Feet, legs, hips - through our lower extremities we connect to the earth, but we also move forwards in life. Due to modern lifestyle influences (like narrow shoes, sitting on chairs all day etc), we lose a lot of our innate intelligence in our feet and legs, as well as mobility and vitality. This leads to balance issues, inflammation, stagnation, and often lower back pain. In this workshop we will explore tools and techniques to restore movement and mobility, balance and joint integrity.

Let’s welcome the winter season, the time for rest, introspection, meditation and energy conservation. In this workshop we will explore how to take care of our kidney energy, connect with the fluidity of water, and foster a sense of patience and calm, through a combination of yoga, somatic movement and meridian stretching used in East Asian medicine. Leave feeling more peaceful, nourished and grounded.

An embodied exploration of the Autumn and how the season’s energy relates to our lives right now. The session will combine gentle yoga asana, yoga nidra (guided meditation), readings and prompts for reflection, then deep rest in a meditative soundscape created by gongs, singing bowls and chimes. 

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

This workshop is suitable for those with 2 or more years of regular Iyengar Yoga practice, who are either already practicing Level 2 asanas or are building towards them. We will practice a mixture of standing, seated, and inverted asanas, looking at each individual asana in depth as well as how the series of asanas are linked by the actions we apply within them - how each asana can build towards greater understanding of other asanas.

We will spend the day exploring asana (posture), pranayama (controlled breathing), introduction to meditation and relaxation focusing on the philosophy of the 8 limbs of Yoga. The philosophy of Astanga (or eight limbs) gives an ethical framework in which to access a greater understanding of Yoga and its background.

When we are willing to open to what moves through us, we can be met by a sense of friendship from the depths of our soul. Our own being is like a gravitational force inviting us to an intimate exploration of its life as us. This befriending  is such a genuine inclination. There is an instinctive knowing that the fertile ground of our lives is asking to be lovingly recognised and yet we are all challenged to follow this prompt with consistency. The simplest way of meeting these challenges is by trusting what we open to, to let the presence of our own nature be the guide and lead the way.

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

Yoga Therapist Gill Mines invites you to join her on a half-day retreat, combining ancient and modern yogic practices for nourishing and replenishing energy (prana).

Why not join our friendly relaxed Yoga Book Group on Wednesday 9 October at 6.45 to discuss My Way: a Muslim Woman’s Journey by Mona Siddiqui with special attention to Chapter Three Death, Dignity and the Passage of Time. Get in touch with Netia netiamayman@icloud.com for more information or just turn up. We usually all eat together afterwards.

Julie Hodges is a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher (Level 3 under the new syllabus) and founder of the Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre in London. She has studied directly with Guruji Sri B.K.S Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar. This workshop is suitable for yoga students with a minimum of three years regular Iyengar Yoga practice, who are used to practicing Intermediate / Level 2 asanas.

This workshop is designed to teach you how to connect with the pelvic floor, through breath, theory, practice and visualisation. It is suitable for yoga teachers, students or those interested in increasing their anatomy and physiology knowledge of this critical group of muscles. 

Indian Head Massage was brought to the UK over thirty years ago by Narendra Mehta (who was visually impaired). He taught it in many places in the UK, and it soon became very popular. It was originally practiced by women in India in order to take care of their hair. Grandmothers passed it down daughters and which continued to be passed down the generational line. Learn to practice this wonderful modality for the treatment of friends and family or add it to enhance your practioner/bodyworker portfolio.

Using wall ropes in our Yoga practice is something many yogis may be less familiar with, due to a lack of access locally. Now, at Vishuddha, we are able to offer this wonderful part of the Iyengar Yoga method. In this workshop we will look at how wall ropes can help us to lengthen our spines in various postures, including inversions.

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

In this workshop, suitable for those with a minimum of two years experience of regular Iyengar Yoga practice, we will look at how we can approach asanas differently when using the chair. The session will include a mixture of standing, inverted, backbendning, seated and restorative asana.

The heart space is the centre of our compassion and emotion, and deserves special care and attention in our treatments. So often people carry a heavy heart and feel actual pain and pressure. Grief, loneliness, separation, unprocessed trauma can lead to strong habitual protective patterns around the heart. So much so, it will effect people’s posture and breathing and lead to lack of mobility in the shoulders, arms and neck. In this workshop we will explore tools and techniques to free up the whole upper thorax and back and restore the vitality of heart and lungs.

Let’s celebrate summer, the season of blossoming and vitality. It’s also the season of the heart, that not only regulates blood circulation but also governs the mind and spirit, playing a crucial role in mental health and consciousness. In this workshop we will explore how to mobilise and vitalise the upper spine, to give more space and nourishment to the heart, and how to foster a sense of joy and harmony, through a combination of yoga, somatic movement and meridian stretching in East Asian medicine.

Do consider joining the next meeting of our friendly, relaxed Yoga Study Group on Wednesday 19 June at 6.45, when we will discuss On Becoming a Person, by Carl Rogers. One of America’s most distinguished psychologists describes helping people to discover the path to personal growth through an understanding of their own limitations and potential.

Julie Hodges is a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher (Level 3 under the new syllabus) and founder of the Putney Iyengar Yoga Centre in London. She has studied directly with Guruji Sri B.K.S Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar. This workshop is suitable for yoga students with a minimum of three years regular Iyengar Yoga practice, who are used to practicing Intermediate / Level 2 asanas.

5 Fridays 7.30pm to 9pm: June 14th, 21st, 28th and July 5th, 12th

Life is a miracle. Statistically the chances of being born is like being one grain of sand picked from a very large beach. And yet life has chosen to be lived as you, whatever tradition or lens you see this from. We all know instinctively that life wants to be fully lived, and yet we are all challenged to follow this prompt with consistency. The major quality we can bring to meditation is a willingness to let our own nature be our own guide and lead the way. Who we are wants us recognise the depth of being we already embody and to live life with stability and clarity. Meditation is simply the practice of giving time for this process to unfold.

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

A clear mind, pure physical body and emotional stability allow the energy to do work that is of service and generate the enthusiasm to be compassionate in this world. Our aim in traditional styles of Yoga is to achieve this state of being. The tools given to us are: mantra chanting, asana, pranayama, mudra, bhandha, meditation, internal cleansing (kriya), yogic sleeping (nidra) and philosophy.

Dharma yoga is known for its challenging yet playful approach to practice and combines physical practice (asana) with more subtle practices such as mantra (sound), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. Ayesha also introduces key concepts from yoga philosophy to support you in deepening your understanding of the yogic path.

The Breath is a form of life-force energy and can be a way of increasing and harnessing our Prana. It is the Breath of Life. Each Breath can be seen as precious and we can be more mindful of how we breathe. It is always with us, making it an available anchor for us to focus on in our Mindfulness and Yoga practices. It can be central to our Practice. It can also help us move from feeling stressed or depressed which can cause dis-ease in our body to feeling calm and centred which promotes healing and repair. 

Interested in yoga and related philosophies? Why not join our group? The next meeting is at 6.45 on Wednesday 10th April at the Vishuddha Centre where we will discuss 4000 Weeks, Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman and share a meal afterwards.

In this workshop, suitable for those with a minimum of two years experience of regular Iyengar Yoga practice, we will look at how we can approach asanas differently when using the chair. The session will include a mixture of standing, inverted, backbendning, seated and restorative asana.

In this half-day retreat Gill will take you through several practices and offer mindfulness tools to promote better sleep.

Recordings of the practices and other resources will be shared so participants can continue exploring what works best for them at home . There will be a tea break with homemade treats.