Rachel Shaw Yoga

I’ve loved reading this book….a reminder that everyone has fears, but the trust in our own ability to ‘handle it’ is what will set us apart.

A big thankyou to all our event contributors who helped to send everyone home with some super goodies! 🎁

New Year yoga starts tomorrow evening at the Haslemere Methodist Church, Wednesday 3rd January, 7-8pm. Come and join our established community for a wonderful mid-week yoga practice.

This dynamic flow class is designed to help you build core and muscle strength, as well flexibility. Alongside the physical benefits it’s great for reducing stress and anxiety, bringing some welcome calm into the busyness of daily life.

£60 for 6 weeks. To book: https://bookwhen.com/rachelshawyoga =ev-seml-20240103190000

Theme of last night’s class – ‘you got this’
 
This book was given to me by a friend when I was going through a big change in career and life – a small reminder of how important self-belief and confidence is.
 
It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed by what we want to accomplish. This feels especially true when going through a big change or transition, but also can apply to everyday life – our work, families, relationships, our own personal goals, any area of our life we find ourselves questioning ‘are we good enough’.
 
The reality is that everyone, from time to time, has these thoughts – moments of questioning and self-doubt. What’s important is not staying too long in these thoughts. Knowing deep down you are totally capable. Reminding yourself, ‘you got this’.

Planning for next term’s classes have started in earnest!

There are many factors considered in the process but one I always come back to is creating ‘moments’.

Moments to feel grounded
Moments to flow
Moments to be strong and build focus
Moments to be soft
Moments for stillness

When all of these are covered I feel we’re in for an awesome class 🙌.

(Now to distill 1000 ideas into 1 hour 🤔)

*Yoga - great for beginners*

Looking forward to teaching this new gentle yoga class starting in September . The perfect starting point for beginners or those just looking for a slower practice 🧘‍♀️.

Mondays, 9.30-10.30am, £50 for 5 weeks starting 18th September.

To book: www.rachelshawyoga.co.uk

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**Yoga for beginners in September + 10% early bird discount**

Monday morning yoga at Cowdray is back in September!

A gentle class to start the week; great for building flexibility, strength and balance. It’s the perfect place for beginners to build their confidence, or those simply looking for a slower paced yoga class.

10% off when booked by 4th August using code ‘10OFF’.

Come join us, we’d love to see you there!

www.rachelshawyoga.co.uk

** Haslemere Yoga | Wednesday evenings**

Bookings now open for September + 10% off for early birds!

Come join us at our new venue for a wonderful mid-week yoga practice. 🧘‍♀️

This dynamic flow class is designed to help you build core and muscle strength, as well flexibility. Alongside the physical benefits it’s great for reducing stress and anxiety, bringing some welcome calm into the busyness of daily life.

For those booking on before the 31st July you’ll receive 10% off using code ‘10OFF’ at the checkout 🙂.

Wednesdays, 7pm, Haslemere Methodist Church

www.rachelshawyoga.co.uk

Rachel Shaw Yoga Yoga Studio

I love sharing the benefits of yoga with others - thank you for joining me! 🧘‍♀️.

This practice started with ‘How lucky are we!…’ so much gratitude for where we live and these amazing views and opportunities to get outside and do what we love. 🧘‍♀️ 🚲 🌳

Yes…..you heard right….the benefits. It’s honestly rubbish when you find yourself with an injury that stops you doing what you love, or even just operating how you want to in day-to-day life. But having experienced injury now for nearly 6 months here are some of the positives I’ve been able to take away from the experience….

A year since completing Yoga Teacher Training. A year of huge change, of learning new skills, of moving further outside my comfort zone. A year of fabulous fellow teachers and students in my life. A year of successes, challenges, smiles, laughter, and a few injury frustrations to deal with but all in all a fabulous one!

You’re never too old to change what you do; be curious, get involved and have the confidence to step into something new.

This picture has been winking at me for months from . This weekend I was supposed to be training with my partner in crime at but shoulders still aren’t up to it. If this past few months has taught me anything it’s that you can’t rush recovery, I can’t force my body to heal, I just have to accept that ‘it is what it is’ (and apparently she’s going to teach me everything I missed so I do hope she’s a good note taker 😜).

