Vinyasa Flow Yoga Group Classes

In-Person Yoga classes are on hold presently due to covid – Please check back later.  If you have a group that would like to be taught yoga via Zoom please be in touch:  info@clairesmithwellness.com

I teach a wide variety of yoga classes ranging from the gentlest restorative classes to the most challenging Dynamic vinyasa flow classes.

The main style that I teach is Vinyasa Flow.  This style is usually a faster pace than other styles and has its roots in Ashtanga yoga – the 20th-century yoga created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a student of the great yogi Krishnamacharya.  It is often a very creative style and can be customised to suit a wide range of student abilities and levels.  The pace can range from a delicious, slow and sensual heartful flow to a pacey, dynamic sequence including strong arm-balances and inversions (tipping the body upside down into handstands and forearm balances) to really build strength and get the blood pumping.  Sequences often start gently with some warm-up movements and postures, and they often build towards a peak posture opening and strengthening various body parts to allow you to do so safely and effectively.

I also teach Hatha yoga.  This style of yoga is a much slower paced yoga with postures being held for longer.  It has been around since the beginning of time when yoga began, and it is considered a Raja or King Yoga.  Hatha translates as Sun and Moon yoga or yin and yang, masculine and feminine.  It seeks to balance these energies within the individual being creating balance and harmony.  It is often considered to be a more spiritual form of yoga with discussions on the 7 chakras (7 wheels or energy centres in the body) and the 5 koshas (5 bodies or layers) much more common than in other styles.  Those with a keen interest in raising their vibration spiritually speaking, are more often drawn to this style of yoga.

Restorative yoga is the gentlest style around and perfect for when your energy is low and you just don’t have the strength for one of the other styles and really need to recharge your batteries and release tension.  You essentially lay over a bolster (or bolsters) and other props for the entire duration of the class, moving from one posture to the next very slowly and mindfully.  You may even just do one posture for the whole class, if you choose to, or move between a few postures, spending between 3-15 minutes in each posture.  It is the ultimate nervous system re-set, lighting-up the para-sympathetic part, or rest and digest, and therefore giving the over-used sympathetic, or fight or flight part, some much-needed time off.  This style can also be used in a therapeutic way to treat a wide variety of 21st-century ailments including insomnia, stress and anxiety, and depression.

In-Person Yoga classes are on hold presently due to covid – please check back later.  If you have a group that would like to be taught yoga via Zoom please be in touch:  info@clairesmithwellness.com