Our latest yoga series is called Heart Work. Over four weeks, we’re focusing on a trio of backbends including Bow, Camel, and either Bridge or Wheel — giving ourselves time to build strength, mobility and confidence.
Backbends can feel uplifting and energising, but they can also be a bit unpredictable. Some days they feel open and spacious, other days a bit awkward or emotional. That’s all part of the process. These poses ask quite a lot — not just from the body, but in how we respond to what comes up.
To support this, we’re drawing on a helpful idea from the Yoga Sutras. In Sutra 1.33, we’re encouraged to practise four attitudes to help calm the mind and create more ease in ourselves:
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and equanimity toward the unkind, the mind retains its undisturbed calm.”
(Yoga Sutra 1.33, translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda)
Putting this another way:
– Joy in the success of others
– Friendliness towards those who are happy
– Compassion for those who are struggling
– Equanimity towards those who challenge us
These might sound simple, but they’re often far from easy. Feeling genuinely happy for someone else’s success, or staying balanced when someone tests your patience — these are big asks on a tough day. But this is why it’s called a practice, not a perfect. We’re learning how to soften, how to respond rather than react, how to stay steady even when things get stirred up — both on and off the mat.






Backbends have a way of bringing things to the surface. They ask us to lift, to open, and to trust. That might feel exhilarating. It might feel vulnerable. It might feel like both, all at once.
So whether you’re exploring backbends in class or at home, the invitation is the same: take your time, stay connected to your breath, and notice how you respond. You don’t need to force anything. Let the pose meet you where you are.
Heart Work is about creating space — in the body, in the mind, and in the way we approach ourselves and others.