STYLES OF YOGA
Hot Yoga – Vinyasa Flow
Hot Yoga is for every ‘body’ you do not have to be bendy, flexible or thin. Our 45 minute signature Vinyasa Flow combines passive and active postures using your breath to deepen the experience both physically and mentally. Your instructor will guide you throughout the class working your body and calming your mind in equal measure.
Suitable for all levels.
Yoga / Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga encompasses practices that improve physical health and mental well-being. Hatha yoga is very methodical and progressive, emphasising precise alignment, detailed correctness and absolute safety. It uses equipment in the form of supports and props that allow students to progress safely at their own pace, and in a way that suits their body.
Beginners work on simple postures in a basic way according to their capabilities. As they develop they then move on to more refined ways of working as well as to more complex postures. As a student develops strength and flexibility the equipment is discarded.
Most styles of yoga practised at the Light Centre are methods or styles of Hatha yoga so that Ashtanga, Iyengar or Anusara are simply different ways of practising Hatha yoga.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga
Vinyasa means the exact synchronization of breath and movement. A Vinyasa class weaves together a creative sequence of postures, including sun salutations (warming), standing postures (stabilizing), forward bends (introspective) back bends (invigorating) and twists (cleansing) linked together by the thread of the breath, gradually warming the body, stretching muscles and opening the joints and finally concluding in stillness and deep relaxation (savasana).
Many of the in-house classes (including the beginner courses) at the Centre use Vinyasa / Hatha as the core styles.
Rocket Yoga
With its foundation in the Ashtanga yoga tradition, Rocket yoga provides a dynamic sequence that both opens and strengthens the body. It is known for its love for floating and flying, so we will work on several inversions, transitions and arm balances with plenty of time for breaking down the movements to learn the poses or to take them to the next level. The perfect marriage of tempo and sequence will awaken your body, the nervous system and feed it the precious prana it craves while promoting a spirit of change and freedom in your practice. Rocket Yoga and Dynamic classes are vigorously physical and stimulating. Classes include Vinyasa (flowing asana sequences), hands-on adjustments, Pranayama (breathing exercises) and deep relaxation. To keep the practice inspiring, asana sequences are ever-changing with music playing an integral role in the class.
Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Self Practice
Ashtanga is a practice that follows a set sequence of postures. “Ashtanga” literally means eight limbs: Yama (abstinences), Niyama (observances), Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (contemplation). There are three levels with each level requiring full development before proceeding to the next. The sequential order of asanas is to be meticulously followed with each posture a preparation for the next, developing the strength and balance required to move further.
Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, has been practiced and taught in the West since 1969. This form of yoga is a dynamic, powerful tool to establish and maintain an aligned relationship between the mind, body and spirit. Kundalini yoga harnesses the mental, physical and nervous energies of the body. Classes include breathwork, mudra hand gestures, mantra, body locks and postures to balance the glandular system, strengthen the nervous system, expand lung capacity and purify the blood.
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is a quiet, slow practice with a restorative emphasis. Maintaining a cool body temperature and working slowly in long held poses (mostly on the mat). The practice allows the body to unwind and to find a release in the structure of the body by stimulating the joints, ligaments and connective tissues. The class is a perfect complement to fast-paced lifestyles, as well as those seeking to enhance their flexibility or are recovering from injuries. The class has a meditative quality and brings about a sense of well-being and calm. In restorative or therapeutic yoga, props are used to support the body so that you can hold poses for longer, allowing you to open your body through passive stretching. Restorative postures are usually adapted from lying or seated yoga poses with the addition of blocks, bolsters, and blankets to eliminate unnecessary straining. This style is especially suitable for people who want a gentle class or those who are recovering from injury.
Pregnancy Yoga
Pregnancy Yoga is an excellent way to prepare you for labour and the birth of your baby. Signing up for an antenatal yoga class can therefore be very helpful during your pregnancy. You’ll learn postures that won’t strain your body, and you’ll meet other mums-to-be, too. You need to be 12 weeks pregnant before you can attend our pregnancy classes
Yoga For Better Posture
Our bodies are designed to regularly move. Sitting in tense, static postures all day causes the supporting muscles to become chronically knotted and our bodies to become moulded to the shape we sit in. Gradually our biomechanics become altered, creating stresses throughout our bodies that contribute to aches and pains and predispose us to further injuries. Regaining a normal posture requires a careful and sustained unravelling of the compensations and stiffness.
This class will re-educate your body with a routine designed especially to release tensions held in your upper back by using specific tools to break down adhesions – you will learn how to be your own osteopath.