Strong, yet steady and soft, goes the energy of warrior 2.

It’s the perfect balance of effort and ease.

Effort in the legs and arms with softness in the shoulders and gaze.

A great physical pose and practice in life.

Yoga is so much more than the pose…

To me this sums up what yoga looks like off the mat. A special moment with a super special kid who turned 9 today.

He ignored me for most of the week, off playing with friends, but in this final moment of holiday called me outside to look at a queen bee he’d spotted in the flowers. I took every bit of that hug, knowing they won’t last forever. A moment of love, contentment and appreciation.

Big thanks to little 10 year old Elsie for capturing the moment 🌟

Spring / Summer timetable now live!

After a little break for Easter we’ll be back on the mat from the 17th April with a lovely new flow for the Spring / Summer term.

Wednesday nights are nearly full with just 2 spots left at 8.15pm but Monday morning has plenty of space to welcome new joiners to our Cowdray community.

Come join us!

To book: www.rachelshawyoga.co.uk

Puppy pose 🐶

Puppy pose is great for the chest, arms, shoulders and spine. I’m finding it a lovely release for my back in the mornings, getting directly into the mid/thoracic spine region and giving a much needed release🧘‍♀️

* Yoga Spring Timetable *

2 free taster dynamic flow classes at Cowdray Hall and Therapy Rooms and Grayshott Village Hall next week + yoga beginner course starting on the 1st March Grayshott Village Hall.

The free tasters are a great way to explore the heat building dynamic flow of a vinyasa yoga class. Leave feeling stretched, stronger and fully restored. If you want the space to breakdown the poses and build your confidence before joining a class then the beginners course is a great way into a regular yoga practice.

To find out more and to book visit www.rachelshawyoga.co.uk

Spring timetable now live with new daytime classes + 4 week yoga beginner course. Free tasters available 20th and 22nd February for those who want to give a dynamic flow class a try. Booking link in bio 🙂

If you struggle with savasana then below is a great article (for students and teachers), reminding us why it’s so important to take the time in one of the most important poses in class.

I have struggled with deep rest at times, especially when life has been at its busiest and the mind and body are in over-drive. Ironically this is when we need the quietening of the mind the most, yet at the same time it sometimes feels further away than ever in this restorative pose.

There have been times when I wished savasana could end so I could get onto the next thing, instead of embracing the opportunity to find a ‘small moment of refuge from constant activity.’

Switching off and stilling the mind takes practice, but when you get there the results are 💯 worth it.

Both as a student and a teacher I am all in for a long savasana 🙌.

https://devatree.com/blog/article/the-heart-of-savasana-part-1-why-5-minutes-is-not-enough

….and breathe
 
In class I’m constantly cueing and reminding everyone to breathe. It might sound simple given we are already naturally taking around 22,000 breaths a day but when we’re busy, stressed or anxious all manner of things happen to our breath. It can become shallow, faster and if we pay close enough attention we might even find we’re holding or pausing our breath.
 
Through controlling breath we can help control the mind and lead to a deeper state of meditation.

In our yoga flow we use a form of pranayama (breath control) called "Ujjayi" breath, in which we inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through the nose while constricting the back of the throat to create an ocean-like sound (also referred to as Darth Vader breath for all you Star Wars fans out there!).
 
This type of breathing is used in class as we move though the physical poses to help focus the mind and to keep the breath steady throughout the practice.
 
It’s an amazing tool for focus and relaxation and the best bit is it’s free and total accessible to all of us.
 
Once you’ve got the hang of this breathing technique you’ll find yourself not only seeing the benefits in your practice but coming to it time and time again in your everyday life.
 
So, if you’re wondering why you feel so good at the end of class then here’s a big reason why, you were simply breathing.

*NEW GRAYSHOTT YOGA!!*

Really excited to be launching two new yoga classes in Grayshott from the end of February PLUS a four week beginners course, perfect for those looking for that extra little bit of guidance, support and confidence building!

🌟 10% early bird discount for those signing up to any Grayshott class/course before the end of January using code “GRAY10” 🌟

For more info and to book visit www.Rachelshawyoga.co.uk

Just going to leave this one here….