A regular weekly yoga practice encourages people to come together in a positive way to move their body in a positive way.

Utthita Balasana : Extended Child Pose

Benefits of Yoga : Yoga will improve your body in the following areas.

• Flexibility
• Concentration
• Strength
• Mental clarity
• Strengthen joints
• Muscle tone
• Weight control
• Aerobic capacity
• Circulation
• Stress relief
• Stamina
• Self Confidence & Self Esteem

* Yoga improves joint mobility as we move our joints through their full range of motion. Moving joints prevents stiffness in the body helping to ease all aches and pains. If we do not use it, we loss it !  Always work within the limitations of your body.

* Yoga strengthens the entire spine including lower back, middle back, upper back, neck and shoulders. Therefore improving people’s posture, sore backs and sore necks. In yoga we move, stretch and strengthen our hands, fingers,wrists, arms and shoulders which in turn helps peoples sore necks, shoulders and headaches. No part of our body works in isolation, every muscle connects to ligaments and bones so yoga works the entire body.

* Our modern lifestyle of sitting and the increased use of technology is creating very poor posture in people of all ages including school aged children, teens & university students. Poor posture and rounding shoulders can result in poor breathing habits and headaches. If people are unable to breath well this can result in poor circulation, poor clarity of mind and poor digestion because there is no oxygen getting into the blood stream to transport blood around the body including the brain.

* Yoga teaches mindfulness so yoga students are able to adapt their good postural habits into their daily life. Yoga teaches people to be aware of what they are doing while they are doing it. Mindfulness is about awareness of what is actually happening in the present moment.

* Yoga includes and incorporates breathing exercises and breathing awareness. It teaches people to become aware of their breathing right down into their diaphragm and belly to fill the whole of their lungs and focus on expelling the air from the whole of the lungs. Practicing good breathing can help to reduce, improve & control digestive problems, panic attacks, debilitating anxiety, stress, worry, depression, vertigo and balance issues.

* Yoga can increase bone density and bone health. Applying a positive force on our body in the correct alignment is good for our bones. In yoga standing poses with the correct alignment creates a positive force on our bones to improve and support good bone growth and health. We do need a regular practice for this to be possible.

* We work lower limbs including hips, knees, ankles and feet. Also strengthening muscles around the joints and helping to prevent injury. Even if injury occurs the recovery time is quicker because the muscles and joints are already strong.

* Yoga improves balance. We tend to loss our sense of balance from around the age of 30. The good news is that with regular practice of balancing exercises we can restore our good balance.  So it’s super important to incorporate regular balancing exercises in our weekly routine. Therefore balance exercises are vital for us to reduce our risk of falls and injuries associated with falling. Yoga has many balance exercises we enjoy. There are always simple options to get you started.

* We improve our mental health and state of mind with each class. Relax, breath and believe in yourself and anything is possible.

NOTE FOR BEGINNERS :

• Go Slow !
• Do not compare yourself to anyone else in the class; you are not competing. Your body will be stiff and tight for the first time and things can seem a little daunting which is why it is important to give your body time to get familiar with what we are asking of it. Try not to make any assessment of your progress until you’re been practicing for several weeks. Remember that yoga is a journey that is different for everyone.