Always ready to try new things and go to new places, I was excited to try out the Intro to Yoga workshop over the weekend. I had never been to Yoga Yard but I heard great things about it. Plenty of yoga instructors at Yoga Yard have booming businesses, and are very creative; like Leo from London Loft who is not only a hair stylist but also a yoga teacher and reiki practitioner, or Theresa from Yoganda bags, and Jess from Green Room who creates great oils together with her side kicks.
This is how the course was described on the website, yogayard.com:
“A special two-day course designed to introduce yoga for new students, or for anyone who would like a brush-up on the basics. In the course, we will talk a bit about yoga as a philosophy and practice, teach many of the basic postures (asanas), and focus on breathing techniques and sequences in vinyasa yoga.”
It caught my attention, and I had to give it a go.
I started my own yoga journey a year after giving birth and had so much fun doing it. Before I’d always thought yoga was for funny people as there was no way my body could make these poses without laughing or peeing myself. Turns out having a child makes you a bit more calm and collected, and I needed some yoga to free myself from my worries as a new mother. I found a yoga teacher in London who helped me understand what yoga was about, and something clicked inside my head. Yoga was a way of escaping reality by staying true to myself and my body. Under no circumstance am I able to do hard poses, nor can I practise without my blocks and string to help me out. But that is fine, and maybe one day soon I’ll be able to do without.
The weekend at Yoga Yard was intense to say the least; all the breathing made me tired. At some points I wanted to leave, but I was glad I stayed as I had a refresher course on yoga and some new tips and tricks for better postures and body composure. After a weekend, and five and a half hours of yoga in total, I totally enjoyed my Sunday bath soaking ritual.
The next weekend workshop, “Intro to Yoga” will be on June 24 and 25, Saturday from 1-2.30 and Sunday from 1-3.30 for the total price of RMB 360. For more information visit the Yoga Yard website here.
Pauline van Hasselt has been working for beijingkids since October 2016. Born in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, she moved with her husband and her 3 year-old daughter to Beijing in June of last year. Prior she lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Paraguay, Texas, and London, studying and working as a chef. Pauline enjoys biking around Beijing, finding markets and new restaurants, reading crime and fantasy books in bed, and most importantly, turning her house into a home for her family.
Photo credits: Pixabay.com and Yoga Yard
