Holystone Yoga:
Weekly Classes

  Local classes

I teach two classes a week at the Old School in Holystone:  Tuesdays  7.00 to 8.30 pm and Thursdays 9.30 to 11.00 am.  I also teach a monthly class early on Saturday morning on the first Saturday of the month 7.30 to 9.00 am.

There is a possibility of a summer intensive of five morning classes in the last week of August - times and dates are still a bit flexible, so let me know if you are interested and what would suit you.

You need to wear loose or stretchy clothing and have bare feet but bring socks.  There is no need to bring equipment.  From Rothbury, come through Thropton and turn right at Flotterton signposted Sharperton Harbottle Alwinton. After crossing Sharperton bridge, turn left and Holystone is half a mile on the right.  The Old School entrance is directly opposite the Post Office sign.

  Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar Yoga has been developed over 75 years of detailed work on the postures by BKS Iyengar, who studied yoga with T. Krishnamacharya in the 1930s, and his daughter Geeta Iyengar.  Students hold individual postures for anything from 30 seconds to ten minutes depending on whether it is a strenuous pose or a relaxing one.  We don't use sequences of movement from one posture to another, except  salute to the sun, unlike Vinyasa and Astanga yoga in which the whole class is based on sequences.  

In Iyengar yoga we pay very close attention to precise alignment and I will correct your alignment in the class.  To help achieve this correct alignment, even for people who are less fit and flexible, we use a range of props: belts, blocks, bolsters, chairs and the wall.  The classes are broadly similar to those taught as Hatha Yoga although students who normally attend a Hatha Yoga class may find that the precise attention to detail makes some postures feel unfamiliar. 

The thing I love about Iyengar yoga is that it is very down to earth and practical. Instructions will be things like push your thigh muscles back or rotate your upper arms.  We don't give metaphysical instruction in an asana(posture) class. The careful movement into the poses and the attention paid to alignment make it a particularly versatile style of yoga which can allow people at all levels of ability to surprise themselves with what they can do.  

Breathing is not emphasised in the asana classes but practised separately in pranayama (breathing) classes once the student has strengthened the muscles and nerves through asana practice.  There is no chanting

  Teacher: Margaret Ranken

Trikonasana

I have been a regular practitioner of Iyengar yoga for over thirty years and did my teacher training with Sasha Perryman, a senior Iyengar teacher, in Cambridge in 2002-4. I have never found the poses easy and undertook teacher training relatively late in life when I felt that my many years experience of overcoming difficulties in the poses and integrating a regular yoga practice into a busy schedule meant that I had something of value to impart.

It isn't necessary to do the most advanced poses to get the benefits of yoga.  It is the discipline of a regular practice, focusing on the detail of alignment and relaxing into the postures, that allows the prana (chi, energy) to flow freely.  This improves health and strength, reduces stress, and brings mind, body and spirit into harmony; which allows the true self to shine through.  We can all obtain these benefits, whatever our body shape and level of flexibility.

As a sufferer from ME, I have found my regular yoga practice to be invaluable in maintaining my energy levels and my optimism. I recently moved to Northumberland and have found that the tranquil environment and clean air have transformed my health. Arthritis is proving harder to eliminate and does limit my range of postures to some extent.