Author: Gemma

There are so many myths floating around about yoga. Here are my top 3.

You have to be flexible

You don’t have to be already flexible to come to a yoga class. Yoga is for everybody, you can start at any age and you can keep going no matter what your flexibility level is.

You have to know the poses

You don’t have to know any of the poses. You definitely don’t have to know the difference between a downward facing dog and an upward facing dog! Classes are mixed levels from complete beginners to those with 25+ years experience.

Yoga is about bending as much as you can (like a pretzel!)

Doing more advanced poses doesn’t mean you are better at yoga. There is no hierarchy in yoga. Your ability to do a pose doesn’t make you more or less of a yoga practitioner. Competition is never part of a yoga class.

Book now your yoga class in Rugby.

Yoga encompasses so much more than just the physical postures or asanas! It includes ethical guidelines for living, known as the Yamas and Niyamas. I find these fascinating and like to see how they apply in modern day lifestyles.

So one of the Yamas is known in Sanskrit as Aparigraha, which translates roughly into ‘non-possessiveness’ or ‘non-grasping.’

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an important ancient yogic text written in the 3rd or 4th century, contain practical guidelines for living a meaningful life.

The first and second “limbs” of the Sutras are the Yamas and Niyamas, respectively. The Yamas and Niyamas are the ethical guidelines of yoga and offer a moral code of conduct. Aparigraha is one of the Yamas and teaches us to cultivate a sense of contentment and gratitude for what we have, rather than constantly striving for more.

On the mat, Aparigraha means approaching our yoga practise with a sense of lightness and ease, rather than striving for perfection or clinging to a particular outcome. By letting go of our attachment to the outcome of the pose, we allow ourselves to fully be present in the moment and to find balance and stability in our practice.

So the sheer joy of the practise is the greatest reward in itself. Instead of focusing on achieving the perfect pose, we focus on the breath and the sensations in the body, allowing us to find a deeper connection to ourselves and the present moment.

Off the mat, Aparigraha invites us to look at the material items we have in our homes. Are there items that we are clinging onto that we no longer use but can’t seem to let go of? The more we hoard material possessions, the more we weigh ourselves down with physical and energetic baggage. Possessions take up space and energy in our heads as well as in our homes. Marie Kondo’s book, “The Magic of Tidying Up,” has Aparigraha as its central theme. Kondo asks us to go through our things and decide what sparks joy, what is important, and what we can discard.

Weaving Aparigraha into our lives can help us bring about a sense of contentment, gratitude, and peace. By letting go of our attachment to material possessions and external resources, we can find happiness and fulfillment in cultivating inner peace and connection with the present moment.

The next time you step on your yoga mat or look around your home, perhaps try to approach it with a sense of Aparigraha and see how it changes your experience!

One of the most frequent questions that I’m asked is from people interested in yoga is “Where do I start?”

This is your sign.

Right now. You can begin now by taking your first step towards practising yoga.

If you’re a complete beginner, then Flow + Chill could be a good class option. In Flow + Chill, you can expect slower movements and deep stretches to melt away layers of tension from the day or from physical exertion.

If you’ve got some previous experience of yoga or other movement based practice, and are looking for a more “heat-building” practice, then Dynamic Flow Classes may be more suited to you. In Dynamic Flow at Houlton and Eastlands in Rugby, you’ll be encouraged to explore your limits and challenge your practice as you build strength, flexibility and balance.

Start your yoga journey by signing up to my waiting list for yoga classes in Rugby starting in January 2023.

Over the past 5 weeks in our yoga classes in Houlton and Eastlands Rugby, we have been delving into the Muladhara (Root) Chakra through a grounding yoga flow; supercharging energy from the ground up.

On the mat, this translates into “close to the ground” postures and standing balances which focus on foot, ankle and leg stability.

For those of you on my priority waiting list, keep your eyes out for an email next week with a booking link to any spaces that pop up for November and December. Sign up to receive an email update when a class space at one of my yoga classes in Rugby becomes available.

I’ve been getting lots of enquires over the past few weeks so thought I’d pop up an official post. All my yoga classes in Rugby and Houlton are fully booked until end of October.

You can sign up to be on my priority mailing list to be one of the first to hear about yoga class news, events and workshops.

And don’t worry, I’m pretty selective when it comes to what I post, share and email. I respect your time so definitely won’t ever spam you!

Walking into your first yoga class can be intimidating. Where do I put my mat? Is this class good for beginners? Am I going to look silly? Will I be able to follow along?

Learning new things is never easy. Beyond navigating the yoga postures, there’s also a host of quirks most newbies don’t know about before starting yoga.

Below are a few things to expect when you start your practice.

Open up with this freeing yoga flow. This extended, 75-minute Saturday class will build strength and flexibility through dynamic movement, static strength holds and core work. You’ll work into your hamstrings, hip flexors, lower back, quads, chest and shoulders to release tension and unlock your entire body.

You’ve got notifications popping up on your phone. Your workload is piling up. The world news is gloomy. You haven’t even thought about what to cook for dinner and the fridge is empty. These days, you don’t need to look far. Stress and anxiety are everywhere.