I’m often asked what style of Yoga I teach and regularly receive blank stares when I respond with Integral Yoga, so I wrote this blog to help clarify what my teachings are all about. I completed a diploma of Integral Yoga with the Integral Yoga Academy of Australasia in South Australia and was awarded the title of Yogacharini.
Yoga is my therapy and I teach from a therapeutic perspective. I believe the best teacher is found within, therefore one of the key roles I play as a Yogacharini is to create a space and atmosphere where you can connect with your own inner teacher. What begins as self-care or therapy, develops into personal empowerment with consistent practice. It is my greatest desire to teach you ways to nurture yourself and find your inner power.
“It’s called Integral Yoga, because we integrate everything: body, mind, spirit.”
My classes typically* begin with short meditative type practice. This allows for you to fully arrive and check in with your body and mind before making demands of them.
Following this checking in process, the body is moved through a range of postures appropriate for the class objective. Alternatives are always available, with the guiding principle being Ahimsa. I don’t subscribe the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy so please be kind to yourself and remember that your Yoga is different to mine, your friends or your neighbours Yoga and likely different to the last time you were on the mat. Yoga will teach you to sit in discomfort, but it should not cause you pain.
The latter part of class will usually* include a breathing practice and a deep relaxation. This allows you to begin to assimilate the benefits of the preceding practice. The assimilation process will continue outside of the studio so take time to notice the subtle changes that come with a regular Yoga practice.
I hope that you will be able to take pieces of the practices learnt in class and incorporate them into your daily life, from the simplest stretch, to a well-timed, nourishing deep breath, or an energy releasing mudra that is subtle enough to be practiced during those intense meetings and everything in between.
My classes are not about getting fit. They are an antidote to the demands of our fast paced, non-stop lifestyle. My class programs are constructed to facilitate the healthy functioning of all bodily systems; respiratory, excretory, assimilatory, circulatory, neurological and in particular the central nervous system and endocrine (hormonal) systems. I include components from all eight limbs both in my classes and my life.
Namaste
* A complete Yoga sequence will take at least 90 mins. Sometimes I deliver shorter sessions and will modify as appropriate in accordance with class objectives.
