Flexibility, Breathing & Relaxation


Yoga is a form of exercise which focuses on flexibility, breathing and relaxation to challenge all the muscles in your body in a different way. When you take part in a yoga class, you will be asking your body to hold physically demanding postures while breathing in a relaxed way. Although it is demanding, it is not intended to be uncomfortable as it is a technique that has been used for over 5,000 years since its origins in India and is now used frequently as a strengthening exercise.

A strengthening exercise is one that works all of the major muscles in your body, including your abdomen, arms, back, chest, hips, legs and shoulders. It's important to work on your muscle strength to aid in your typical day to day movements and support your flexibility. Yoga can also be helpful to patients who are suffering from back pain or pelvic pain as it is can help with flexibility, balance and co-ordination. Many of the postures that you will hold as part of your yoga class will work towards gently strengthening the muscles in the back as well as the abdominal muscles.

As well as helping to strengthen your muscles, yoga is also good for helping to reduce the tension in your muscles through a combination of stretching and relaxation. You will hold various gentle poses for between 10 to 60 seconds, flexing and stretching various muscles which also promotes flexibility and relaxation in various joints as well.

One of the most important parts of the yoga class is breathing. As the poses will be unknown to you, to begin with, the tendency can be to hold your breath while you are perfecting the pose. However, the aim should be to take deep, and rhythmically breath through the nose on both the inhale and exhale. The breathing is so important as the quality of your breathing will not only help your body to relax but will also encourage stronger circulation.

You don't have to be ultra-fit to start a yoga class - there are classes available for all levels and ages as it is beneficial to everyone. At our studio in Macclesfield, Cheshire we run a daytime/evening timetable of yoga classes, as well as Pilates classes, for every level - with a maximum class size of 8. Our yoga studio is a friendly and welcoming environment in which you can come and practice yoga or Pilates - so why not come and have a look for yourself?

We are always on the lookout for instructors to expand our offering, so if you are a budding instructor looking for a space to use for your Yoga classes, then please get in touch.

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