What is Yoga?

There is not only one 'true' yoga, but many forms developed over 1000s of years.  The Yoga we tend to be most familiar with is based in a philosophy that is 1000s of years old but around  300 CE a yogi called Patānjali  gathered and stream-lined the ancient teachings in his Yoga Sūtra-s. He set out a path known as the Eight Limbs, which form the foundation of modern yoga. 

The Eight Limbs include the physical practice of postures (asana) which is often where our yoga journey begins, as well as breath work (pranayama)  and other practices such as meditation.  Through these practices a new awareness will begin to develop, and from this moment you will never stop learning about yourself and your relationship to the world around you.

HATHA YOGA is the most well known branch of yoga that has developed in the west since it was promoted in English in a by Swami Vivekananda in 1896, and Krishnamacharya received his first western students in India in the 1930s.  From this many others schools have grown such as the Iyengar tradition created by B.K.S. Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga developed by Pattabhi Jois.

Hatha is an old system of yoga and today the term is used in a broad sense so Hatha classes can vary a lot, including flowing sequences (vinyasa), peak poses that are held for longer or worked in more detail, as well as  breathing practices (pranayama) and perhaps focussed concentration.  The classes often finish with yogic relaxation, giving time to absorb the benefits of the practice.

We link the movement with the breath, focussing the mind in the present moment and hopefully not getting distracted, which is just as much of a challenge now as it was when Patānjali was teaching!

YIN YOGA  involves you coming into a pose, finding an appropriate level of sensation in a target area, and then holding it in stillness for several minutes. Most Yin poses are done on the floor and focus on one target area at a time. You hold the pose for a relatively long time so that your muscles soften and your connective tissues are accessed. This connective tissue or fascia runs everywhere throughout your entire body and is the physical focus of yin yoga.  Between each pose you lie still and relax in order to feel and observe what the pose has generated in the body. This is called Rebound and is an essential part of the practice and is equally as important as the poses.

Although it looks simple as we only do a few poses in a class and spend most of the time in stillness, it can be a challenging practice as we meet and allow the sensations that come up in ‘an abundance of space and silence’ 

GENTLE YEARS YOGA is described by the BWY as "Adapted Yoga to improve physical function and health-related quality of life in physically-inactive older adults".  They explain "Doing Yoga is an effective way for physically-inactive people aged over 60 years to become more mobile, while also improving their mental and social well-being" which was exemplified by the recent pilot scheme they conducted.  GYY can be a totally seated class or include standing or mat base work depending on the ability of the class.