Recent Articles in Beginner

Duration: 15 minutes

Emphasis: Take a few minutes to rest and become quiet amidst the busy-ness of your day. This guided Savasana takes you from head to toe, inviting you to soften and release tension, then there is some silence. I hope you enjoy it and feel your heart-rate and breathing slow down and your body become still. Please note the words are by a teacher called Indu Arora, not me.

Props Needed: Whatever you need for a comfortable Savasana.

Mat direction: N/A.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis: Strengthen your legs with these almost-yoga leg exercises! You'll use a chair to support you standing and sitting as you work legs, buttocks, hips and core in this hopefully fun workout.

Props needed: A sturdy chair.

Mat direction: A mat is optional - just make sure you won't slip.

Duration: 39 minutes

Emphasis: This class is perfect for when you're feeling tired and low on energy but still want a good stretch. Most of the poses are done lying on your back, with a couple on your side and a couple lying on your front. Expect a bit of everything - forward bend movements, backbends and twists, arm stretches and leg stretches.

Props needed: A yoga belt with a loop in it, a block and a blanket for under your knees and/or Savasana.

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

Duration: 25 minutes

Emphasis:  4 types of movement in 4 different sequences.... Expect some work for the toes and feet, a side bend, a twist and then a hip opener.

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

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

Duration: 16 minutes

Emphasis:  This class features repeated spinal rotations to help keep your back mobile and comfortable. Spiral just as far as you feel comfortable - keep it nice and fluid - and repeat this class often to improve your range of movement. Expect these twists in kneeling lunges and standing poses, finishing with a lovely relaxing supine one and time to rest in Savasana.

Props needed: You might need a blanket under your knees and blocks under your hands.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen. Please note: If you're wondering why the background looks a little different it's because I've flipped the video around - I'm now mirroring you so that the majority of the time you're facing me, with just one pose facing away.

Duration: 1hr 5 minutes

Emphasis:  Enjoy some time out of your busy day to relax your mind and stretch your body in this yin class of mostly supine poses. Starting by massaging the back of the skull, the poses progress down the body to the feet, then back up to the head again to gently open and release tight areas. You'll hold each pose for 2 minutes so expect to experience some sensations but know that these longer holds allow the connective tissues to stretch and use your deep breathing to help the body relax into the poses.

Props needed: A blanket and two blocks.

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

Duration: 1hr 16 minutes

Emphasis:  We start this class with some seated straight leg poses then move to standing poses which include Chair Pose (Utkatasana), Warrior 2 Pose (Virabhadrasana II) and Triangle Pose (Trikonasana). We then practise Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) before coming down to the floor for some prone backbends and stretches to the front of the thighs. We come back to the floor for more seated poses including a variation of Revolved Half Bound Forward Fold Pose (Parivrtta Ardha Baddha Paschimottanasana) and then to supine poses such as Upward Extended Feet Pose (Urdhva Prasarita Padasana) and Reclined Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana).

Props needed: A blanket, 2 blocks and a belt.

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

Duration: 33 minutes

Emphasis:  This class features the repetitive movements of Cat Pose (Marjaryasana) and Cow Pose (Bitilasana) followed by some variations of Half Side Arm Balance (Ardha Vasisthasana). You'll then move from hands and knees to sitting for Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) and into another variation of Ardha Vasisthasana known as Stargazer Pose. Easy Twist (Parivrtta Sukhasana), Embryo Pose (Garba Pindasana) and Star Pose (Tarasana), plus of course Savasana, bring the practice to a close.

Props needed: A blanket to kneel on if required.

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

Duration: 25 minutes

Emphasis:  Enjoy this relaxing practice that uses props to support you as you gently move and mobilise your spine. From supported backbends to Happy Baby Pose (Salamba Balasana) to a gentle twist, this class will help your back and hips feel free and easeful and your mind to feel rested.

Props needed: A blanket and two yoga blocks.

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

Duration: 9 minutes

Emphasis:  A simple meditation to help you feel a sense of stillness, peace and relaxation.

Props needed: N/A.

Mat direction: N/A.

Duration: 28 minutes

Emphasis:  This class will help you move your spine into backbends in a gentle way. Perfect if you find deeper backbends challenging, these poses will lift the chest and roll the shoulders back, creating space to breathe better. Repeated regularly they will help your posture and increase mobility. Expect a supine restorative pose to start, then move on to Cow and Cat Pose (Bitilasana and Marjaryasana), Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana), Melting Heart Pose (Anahatasana), Camel Pose (Ustrasana), Locust Pose (Salabhasana), Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bhandasana), all interspersed with some knees-to-the-chest movements as counter-poses.

Props needed: A blanket to kneel on if required.

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

Duration: 29 minutes

Emphasis:  Warm up with some dynamic squats, build some strength with 3 repetitive exercises using handweights then stretch everything out afterwards.

Props needed: Some handweights - if you've not done any strength training before I recommend you start with light weights and then build up slowly - and a yoga belt.  (It can helpful to do weights work in front of a mirror so you can check your posture too).

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