Why YOGA it's great for men too!

Yoga is a great way to stay healthy and happy for women and men alike, however yoga often gets seen as a women-only environment. Here are some of the key reasons that yoga is fantastic for men too:

• Men often state their lack of flexibility means that they can’t practice yoga, however yoga is about more than this, strength, balance, breath-work, joint suppleness, increased body awareness and so on are also on the cards. Joint and muscle tightness is a great reason to actually attend yoga classes regularly, as the movements and postures work on increasing flexibility and opening the joints to help lengthen and stretch muscles out. This is even more apparent for those who already attend the gym/run/cycle, as these activities impact the muscles and joints, so yoga is a great way to release this tension and strengthen the muscles (i.e. cyclists can benefit from strengthening the core and supporting muscles in the lower back, to help them improve posture and avoid lower back issues).

• Yoga widens range of motion and increases access to more muscle fibres, allowing for more substantial hypertrophy* in any given muscle group to aid the growth of muscles with weight training.

       *Hypertrophy is when a muscle is enlarged because its cells are enlarged (it's basically muscle growth on a cellular level).

• Deep abdominal breathing is a huge part of yoga, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This lowers levels of cortisol, a hormone that forces your body to hold on to belly fat, so it helps you to stay leaner. Training yourself to breathe deeply through yoga can reduce stress and cortisol levels in your daily life.

• Another giant benefit of yoga is lowering your heart rate. More intense yoga routines will challenge your heart and breathing rates, which strengthen your cardiovascular system and can lead to a reduction in overall heart rate. Your breathing volume can also improve, providing more oxygen for your body to work as efficiently as possible.

• If you’ve trained for years either weight lifting, running or cycling, the body responds a certain way, setting up particular neurological and neuromuscular patterns that stay the same and serve us in that sport. We breathe a certain way; we move a certain way. We often injure the same muscles or ligaments in the same way. Yoga brings the body back into balance, into its natural alignment to help counteract old or persistent injuries to help strengthen the body and improve physical weaknesses from other forms of sport.

• If you aren’t a regular gym-goer, yoga will offer a way of keeping physically healthy without the sometimes competitive environment of the gym.

The end of an era...

The fabulous, flexible Over 60s at the Yoga Me Happy farewell lunch 3rd September 2014

Yoga Me Happy is celebrating a fantastic 10 months of working in conjunction with Age UK Waltham Forest and the Peter May Sports Centre to offer FREE yoga classes for the Over 60s in the Borough.

Eliza Moore, Yoga Me Happy's teacher took the difficult decision to stand down from teaching the class, as she is pregnant with twins and so hands the baton to Vanessa Brooks Fisher, another dedicated Walthamstow yoga teacher.

As we get older, it becomes increasingly important to take care of our joints, our muscles and our all-round well-being, so when Age UK approached Yoga Me Happy to volunteer to teach yoga for the over 60s in the local community, there was no question but to say yes!

The classes are based around traditional hatha yoga, however with use a chair for support and balance and so the classes are suitable for all, and best of all they're FREE! As long as you are over 60 and live in the Borough of Waltham Forest.

If you are interested in joining the waiting list for the classes please contact Emma Tozer at Age UK Waltham Forest:

Email:                 E.Tozer@ageukwalthamforest.org.uk

Telephone:         020 8558 5512

Yoga's Popping Up in The 'Stow!

Yoga has long been a favourite with the savvy, health-aware, Londoner, but Walthamstow seems to be lacking the necessary element for its budding audience, a Yoga Studio. When local Yogi, Eliza Moore of Yoga Me Happy, found out about Waltham Forest Council’s initiative to launch a Pop Up Shop in Walthamstow, rent and rate free, she jumped at the chance to apply and create a Yoga Studio.

Waltham Forest Council’s pop up shop, branded ‘Hoe Street Central’, aims to support start-up businesses and community innovators by providing space for them to test their ideas on the market, as well as offer interesting new concepts to shoppers on the high street. Eliza submitted her application to create Walthamstow’s very first yoga studio in this unit with the view to establishing that there is a need for one in the area.

Yoga Me Happy’s motto is to make Londoner’s happy with yoga, Eliza comments, “There are so many benefits to yoga and especially for us, busy Londoners who find it hard to relax and take time out for ourselves. I am incredibly passionate about yoga and about imparting my knowledge and skills to make people feel welcomed on their way in and relaxed on their way out. It has been well-documented that yoga asanas (positions) and pranayamas (breathing exercises) that go hand-in-hand with the physical practice of yoga, create a feeling of general well-being and can alleviate depression, along with a whole host of other benefits, so what better thing to introduce to the thriving community of Walthamstow?”

