Try a Yoga Class to Celebrate International Yoga Day

It’s International Yoga Day today (21st June) and the perfect opportunity to celebrate Yoga at Club Towers! If you have never done a Yoga class before, then why not try one with a friend or family member? Details of a free on-line class can be found below.

Yoga has some pretty incredible health benefits including increasing your flexibility, strength and balance, improving your cardiovascular functions, reducing anxiety and helping you sleep better. But did you also know it can help boost immunity, reduce inflammation and help to prevent burn out?

The word “Yoga” actually comes from the root word ‘yuj’ meaning to bind or unite and Yoga Asana is the physical practice and postures of Yoga. Whilst the word has several meanings many say it is the connection of body and mind, creating harmony!

Here at the Club, we run just under 20 Yoga classes each week, the majority of those being Hatha but we also run Vinyasa and Yin classes. Hatha is the most popular type and is suitable for all members. It focuses on posture and breathing, and sometimes also includes meditation Whilst its practice typically uses a gentle approach, Hatha can include some more challenging poses. Vinyasa (or Flow) on the other hand is faster paced, with quicker, flowing transitions from pose to pose. Yin Yoga is slower and poses will be held for much longer, a perfect unwind for a great night’s sleep!

So, what is it we love about Yoga? We thought we’d ask our instructors that question!

Instructor Julia (Monday lunchtimes) loves how Yoga creates space – a time to focus inwards – and once on the Yoga mat, it is the safest place to be. She also loves the Yoga community and seeing her participants improving their health and well-being.

Likewise, Sarah W (Sunday evenings) loves the space to stretch her body but also to challenge and create an inner calm that she doesn’t get from anything else. Sarah also loves how the practice can be modified to suit everyone and can also done be anywhere, even on holiday! Now we know how she gets that beautiful tan!

Instructor Vanessa’s (Wednesday evening) biggest love is the connections Yoga has helped her discover and the positive energy we generate by practising together as a group.

We asked our instructors what their favourite poses are; I wonder if some of these are your favourites too?!

Caroline (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday) particularly likes postures that are achievable for everyone, her favourite being Happy Baby pose, aka Ananda Balasana, which stretches the spine and opens the hips.

Caroline commented ‘This is a playful pose that you can rock in or straighten the legs a little. And we can do it with the sense of fun that a baby would have; stick your legs in the air and have a wriggle!’

Bindy’s (Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays) favourite is Easy Pose, aka Sukhasana, where we sit crossed legged with our hands either in Anjali mudra (prayer position with thumbs to the heart) or Jnana mudra (index finger and thumb touching). Bindy likes to use a cushion or block to bring her pelvis forward and said about the pose – ‘By relaxing the face, jaws and shoulders I can engage the rhythm of my breath coming into meditation’.

One of our newer instructors Gabriela loves the Advanced Bridge Pose for its sense of accomplishment. With controlled breathing it can really help bring a sense of calm and relaxation. Just what we all need after a busy day!

Lastly, instructor Vanessa enjoys Malasana, aka the Yoga Squat, for its grounding and calming benefits whilst Sarah W enjoys Pigeon Pose, aka Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, particularly as it stretches the hips and glutes.

We are very lucky to have a beautiful and calming Mind and Body Studio here at Club Towers so if you have never tried a Yoga class before we hope reading this will make you want to!

We also stream several or our weekly classes on Club Towers Live (our in-house livestream service) alongside a large library of pre-recorded classes you can revisit at any time and to mark the day we wanted to share one of our practices so that you can, in turn, share it with friends and family.  You can find the video here.

Thank you for celebrating International Yoga Day with us at Club Towers! Namaste!