Group Yoga &
Yogic Mindfulness

Will your yoga sessions involve lots of stretching/ Do I need to be flexible?

In short, no.

The longer answer is that the main area of developing flexibility in the yoga sessions is to become more flexible in your mind. Creating new neural pathways and patterns that are more useful to you. Becoming aware of old unhelpful patterns and with that awareness change, greater control and choice usually occurs.

Flexibility in your body might occur in that you might become more able to work out what types of movement suit you, you might adapt and become more flexible in choosing ways to move that are more beneficial for you.

As for the kind of flexibility of putting your foot behind your head, that isn’t something that is a focus in my sessions, the other kinds of flexibility will likely help you decide if that is important or useful to you.

Something else that might help you answer that, is that research indicates that stretching can, for some, increase anxiety. Generally, what is most useful to develop, and what is a focus in the practice I share, is a greater sense of tensegrity, containment and stability, with an improved day-to-day range of movement, such as being able to tie your shoes.

Will I be able to keep up? What if I have a sore knee?

I fully encourage every yoga student to be curious and aware of your own needs. This means moving at a pace that suits you. For some people that are feeling jittery, fast shaking or arm swinging might help to disperse some of that excess energy; for others it may feel like great effort to lift an arm overhead. The key, or the actual “yoga”, is developing awareness of what is right for you in each moment.

At any one time in a group class different people may be doing different things at different speeds in different positions. Some might be moving quickly, some slowly, some with eyes open, some with eyes closed, some lying down, some standing. All are welcome. All belong.

I get nervous making sound, will it be weird if I don’t join in?

First of all, great noticing! It’s fantastic that you have identified what you find tricky and your usual response. Secondly, I fully encourage you to pay attention to your responses that are letting you know where your edges are so that you can stay calm, present and aware.

If making sound is not for you, great noticing, don’t do it. If listening to others make sound isn’t for you, you might like to bring some earplugs or ear loops to reduce or dull the sound.

Anything in the session is an invitation that you are welcome to refuse. In fact, I very much feel that saying no to something you don’t want to do and that being absolutely okay is something that many people are missing, and you are welcome to test it out in the sessions. You are also welcome to ask, “I don’t want to do it like that, any other suggestions?”

I also wanted to add that the sound making in the sessions isn’t song-like. It doesn’t need to be Aretha Franklin-esque and you’ll find that I, for one, don’t have a great ear for tuneful sound. It is more a vocal expression that can offer mindful awareness, vibration, connection and expression.

I don’t always find relaxation relaxing, is there something wrong with me? Will I have to do it?

Ah! Again, great noticing of what is right for you and what is not useful for you at the moment. Actually, there have been a number of research papers that explore Relaxation-induced Anxiety, so no, you are not alone.

And, for you, this might manifest in different ways. The aim of “guided relaxation” is usually to find a feeling of calm, present awareness and a sense of safety. A pocket of peace , some respite, an oasis. This might be found using a variety of methods, it might be a fleeting feeling at first and may develop into longer periods of time.

In group classes I share guided mindfulness, you can do this lying down, sitting, standing or walking. You can choose to ignore the guided part too, bring earbuds if you like, or you can experiment and see which parts are helpful and which are not.

For some people holding on to tensegrity with a little (or a lot) muscle tension can be incredibly calming and help you feel held, supported and contained. Having a sense of holding and containment through muscle tensioning (Rothschild, 2017) can be particularly useful if a coping strategy used in the past was required to include collapse, immobility, or helplessness .

It might be that rushing through your days means that when you stop everything catches up with you. The worries and memories that you’ve managed to keep at bay whilst doing chores, speak up, making it difficult to stay calm and present.

Developing the tools that help stay calm, mindful, and stable can help you to differentiate memories of the past and worries about the future from what is happening right now in the present.

Focusing on external stimuli using your senses can help. For example, noticing the colours in the room, or the way your body moves as you breathe, or the sounds you can hear. Balance tends to be fantastic for this too. These kinds of practices also form part of the sessions.

For some people guided relaxation, with blankets and eyes closed and invitation to soften their muscles is calming a welcome experience.; and some people find it’s good one day and another day not so much. The key is knowing what is right for you in that moment and giving yourself permission to meet yourself where you are: to feel okay lying down when it’s helpful and walking around when it’s helpful.