Dear yogis,
I hope that you are all well and enjoying the longer summer days and nights. It has been lovely to be able to teach some classes al fresco and to feel the benefits of grounding and balancing on uneven surfaces!
Through July classes continue as normal until 28 July. The main focus for Hatha classes is hip opening, the flow classes are focusing on shoulder mobility. I will be having a break from 28 July to 6 August and the summer timetable runs from 7 August to 8 September.
For the summer, I have made a few changes to the timings of evening classes to try and finish a little earlier and maybe balance out numbers. Every class is open to all abilities and I will have an overall focus for the week but I am going to try and introduce different styles of yoga in the classes so that you can experience other types of yoga (there are over 200!) As usual, there will be lots of modifications and usage of props to help your body to get the stretch it needs. All classes will still have a breathing practise, poses and relaxation.
I will also be running some Children's Yoga classes over the summer, they will be on a Tuesday morning, they will need to be booked individually, as they are not a block booking. Classes will be 45 mins and parents/carers are welcome to stay, all props are provided and they will be doing a mixture of poses, yoga stories, mindfulness and breath work. Yoga is great for helping reduce anxiety and increasing focus and concentration. The classes are divided by age but if you want siblings in the same class that's not a problem.
If you have any comments or suggestions about classes please get in touch.
Summer Yoga Timetable
Classes are now live to book.
GABA, GABA, GABA...
I know that you're probably bored hearing about GABA but I couldn't resist adding in a little bit of explanation for anyone who may have missed my excitement over this.
Following on from the benefits of coherent breathing - parasympathetic nervous system activation, lower stress, lower anxiety, better sleep etc etc are the may impacts of GABA. Gaba (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a chemical made in the brain and it acts as a neurotransmitter in our body, this means that it reduces the ability of nerve cells to send and receive chemical messages through the nervous system. This slows down the messages (for example from your hand to your brain telling the brain that the kettle is hot, or the hand is in pain). This means that GABA calms your nervous system and helps to relieve anxiety, fear, stress and allows the nervous system to better process information.
Research so far has shown that GABA levels influence mood, mental and physical health, including; major depression; ASD; Huntington's; epilepsy; Parkinson's; anxiety disorders, and others. The good news is that this naturally occurs in your body and we can increase the levels of GABA by simply carrying 5-10 minutes of slow breathing, for example, coherent breathing. Reducing your number of rounds of breath per minute to 5-6 will be sufficient to increase the GABA levels, improving stress, anxiety and acting as a pain-killer.
If you want to know what the impact of raised levels of GABA feels like it has been likened to the relaxed and calm feeling you may experience after a couple of alcoholic drinks. It is advised though that GABA supplements and alcohol aren't mixed as this can lead to respiratory depression. A safer way to experience the feeling is through the non-alcoholic drink Sentia. In the interests of research I have done a taste testing (!) of this and it is lovely. The red drink tastes of berries and cinnamon and the black drink is more peppery and spicy, I mixed them with ginger ale or ginger beer. Even with this drink there are still warnings - you shouldn't drink and drive and not to drink more than 100ml in 24 hours.
There are supplements available but there doesn't appear to be much rigorous scientific research that proves the GABA in these products actually reaches the brain. But many foods have been found to have dietary GABA present, these include broccoli; oats; wheat; barley; rice; tomatoes; sweet potatoes and spinach. Alternately, stick to the yoga, meditation and breath work!
Looking Ahead
Run Club - we have progressed from running/walking around the George V (or St George's, as I have recently been told!) playing field, near Haltemprice to road running and intervals. We have conquered pyramids and mastered many silly walks/runs. We are hoping to run the Peter Pan Park Run on 22 July, if anyone wants to join us before, during or after, please do. If anyone wants to join the club, please do so on the app, it is £10 as an annual fee to cover insurance. We meet at 6.30pm on a Wednesday night, any age and ability welcome.
Prices and memberships - I have made 1 small increase in prices over the past 2 years and I unfortunately will need to increase the prices again but it will be by a small amount and will only take effect from September. Memberships at the current price will still be valid throughout the summer timetable classes (until 9 September). Please get in touch if you have any issues with using these by this date.
Retreat - I am working on organising a retreat for next year which will probably be a couple of nights, with lots of yoga, mindfulness, walking, lovely food and company obviously! I am hoping for it to be either in June or September 2024.
I look forward to seeing you on the mat soon,
Namaste,
Louise
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