This is just a little blog post to let you know that I’m starting a new daytime yoga class at Sandridge Village Hall on the outskirts of St Albans, Hertfordshire.
It’ll be on a Thursday morning 9.30-10.30 and will be a yin yoga class. The first class will be 4 September.
What is yin yoga?
Yin yoga is wonderful. Of course, I’d say that as I teach it. It’s for those days when you want nothing more than to be still but you feel you ought to be doing some exercise. We spend the class sitting or lying in yoga poses and your body gets a good stretch. It’s also deeply relaxing.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been on a yoga mat before and I’ll give you lots of attention.
Sandridge Village Hall is on the main road running through the centre of the village. Come and yoga!
Why am I starting a yoga class at Sandridge Village Hall?
I don’t believe Sandridge Village Hall has a daytime yoga class. And it’s a lovely space. I’ve taught in a few local halls and when I saw this one, I was so happy with it. It’s got heaters for winter mornings, a wonderfully clean floor, and lots of free parking to the left of the hall.
Price of Sandridge Village Hall yoga class
It’s £10 per class. I’m also starting a special deal: £80 for 10 classes – for use in this class and the Monday morning Mead Hall gentle class in Wheathampstead.
When does the Sandridge yoga class start?
First class: Thursday 4 September, 9.30-10.30. See you there!
UPDATE: As of January 2015 this class is being held at All Saints Studios just up the road. Visit the class schedule page for details.
“Contentment comes from mental well-being that moves us to consider the positive in all beings and situations.”
This was the reading on which I decided to base this morning’s gentle yoga class in Wheathampstead. And how apt it proved to be.
I arrived early to the little Mead Hall in Wheathampstead village to find a hive of activity. Normally it’s silent but there were people inside arranging tables and making tea. I peered through the door, dragging in my bags of mats and props only to be told that it was a WI (Women’s Institute) meeting and they’d had the booking in the diary for months.
“Bugger!” I thought. Of course, it was only a matter of minutes before regulars started arriving for the class. I explained the situation and we stood in the car park debating the options. The park was ruled out as they didn’t want to be watched by dogwalkers… living rooms weren’t big enough… what to do?
My yogi mum volunteered her back garden and so it was decided. Directions were given and five minutes later we were at Amwell Lane and people were marvelling at the beautiful flowers and the lush green lawn.
“Oooh I daren’t walk on the grass, it’s so immaculate!” said Liz. The joys of having a dad who’s a landscape gardener. I’ve been saying for ages that they should open it to the public.
We progressed through the class. When we did our sun salutations, we really did stretch our fingers towards the sun, and when we ended our savasana, we brought our awareness to the sensation of every blade of grass touching our fingers and the backs of our hands.
It was a lovely class and here’s the full reading:
“Contentment comes from mental well-being that moves us to consider the positive in all beings and situations. Often our frustrations come from regrets, agitation, suffering or comparing ourselves with others. Focusing on what others have – or don’t have for that matter – instead of nourishing gratitude leads to everlasting discontent.
Contentment is a dynamic and constructive attitude that brings us to look at things in a new way. It calms the mind, bringing a flowering of subtle joy and inner serenity that are independent of all outside influences and perishable things.
It is very difficult however to sustain contentment. Though it may be easier to be happy when we are successful, only an exceptional soul remains positive in the midst of adverse currents. Contentment means looking at every event with a smile. It helps to have a sense of humour too.”
Bernard Bouchard defining 2.42 in the Yoga Sutras (Santosha)
We sat on the swing seat afterwards drinking herbal tea saying how special the class had been. People loved feeling the breeze and hearing bees buzzing around them.
And so I’d like to say a hearty thank you to the ladies of the WI. If they want to book the Mead Hall again on a Monday morning, please feel free. But just make sure it’s on a day when the sun is shining…
Yes, it’s true, I’m going to use this blog post to promote the various yoga things I’ve got going on. I apologise in advance and normal services will resume shortly.
Breathing Space yoga workshop – yin/yang yoga with Clare Wener and April Nunes Tucker
So you may have noticed that I have a new website! The Diary of a Yogi blog has now been subsumed into my Shanta Yoga site so everything’s now in one place. Much easier. If you get a chance, have a look around the site and feel free to give me any feedback. All my old blog posts are still available on here.
Yoga Harpenden
I’ve started teaching yoga classes in Hertfordshire and it’s going well. I’m teaching a yin/yang yoga workshop at Breathing Space in Harpenden next month with my friend and wonderful ashtanga teacher April Nunes Tucker. She’ll lead 1.5 hours of ashtanga and then I’ll teach yin for 1.5 hours.
I’m also teaching at a little place called the Mead Hall in Wheathampstead. It’s a WI (Women’s Institute) hall and has central heating and a lovely wooden floor. Before teaching yoga, I would never have got quite so excited about flooring or heating. Yoga at the Mead Hall is a gentle affair and we do lots of warm ups, some standing and seated poses and a lovely long relaxation at the end. Everyone goes at their own pace and it’s very friendly.
I’m also trying out teaching a weekly yin class in a yoga/pilates studio in Southdown, Harpenden. I can’t seem to find anyone else offering a regular yin class in the county. I’m aware that that might be because no-one’s interested but you’ve got to give these things a go, right?
I’m spreading the word by going door to door getting my hand squished in letterboxes (some are lethal. Lethal, I tell you). I’m also getting really good at laminating and asking shops to display them. Even the village butcher got a flyer. I had a lovely yoga natter in the beauty salon with a lady who was getting a manicure.
Yin yoga Berkhamsted
BAYoga Studio is a great ashtanga studio in Berkhamsted run by Cathy Haworth. I’ve been going to Mysore classes there and will also be running a yin yoga workshop there on Saturday 15 June. It’ll be two hours of yin yoga and it should be lovely.
Yin yoga workshop at BAYoga Berkhamsted with Clare Wener
If you’ve never heard of yin yoga before, have a read of a blog post that explains the practice.
And if you’d like to find out more about my classes, all the details are listed on the class schedule page.
Anyway, that’s about it. Thanks for bearing with me while I go on about my classes. It’s not all about me, me, me you know.
