Yin yoga can be seen as a gentle form of yoga. It stretches and targets both the deep connective tissues between the muscles, and the fascia throughout the body. The aim is to increase circulation in the joints and improve flexibility as the poses stretch and exercise the bone and joint areas. It also helps us to regulate the body’s flow of energy.
Book our monthly Saturday yin workshop
Sign up to yin yoga class from Tuesday 6th November
One of our hatha yoga teachers noted recently that people often ask her what poses are done in hatha yoga. Some ashtanga yoga students (a more dynamic form of yoga) don’t realise that you will recognise all the same poses in hatha yoga that we practice in ashtanga. Traditionally hatha is performed at a slower speed, the focus may be on different things but the base poses are the same.
This means if you are used to ashtanga or vinyasa yoga, it won’t mean that you ‘can’t’ do a hatha yoga class. You will enjoy the same poses but with a different emphasis and focus.
Have you thought about mixing and matching your classes to get the different benefits of these types of yogas?
Our Gold and Silver membership allow you to attend any classes on the timetable for the same price every month. Try out hatha to your heart’s content!
The Guardian recently reported some truly alarming figures – one quarter of 14 year old girls in the UK have self-harmed. It’s a staggering statistic, with the Children’s Society estimating that 110,000 children aged 14 may be self-harming, including 76,000 girls and 33,000 boys. Clearly, we need to be doing more to empower our children with coping skills and their own self-care toolkit. Many adults struggle with the concept and practice of self-care so it’s little wonder that our children need more support and education on healthy ways to cope with the demands of life.
When I think back to my own experiences of being a child, I feel a great sense of concern for today’s youth. As a teen there are so many changes to navigate – changing bodies, changing emotions, changing friendships, more responsibility, busier schedules, and weighty decisions to make affecting the future.It was a difficult time to navigate twenty years ago and that was well before the advent of screen time, social media and the incredible pressure kids feel today to ‘get ahead’ and shine amongst stiff competition. The social landscape our children live in is vastly different to the one we experienced and we are all learning together how to manage our online life and relationship with technology.
Thankfully there are solutions and our children are learning core coping skills and concepts like yoga, meditation, mindfulness and growth mindset from an early age. We need to build on this by empowering our kids with a practical self-care toolkit, one that nourishes their mental, emotional and physical health.
What we all need to make self-care a daily habit is a framework and a broad toolkit from which to draw. This is why I created the Vitality Wheel which reminds us of the 8 different ways we can nourish ourselves in any moment.
I have a series of workshops coming up which will show you how to use the Vitality Wheel to build your own self-care toolkit, whether you are aged 3, 13 or 43.
The first one is ‘Self-Care for Teens: Boosting Resilience and Coping Skills’ Workshop
Help your teen embark on the new school year with a healthy outlook and strong coping toolkit. This workshop is about empowering teens with their own resources to navigate challenging situations, stress and anxiety, helping them take ownership of their health and wellbeing.
Included in the workshop:
Sunday 16th September 12.30 – 2pm
And the second is for parents to attend: ‘Self-Care for Kids: Boosting Resilience and Emotional First Aid’
Come along to this workshop and learn how to introduce the concept to your children and take away a practical toolkit that will keep your whole family well nourished.
You will learn:
Sunday 23rd September 12.30 – 2pm
This idea came at me literally like a bolt out of the blue. I had just posted a short and sweet video of my daughter and I doing a yoga sequence before bedtime on Instagram and typed in the hashtag #selfcareforkids. When I saw the words there, something clicked, I got goose bumps. This felt important. As an ambassador of self-care I have loved seeing my daughter’s conceptualisation and personal practice blossom and this is largely down to our chats, gentle encouragement to join me in my self-care activities and her noticing my rituals of nourishment throughout the day. Seeing that phrase on my screen made me think more about actively teaching her a toolkit tailored to her age and one that she could engage in on her own, whenever she needs some kind of nurturing. We can do more than just demonstrate and hope they pick it up by osmosis, we can teach them their own tools of self-care.
That first yoga for kids video was met with an enormous warmth and receptivity, so much so I leaped onto social media to see whether #selfcareforkids hashtag was being used much… and it wasn’t. I felt so excited about this idea I suggested to my little one that this was a project we could work on together through the school holidays and that was how the @selfcareforkids Instagram and Twitter accounts were born last year. The response has been overwhelmingly positive – there is a real thirst for this.
