Recent Articles in Beginner

Duration: 39 minutes

Emphasis:  Show some love for your hardworking feet in this class which will help them to become more mobile. We'll do lots of different exercises to move the joints (33 in each foot!) and bones (26 in each foot!) and the soft tissues too. Increased awareness of, and mobility in, your feet means better balance and posture, less likelihood of ankle, knee, hip and back problems, and using your feet properly will help improve your stance and alignment in other yoga poses too. Practice this class regularly to help keep your feet feeling comfortable as they take you through every step of your life.

Props needed: A tennis or squash ball for the foot massage and a blanket to kneel on.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.

Duration: 7 minutes

Emphasis:  Come back to yourself with this short meditation. Move your mind away from all the distractions of your busy day and just sit and breathe in this present moment, with your awareness on your inner self.

Props needed:  None required except maybe a cushion or chair to sit on.

Mat direction: n/a

Duration: 20 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class you'll be moving the joints - shoulders, hands, spine, hips, knees, ankles and toes - to help improve your mobility and encourage freedom and general wellbeing. You can also use this class as a warm-up for your yoga practice or another form of exercise.

Props needed: None required except a blanket for Savasana if required.

Mat direction: Long edge facing the screen.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class you'll move from lying on your front in Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) and a gentle variation of Frog Pose (Mandukasana), to lying on your side for a lovely flowing twist and a variation of Vishnu's Couch Pose (Anantasana), followed by lying on your back for a supine variation of Tree Pose (Vrksasana), Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana) and supine Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana). The pace of the class is slow (we'll hold the poses for a while) and it's nice and gentle.

Props needed: A blanket.

Mat direction: Long edge facing the screen.

Duration: 25 minutes

Emphasis:  A gentle class focused on stretching the legs and mobility for the ankles, knees and hips. All the poses are done lying on your back so this is good to do at the end of the day or when you are feeling low energy but still want to do some yoga.

Props needed: Two blocks (or a books of the same height) plus a blanket.

Mat direction: Long edge facing the screen so you can turn your head to see while you are lying down.

Duration: 28 minutes

Emphasis:  After warming up with some circular movements, this class will take you through a variety of seated postures that will gently open your hip joints, bringing you more mobility in that area and often a sense of freedom to the lower back. You'll repeat Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) a number of times and you'll be staying in the postures for a while too - a bit like doing a Yin Yoga class. You'll then repeat some of the postures in Legs-Up-The_Wall Pose (Viparita Karani) which is deliciously quietening and relaxing. This is an ideal class for a late evening practice, preparing you for sleep, or when you're generally feeling low on energy but still want to do some yoga.

Props needed: A blanket to sit on, or for your head to rest on, or for Savasana and some clear wall space.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.

Duration: 36 minutes

Emphasis:  After a little warming up we'll take 3 gentle backbends to open the front of your body and help you breathe more fully, then we'll take 3 gentle forward bends to stretch the back of the body and quieten the nervous system and the busy mind.

Props needed: A blanket to roll up to make a little bolster, kneel on if required, and cover yourself with in Savasana.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen might be best for this one but it doesn't really matter.

Duration: 16 minutes

Emphasis:  This sequences uses a brick (or a lunchbox as an alternative) to help improve your shoulder movement in poses such as Vajrasana (Thunderbolt or Kneeling Pose), Virabhadrasana II (Warrior 2 Pose), Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose) and two variations of Malasana (Garland Pose). Passing the brick from hand to hand helps you to be more aware of, and accurate with, your alignment in the poses.

Props needed:  A brick or lunchbox, a block or book to put under your heels in Malasana and a blanket for the kneeling poses if required.

Mat direction: Long edge facing the screen.

Duration: 23 minutes

Emphasis:  Grab a brick from your yoga kit or, if you don't have one, a lunchbox from your cupboard, and join me for this fun class. We'll work your shoulders and hips through their range of movement in some repetitive movements in poses such as Child's Pose (Balasana), High Lunge/Crescent Pose (Alanasana) and Candle Pose (Prapidasana), plus a good core strengthening sequence - all holding and moving the brick to challenge the body and the brain in new and different ways.

Props needed:  A folded blanket for your knees and your brick/lunchbox.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.

Duration: 13 minutes

Emphasis:  Some familiar poses - variations of Child's Pose (Balasana), Gate Pose (Parighasana), Crescent Moon Pose (Anjaneyasana) and Forearm Plank (Makara Adho Mukha Svanasana) - done in unfamiliar ways. You'll have some fun sliding around on a blanket as you strengthen your core muscles and stretch your arms and legs.

Props needed:  Your yoga mat folded for padding plus a blanket to slide on if you're practising on a hard floor or, if you're practising on carpet, you'll need two paper plates to enable you to glide.

Mat direction: Long edge facing the screen.

Duration: 29 minutes

Emphasis:  Taking the time for a good stretch after your run or cycle ride will allow the muscles to lengthen and recover and you'll feel better and more energised too. This class features some variations of Child's Pose (Balasana), Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Baddha Konasana (Cobblers Pose or Bound Angle Pose) and Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana) for your legs, a seated twist and Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) for your back and some good stretches for your shoulders, chest and arms too.

Props needed:  A blanket to kneel on if required.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.