ANDREA - a full time Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi instructor.

I fell in love with yoga over seven years ago, when I got a Nintendo DS and bought a game called Let's Yoga. From then, I began 'playing' yoga everyday, sometimes twice a day. At first, the practice was more physical for me, but after few months I started to really count on yoga to bring me a sense of calm during especially chaotic days. Soon after, I began recognizing the benefits of a regular asana and meditation practice and continued to incorporate yoga daily - not just during times of chaos. I found myself feeling more energized, more compassionate, happier, and with more awareness. Now, I teach full-time and couldn't be happier to do what I love. What began as a physical practice for strength and flexibility quickly became a lifestyle. I teach my students to take their yoga off the mat and apply the principles learned in the class to their lives outside of the studio. I do not only teach my philosophy, I live it.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Getting ready for Power Yoga

What is Power Yoga?

Power yoga is a general term used in the West to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Though many consider it to be "gym yoga," this style of practice was originally closely modeled on the Ashtanga method. The term came into common usage in the mid 1990s, in an attempt to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible to western students, though, unlike Ashtanga, power yoga does not follow a set series of poses, so classes can vary widely. With its emphasis on strength and flexibility, power yoga brought yoga into the gyms, as people began to see yoga as a way to work out.

If you are interested in taking Power Yoga classes, you will find more info here or come straight to Dunstable Leisure Centre to join our class at 8pm every Monday.

 These pics were taken while preparing for Monday´s Power Yoga class in Maya´s Treatment room in Dunstable





Tuesday 15 January 2013

Why practice yoga while pregnant?

     To bear a child is undeniably the ultimate dream of the majority of women. Pregnancy is the state of carrying a growing embryo or fetus in the uterus. In mammals, pregnancy is defined as the period between implantation of a fertilized egg (now called a zygote) in wall of the uterus and delivery or other termination. Some people believe that conception, the moment when the sperm and egg first meet in the fallopian tube, is the start of pregnancy, while the legal and medical definition holds that pregnancy begins when the zygote implants in the uterine wall. 
     Human pregnancy lasts about 38 weeks from conception to birth, or 40 weeks from the time of the last menstrual period to birth (a little more than nine months). It is an almost divine fulfillment that she hopes to attain through this act of procreation. Fear and apprehensions often cloud the mind, the moment pregnancy is confirmed. Will I be able to take this responsibility? Will it be a male or a female? Will it be a healthy child? and so on. Child birth is surely the greatest act performed by women. It can be a great emotional experience. The physical and psychological aspects can’t be separated. For most of women labour is a time of apprehension of fear and agony. But with a proper antenatal preparation the majority of women can have and labour that is easy and painless or almost painless and she can actually enjoy the labour and experience a sense of fulfillment.  
     Yoga tackles an individual's well-being on the whole – body, mind and heart. This is very much unlike other forms of physical fitness. Yoga for pregnant women can help would be mother get through their pregnancy with the least amount of discomfort. Pregnancy Yoga even helps in childbirth and in the post-delivery stages. Pregnancy Yoga’s stretching exercises help relieve aches and pains. The practices also help improve overall posture and this can help alleviate back problems so common in pregnant women. Smooth pregnancy and a natural childbirth are just some of the benefits of yoga. But more importantly, yoga does wonders on the physical and mental development of the fetus.
     Ensuring a healthy baby is every woman’s dream and yoga helps you do just that. During last few decades, the research in yoga has proved beyond doubts that yoga helps to prevent and cure many chronic ailments. Yogic practices integrate the body, mind and spirit. They bring harmony; develop a restful and positive attitude towards life. This comprehensive programmed of yogic practices designed for pregnant women will help; those to have correct posture flexibility of spine improve their breathing capacity, to manage stress. It helps to build immunity, inner strength, improve control over body and emotions. In short it is the best preventive and curative therapy for many ailments that can occur during pregnancy. It will also ensure the baby's healthy growth.
 

Monday 14 January 2013

A Day in Maya´s New Treatment Room

Today, I woke up only after few hours of sleep and with Maya (our house-masseuse) we hurried to catch a bus (and I had a terrible accident with my phone :/) to Dunstable. We planned a busy day for us and it all went very well. 

We started with swimming (I can only recommend the swimming pool in Dunstable Leisure Centre). After the swimming I was so lucky to get my first Reiki healing for my kidney. I felt so much better straight away after the treatment! I could even get up from the massage table :) Then she did my nails :* And my third treat of Maya´s healing hands was a pleasurable Facial lymph drainage (you can find more info about Maya´s offers here: Maya´s Healing Hands). We had a nice dinner, we had a little rest (doing papework) and later we did some cardio training and weights.

We even took few pictures:











 And the whole day would not be so great without some yoga stuff, too. Firstly, I put up my poster just outside Maya´s Treatment Room. Secondly, we put the banner in the window. And thirdly, Maya joined my very intense Power Yoga class in the evening :)

Sunday 13 January 2013

Beháme s Majkou po parku :P

Dnes zasvietilo slničko, tak sme sa vybrali na prechádzku do nášho parku tuto za rohom a urobili sme pre vás niekoľko motivačných fotiek :)






Sunday 6 January 2013

Online Guided Meditations

During preparations for my tomorrow´s class I found a very useful website for those of you, who would like to meditate, but don´t know how. Reading the meditation is not always the best to get to the relaxed state, so here, you can listen to the guided meditations and meditate in all comfort :)



And if you want to read some more about positive effect of meditation, check out these links:





Saturday 5 January 2013

Zhrnutie Vianočnej jogy na SVK

Milí moji. veľmi som spokojná s výsledkom našich hodín jogy na Slovensku. Počas 25 dní, čo som bola doma, sme mali 20 hodín jogy na 5 rôznych miestach (asi by ich bolo viac, keby som nemala zlomené rebro a vládala by som viac...). dokopy cvičilo so mnou až 106 ľudí, som milo prekvapená! Jedni chodili častejšie, iní sa zúčastnili len raz, ale aj tak som rada, že som oslovila toľkých z vás. Ďakujem všetkým za podporu, účasť a aj za krásne darčeky! :)

Oddnes som už späť v Anglicku a tu idem rozbehnúť jogu - od pondelka začínam opäť v Harpers Fitness, a dúfam, že aj tu sa mnohým ľuďom zapáči cvičenie so mnou.

Tak si troška zaspomínajme, ako to prebiehalo cez sviatky :)























Thursday 3 January 2013

Rozlúčková joga na Brezničke

Dnes som sa rozlúčila s mojimi spolujogujúcimi na Brezničke, mali sme troška volnejšiu, ale dosť náročnú zostavu.