Curious about my classes?
Hatha
The word Hatha comes from the Sanskrit words “ha” meaning Sun and “tha” meaning Moon and refers to two different energies which in the end by regular practice will unite. Hatha Yoga is the physical yoga practice. In the West this term is often used to refer to a type of yoga whereby we observe the present moment by loosening up the body.
In my Hatha Classes I put a huge emphasis on the breath to create a calm and steady mind. Because when we focus on the breath (which is happening right now) and I mean really focus our whole attention on the breath, then there is no space to think about something in the past or the future. Leaving you in the only moment that matters – the present moment.
Yin / Open & Explore
Yin Yoga is a form of yoga whereby we physically work the deeper tissues of the body (connective tissue, cartilage, fascia, ligaments etc.) instead of our muscles which we train in all the other forms of physical yoga.
As we all know our muscles need repetitive movements to strengthen. That is why all the other forms of physical yoga are dynamic in order to strengthen the muscles. A Yin Yoga practice is a more static yielding practice whereby we hold the postures for a longer period of time (3-5 minutes) in order to dive into these deeper layers. This can be quite challenging. Especially when you are in a pose that you do not like at that particular moment. When this happens we also start to train the mind by not immediately reacting to discomfort. If we can do that on the mat we also start to do this when we are not on the mat. In the end this will bring you in a state of perfect equanimity.
My purpose, especially in my Yin Classes, is to help you relax. To help you to let go of your day or week. It is a perfect way to recharge your battery and gain awareness.
Yin Yang
Roughy spoken we could divide the physical yoga practice (asana practice) into two branches. Yin and yang yoga. With yang yoga we refer to all the types of yoga whereby we use our muscles to strengthen our body. With yin yoga we refer to the type of yoga whereby we find more static postures and relax our muscles in order to dive into the deeper layers (or connective tissue) of our body.
In my yin yang classes we will mostly start with some movement followed by a set of yielding yin poses to then finally close off with our final relaxation (shavasana). In the first moving part of the class we will use our breath in combination with movements to connect with our body. After this strengthening part we will slowly dive into the deeper (connective tissue) layers by holding the postures somewhere in between 3-5 minutes. This last part of the class in an invitation to receive instead of doing. Because only if we relax the body we can receive the best benefits of the practice. My aim is that you leave your mat open yet calm.
