Classes
Gentle moves for strength, balance and flexibility - Gentle hatha yoga
Hatha yoga is the classical system of yoga that has been taught for at least 2,000 years that we know about. An intelligent, systematic wealth of practices that western research now validates and recommends.
Yogacalm gentle hatha classes gently warm and mobilise your body. You can expect yoga poses and sequences for flexibility, strength and balance. Classes also include restorative yoga, breathing and meditation practices and complete with Yoga Nidra, the profound yoga relaxation.
Yoga props like bolsters, blankets, blocks, straps, chairs and the wall are used to adapt poses and to maximise your benefits in various poses.
All classes provide individual instruction. Yogacalm meets you where you are.
“Jen provides a very safe and nurturing environment in her yoga sessions. She supported me brilliantly when going in and out of each pose. She clearly explains the benefits of each pose which I found encouraging and motivating. She’s amazing, skilled, intuitive and experienced. You will love working with Jen even if you are a novice, like me!” - Amanda, Executive Coach
Own sweet time - Restorative yoga
Restorative yoga is a mini holiday, where you can deeply rest in a matter of minutes. A simple and profound practice, restorative yoga activates your body’s relaxation response as you rest into yoga positions with abundant support of bolsters, blankets and other props.
My job is to provide the right props and support to make you completely comfortable, so you can rest into a pose for several minutes.
A restorative yoga session takes you through a complete round of supported yoga poses. The body’s muscles and joints and tissues are gradually, gently stretched and massaged by the yoga practices. There is no effort. The mind follows the body into letting go and experiencing deep full breathing and stillness. The effect is both relaxing and energising.
Sounds too good to be true? Find out more about how restorative yoga switches on the relaxation response by activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).
Jen is a qualified restorative yoga therapist and has been teaching restorative yoga for 18 years.
“Running a small business and life in general for my husband and me is always busy. Often we find it hard to wind down and be present and mindful. Jen at YogaCalm has helped us to calm our brain and bodies, help us feel at ease and give us the rest we need. Having only done restorative yoga a handful of times, we can definitely notice a dramatic difference - we’re calmer, more present and feel less stressed and less anxious. I couldn’t recommend Jen at YogaCalm highly enough. Thank you, thank you.”
- Loukia, Chiropractor
Yoga for Women during or after Breast Cancer
Breast cancer can create enormous upheaval in many ways that impacts all aspects of a woman’s life. Additionally there may be the effects of stress associated with the cancer and treatment.
Yoga therapy offers nourishing and honouring practices that soothe the body’s stress response. Practices from yoga class can be quietly used at challenging times during treatments and other anxiety provoking times.
Research points to specific gentle yoga practices that assist women with supporting their immune systems, gently mobilising and recovering from surgery. Yoga can assist with side effects of cancer and treatments including managing lymphedema, sore joints and getting a good night’s sleep.
A yoga class for women in any stage of their breast cancer journey is a supportive, embracing place to come as you are.
Jen is a certified teacher in yoga therapy for women and breast cancer. Like so many women, Jen has had her own brush with breast cancer and other women’s health conditions that have included waiting for diagnoses, sorting through the maze of complementary and conventional medicine practices including surgery.
Easy does it - Gentle moves for over 55s
One of the wonderful things about yoga is that it can be adapted for different life seasons and needs. Now in my sixties, my yoga practice has progressively become a slower, gentler practice.
Yoga practices can be modified for people who might think that their different body ailments would make yoga unthinkable. Yogacalm is about yoga coming to meet you exactly where you are.
Come along with stiff and sore joints or cardiovascular complaints or shortness of breath or any chronic disease - and feel so much better after some easy and accessible movement, breathing and meditation practices.
Chairs are the best place for people who cant get onto the floor and we can do all the yoga you need using a chair as your base.
Other oldies, like me, still love to practice yoga with a yoga mat. Always, there are simple gentle ways to practice yoga that supports you.
“I love a healthy, active body. it’s who I am. When I found I could no longer do the exercise and yoga of my younger days I searched for a new way to be active and well. I found it in Yogacalm. Jen listened deeply and created a bespoke yoga practice for the new and older me. The poses she developed are perfect and we meet one on one to refine and re-set the bespoke program. For me Yogacalm is as much about being seen as a beautiful older woman as it is about physicality. Yogacalm is a beautiful blessing in a world that does not always bless and value all the stages of life’s journey.” - Susan
Going within - Meditation and breathing practices
All classes begin and end with attuning inwardly with a mini meditation or guided relaxation. These meditations are practical resources away from the yoga mat too.
All classes teach breath awareness during yoga practices. Deep full breathing is the simplest way to massage our abdominal muscles and organs, stimulate the lymphatics and our circulation, quieten our minds and relax the nervous system. Sounds like magic but no, we are actually wired this way. Yogacalm teaches you to breathe deeply with ease.
“For me, Jen’s yoga class is totally restoring. The seemingly simple stretches, postures and breathing exercises have been distilled and honed through her years of experience to bring profound relaxation of both body and mind. For myself and my husband, we find that gentle yoga and meditation is truly the kindest thing either of us can do for ourselves.” - Pam, Llama farmer and artist
Kind words
“For me, Jen’s yoga class is totally restoring. The seemingly simple stretches, postures and breathing exercises have been distilled and honed through her years of experience to bring profound relaxation of both body and mind. For myself and my husband, we find that gentle yoga and meditation is truly the kindest thing either of us can do for ourselves.”
- Pam, Llama farmer and artist