My first trial class

So I am reporting back on the yoga class I tried last Saturday.

It was at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Putney, London and to be honest it was a wonderful experience.
The SYV centres are part of a worldwide charity organization that offers yoga classes, teacher training plus many workshops, self-development courses, special programmes with guest speakers and even meditation courses.

On Saturdays they host an open day for people who are new to yoga and to the centre. I went for the free trial class, which is part of the open day. I wasn’t really to interested in hearing about the organization, I just wanted to “make some yoga”!
Overall, I felt very welcomed. We had a warm introduction where they explained who the founders of the organization are and what was their teaching philosophy.

Very briefly our host explained that Sivananda is not a type of yoga it is the name of the founder, Swami Sivananda and they teach classical yoga with a holistic approach, which follow 5 points:
1. Proper exercise (Asanas)
2. Proper breathing (Pranayama)
3. Proper relaxation (Savasana)
4. Proper diet (vegeterian)
5. Positive thinking and meditation (Vedanta and Dhyana)

I liked that they offered a very thorough explanation, specially designed for people that have had absolutely no contact with yoga. I think that the more information we get the less intimidating or foreign it seems.
So now to the good part… the class! ☺
At the beginning I thought it might be to slow for me. But as we went through the poses I realized that it is as demanding as other types of yoga I’ve tried.

We started with 5 sun salutations, which are meant to warm up the body. After we were warmed up we started with the poses. The main difference I found between the way they teach it at SYV and say power yoga or Ashtanga yoga is that thee is a pause in between every pose. As soon as you finish taking 5 deep breaths in say the forward bend pose, you return to Savasana (corpse pose - http://www.iyogalife.com/beginner/Corpse_Pose.php) and take 5 deep breaths there. Then you are calm enough and strong enough to continue with the next pose.

Overall the instructor explained that they have 12 poses in total, the headstand being the most difficult one. To be honest, if you are somewhat flexible the beginner’s series of the SYV centre will be perfect if you want to relax, calm the mind and stretch out after a long day of work for example.

I left the place very relaxed. Enjoyed all the literature they offered us. We got a double-sided hand out with a picture sequence of the sun salutation and the 12 poses on the other side. I must admit I also bought a book! Books are my guilty pleasure. ☺ Its called: Yoga. Mind and Body. Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre.

The thing I liked most about it is that it has a lot of pictures explaining each pose, its benefits for the mind and the body. It touches on the 5 points that SYV centres use to teach yoga.

I left thinking ok, this type of yoga is great but its not my thing I need more movement, faster plus I am not going to become vegetarian and breathing exercises, I have no time for that. As I started the week, I began to crave lots of vegetables; I had no appetite for meat. I felt the need to be healthy and take care of my body. Odd!

You know what, in my nest post I will tell you about the Ashtanga yoga class I did on Monday… it was so powerful that I have spent 2 days with aching muscles, the funny thing is that because of my sore muscles the only thing that I really felt like doing were the poses I learned at the SYV centre. I’ve done the sun salutations and 9 poses (I can’t stand on my head yet!), the ones I can do – twice this week alone.

Has anyone had a similar experience, where your mind tells you something but your body is asking you for something else? That is exactly what it feels like.

I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to check out the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres website: www.sivananada.co.uk , there might be a centre near you.

Also, go to www.iyogalife.com for a list of all poses, with explanations and video demstrations. Don’t be afraid, trust yourself, do as much or little as you can, experiment with your body; believe me it will tell you what it needs and wants.

Till next time…

Namaste