Yoga which in sanksrit translates to “yoke” or union, has been around for thousands of years.
While the main focus of yoga at Serenity Yoga Lembongan is on the more physical movements that the western world commonly associates with yoga, it is important to understand its more traditional roots as well.
In the western world we come to think of yoga as either a challenging workout that tones our muscles, calms our minds and strengthens our spirits or something that involves lots of breathing, stretching and chanting!
unify our mind, body and soul. It will leave us feeling refreshed, calm and ready to take on the world and anything that the world throws our way one single moment at a time.
It does this quite simply by strengthening and lengthening the body, slowing down our minds and opening our perspective to a whole world of possibility Pretty awesome hey!
Most people think that yoga is just stretching.
While stretching is most definitely involved, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through developing flexibility and strength – achieving that perfect sense of balance in the body and mind.
This is done through the performance of yoga poses, each of which has specific benefits. These poses can be done quickly in succession, creating heat in the body through movement (vinyasa flow, power yoga) or more slowly to increase stamina and familiarity with the alignment of the poses (hatha flow).
The poses are a constant, but the approach to how we use them varies according to the style of the teacher.
Yoga teachers will refer to your practice today, which literally means your individual experience with yoga as time passes by. What is fabulous is that our yoga practice is constantly evolving and changing as we grow as yogis, so it never gets boring.
Although the poses themselves don’t change, our relationship with them will and we learn that yoga is a journey, we are not trying to reach a place of pure perfection in a single pose.
Anyone can start yoga, at any time, even if you don’t feel strong or flexible. These things will improve the more you practice, with time. The beauty of our practice is that yoga is non competitive so how fast or slow we move into a stronger practice is a personal project.
By letting go of our ego when we come to our yoga mat, we realize that everyone is just doing their best at any given moment.
In addition to practising yoga poses, yoga classes may include references to breathing or messages of motivation or philosophy, or perhaps an inspirational reading from the teacher.
The variety of the above will depend from class to class, for example in a faster moving class your focus will be on connection of breath and movement and there will be less dialogue from your teacher beyond guidance in and out of the poses.
In a yin class, where there is more time spent seated in each pose, there is more room and opportunity for your teacher to guide you through a practice of mindfulness.
Some people will come to their yoga mat to find a gateway to their spiritual exploration, and some will simply enjoy a physical workout in order to feel great about themselves.
What should I wear?
Choose clothes that are not too baggy and that help you and your yoga instructor make sure that you are not doing anything harmful to your body.
In more physical types of yoga (power yoga and vinyasa flow for example) and especially in hot classes (or climates like Nusa Lembongan), expect to sweat!
Wear clothes that will dry quickly, wick moisture away, and will keep you as comfortable as possible to get the most out of your yoga class.
Fabrics with stretch will help you to feel the most comfortable as you move from pose to pose. Whatever you choose to wear to class, you should be able to move freely and feel good.
Vinyasa classes are dynamic, energetic classes with a strong emphasis on following the breath as we flow from one pose to the next.
No two classes are the same as our teacher guides you through creative and faster paced sequences.
These are beginner-friendly classes that focus on breathing and moving slowly and mindfully between a series of gentle poses, creating subtle heat and strength in the body yet stillness and calmness in the mind.
Yin is a delicious practice of yoga where we watch tension simply melt away as we let our breath take us deeper into our bodies, and connective tissue.
We hold gentle poses for longer durations of time allowing that dreamy Zen feeling to come and find us while opening up our bodies and calming our minds.
This is an excellent balance to our more dynamic classes, and other energetic activities.
Using our swings we learn to invert and hang suspended in the air, as well as learning more about correct muscle activation and individual alignment. We release tension on the bones, strengthen core muscles, increase spine and shoulder flexibility and prevents back or neck strain while allowing us to explore new depths in our inversions and backbends!
Fly High Yoga is perfect for beginners and experienced yogis alike. It is also ideal for those working to rehabilitate after an injury or illness.
Power Yoga classes are dynamic, energetic classes creating and developing whole body strength, with a strong emphasis on the core, as we use the breath to flow through our creative movement based sequences.
This will be a fluid dance between various yoga poses to create heat in the muscles and to build strength and flexibility throughout the body.
Most suited to people who have tried yoga before, and are familiar with flow movement based yoga classes.
Move in the direction that makes you come alive…
Yin yoga is a beautifully delicious practice that helps us heal both our heart and our mind. It allows us time to sit within ourselves, to just be still, and to notice what the body and mind are telling us. It differs enormously from Vinyasa......
Living and teaching yoga on my paradise island, Nusa Lembongan, I find myself surrounded by surf chicks and dudes almost every day. There are yoga and surfing retreats popping up all around the world these days, which just serves to highlight the popularity of this......
Why would a yogi want to book a private yoga class? When people book a private yoga session with me, their reasons are personal in nature. There are always many reasons why someone would book a private session but in the same way, there are......
Thank you for spending some time on our web site
Hope there is some peace and tranquillity in your day today
Serenity Yoga Lembongan - Lembongan's first RYS 200
