Yoga + Puppy Yoga
In collaboration with Alternative Balance
Do you suffer with poor balance and flexibility? Do you suffer with headaches, bad posture and a sore back from sitting at your desk all day? Are you a sportsperson with tight muscles? Are you suffering with increased stress, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, asthma, panic attacks or pre-competition nerves? Then these classes/retreats are for you! Congratulations on taking the first step towards a new healthy you.
What is Yoga?
Yoga is a mental, physical and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India around 400 C.E. The practice aims to achieve homeostasis between the body, mind, spirit and universal consciousness through exercise, meditation, breath work and heart opening positions. Through the art of mindful exercise, yoga helps individuals manage stress and anxiety by finding the calm in a stressful situation- that is finding peace using breath work whilst carrying out difficult poses and exercise modalities.
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Modern yoga modalities include asana, hatha yoga, iyengar yoga, kundalini yoga, bikram yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga, vinyasa flow, and ashtanga. Vinyasa yoga involves movement coordinated with breath work in order to flow from one pose to the other. Although the most popular form of yoga due to its strength building modalities, this is only one small aspect of yoga. Hatha yoga refers to all styles of yoga such as ashtanga, iyengar etc that are grounded in a physical practice. Hatha classes are excellent for beginners as they are slower paced and involve a large amount of breath work. Iyengar yoga focuses on alignment and detailed movements using postures and breath control. Poses are generally held for a long period of time, helping individuals to open up stiff parts of their body, control breath and increase flexibility.
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Kundalini yoga is about releasing blocked kundalini energy from the lower spine. Kundalini classes focuses on core and breath work with fast paced exercises. Classes may also involve chanting, meditation and mantra work. Ashtanga yoga involves sequences of physically demanding poses and is suited for more advanced yogis. At the beginning of sessions, sun salutations are always practised. Bikram yoga uses up to 26 poses in a heated room typically set to 105 degrees and 40% humidity. Therefore, bikram yoga is perfect for those who want to get their sweat on! Yin yoga is a slow paced yoga style with a series of held seated positions and meditative yoga.
What Are The Benefits of Yoga?
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Increased flexibility
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Increased strength and muscle definition
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Weight loss in appropriate cases
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Improved cardiovascular health and circulation
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Improved energy and vitality
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Balanced metabolism
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Improved athletic performance
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Protection against injury
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Stress, depression and anxiety improvement
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Improved neck, shoulder or back pain
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Improved sleep, headaches and concentration
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Reduced inflammation
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Immune system boost
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Improved balance and co-ordination
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What Yoga Do We Offer?
High Performance Aging in person or online via zoom hosted by Alternative Balance (1-1 sessions or classes). In person classes are located in Cockfosters, Buckinghamshire and Guildford. High Performance Aging incorporates activated asanas, vinyasa flow, breath work and position holding. Alternative poses are always given to tailor each individuals needs and clients are worked with holistically.
Additional Options
Yoga Retreats
Yoga retreats hosted by Alternative Balance are the perfect getaway to relax, unwind and enjoy sunset yoga sessions on the beach. Retreats consist of 5 nights at a 5 star hotel and are the perfect way to relieve stress, improve strength and flexibility, meet new friends and restore vitality.
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Whats included?
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Hotel (bed + breakfast)
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2 yoga sessions per day including breath work, mind and body control. Strength, mobility and stability exercises and held positions for increased flexibility.
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20 minutes of meditation and affirmation practice per day
Puppy Yoga
Enjoy 1 hour of fun with puppies, yoga, breath work and sound healing. Sessions are suitable for all ages and the yoga involved is suitable for all abilities. Sessions include 10-20 minutes of puppy play and 5-10 minutes of relaxing sound healing. Puppies are provided by alternative balance so there is no need to worry about finding a puppy to bring. These sessions are a perfect way to socialise and improved your mental well-being!
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Classes are located around Buckinghamshire and Cockfosters, North London. Sessions cost £30 for 1 hour. If you would prefer bringing your own dog, Alternative Balance also holds doga classes!