Like many yoga classes of any “school”, I practice and teach Hatha Yoga. The word “Hatha” means the joining of the sun and the moon, harmonising positive and negative forces within the body or balancing active and passive energies. Each session will include warm ups, breathing exercises, postures and their modifications and relaxation.
Originating in India around five thousand years ago, yoga became westernised as part of a health and fitness movement in the mid-20th century. It aims to unite the body, the breathing and the mind, and to bring them into balance. It promotes flexibility and muscular co-ordination and it calms the mind.
Yoga is non-competitive, and you are encouraged to listen to your body and work within your own limitations. Most people find they become more flexible over time, even if they already participate in a sport. Yoga can be enjoyed by people from all walks of life, regardless of age, gender or level of fitness.
Hatha Yoga is a combination of asanas (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises), which help bring peace to the mind and body. It is aimed at relaxing the body in preparation for the trials and tribulations of everyday life or deeper exercises such as meditation.
Hatha Yoga is aimed at
I first took up Yoga over 30 years ago and my first teachers were in North Wales, when I was at university in Bangor. I was drawn not only to enjoyable exercise moves, but also to the shared sense of community and the teachers own love for the ancient stories and philosophy behind the practice.
Many years later I trained with Lez Gray (Foundation) and Andrea Kwiatkowski (Diploma), from the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY - https://www.bwy.org.uk), a charity seeking to spread the enjoyment and benefits of yoga from its beginnings more than 50 years ago.
Living in Chester, I teach general classes online at the moment. I really enjoy seeing how much students can get out of their yoga practice over time.
In 2016 I trained in Teaching Yoga and Mindfulness to Children with Jo Manuel of the Special Yoga Foundation https://specialyoga.org.uk in London and found I loved that work. So, in 2018 I trained in Teen Yoga with Charlotta Martinus of the Teen Yoga Foundation (https://teenyoga.com) in Bath and have been been teaching both adults and younger people since 2012 and would like to see my work continue to grow and develop.
As well as general Hatha yoga classes I also offer a variety of classes aimed at specific groups.
Giving you 100% focused attention to ensure you get the ultimate from a class. Be it moving on the the next level or because you feel you're not getting the most out of a session.
Yoga in the workplace has been shown [ref] to have a positive effect on health and reduce stress. I can lead a class in your workplace aimed at bringing these benefits regardless of the make-up of your staff.
Children can also benefit from Hatha yoga. My training from the Special Yoga Foundation enables me to tailor a specific class suitable for the 12's and under.
My training from the Teen Yoga Foundation enables me to deliver a class focused at the stage of a young persons life when they transition to adult-hood.
I've written some articles which tell you a lot more about the areas of Hatha yoga which interest me. If you find any of them useful for your own study or teaching, please ensure you credit me, just as I have credited my sources.
