Autumn Term 2023
Evening Yoga: Asana for Pranayama & Meditation
Mondays, 8pm-9.30pm Online
Monday 11 September to Monday 4 December 2023,
This term, in our ongoing evening yoga class, we are preparing the body for a deeper exploration of pranayama as a key step on the road to meditation as well as a powerful practice in its own right.
Pranayama is a powerful healing tool that is often overlooked in western yoga classes. In the classical yoga tradition, pranayama practice forms the bridge between asana or posture pracrice and the meditative states; it connects the physical with the subtle and the body with the mind. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the oldest texts on Hatha yoga, it is said that: “All diseases are eradicated by the proper practice of pranayama.”
The pantheon of Yoga has a range of pranayama exercises designed with different functions; some are to soothe, others to stimulate; some to build internal fire; others to cool; collectively the function of pranayama is to remove blocks from the energetic body and ultimately to still the mind in readiness for meditation and the recognition of our true nature which is oneness.
Modern science has verified what the yogis discovered experientially; that breratheork is intimately linked with our mental and emotional states and our physical well-being. The benefits of a regular 20 minute pranayama practice include:.
- improved cardiovascular health
- Improved lung function
- Detoxification
- Strengthened immune system
- Improved mental concentration and greater clarity
- Decrease in stress levels
In this Monday night course, we will be practising 30, 20, 20; that is 30 minutes of evening yoga to activate, release, and mobilise the body in preparation for breath work; 20 minutes of pranayama to investigate the experience of each pranayama practice upon our bodies, nervous system and minds, followed by 20 minutes of meditation.
Clearing the mind and energy body in this this way provides an important antidote to the highly charged and congested mental states modern pressurised digital life impose on us.
We will explore a range of pranayamas; (some familiar, others less so) learn their functions, key accompanying mudras and experience their benefits as stand alone practices and as precursors to meditation.
Dates Monday 11 Sep to Monday 4 Dec Inc – No class on Oct 23 half term
Cost: £180
£20 drop-in
Course Cost: £180
Payment Possibilities:
5 Class Discount Pass (Valid In Wednesday class as well):£75
10 Class Discount (Pass Valid In Wednesday class as well: £150)