Yoga with Attitude!

I've been doing more yoga training recently, which has led inevitably to more thinking. This can be good or (which is more likely) can confuse me!

I was shown a video Health and Beauty Display At Wembley (1939) which called into question everything I thought I knew about yoga. These exercises are very recognisable as what I would call yoga postures. They were inspired by Mollie Baggot Stack's visit to India in 1912. These shapes, were then packaged up as modern yoga for consumption in the West. The link between yoga, fitness and beauty really stems from here.

That's not to say that there's anything wrong with modern yoga. However, by setting itself up, either by design or accident, as connected primarily to fitness and beauty, is doing a disservice to the practice - and excludes lots of people in the process.

An interesting fact: in 10th century there were 2 postures. By 1984 there were 908, most of these developed during the 20th century. This means that there is a lot of scope to modify and find substitute postures if you come across something in yoga that is inaccessible to you for some reason.

This is why I developed Yoga with Attitude. The Attitude is:

1. be the best version of you and reconnect with your body and soul

2. celebrate what you can do instead of focussing on what you can't do

3. let go of everything else - yoga is not a competition

Yoga with Attitude classes are designed specifically to explore all of the options of every posture. I have lots of experience modifying postures, exploring props or even finding complementary postures in my own practice, so I love sharing this with my students.

If you can't easily get up and down from the floor for doing Surya Namaskar (Sun Sequence), there's a version you can do standing up. If you can't reach your toes, use a belt. If you have an injury or disability, there are lots of modifications to explore. Savasana (final resting posture) is always a valid option!

Yoga really is for everyone, so why not join us and celebrate your uniqueness? In the process, you will find your own Yoga with Attitude. New classes are starting with Yoga Rose in the New Year.

Back to main site