The Yoga
Paradise Yoga is a little bit different to most other yoga studios, in that I will only ever teach gentle yoga.
For me, the primary intention of yoga is to work with the nervous system, to allow stress and tension to be released from the body and the mind. You don’t need to do strong poses, sexy balances or fast-moving flows to make this happen. Gentle yoga is just as effective (I would argue more effective!), and suits many more people than the stronger styles.
If strong yoga is your thing – that’s great. You’ll easily find a class elsewhere to suit you.
But if you’re ready to slow down and be kind to your body and mind, Paradise Yoga is for you.
I teach Hatha, Yin and Restorative and Yoga Nidra. Here’s some more information on what those terms mean…
Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga has become a general term for much of the yoga taught in the West today.
It combines movement, breath and mindfulness to work on the body, mind, emotions, soul and more.
The Hatha Yoga that I teach is gentle, slow and simple – no difficult contortions or poses that add any stress into the body. The gentle nature of the class is designed to help students feel rejuvenated, refreshed, energised and vibrant.
I often describe my Hatha classes as “movement with breath”. Sometimes we do this sitting (you don’t have to sit cross-legged). Sometimes we do this kneeling (if your knees don’t like that, I’ll give you an alternative). Sometimes we do this standing (that’s optional too.)
Most of the time, though, we do this lying down. Lying down and sighing out are the two main activities at Paradise Yoga!
You have three opportunities every week to practice Hatha Yoga with me:
- Wednesdays, 10am
- Wednesdays, 5pm
- Saturdays, 8am
In addition, Hatha Yoga features at One-Day Retreats.
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is a practice of stillness. In this practice, we stay in each pose for quite a while – usually between three and five minutes. And in between each pose, we lie down and do nothing for one to two minutes.
However, the poses are probably not what you’re expecting. I won’t be inviting you to stay in a Downward Dog, or a Warrior Pose, for five minutes.
Mostly, we’re down on the floor. Lying, or sitting, or draped over a soft bolster.
You will be invited to relax all the muscles in your body. And then to relax even more.
This allows us to stretch very deeply – reaching into connective tissues, fascia, ligaments, tendons and even bones! But the stretch is very passive. We simply move slowly into the pose, let go… And the body does the rest for you.
It’s pretty hard to explain it. You have to do it to really understand it.
You have five opportunities every week to practice Yin Yoga at Paradise Yoga:
- Wednesdays, 5pm
- Wednesdays, 6.30pm
- Thursdays, 10am
- Fridays, 10am
- Saturdays at 8am
Yin Yoga also features at One-Day Retreats, as well as at my Online Yin Studio.
If you’re experienced with the practice of Yin, you will LOVE my quarterly Deep Yin workshops too…
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra means Yogic Sleep, and is my absolute favourite to practice and to teach.
There are two great things about Yoga Nidra:
- All you have to do is lie down, and listen to my voice
- Thirty minutes of Yoga Nidra will provide you with the same restorative benefits as three hours of deep sleep
Whilst you’re lying down and relaxing, I will guide you through a ‘rotation of consciousness’ where you notice each part of your body in a sequence, followed by some guided meditations and visualisations. You may hear all of it. You may hear some of it. You may hear none of it.
Most people find that they drift off into a magical place (science calls it a ‘hypnagogic state’) somewhere between waking and sleeping. Some people fall asleep. Some people snore. It doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you feel like a whole new human being, just thirty short minutes later…
Yoga Nidra can have profound effects on your body and mind, and is beneficial for everyone but especially those experiencing stress, anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, mild depression, PTSD, chronic pain and more.
Anyone can participate in Yoga Nidra, although those suffering severe depression or mental illness are advised to discuss with the teacher and a healthcare professional beforehand.
You can find Yoga Nidra at Paradise Yoga as follows:
- Wednesdays at 10am – we finish this class with a 30-minute Yoga Nidra.
- At monthly Zen Sessions
- At quarterly One-Day Retreats.
And I have a free Yoga Nidra recording on YouTube. Feel free to listen to this from the comfort of your own home.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga does what it says on the packet – it restores you.
It can look very much like Yin Yoga from the outside.
It’s similar in that:
- Most of the poses are done down on the floor – lying or sitting or draped over something.
- We stay in the poses for a longer time – sometimes five minutes or more.
- It’s a practice of stillness.
How it differs from Yin Yoga:
- We use more soft props – think blankets and bolsters – to support the body.
- We focus less on stretching and feeling strong sensations.
- We focus more on complete and utter relaxation.
How to get some Restorative Yoga in your life at Paradise Yoga:
- Wednesdays at 10am – this class will invariably (although not always) feature some restorative poses.
- Monthly at Zen Sessions, where the only physical yoga we do is Restorative Yoga.