February Theme of the Month

The winter can still be a funny time for people as we patiently wait for the spring, growth and warmer weather. There may be many times when getting to a practice can seem challenging to make the effort. Many people often say that they are always pleased that they come to yoga and feel so much better afterwards, the hardest bit often can be the getting up early, coming outside in the cold and going out in the evenings. So many people feel so tired now with modern day living and that can affect our body. Simply, if we don’t move our body in the way it is designed to move, we will stiffen up and can feel even more tired. When we ache in our body that affects our mood.

Awakening the body and moving is such a simple way to actually give ourselves a bit energy and to release tension and tightness. If you practice during the day you may feel your yoga gives you a little boost for the rest of your day and keeps you feeling focused and able to deal better with the challenges that come your way. An evening practice will often help us to release stressful parts of our day, release tightness in the body and can bring a calmness into the evening so that we hopefully can get a better night’s sleep.

Exercise is crucial to keep us strong and healthy – especially when it comes to our muscles, bones, and joints. Yoga is one of the best low-impact exercises to do which you can take at your own pace and level.Yoga is a wonderful practice for Strengthening and Toning different muscle groups as well as Enhancing Flexibility: Yoga poses are designed to stretch and elongate muscles, which can improve overall flexibility and range of motion. We can practice yoga anytime of the day, first thing in the morning to wake the body up, an afternoon practice to bring some energy into our day and in the evening to release tension or tightness that has built up during the day.

We often find when we move our body we move out of the busy mind space as we connect to the various areas of the body. Through poses we often work with releasing stress, physical tension and practice being mindful and in the present moment. Hatha yoga was originally developed as a preparation for meditation so that you can sit more comfortably and have flexibility to move your mind into new places. A yoga class described as ‘Hatha’ will typically involve a set of physical postures (yoga poses) and breathing techniques.

Move Your Body Free Your Mind

Week 1 - Yoga for Happy Joints
Moving joints through their full range of motion increases flexibility and helps to move synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints. Everyone would benefit from daily movement to the joints to keep them functioning healthily over time. Great movements to do especially if you sit down a lot during the day or work at the desk. You may even like to regularly include some of these into your day. Yoga also enhances the mind-body connection, which can help manage pain and stress. Great for the mind too as they can be done mindfully which boosts of concentration/focus levels.

Week 2 - Yoga for Happy Hips
Poses and movements which increase flexibility, stability, and overall health in the hip joints. These help to maintain flexibility and stability in the hip joints, which is crucial for lower-back health and overall body freedom and ease. Yoga practices can help release not only physical tension, but also emotional stress stored in the hips. We can stay present by breathing deeply with each sensation and emotion that arises during the practice.

Week 3 - Yoga for Happy Hamstrings
Tight hamstrings are the bane of modern life! Many of us during our day sit at desks, drive in cars, and then sit down again in front of the television. This can lead to tight hamstrings and even tightness in the lower back. Yoga can be great for encouraging length in the hamstrings and open your practice to new possibilities. Let your legs feel more alive as you create space in your body and your mind!

Week 4 - Yoga for Happy Backs and Open Hearts
Yoga can help improve your posture, reduce back pain, and open your heart, making you feel more energized and open. Poses that work the back often have a lovely benefit of opening the shoulders and chest, so we feel more spacious and open as opposed to rounding over and hunched. Opening the front body can be vitalising and an energy boost as well as releasing some of the built up stress that we hold around the chest.

Related Videos

Freeing the Joints
Good Morning Yoga
Happy Hamstrings Hips
Happy Spine
Stress & Tension
Focus & Concentration
Hamstrings
Upper Back & Shoulders

This Month’s Music

Here’s a selection of the music Vicky has been enjoying this month.