For parents who haven’t had self-care role modelled for them, this can be a wonderful way of learning and sharing with their children, by engaging in what I affectionately call ‘collective self-care’ – self-care for all the family. I love that the ‘Self-Care for Kids’ project is creating a ritual of nourishment in our household. So far we’ve explored tips like making a mindfulness jar and starting a self-care journal – both easy, accessible and uplifting activities.
At the heart of this project is the goal to empower children with the tools of self-care via mindfulness, meditation, yoga, boosting emotional literacy and emotional agility, coping strategies and stress management techniques. The exercises can be engaged in as a family for young ones or older children can follow along and build their self-care toolkit on their own. The broader aim is to encourage self-care: head, heart and body, to raise resilient and compassionate kids. There is such a need and appetite for this and I am so excited to see it blossom and make a tangible, positive difference.
You can also sign up to my self-care for kids workshop at the studio
— Blog post written by Suzy Reading, our resident vitality yoga teacher who is particularly interested in self-care for all ages.
I didn’t know, but I have been blessed with time to observe post an operation for a Lisfranc injury. Are there things about BAYoga that you have observed, can we improve, do we need to change anything?
I fell over a stop cock cover walking to work on the 30th December 2017. It’s now 1st June 2018 and I am still using crutches to walk. Many people have commented that I must be frustrated and bored now, but actually, NO! I am extremely grateful for this time, as its given me the opportunity to reflect on my life and just ‘be’.
The first six weeks post operation I was couch bound, and this meant that I had to inject daily to avoid blood clotting. This I was extremely grateful for, as it meant I had a minuscule insight into what my son goes through daily. Diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at the age of 16 (he’s now 28) he has to inject 4 times a day for the rest of his life. I had to inject once a day for 6 weeks, yes, I do mean ‘minuscule’ insight, but I was so grateful to have the opportunity of a better understanding of what he does daily, as small as it was.
I’m a great believer that the universe sends us lessons for a reason – last year, May 2017, I fell running for a train (totally my fault, in a rush) I fractured my left foot and the next day I was back at work – this time I fractured my right foot, being a yoga teacher its good to be balanced!! However, this time the ‘universe’ made sure I slowed down by giving me no choice, I am truly lucky to have had this opportunity, as its given me the chance to reflect on my life and especially my business.
When I first opened BAYoga in August 2011 I had no idea how to run a business, I was a yoga teacher, passionate about what I do and wanting to share that passion with as many people as possible. I found the premises and set off. Its been a very steep learning curve and having now had the opportunity to focus more on the business, I realise that we can grow.
To that end, please let me know your thoughts about BAYoga, do you have any suggestions where you feel we can do better or is there anything you feel we can change for the better?
My email is cathy@bayoga.co.uk – do drop me a line
An interview with our big dog little dog teacher, Natalie
How did you find yoga?
My mum found yoga for me really. We started going to a basic hatha class when I was 16 or 17 years old. We did this together for about a year before I started university. My mum still practices yoga now and comes to my class when she can which is great!
I did not practice any regular yoga again until I was pregnant. After an emotional pregnancy, I found maternity leave was the best time of my life! However, after 10 months, I went back to work part-time and a completely new myriad of challenges were upon me. I struggled with having no time to myself any longer and had a strong yearning to do something simply for me and yoga was it. I found Ashtanga yoga and began reading and learning more about yoga philosophy and everything just seemed to make sense. I started taking classes with Taran Boynton and Martin Forsyth so that I was practicing several times a week.
In what ways has yoga influenced other areas of your life?
Ashtanga yoga made me realise my inner strength. It enabled me to connect with my body, which enabled me to find myself again as a person and not just as a wife and a mother. I believe it found me when I needed it most. I loved being on my mat and learning about my body again, what it could and could not do. In the beginning I was not very strong physically and this probably mirrored how I was feeling at the time. I liked being on the mat, as I did not have to worry about anyone else and enjoyed being led through the postures and for this I felt so grateful!
