Beginner courses will teach you all the essentials you will need to begin your yoga journey.
These courses will introduce you to the foundation of yoga and will give you confidence to attend regular classes.
We offer different beginners' courses during the whole year.
'Yoga allows you to find a new kind of freedom that you may not have known even existed.'
– B.K.S. Iyengar
This beginners' course is for those who are completely new to Ashtanga yoga as well as to students who are currently practising other types of yoga or attending our regular weekly Ashtanga classes but would like to deepen and consolidate their understanding of the foundations of the practice.
Ashtanga yoga is a dynamic, physically demanding, flowing practice. Students are led through some or all of a set series of postures, practised in a particular order, known as the Primary series. This practice aims to build heat in the body to help it to open, become more flexible and to release toxins. Through repeated practice students become familiar with the series of postures and eventually the focus moves away from the postures to following the breath and the gaze points for each posture, allowing the whole practice to be become more like a moving meditation.
The purpose of the course is to break down elements of the practice and to cover them in more detail in each weekly class.
There will also be time for questions about all areas of the practice.
Please note that this is a course and we will not be doing a full Ashtanga practice each week.
Never done yoga before, or just the odd class here and there? Curious to know what it’s all about? Then this four week introductory course is perfect for you!
The course will look at the basics of what Yoga actually is and the ancient philosophy behind it.
The course will look at the basics of what Yoga actually is and the ancient philosophy behind it.
You will learn to connect to your body and breath and learn how to move your body with more skill, ease and awareness, thereby helping to release tension from the body, improve flexibility and also build more strength.
You will learn some key beginners’ poses including standing poses, forward & back bends, twists, a basic sun salutation and a simple inversion. We will also look at the importance of alignment in all postures, how to work towards experiencing ease & stability in your poses and the importance of the breath – its effect on your practice and using it as a simple way to start meditating.
You will be encouraged to ask as many questions as you like throughout the course so you really come away with a clear understanding of all aspects of the practice.
Over the four weeks you will learn all of the essentials that you need to begin your yoga journey, instilling you with the groundwork and confidence to attend regular classes or begin a home-practice.
Mysore Style is the traditional practice method of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (†) and his grandson Sharath Rangaswami, of Mysore, South India.
In this form of practice, each person goes through the set sequence of poses at his or her individual pace, in harmony with the rhythm of their own breath.
Working independently of a teacher's instruction allows the practitioner to shift their focus within, resulting in a practice that is at once dynamic and meditatively still.
The self–practice group is an opportunity for Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners of all levels to deepen their practice within a group environment. The collective breath makes the room come alive, helping to support each person at whatever level they may be in their physical practice.
An experienced yoga instructor will be responsible for each session, and will provide individual assistance and adjustments as needed.
This style of teaching makes Ashtanga accessible to all levels of students.
In this workshop you will learn the principles of Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Style and also learn the sequence of the opening postures and some of the finishing postures.
After this workshop you will have an understanding of Ashtanga yoga and you are able to join any Mysore Style self-practice classes.