Yoga

Yoga is the experience of unity, connection, harmony and oneness that incorporates body, mind, emotions and spirit. Through yoga people can find the peace and resilience needed to live in a complex, ever changing world and to discover their own deeper, intrinsic identity. In her teaching, Poornam aims to support each student to do this through a variety of techniques which vary from class to class. Please check out the different options in your search for the right class, workshop or retreat for you.

For more info on weekly classes,  on workshops,  on private classes, on the Yoga Lifestyle Course, Deepening Practice Courses and on Yoga Retreats, or private retreats.

The yoga techniques that Poornam teaches include:

Asana (Postures) loosen up joints and points of stiffness, strengthen digestion, improve blood circulation, clear the meridian pathways and build flexibility, strength and balance.  Asanas are explored in a non-competitive atmosphere with an emphasis on awareness.

Pranayama (Breathing) strengthens respiratory and heart functions, expands life energy and develops emotional resilience.

Mudras and bandhas (Energy locks and seals) create specific changes in the body, breath and mind. These muscular locks help build, contain and move energy around the body. 

Shat Karmas (Cleansing) – cleanse our bodies, and clear our minds. Nasal cleansing (neti) helps to relieve sinusitis, headaches and hay fever. Stomach cleansing (Kunjal) tones and stimulates all abdominal organs and short intestinal cleansing (laghoo Prakshalana) strengthens the immune system.

Yoga nidra (Yogic sleep) is practiced lying down and involves systematic relaxation of the body mind from the physical through to the subtle. It supports recuperation from stress and is a healing practice.

Mantra (Sound) chanting uses various vocal sounds and words to activate the creative and healing energies. Nada yoga uses the voice, breath and scale to experience inner and outer vibration.  We learn to deepen our listening and become familiar with the subtle and with silence.

Chakras (Energy centres) govern our behaviour, shape our emotional life, give expression to our desires and build the structure of our physical body and personality. Through focusing on the chakras through asana, pranayama, bandhas (body locks), mantra and visualisation we invite our energy to be more present in daily life and turn towards inner strength and healing.

Philosophy & Psychology Patanjalia’s Yoga Sutras is the quintessential text of yoga. “They contain wisdom which is eternal and are applicable to all ages and people”.  Poornam works with the Sutras through encouraging a direct experience in our individual day to day lives.

The Benefits of Yoga

If you have never practiced yoga before, you are about to experience yourself in a fresh and uplifting way. Yoga has a great wealth of practices that can be drawn upon for healthy living. The commonly seen images of difficult yoga postures are misleading.

All the practices of yoga are intended for one purpose – to awaken a sense of balance and mindfulness that will gradually reintroduce you to yourself. Yoga can be beneficially utilised by people with no prior experience of yoga, as well as by those with years of yoga experience.

Yoga revitalizes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Yoga improves life and living. As we gain more knowledge of how to be in the world and more awareness of who we are, we grow toward health and happiness. Yoga can improve all our interactions and experiences, and therefore our relationships with others and with the world around us.

When studied and practiced skilfully, the benefits of yoga include:

• improved awareness
• better physical health, well-being and energy
• mental calm and strength
• emotional resilience and self-esteem
• capacity to face stress
• a sense of taking conscious control of your life
• live life more fully
• a greater sense of purpose
• more conscious intuition
• the ability to unite head, heart and hands
• Fosters mindfulness

The more of yourself that you bring to this vast and deep study and the more you engage with the powerful practices found in yoga, the more benefits you will receive back from yoga.

Poornam is skilful in teaching the practices to match each person’s level of health, fitness, flexibility and prior experience.

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