Recent Articles in Hatha Yoga

Duration: 19 minutes

Emphasis:  Stretch out your back and shoulders with this slow sequence of Thread the Needle, Downward Facing Dog, Cat, Child's Pose, Eye of the Needle and some rocking and rolling for a good back massage too.

Props needed:  A blanket for Savasana and to put under your back for the spinal rolling if required.

Mat direction: Short side of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  Move the spine in all different directions to increase mobility with this sequence of twists, cat and cow pose and child's pose.

Props needed:  A blanket for under your knees when kneeling if required.

Mat direction: Short side of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 26 minutes

Emphasis:  It feels good to stretch and open up the front of the body, especially if you've been working at a desk or sitting in a car all day. In this slow class we'll do some gentle backbends to open the chest, create more room to breathe and more room for the internal organs too. You'll strengthen the back of your body too while you're doing it.

Props needed:  Blocks, bricks and a blanket or, if you don't have these, use 3 folded blankets and a couple of thick hardback books instead.

Mat direction: Long side of the mat facing the screen will give you the best view when you're lying down.

Duration: 42 minutes

Emphasis:  This class focuses on lifting and lowering the legs in lots of different ways - lying on your back, front and side, hands and knees, standing and seated postures and also in Downward Dog. It will use your core muscles and strengthen your legs too. Finish off this dynamic class with a lovely, long 8 minutes of Savasana.

Props needed: 2 blocks or bricks (or 2 equal sized thick books if you don't have blocks), a strap (or a tie from a bathrobe), and a blanket for Savasana if required.

Mat direction: Long side of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 8 minutes

Emphasis:  Learn how to do Wild Thing (Camatkarasana). This deep backbend, although less challenging than Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana), can be difficult if you have any shoulder or wrist problems so there are also two modifications to make it more of a possibility if needed. Take care, listen to your body and have fun with this invigorating pose. Any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll endeavour to help.

Props needed: Possibly a blanket to put under your knee if you are practicing on a hard floor but make sure it doesn't slip!

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 45 minutes

Emphasis:  Practice familiar standing poses in the precise 'Iyengar' style for strength, focus and good alignment of your body, and enjoy a nice long Savasana afterwards.

Props needed: 2 blocks, a blanket and a strap to loop around your foot if needed.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 36 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class we will twist the torso and extend the arm to open up the front of the ribcage and the inner shoulder and then scoop under to stretch the back of the ribcage and around the shoulderblade. We will do each movement 3 times and repeat it in various poses such as Lunge and Pigeon Pose. We'll add in a few simple backbends and a leg stretch too.

Props needed: A strap or belt, a blanket to put under your head and/or knee, plus a block or book to put under your hand if needed.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 29 minutes

Emphasis:  Practise some familiar poses such as Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana) and Tree Pose (Urdhva Vrksasana) with a chair to help you into better alignment, plus some poses we don't practise so often such as Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) and Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana). Using the chair will help to make these more challenging poses more accessible and with regular practise you'll be able to do them without the chair.

Props needed: A sturdy chair.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 21 minutes

Emphasis:  This practice will stretch the front of your body in some simple backbends - Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana), Half Frog Pose (aka Quad Stretch) (Ardha Bhekasana) and Camel Pose (Ustrasana), and twist the torso in some kneeling twists.

Props needed: None - except a blanket under your knees if required.

Mat direction: Short side of mat facing the screen.

Duration: 36 minutes

Emphasis:  Your core is made up of muscles in your back and abdomen. They help keep your body stable and balanced and protect your spine. In this class of seated, kneeling and supine poses we will engage the 4 sets of muscles that make up your abs - Transverse Abdomini (the deepest layer that wraps around your middle, front to back, like a girdle), the Internal and the External Obliques (that lie diagonally on either side of the torso) and the Rectus Abdomini (which lies over the top of the others extending vertically from the ribs to the pubic bone) - some of the muscles of your back (Erector Spinae, Multifidis, Quadratus Lumborum, Semispinalis and lower Latissimus Dorsi), the Iliopsoas in your hip and your pelvic floor muscles. Phew! What a lot of muscles are involved in keeping your core strong and stable!

Props needed: A flat block to go under your heels in Malasana, two bricks or big books to go under your hands in Tolasana and a blanket if you need it to pad your knees and to put over you in Savasana.

Mat direction: Long side of mat facing the screen so you can see it while you are lying down.

Duration: 27 minutes

Emphasis:  Some supine poses to stretch the front, back, inner and outer legs. A good practice to do after you've been exercising or if you're looking for more flexibility in your legs and hips.

Props needed: 2 blocks or a book, a strap and a blanket.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen so you can turn your head to see the poses.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  Childs Pose, Cat & Cow Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Thread the Needle Pose, Malasana and a Standing Leg Stretch will all stretch the back of the body - finishing with Sphynx as a counter-pose and a face-down relaxation in Crocodile Pose.

Props needed: 2 blocks or 2 books (one thick and one thinner) and a blanket to kneel on if required.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.