FOOD, FITNESS, PEOPLE & PLACE

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New Year ‘Fresh Start’ Yoga Workshop

Samantha Peel

On the 4th of January, I attended the ‘New Year ‘Fresh Start’ Yoga workshop at Whitespace Studio in Stony Stratford.

https://www.whitespacestudio.co.uk/workshops-and-events/new-year-yoga-workshop/

This workshop was directed by Christine Blair & Kelly Hopkinson and the program was from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

Schedule

  • Flow - Yoga Flow can generally be defined as a yoga class that incorporates energetic movement through a series of asanas, by which the student experiences a sense of fluid physical motion.

  • Yin - Yin yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga as exercise, incorporating principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time. Yin yoga stretches and targets both the deep connective tissues between the muscles and the fascia throughout the body. The aim is to increase circulation in the joints and improve flexibility as the poses stretch and exercise the bone and joint areas. It also helps us to regulate the body's flow of energy.

  • Meditation

  • Journaling

  • Restorative Yoga - Restorative yoga is a practice that is all about slowing down and opening your body through passive stretching. During the long holds of restorative yoga, your muscles are allowed to relax deeply. It's a unique feeling because props, rather than your muscles, are used to support your body.

With a 10 min tea break

What I learned from attending this workshop

From attending this relaxing and enjoyable workshop I have learned the difference between the three types of yoga we participated in. I also realised which type of yoga I enjoy or prefer and this is flow and restorative yoga. I found Yin yoga difficult to stay in one position for a long duration but I feel that attending this yoga-type class would benefit my muscles and I would also get used to the time duration per yoga pose. Currently, I participate in a regular flow sequence through the Asana rebel app and attend a weekly trapeze yoga class. I have decided that I wish to participate in a yoga class rather than using an app, to be able to learn the poses and be able to complete these correctly to benefit my own body.

What I enjoyed!

I enjoyed these areas of the day:

  1. Flow session

  2. Restorative yoga

  3. Journaling

The main part for me was listening to all the key information that both ladies spoke about throughout the workshop. After this workshop, I felt tired, relaxed and de-stressed. When I arrived I feel I was rather in my head and I found relaxing was hard at first. I will admit that I find meditation difficult, but this workshop gave me the opportunity to take a moment, without distractions. I also feel that my true personality came out in the end and I was more open to communicating with others. This has highlighted how stress can affect my personality and actions, so I do need to de-stress more often.

Journalling

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This part of the workshop has really helpful, as this made me think and consider my year and how I wish to lead it. By considering what I wish to change from 2019 and what I wish to work on for 2020.

For this activity, we worked in pairs and answered a set of questions between one another. This led to considering a set word that represented what we wanted to charge for the new year. My word was ‘Positivity’, which moved to approachable. My word changed as I then considered set goals to be more positive and these were:

  1. Be self-confident

  2. Be approachable

  3. be open to others

So then my word moved to approachable as this was influenced by the goals that I had listed. To help us to continue using these words and reach goals. We were given these actions to complete:

  • Find a power song

  • Don’t leave what I can do today for tomorrow

  • Pledge accountability

Now that I have participated in this workshop I will include my goals, complete the ‘take away actions’ and work on de-stressing methods. I will also participate in different forms of yoga. All of these things will help me to be healthier and happier. As I started my business recently, I think my own well-being took a back step and I realize that this is just as important in my day-to-day life.

So I thank Whitespace studio for providing this workshop and the two ladies for making me realize this.

Christine Blair - https://www.instagram.com/yoga_christine/

Kelly Hopkinson - https://www.instagram.com/kellyhopkinsonyoga/

Whitespace Studio’s offers a selection of classes and workshops, so have a look at this studio, if this blog entry interested you.

Please leave any feedback or comments.