Yoga is growing enormously in popularity, and is making an appearance in popular culture such as TV and Films and even featuring in Wii fit on the Nintendo.

To most of us in the west, 'Yoga' is a set of physical exercises that often involve stretching poses. Perhaps we have heard of famous people such as Sting or Madonna who have spoken publicly on the benefits of Yoga.

So what is Yoga exactly?

Yoga has been practiced in India for several thousand years and has grown into many forms. The form we recognise with its stretching poses is Hatha Yoga. Each of the poses or ‘asana’ is designed to benefit a specific part of the body and each individual asana has a name that helps describe the pose. Some asana are named after animals, plants, objects, people or figures from Indian mythology. For those of us who are new to Yoga, this link with Indian mythology can be off putting, and lead us to the false conclusion that Yoga is some form of religion.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word and shares the same root as the English word ‘yoke’. Sanskrit is an ancient language and sometimes is hard to translate into English, but one of the meanings most often given to Yoga is ‘Union’, but the union of what exactly?

When we practice asana, we focus on the position of our limbs, and how we are breathing. The asana build strength and flexibility and the internal focus is calming. This is one reason that Yoga is often said to be the union of mind and body.

Hatha Yoga is demanding, and newcomers are often pleasantly surprised by the workout they receive at our classes. We encourage our students to work within their own limits, so that they experience a steady improvement while still working up a sweat!