Recent Articles in Hatha Yoga

Duration: 28 minutes

Emphasis: Standing balances are really good for you (they strengthen your legs, they strengthen your core, they improve your concentration) but they are HARD! And can be so frustrating! We are often so focussed on the balancing that the alignment of the pose goes a little 'off'. In this class we will gratefully accept the support of the chair to help take care of the balancing bit and then you'll be able to open up more into the pose and really feel its benefits.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis: There's no need to even unroll your mat for this class! Instead all the poses will be done with your mat rolled up. We'll do poses such as Child's Pose (Balasana), Lizard Pose (Uttan Pristhasana), Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) and Garland Pose (Malasana) plus some massage work on the calf muscles too.

Props needed: A rolled yoga mat and a blanket if you'd like some padding under your knees.

Duration: 1hr 16 minutes

Emphasis:  After a seated warm-up we move into a supine sequence that will alternately strengthen and stretch the hips and buttocks. Expect familiar poses such as Pigeon Pose (Ardha Kapotasana), Eye of the Needle Pose (Sucirandrasana) and Bridge Pose (Setu Bhandasana) plus some new and hopefully interesting movements that will be beneficial to your hips. The class finishes, of course, with a long Savasana.

Props needed: A blanket, 2 blocks and 2 bricks.

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

Duration: 21 minutes

Emphasis:  A great class for when you're short on time but want to move your whole body. These two short sequences are done entirely on the knees. We move from one end of the mat to the other doing poses such as Balancing Table Pose (Dandayamana Bharmanasana), Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II) and Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) variations, Gate Pose (Parighasana), Half Side Plank Pose (Ardha Vasisthasana) and a twist. The second round contains a couple of extra challenges for you to try! ;-)

Props needed: A blanket as padding for your knees.

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

Duration: 20 minutes

Emphasis:  In this short practice you'll circle the hips and do some squats to warm up, then do a standing pose sequence that includes Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana) and Warrior 2 Pose (Virabadhrasana II), then move down to the floor for Half-Frog Pose (Ardha Mandukasana) and Pigeon Pose (Ardha Kapotasana).

Props needed: A blanket for under your knee if you're practising on a hard floor. 

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

Duration: 18 minutes

Emphasis:  Work on your arm strength and shoulder mobility whilst sitting in your chair. We'll move the arms in all directions and then do some exercises using a brick which include twists and a core strengthener. A brief seated meditation finishes this practice.

Props needed: A chair and a brick.

Mat direction: n/a.

Duration: 23 minutes

Emphasis:  Release tension and mobilise your shoulders with this standing sequence of poses. You'll swing your arms to help tight muscles relax then take your shoulders carefully through their range of movement using a yoga belt. There's a standing balance challenge at the end with Eagle Pose (Garudasana) and a seated relaxation. You can use this class as a stand-alone practice or as a warm-up for the 'Warrior 1 Shoulder Release Flow' that you'll find in the Vinyasa Flow section.

Props needed: A yoga belt and 2 blocks.

Mat direction: n/a.

Duration: 15 minutes

Emphasis:  Take 15 minutes out of your day to move your body. This simple class will work your arms and your shoulder joints, gently mobilise your spine and there's a little bit of core work in there too.

Props needed: A chair and a brick or block.

Mat direction: n/a.

Duration: 18 minutes

Emphasis:  All the poses in this class are done sitting or lying down. Slow and steady repetitions of twists and a supine variation of Crow Pose (Bakasana) will work your abdominals without putting weight on your legs - a useful class to do if you have a leg/knee/ankle/foot injury but still want to do your practice.

Props needed: Two blankets to put under your knees.

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

Duration: 48 minutes

Emphasis: After warming up the legs with Tiger Pose (Vyaghrasana), Balancing Table Pose Knee To Nose variation (Dandayamana Bharmanasana var.) and Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), we come to standing at one side of the mat. From there we move from Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) to Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana) to Wide Leg Standing Forward Fold (Prasarita Padottanasana) and then repeat Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana) and Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) again. This sequence is then repeated travelling back along the mat to the other side. The second sequence follows the same pattern but includes Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) and in the third sequence another variation of Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana). Childs Pose (Balasana), Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana), Revolved Thunderbolt Pose (Parivrtta Vajrasana) and Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) allow the legs to bend after all the straight leg work and then, when in Savasana, there's the option of adding a rolled blanket under the thighs for support. Note: this class is a strong stretch for the legs - don't overstretch and risk an injury - bend the knees a little if needed.

Props needed: A blanket.

Duration: 1hr 17 minutes

Emphasis:  Enjoy some hip openers, leg stretches and twists in this slow and steady class. Perfect for doing in the evening as it won't rev up your heart-rate and your nervous system, the sequences include Half Frog Pose (Ardha Mandukasana), Garland Pose (Malasana) and Standing Forward Bends (Uttanasana) with the heels on a block followed by the balls of the feet on a block. The next sequence includes the other Half Frog Pose (confusingly there are two English names - this one stretches the front of the thigh rather than opening the leg to the side and has a different Sanskrit name, Ardha Bhekasana). The next sequence includes some Pigeon Pose (Ardha Kapotasana), followed by the full Frog Pose (Mandukasana). We finish with some gentle fluid twists and a gentle, relaxing hip opener with the feet on blocks and a blanket. Note: When we get to Pigeon Pose I offer the alternative of Eye of the Needle Pose (Sucirandrasana) but I don't demonstrate it - just as a reminder, it's the one where you lie on your back, take one ankle over the opposite thigh just above the knee, and lift the other foot from the floor, interlocking the fingers behind the thigh - you get the same stretch around the hip and buttock as you would in Pigeon Pose but without the weight and possible pinching in the knee.

Props needed: 2 blocks and two blankets.

Mat direction: Doesn't matter - you choose.

Duration: 33 minutes

Emphasis:  This class will be just what you need if you've just come in from a run or cycle or exercise class. Do these stretches as soon as you come in while you're nice and warm - no need to change into yoga kit or roll out a mat - just get them done. If you haven't done any exercise first you'll need to do a little bit of warming up before trying these deep stretches - a few rounds of Sun Salutations should do it.  You'll stretch out your whole body in this sequence that uses a table and or a chair to give you a little more stability and assistance to release those tight muscles. Note: when we come down off the chair into the squat pose I call it Baddha Konasana - twice - whoops! It's not! It's Malasana (Garland Pose) .

Props needed: A table and/or a chair.

Mat direction: n/a.