AN INTRODUCTION TO YOGA NIDRA

With Anthea Aireton-Downer

6pm – 7pm Friday 13th June

Welcome to your new favourite evening ritual. Yoga Nidra is one of the deepest and most restorative forms of meditation—a fully guided process that allows you to rest deeply in the body while maintaining gentle awareness of the mind.

This calming yet powerful practice is designed to support nervous system healing, emotional balance, and true rest—making it ideal for all levels, including complete beginners.

Why Practice Yoga Nidra?

Yoga Nidra is one of the most accessible and transformative meditation practices available. You don’t need any experience—just a willingness to relax and receive.

Benefits include:

• Reduction in stress, anxiety, and emotional fatigue
• Deeper, more restful sleep and improved mood
• Increased mental clarity and focus
• Relief from muscular tension and chronic discomfort
• Supports healthy blood pressure
• Helps regulation of blood sugar levels, making it especially beneficial for those managing diabetes.
• Deep rest for the nervous system and recovery from burnout

The session begins with soothing floor-based restorative yoga, incorporating props and gentle movements to release physical tension and settle the nervous system. We then transition into the Yoga Nidra practice.

COOLING SUMMER YIN YOGA

With Alison Firth

4pm – 5:30pm Sunday 15th June

Chillout and join Alison for a little Summer Yin Yoga.

During the hazy summer months, life has a way of becoming busier as our diaries fill with social events and commitments.

This cooling yoga practice uses carefully sequenced floor-based asana such as twists, forward bends and light back bends which enable you to ease into stretches, helping you to release both mental and physical tension.

• Improved Flexibility and Joint Mobility
  Yin Yoga targets deep connective tissues like fascia, ligaments, and joints. Long-held poses help lengthen and hydrate these tissues, increasing flexibility and range of motion over time.
• Stress Reduction and Relaxation
  The slow, meditative nature of Yin Yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the mind and reducing stress. It can feel like a moving meditation.
• Enhanced Circulation and Energy Flow
  Holding poses for extended periods helps stimulate energy pathways (meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine), promoting better circulation and energetic balance in the body.
• Improved Mental Clarity and Emotional Balance
  Stillness in poses fosters mindfulness and introspection, helping to process emotions and develop mental resilience. It’s beneficial for emotional healing and cultivating patience.

Treat yourself, take a break – take a breath and enjoy this time-honoured practice.

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE

YOGA TO EASE PERI-MENOPAUSE, MENOPAUSE AND BEYOND

With Eve Cameron

6pm – 7pm Every Wednesday

These classes differ from other yoga classes; in that they offer women an opportunity to understand the changes that occur during different phases,

• Perimenopause: Focus on hormonal regulation and stress relief.
• Menopause: Cooling, grounding, and balancing practices.
• Post-menopause: Strength-building and bone-supportive poses.

What happens in a class?

• Gentle yoga poses – carefully sequences to support joint health, flexibility and circulation.
• Breathwork to regulate mood and reduce anxiety.
• Mindfulness to manage stress, promote sleep and support emotional balance.
• Restorative practices to reduce fatigue and promote relaxation.

What are the Benefits?

• Reduces hot flashes (certain cooling breaths and poses may help).
• Improves bone health (weight-bearing poses support density).
• Eases joint pain and stiffness.
• Helps regulate weight through movement and awareness.
• Reduces stress and anxiety through calming breathwork and mindfulness.
• Improves sleep quality.
• Supports emotional resilience during hormonal shifts.

SUMMER RADIANCE - A Mini-Retreat

With Anthea Aireton-Downer

2pm – 4:30pm Sunday 13th July

Summer is about living with open-hearted enthusiasm.

In Ayurvedic terms, summer relates to the pitta (fire) energy. When pitta is balanced, the mind is calm and sleep is sound. When pitta becomes agitated, burning too strongly, we can feel restless, anxious, exhausted and withdrawn – “burnt out”.

Openness and expansion is an important quality of fire. Yoga postures that bring the spine into extension with compassion and kindness will be central to the practice as we explore calming moon salutations to reduce pitta (heat in the body). Subtle uplifting backbends will be interspersed with revitalizing postures and breathwork to recharge your batteries.

Join Anthea for an afternoon of radiant self-care, simple acupressure points and breathing techniques to ease anxiety.

Schedule

2pm – 3:00pm

Moon Salutations (Chandra Namaskar)

3pm – 3:30pm

Refreshments with nutritious snacks

3:30pm – 4:30pm

Restorative Yoga & Yoga Nidra