“The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.” - TKV Desikachar

We have just started a new therapeutic yoga class at Bristol Yoga Centre. Therapeutic yoga is a slower pace class, which focuses on mindful movement, breath awareness and relaxation practices. Space is given to explore postures and to encourage a deeper awareness of body and breath - which has many benefits for physical and psychological health and wellbeing.

One regular student commented, ‘Since I started yoga classes, I have gained more mobility, can deal with my painful joints better and am sleeping better at night’.

Therapeutic yoga class is great for beginners as well as those returning to yoga after a break. It’s also beneficial for people with injuries and those wishing to improve energy levels and combat insomnia. Regular practice can help to reduce pain, lessen worry and manage stress levels.

Rather than pushing and forcing, more gentle purposeful movement is used to heal the mind and body. Relaxation is the key to opening and letting go, and it’s one of the most important aspects of yoga practice. When you’re relaxed, you are able to remain calm and focused, and pay greater attention to your alignment and posture. As Josie’s student Roz commented:

‘When I go to a yoga class I don’t just want a work-out, I want to connect my mind and body. After Josie’s classes I can tell that I’ve stretched and toned pretty much every muscle in my body, but at the same time I’m totally relaxed from the inside. I don’t know how she does it but it feels amazing!’

By practicing slowly and mindfully, you will naturally get incredible results and bring progress to your practice. It’s a lovely safe method to release tension and learn how to manage pain in a compassionate way. We believe that everyone will benefit from learning to practice in this way.

Therapeutic Yoga class with Josie is on every Tuesday from 10 – 11am. She is a qualified Yoga Nidra teacher and is currently undertaking a two year course in Yoga Therapy for mental health with the Minded Institute. Please feel free to get in touch with her for more information.

By letting go, it all gets done - Lao Tzu

Yoga for relaxation and stress relief workshop at the Bristol Yoga Centre

We often think that we are relaxed when watching TV or cycling. Whilst these can be more relaxing than going to work or driving the kids around, they are still bombarding our senses. Yoga is a great remedy for stress as it teaches you how to relax fully.

Relax the yoga way

One of the main causes of chronic stress is our inability to release tension and strain once the cause of the stress has passed. We often worry and carry the disturbance with us long after an incident has taken place. This can cause many of us to suffer tension in our head, neck and upper back. We physically carry the weight of the world on our shoulders! In Savasana (full relaxation), we take the weight off and our body can begin to really relax and rejuvenate.

Be with the breath

Bringing our awareness to our breathing enables us to be in the present moment, rather than focusing on the past or future. Breathing properly means that our body is being supplied with the right amount of oxygen, replenishing our brain and other vital organs.

Balance the nervous system

Yoga also helps our nervous system to rebalance after a challenge has passed. In our practice, we often alternate between strenuous poses and gentler postures, conditioning us to move easily between states of challenge and rest. This teaches us to let go and release once the challenges have been met.

Regular Asana practice

Doing regular asanas keeps our body and mind balanced, strong and flexible. It also relieves muscular tension and mobilise our joints. If you are feeling healthy, it’s much easier to handle stress and worries.

Learning to accept change

Often, we feel really stressed when going through changes. Just like stress, changes are an inevitable part of living. Therefore, it’s worth learning techniques to help us when these changes become challenging. When we practice mindfully every day, we can become inquisitive about the process of change and every moment becomes fascinating.

I am running a short relaxation and stress relief workshop on 4th June. Come and learn how to relax fully and ward off stress! This will be a lovely Sunday afternoon event supporting Bristol Mind, a mental health charity who do great work in Bristol.

We have also scheduled a new meditation workshop on stress and life management on Sunday 2nd July by Kay Baxter at the Bristol Yoga Centre studio.