Your wellbeing editor Kate tries out a treatment or event or activity each issue to give you a bit more of an insight into what it’s like to take part. This issue Kate tries Yoga with Natalie (see advert on page 29) taking a Vinyasa Yoga class at the Chapel House Studios in Totnes.
RARELY have I so wished I was an accomplished practitioner instead of a bumbling novice than when I attended Natalie Austin’s Vinyasa Yoga class at the Chapel House Studios in Totnes. Also called Power yoga, Vinyasa is a dynamic, active style of yoga that is designed to build strength and stamina, increase fitness and improve posture and circulation. Natalie has been doing yoga for 20 years and began teaching it eight years ago. She is a warm, friendly and inspiring teacher. The thing that really struck me about Vinyasa Yoga is how beautiful it is when done well (probably slightly less beautiful the way I did it but I have to applaud myself for trying). When you see the classic photo at sunrise of a yoga practitioner holding a powerful pose with legs and arms outstretched, I suspect that is a form of Vinyasa. What I loved about Natalie’s class was the fact that there was such a broad mix of ages. I would hazard a guess that there were people in their 60s and 70s in the class, alongside younger people. Natalie urged us to listen to our bodies at all times and only take them as far as they wanted to go. She thoughtfully brought round blocks and even a hair tie for me at various points during the session. At times I felt my whole body shaking with the effort of holding a pose. But afterwards, despite the usual protests from muscles that were unaccustomed to being used in that way, I felt my body tingling and somehow more alive than it had been at the start. Natalie had also invited me to attend a Yin Yoga session as she said this would provide “a complete contrast”. It certainly did that. These classes take place by candlelight and the pace is slow and deliberate with a focus on stretching, balancing and realignment. Each pose is held for up to five minutes which can feel a bit daunting. But what it does is allow your mind and body to relax and soften into the pose. As someone who experiences tightness in the hips and glutes, often linked to stress, several of the poses in this class I found fantastic including one that bizarrely was called The Pigeon. Natalie’s charming mix of accomplished teaching, mellifluous Scottish accent and genuine warmth makes for a fantastic yoga class. I loved it and so did my glutes. l For more information contact: natalie@loveyogatree.co.uk, call 07516 720246 or visit website www.loveyogatree.co.uk