Yoga in Moss Vale

@ Ahimsa Yoga                                                 9.00am – Hatha Yoga with Chris

Old school arcade! Love it. 

I LOVE COUNTRY YOGA CLASSES! 

Again, like yesterday, I attended a beautiful Hatha class at a lovely little studio with a community feel and a bunch of regulars who met for coffee at Elio’s Café downstairs afterwards.  The studio was tucked away in an old-fashioned mall, upstairs and along a corridor with just the Namaste symbol hanging over the door the only indication there was a yoga studio there.  I loved it immediately. I actually felt like I was at my dearly departed grandmother, Muz’s house. It was a lovely 1960’s inspired peach-carpeted, rustic smelling room with gorgeous bay windows and ever so warm inside.  The teacher, Chris, was a seasoned pro and she taught from under one of the windows, which silhouetted her poses beautifully.   She is a classical Hatha teacher, demonstrating poses and some sequences beforehand and then instructing us to go ahead and do our versions.  She did offer the full Hatha gamut thought, with Pranayama and Meditation at the beginning and end.   

Go up the stairs and turn right. Suite 5 has a little
Namaste sign hanging out the front. 

The class was a lovely, logical sequence of pranyama, meditation, warm-ups, standing strength, inversions, cool-downs, meditation and relaxation. On a side note, we did Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm stand) which I've never tried in my life! Granted I had one foot on the wall, but it was a start I guess :-s Of course she scaffolded it accordingly, beginning with Catur Svanasana (Quarter dog), then our own choice of wall option. As I made my way into Mayurasana, she came over and held my other leg up and helped me stay there. Yay for Chris!

She ended with Yoni Mudra meditation and a super extended Savasana (Corpse Pose) which was heavenly.  I had a quick chat with her after class and she advised me that it really is a great idea to do as many yoga classes as I could to find my own style. It’s just so refreshing to meet all these lovely teachers who are more than willing to offer advice to a random noob such as myself.  Oh she also mentioned that she was doing a workshop with Donna Farhi this weekend in Hobart, Tasmania. JEALOUS!

Best tip:  For Parivritta Trikonasana (Reverse Triangle), she made us put our blocks on the outside of our front foot.  As we revolved and exhaled, we had to press our bottom hands firmly onto the block to deepen the stretch and twist. It was so simple yet effective! I will definitely be utilising blocks in future for this pose.  I have clearly been living under a rock when it comes to props!

Sequence: Upavistha Konasana (Wide-angled leg pose) / Paschimottanasana (Seated forward bend) / Navasana (Boat pose) / Balasana (Child's pose)

Coffee: Elephant Boy Café, Bowral.