Eliza already runs classes in Lloyd Park’s Bowls club, however this venue can only be used on a Sunday morning and the limited space means that people often have to be turned away.

Eliza came to E17 just over a year ago and has become a fully-fledged member of the community, she even runs a free yoga class for the over 60s of the Borough at the Peter May Sports Centre. Age UK Waltham Forest approached Eliza a couple of months ago to offer her services to the senior audience and she jumped at the chance to give back.

The pop up studio will be running for two weeks from 7^th to 19^th January 2014 and will be a haven of calm for locals to come and practice yoga, meet like-minded people and try out some fun things like workshops, newbie classes and lots more. “There will be a whole host of classes for all different levels of abilities. I intend to provide something for everyone to give Walthamstow the chance to try yoga on for size if they’ve never done it before or give people a chance to practice locally rather than having to go to another part of London,” says Eliza.

Cllr Mark Rusling, cabinet member and portfolio lead for Business, Employment and Skills said “We're delighted to support organisations like Yoga Me Happy through our pop up shop. I'm hoping to get down there myself! Hopefully, Eliza's business will go on to thrive when she leaves the pop up - that is what we want for all of the organisations we are supporting on Hoe Street."

Subscribe to the Yoga Me Happy newsletter for further details and the yoga schedule for Hoe Street Central on the home page of the website: www.yogamehappy.co.uk

Yoga Me Happy has a new teacher!

Introducing Miss Jocelyn Cox to Yoga Me Happy.

Jocie will be taking Saturday morning classes at Karoon Health Club. The 10am for beginner to intermediate levels and also the 11.45am, newbie class for those who want to learn the basics and progress their practice.

Find out more about Jocie

FREE guided relaxation

In this busy old world of ours, it's so important to relax, but we very rarely take the time to completely switch off and have time for ourselves.

This guided relaxation is 15 minutes of calm to make you feel truly relaxed. The perfect end to any yoga practice.

Click here for details

Position of the month

Dancer (Natarajasana)

STEP 1:

Making sure the toes on the standing foot (as in the picture we'll start off with the left) are facing directly forward and are splayed wide for full grounding and support.

Taking hold of the inside of the right foot with the right hand (little finger closest to the body and the thumb facing the back of the room)

Knees should be close together and in one line, the right knee pointing towards the floor.

Whilst here, tuck the tail bone under and gently soften through the shoulders with a deep exhale.

STEP 2:

Bring the left arm up to the ceiling, inside of the upper arm close to the ear.

Place thumb and forefinger together in a mudra gesture.

STEP 3:

Start to kick the right foot backwards away from the body, lengthening through the arm.

Keep the chest high and the torso upright until the leg is at full extension.

Then, charge the left arm forward, the torso will come down, but try to keep the chest high.

Lengthen the body in both directions by pulling equally on the right arm and reaching the left arm forward.

To release, gently bring the left arm back up and the right knee back parallel with the left knee and gently place the right foot on the floor.


Repeat on the other side.

Position of the Month - Firefly

Firefly (Tittibhasana)

Firefly is arm balance to strengthens the arm joints, firstly the wrists, but also the forearms and shoulders. The position requires core strength to keep the body stable in the position. Along with improving your strength, firefly also works to increase the flexibility of the hamstrings and inner thigh muscles, opens up the upper back and shoulder blades, plus promoting a sense of balance.

PLEASE NOTE: this is considered an advanced yoga pose, so please practice with care. Do not practice if you suffer from any lower back or arm injuries (including shoulders).

 

STEP 1
Come down into a squat position, feet apart, slightly closer together than shoulder width. It's a good idea to prepare the body before coming into the position, so with that in mind, place the hands to namaste and push the thighs outwards with the inside of the upper arms. Lengthen the back by pushing the pelvis under slightly and opening up through the shoulder blades.

STEP 2

Bring the hands onto the floor, just behind the outside the feet, fingers pointing forward and palms flat on the ground. The arms come through the legs with the shoulders close to the back of the knees.

STEP 3

Bring the pelvis down and shift the centre of gravity back to rest the thighs on to the upper arms.

STEP 4

Shifting the body weight further back, start to bring the legs forward and out to the side on an inhale.

STEP 5

Taking the final position by raising the legs even further, broadening the upper back, straightening through the hamstrings and raising the head. Taking long, slow breaths in the final pose.

To come out of the pose, bend the leg back towards the body, place on the floor in front of the hands and come back into a squat.