After a lengthy lockdown #3 we are finally allowed to reopen our doors on 17th May all being well. We believe Yoga is needed now more than ever, and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. We will continue with the same Covid-safety policies as we had last year including capping class numbers to allow for 6sqm per person, no hands-on adjustments at least for the time being, quarantining our props between classes and all students are required to bring their own mats. So what are we most looking forward to in our 2021 in-studio practice?
HOT YOGA
Regardless of how high you whack up the central heating, it’s never going to provide the same relaxation of the mind or additional physical fitness that you get from practising in our infrared heated studio. Established as the friendliest and most inclusive Yoga studio in Bournemouth, OfA is renowned for it’s beautiful space full of positive energy and hot, warm and cool classes suited for all ages and abilities. The infrared panels heat up your body, allowing you to get deeper into postures (or as deep as you’d like to go) and provide an extra cardio vascular workout. Hot Yoga is kind of a boost to the calorie-burning and flexibility-improving benefits of other styles of Yoga. But along with the heat, your in-studio practice will be accompanied by curated playlists from DJ’s Jesse and Lucy (we met at a studio where it was a requirement that teachers spent as much time planning the playlists as planning their classes) giving an upbeat feel to your practice, or if you’d rather chill (not literally) just pop along to a more subdued Yin class. Lots of people think they do not like hot Yoga after trying a particular style, but they soon change their minds once they experience infrared heat. If you’re not sure how you’ll cope with the heat, we encourage you to try one of our Warm classes to acclimatise and become familiar with the experience.
YIN YOGA
The big life changes that lockdown has thrown at us can take its toll on the physical body. You start to feel achy and stiff as well as experiencing mental and physical fatigue. Stress very easily transfers into other problems such as digestive issues or anxiety. That’s why we love the opportunity Yin Yoga gives to just be still. When your world (and everyone else’s around you) is spinning out of control and you feel overwhelmed with everything that’s going on, one of the best antidotes is to carve out time for some Yin.
Tension is the stagnation of the overall normal healthy flow of bodily systems. You might think that aerobic exercises with repetitive movements would be the answer to clear the stagnation – but ideally you would coordinate this kind of fitness regime with some longer-held passive Yin poses to clear the deeper blockages. One of the ways Yin can help in the long-term is by changing how you think about your physical body and your approach to looking after it. Coming back to a beginner’s mindset in each and every posture trains you to get out of the habit of being on auto-pilot. Practising Yin post-lockdown will provide you with greater mobility and make you feel better in yourself. The mindset you cultivate through Yin is likely to make you feel more optimistic and hopeful about the future.
If you’re new to Yin, visit us in the studio for a class or head to the Yin Yoga website for a more detailed explanation.
HATHA YOGA
A new addition to OfA’s schedule every Thursday morning, and on Saturday afternoons there will be a special 75-minute intermediate Hatha class. Postures will be held a little longer than they would be in a Flow class which means extra strength and of course extra stretch.
You could say that Ha represents the sun or Yang energy. On the other hand Tha represents the moon or Yin energy. You are very often subjected to these differences in daily life. For example when you’re feeling energetic it would be considered a Yang state of being and when you’re feeling a bit quiet or mellow it means that a Yin energy is taking over. Ha-Tha is when both of them are connected and so Hatha Yoga is all about balancing these two energies.
Above all, we’re looking forward to the personal exchanges between one human and another. We’re looking forward to having students practising in front of us. We’re looking forward to re-establishing a shared energetic space. To teaching in an environment where we don’t “mute” our students and where social distancing is measured in metres rather than miles. Our virtual Yoga sessions have been an excellent way to keep us all going but being in the same room together is going to be totally Omazing.