All this and More with our new autumn timetable

Yes! The news I know you’ve all been waiting for, due the unprecedented demand we’re going have another meditation class on Thursdays at 8:50am.

We’re also going to put some Hot Yoga back on for the winter.

We know our hot classes still have a few fans out there so from Mid-October as the weather cools we’re going to reintroduce a few to the schedule, mainly in the mornings, as one thing we felt we really missed last winter was wonderful residual toasty warmth we’re left with when we put a little heat into the studio first thing. On an environmental front it lets us better leverage our Far Infra-Red panels which use 100% green electricity (and always have done ever since we opened), rather than the gas central heating to keep the studio nice and warm.

This has been a super easy decision, we’ll see how we go this winter and when the sun returns next spring and we want to throw the windows open once again we’ll make another seasonal adjustment to the timetable.

This is part of a shift I think Lucy and I have been consciously making for the studio for some time where we are trying to be a little more flexible and adventurous with what we offer and in that vein we are also going to add a Barkan Hot Yoga class on Monday morning at 6:45am and a 90min Sivananda Yoga class on Sunday afternoon at 4pm.

Both these styles of yoga are part of our respective yoga origin stories and we’re really pleased to be able to bring them to Bournemouth.

For my part Barkan yoga was taught at the studio in Melbourne where I fell in love with yoga, it wasn’t called “Barkan Yoga” and to this day I’ve still only seen it called as such on a few studios in the states owned by people I know from training. Jimmy Barkan is a true yoga original and if you have a spare moment you can enjoy some of his teachings about the history of Hot Yoga. He created a style that merged the Ghosh Hot Yoga lineage with the dynamic vinyasas of the Krishnamacharyan lineage bringing a flow to the more static Calcutta style of yoga and promoting a more holistic physicality to the practice.

I’ll let Lucy describe Sivananda Yoga to you in her own words:

It was just before I turned thirty (so over ten years ago now!) that I went to the Sivananda Yoga ashrams in India, spending four weeks at one in Kerala and another week at one in Tamil Nadu. I really appreciated the community aspect of ashram life and despite my initial aversion to ‘set sequences’ I found I thoroughly enjoyed practising the same two hour sequence twice a day, every day.

Although two hours may sound like a lot, at least a quarter of the class is dedicated to pranayama exercises.  Kapalabhati is the first exercise, which is a cleansing pranayama. This is followed by alternate nostril breathing with a rhythm of 4:16:8, so you inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 16 and exhale for a count of 8.

I have decided to teach a ninety minute version of Sivananda every Sunday from 4pm – 5.30pm (so still time to stay for some Yin afterwards). I want practitioners to experience a fully balanced practice at the proper pace, with proper breathing technique as well as time for reflection and relaxation. I believe these things are essential to an effective practice.

The sequence is available to all abilities and ages, so whether you practise Yoga regularly or are just starting out, it is open all. Sivananda Yoga is a classical and holistic approach to Hatha Yoga, which stretches and tones the whole body.

We’re stoked about these little updates and look forward to practising with you soon.