But then my teacher changed her class to a Mysore-style class (i.e. a self-practice class). This had a big impact on me. Initially, I was quite cross as I found self-practice is much harder to commit to but now I know it was the best thing for me. It meant if I wanted to keep feeling the positive effects of yoga in my life then I would need to take responsibility and to just keep practising and that’s really when everything started to change. I settled into self-practice and saw that it was all about commitment. I’m not one to shy away from hard work and as a result last year for me was about deepening my self-practice and turning it into a home practice.
I then went on to do a teacher training. During the training I admit that my own practice suffered but from all the teachings I learned there I feel I have more freedom in my practice. I’m so much more accepting of myself, my practice and situations I find myself in now – its awesome!
I believe if you allow it to, yoga has self-healing powers. I just find it amazing and I can’t now ever imagine not having it in my life.
Why did you do the Big Dog Little Dog training?
Natalie: I want my child (and all children!) to have the influence of yoga in his life. I see that things can get between you and your child – like household chores and working etc, – that’s life; there’s always something to do! I hear people say that their children are their number one priority but at the same time, I see them finding excuses for not spending time with them. I am most certainly not a perfect mother but thankfully yoga has given me a deep awareness about my parenting. Balancing my time and the quality time I have with my son is something that I am committed to working on and always will as things change over time – like the practice, I believe it is about commitment.
Has your relationship changed with your son as a result of the BDLD training?
Natalie: I think that yoga brings an awareness that helps me bring honesty to the way I interact with my family. Henry asks to do the hand mudras at bedtime and he enjoys ‘flying’ with his dad. He’s become more interested in my yoga practice as a result of this and is asking more questions about yoga. I think if you can teach your child skills to manage their future stresses and emotions in a natural, authentic and appropriate way then it is so worthwhile and yoga provides this. I want to be able to give parents useful tools found in the BDLD curriculum to help them connect with their children too.
Natalie is our resident Big Dog Little Dog workshop teacher, run on the first Saturday of every month and the occasional Sunday
We chat to Clare about yoga, her practice, and why she loves yin yoga.
Why did you get into yoga?
I’d never been anything close to sporty when I was growing up. But in my 20’s working in London, I found that yoga helped me feel less anxious and stressed. I felt happier after class and I stood taller too. My teacher mentioned an ashram in India and a month later I was there. A year later I returned to India to do a teacher training. On the course I was told, “Your life will never be the same again.” How true!
What does the word ‘practice’ mean to you?
Sometimes people call yoga a ‘practice’ and indeed, it takes a lot of practice – I’d say all your life!
You’re trying to live and practice at the same time. You’re being in this body and living with this mind.
Why do you practice?
For me it’s about noticing. Noticing tensions, patterns of thought, tightness in your glutes when attempting the yin pose shoelace. Since having a baby last year, practice is certainly more challenging. Not just finding time to get on my mat, but tiredness makes you more likely to revert to your natural way of being.
I’ve worked hard to be kinder, more compassionate and positive over the past ten years or so. But when you’ve been up half the night, it’s hard.
The guru of ashtanga yoga, Sri K Pattabhi Jois was fond of calling family life the seventh series of ashtanga yoga, the most challenging series of all. It’s so true.
What’s so great about yin yoga?
The thing I love about yin is that it’s for everyone. Your first ever yoga class can be yin and you’ll definitely get something out of it.
It’s an opportunity to rest and be still but that doesn’t mean it’s passive. You’re opening your body in a gentle way and you’re getting a good stretch too.
What’s your proudest yoga achievement?
I’m not sure ‘achievement’ is the right word as yoga’s about letting go of striving, but when I lived in London I taught a weekly private class to a group of hefty rugby boys.
They were training for their first Ironman triathlon and one of them was so tight in his body, he struggled to get anywhere near his toes. His wife had to tie his shoelaces for him. The class was very relaxed with lots of leg-pulling between the blokes. Teaching them was more like crowd-control but it was always fun.
Curious about yin yoga? Book onto Clare’s monthly workshop at the studio. It’s always on the first Saturday of the month.
A little known fact about the Berkhamsted yoga studio, BAYoga is that we donate the proceeds from all of our taster classes to the Hospice of St Francis. The studio first opened in September 2011 and has raised £4065.52 to date for the charity.
New students can trial a class at BAYoga studio in return for their £5 donation.
