Class style descriptions

Ongoing Beginners

Specifically designed for people who are not seeking a strong practice or who have not been practising for very long, nevertheless many experienced practitioners also continue to enjoy our ongoing beginner classes. These classes are great for paying attention to foundation techniques, refining alignment and building key skills for great posture and ease of movement in everyday life.

If you have never done yoga before we recommend starting with the Introductory six week course. (Yoga for women and Meditation and Mindful Yoga will be suitable for Ongoing beginner level students.) Find an Ongoing Beginners Class.

Vinyasa Flow

The Vinyasa Flow class will get your blood moving and work up a sweat.

Vinyasa is a Sanskrit word that has a number of meanings including to place in a particular order, movement, composition, and in hatha yoga it means to move from one posture to the next in a continuous flow synchronised with the breath. It is a dynamic form of hatha yoga.

Expect to challenge yourself. Expect to play with arm balances. Expect to work hard but always know that rest is allowed, so if you are new to this class, take your time working up to it.

Some experience is advisable. This is an ongoing class held on Thursdays at 6pm in the Main Hall.

Energy Balance

This class is about bringing holistic balance to our energy with the overall goal of making us more resilient and appropriately responsive to our day-to-day stressors and requirements.

Expect to fire up the sympathetic nervous system with vigorous asana, longer holds, balances, inversions, and stimulating breathing followed by a balancing switch to the parasympathetic nervous system with more forward bends, supine & prone postures, twists, calming breathing & savasana.

Some yoga experience is recommended. This is an ongoing class held on Tuesdays at 6pm in the Studio Room.

Prana Yoga Flow

Prana is the life force energy that flows in the body. Traditional hatha yoga has found practices that can guide the flow of that energy to our overall benefit.

In this class expect a period of flowing practice which uses the synchronicity of breath and movement to enhance prana flow.

You will also begin more advanced pranayama (breath practices), plus mudra (gestures of hand and body), bandha (specialised body mudras to direct the flow of prana) and kriya (cleansing, energy channel clearing practices with chakra awareness) to bring sensitivity and control of the flow of prana.

Some prior yoga experience is recommended. This is an ongoing class held on Saturdays at 8am in the Studio Room.

Yoga for women

A gentler class that nevertheless strengthens the body and keeps you flexible. The class includes asanas (postures), breathing exercises, restorative postures and relaxation.

This is a very social class so mark your calendar to allow time for coffee club afterwards.

Suitable for people with little experience. This is an ongoing class held on Thursdays at 9.30am in the Main Hall. Check in.

Pain free movement: Hanna somatics

Hanna Somatics is a movement practice that addresses chronically held tensions in the body that cause stiffness and pain. The movements are gentle but extremely effective.

Suitable for people with little experience. This is an ongoing class held on Mondays at 6pm in the Studio Room. Check in

Somatics and iRest® Yoga Nidra

The physical practice in this class, which is mainly based upon Hanna Somatics but may include some other somatic practices as well, is a gentle but effective way to release tension, build or maintain strength, increase flexibility and range of motion and to ease held tensions that may be creating pain in your body.

Each class with the regular teacher, Tina Shettigara, includes a half hour iRest® Yoga Nidra* to nourish noble qualities of joy, peacefulness, empathy, forgiveness and compassion towards yourself and others, and to support you to heal deep seated anxieties.

This class is suitable for all levels, from beginners to experienced. This is an ongoing class held on Thursdays at 6pm in the Studio Room. Check in

* When substitute teachers are taking this class an alternative relaxation/Yoga Nidra may be offered if a teacher combining somatics and iRest is not available.

Meditation and Mindful Yoga

In this class a lightly guided meditation of between 20 and 30 minutes will be included. There will also be about an hour of mindful movement finishing with relaxation.

In order to facilitate mindful movement the chosen asanas are not in themselves complex or challenging, often repeated in gentle vinyasa or flowing sequences. The challenge is in remaining mindful, towards which end your teacher will gently guide you.

Regular teachers are Anne Rodgers and Tina Shettigara.

Suitable for all levels of experience. This is an ongoing class held on Sundays at 10am in the Main Hall. Check in

Prenatal

Pregnancy is a remarkable time of transformation. Yoga is an excellent practice to assist the natural progression of changes that occur through pregnancy and to prepare you for the birth.

Classes include asanas to help strengthen the body and develop a more intimate awareness of the passageway for birth. You will also practice harmonizing breathing techniques and guided meditations to help connect with your baby and prepare you for labour. We welcome you to join.

Feel free to join Prenatal classes no matter what experience you have. Check in