Exercise Class Review: Fitter London's Vinyasa Yoga

Fitter London have now added yoga classes to their timetable which now makes it well-rounded.  Everything needed is now covered - from strength to cardio to conditioning to YOGA :)

If you're wondering, why you should add yoga to your current workout routine, check out this link: "WHY DO YOGA?"

If you follow me on twitter (@Adura_O), you'll know I've been attending Bikram yoga classes for the last month and a half. My friend Keris invited me to a class and although I was a little extra-dramatic (it's me, that's not unexpected!), I could already feel the positive effects by the end of the day.

After attending a few more classes, I finally FINALLY appreciated yoga classes and told anyone willing to listen that they should give yoga another try. 

I'll be honest - I've never been a fan of yoga. My excuse - it was too boring but the more I thought about it, the more I realised it frustrated me so much because I couldn't do anything. I was so inflexible and just couldn't hold any postures but I never gave it time and always gave up after a couple of classes. I remember going for a yoga class 3 years ago and while I was struggling with a shoulder stand, a few show-offs people effortlessly got into headstands!

Fitter London's yoga instructor - Katie already stands out. Why? Because she's been the most supportive and helpful yoga instructor I've seen in a while (my experience with some yoga instructors can be another blog post!). I had never ever tried a headstand (ever!) and this happened on Sunday:

I wasn't even going to attempt it but Katie said I should give it a go and lo and behold - I did it!

There were a couple of beginners in the class and they were advised to take things in their stride. Most yoga postures have a few levels, you always benefit from them if you're a novice or a veteran. If at any point, you feel tired or unable to do some postures - you're advised to stay in child's pose <--- I like!

These classes slowly build up from a warm up - quite a few downward/upward dogs and these help mobilise the joints and warm up the muscles - to some basic postures. We slowly built up to the last few  that were quite challenging but as always, there were options for the less experienced.

Katie plays mellow but funky music throughout the class which I loved. I found myself humming to some of the tracks but not in a distracting manner of course ;)

I've been to three of her classes so far and I love them because every class is different, there were a few new poses (to me) last weekend and I got the chance to improve on some other poses from previous classes.

I love strength training and I teach a lot of spin classes, I do mobility drills pre-workout and stretch post-workout but honestly, they're not enough. I found I was feeling tighter all over especially in my hamstring (back of my thighs), calves and back. I can confidently say that after ~20 yoga sessions so far, I have increased flexibility in my problem areas, I always leave classes with a clear head/mind and I feel better and calmer for it. I used to be anti-yoga now I'm PRO-YOGA :) I'm looking forward to where I'll be after the next 20 classes!

Fitter London's yoga classes will officially begin on Sunday 25th September (11.30am every Sunday in Fitness First Covent Garden), if you're interested in the classes send me an email: Adura'at'fitterlondon.co.uk. Your first class is absolutely free (no small print!) ;)

The Fitter London class timetable and prices can be found HERE