutes

Emphasis:  Sometimes you need a little gentle movement to oil the joints and stretch the muscles. This seated class will release tension and tightness and is perfect for days when you're busy working or not feeling 100%.

Props needed: A chair and possibly a blanket to sit on.

Mat direction: N/A

Duration: 13 minutes

Emphasis:  Sometimes chair yoga is gentle and sometimes it's more of a challenge. This class falls into the latter category and you'll work your core muscles as you bicycle the legs whilst seated. It's a little bit different and I hope you enjoy it ;-)

Props needed: A chair.

Mat direction: N/A

Duration: 6 minutes

Emphasis:  If you find that your mind often skips off to think about other things during your Pranayama practice, try this simple breathing technique to help you stay focussed. You'll imagine a square box in front of you and trace the outline of it in time with your breath.

Props needed: None.

Mat direction: n/a.

Duration: 20 minutes

Emphasis:  Move your body in these gentle and repetitive movements to help increase both the range of movement and the ease of movement in your joints.

Props needed: A chair.

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

Duration: 20 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class we warm up with 2 rounds of Sun Salutation A and then do 3 more rounds which each have a variation of a standing forward bend.

Props needed: Bricks, blocks or thick books to put under your hands for the standing forward bends.

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

Duration: 7 minutes

Emphasis:  A meditation on the colour blue to soothe, relax the body and mind.

Props needed: A chair to sit on.

Mat direction: n/a.

Duration: 15 minutes

Emphasis:  In this short practice there's a focus on Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) to help keep the hip joints mobile and stretch the inner thighs. You'll start with the supine version of the pose (Supta Baddha Konasana), then move through some variations of the seated pose and Star Pose (Tarasana) too.

Props needed: 2 rolled blankets and a brick (or two blocks or a thick book).

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

Duration: 19 minutes

Emphasis:  Expect some upper body strength work in this short flow as we move from Plank Pose (Phalakasana) to Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana) to Upward Plank Pose (Purvottanasana). You'll do some other poses that require straight legs too, including Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) and Floating Stick Pose (Utpluti Dandasana). Just two poses require bent knees - Garland Pose (Malasana) and Archer Pose (Akarna Dhanurasana).

Props needed: Two bricks or 4 blocks or some books.

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

Duration: 18 minutes

Emphasis: 5 repetitive sequences taking you through adapted Cat/Cow Pose (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana), Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana), variations of Locust Pose (Shalabasana), variations of Camel Pose (Ustrasana) and into Child's Pose (Balasana). This class will bring mobility to your spine as we strengthen and stretch it in gentle forward bends, backbends and twists.

Props needed: A blanket to kneel on if required and you might need blocks for your hands in one of the Camel Pose variations.

Mat direction: You choose - whatever works best for you.