We also run an annual yoga medley where yoga, pilates and meditations are taught throughout an afternoon so people can try them out and discover what they enjoy. All proceeds from this go to the Hospice, too.
Check out this short (less than 3 minutes!) interview with Cathy telling us about what every beginner needs to know about ashtanga yoga
Ready to give it a try? Sign up to one of our beginners courses (usually run in January, April and September) or pop down and try a class on the timetable anytime.
Check out Jayne’s progress with her practice, with her “before” photo here and “after” photo at the bottom of the interview:
Jayne’s before photo
What attracted you to try ashtanga yoga? My husband bought me some Ashtanga yoga private sessions – I’d never heard of this form of yoga before then! What I liked straight away was the logical structure of the sequence, which makes it easy to repeat even when you can’t get to a class.
When did you first start and how regularly do you practice? I have loved practising yoga since 2000 and was introduced to Ashtanga in 2011. I love the Mysore practice as I can work at my own pace at the speed of my own breath and it allows me an ability to be introspective whilst also enjoying the energy of those practising around me in the room.
What were you expecting from it? I had no expectations whatsoever, which make the results I have attained from the practice all the more exciting!
What were the actual benefits?
Physical: flexibility and core strength, balance (on and off the mat)
Mental: I’m calmer, more courageous and independent.
When you started what were the challenges and how did you begin to overcome them? Although I was much younger when I started yoga, I was stiff and had no core strength, and I was quite fearful about hurting myself. I also lacked focus – Cathy would often remind me gently to bring my focus back what I was doing on my mat rather than on what was happening on the High Street! The fact that the practice follows the same series of postures each session means that you are able to quickly see glimmers of increased flexibility and strength that come with commitment to practice. The wonderful adjustments that come during the practice act as cues to the body as to which tissues can open up and which need to work in each posture, having such individual attention means that along with the release of tension comes a release of other emotions and tensions which are often stored in the body.
What do you specifically love about BAYoga studio? Sensitive adjustments and support of personal practice by Cathy, Caroline and Debbie. There are also relevant workshops available which complement my ashtanga yoga practice. I love that classes are year round and not just term time, and it’s all right in the centre of Berkhamsted.
What encouragement/advice would you give to a newbie to yoga?
Don’t compare yourself to others in the class- what one person can find straightforward, others can find challenging!
Don’t feel self conscious, everyone else is pleased that you are there practising and are far too busy themselves to notice what you are doing.
Enjoy the group energy but stay focused on your own breath.
Don’t worry if you forget the sequence, it will come with practice and the help of your teacher- everyone else in the room started the same way.
Be consistent in your practice and try to combine classes in the studio with home practice even if home practice is only a few sun salutations and savasana.
What do you think people get wrong about ashtanga yoga – what assumptions do people make that aren’t necessarily correct?
Myth 1: ‘Ashtanga is too serious’. Not true – so much laughter comes with this practice.
Myth 2: ‘Ashtanga is too competitive and dangerous’ – genuine Ashtanga practice has no room for ego and comparison with anyone other than your self. If you stick with your breath it is a safe, gentle and rewarding practice.
Myth 3: ‘You get more out of a led class.’ In actual fact the individual attention you receive from a Mysore style practice meets you on your mat each day with individual adjustments from your teacher to allow steady development at a pace that is right for your body.
Myth 4: ‘Its boring to do the same thing over and over again’- The Ashtanga sequence has been created as a logical flow to open each body system and muscle to ease the way into the next asana or posture. Following this system 6 days a week allows you to treat the practice as a meditation, your body and mind know what to expect and you can settle into whatever you meet on the mat each day. Following a sequence means that you are able to take responsibility for your own practice, it becomes second nature and easy to incorporate in your life even when working away or on holiday.
How does your practice help you in every day life? I’m far more patient and compassionate with others and myself; I’m much less in a rush than when I started. I love the feeling of lightness and energy that the practice gives me and the fact that my body enjoys back-bending and headstands which I didn’t even contemplate as a child! It’s not about having a perfect practice its about exploring the possibilities of my body and mind at each moment, maintaining a sense of humour and reminding myself of how much can be gained by connecting with the breath.
Jayne’s “after” photo
Inspired to give Berkhamsted yoga a try? Join us at the studio and book your taster class for just £5.