A delicious opportunity to dive in to a slow practice, stepping off the hamster wheel of life and embracing your yin side.
This class is floor-based, with no standing postures, and we hold passive stretches for 1-3 minutes. These poses target and ‘stress’ different parts of the body which can help to relieve physical tension but also stimulates energy flow, removes stagnancy, and relieves emotional tension.
Last updated Nov. 8, 2023, 7:44 a.m. UTC
Namaste! My name is Natalia and I admit that I completely love yoga. My first yoga memory was finding my mum standing in tree pose when I was perhaps 10 years old. I was fascinated by the shape she had made and wanted to learn more from that moment on.
I trained to teach in 2010, gaining a Yoga Alliance RYT200 qualification through Appleyoga. After that I expanded my yogic horizons and qualified as a toddler and children's yoga teacher with YogaKidz Worldwide in 2014 and went on to teach classes of all ages from toddler groups through to tweens and teens in Copenhagen. We moved back to the UK in 2017 and I am now offering toddler and children's classes in local schools and nurseries. I fell in love with Yin yoga while we were living in Denmark and am now qualified to teach that style as well as Vinyasa and Yin to adults.
I know it can be intimidating coming to a yoga class for the first time, but I try to create a welcoming environment for everyone - any age or ability - somewhere you feel safe to give it a go without judgement and with a light-hearted approach.
We won't gain any benefit from yoga without pushing ourselves, finding our edge and giving it a nudge, but for me it has to be fun - even if it doesn't always feel like that during the class, you'll love the after-glow...
I hear lots of people say they can't do yoga because they can't touch their toes, as if the teacher checks every student before they're allowed into the class! Yoga is a transformative practice so whatever your starting point is you will see improvements, but the aim isn't to make a pose look a particular way; it's about how it feels, and the affect that feeling has on your body and mind. I know yogis who have been practising for years and still can't touch their toes with straight legs, and reaching the acceptance that it might never be possible to do that can be as transformative as the physical ability to do so.
Yoga has a cumulative effect on your body and mind, so don't expect instant results or to feel completely transformed after your first class. I would encourage you to attend regular classes for a number of weeks - the more the better - then see how you feel compared to before you started. It's sometimes subtle, sometimes profound, but hopefully you'll notice a positive change.
