A very Happy New Year to ALL Yoga Manchester students - I do hope everyone has had a fabulous holiday season and wishing everyone all the best for 2017. And what a year 2017 is going to be.... All Yoga Manchester classes will resume from Thursday 5th January and Yoga Express classes from Monday 9th January - looking forward to seeing you all on the mat , and please no  'I've not done any yoga since last year '  jokes . I copyrighted that one years ago : ) We have lots of fun things planned for 2017 including workshops , new classes and our very first Teacher Training Programme for all you budding yoga teachers out there.

Saturday Yoga Sessions

The Saturday Yoga Sessions are our new last Saturday of the month Yoga classes in Withington 10 am - 12pm featuring different teachers and themes. Kicking these new classes off will be Charlene McAuley on Saturday 29th January with her Yoga Motion 'Awaken Deep Strength' class. Details of this class here. For all details of future Saturday Yoga Sessions please click here.

David Williams - the King of Ashtanga Yoga

Yoga Manchester are thrilled to host a weekend workshop with the amazing Ashtanga Yogi David Williams. David Williams is probably the most important (Western) Ashtanga Yoga teacher alive today. He was one of the first Western students to study directly with the Guru of Ashtanga Yoga Pattabhi Jois in Mysore India  and he is singularly responsible for bringing Guruji  and his teachings to the West in the early seventies. The rest they say is history! David will be here in July - full details here.  

Yoga Manchester Teacher Training

We are very , very excited to be launching our very first Yoga Teacher Training in 2017. The YMTT is a comprehensive 200 hour teacher-training course with an internationally acclaimed faculty fully accredited with The Independent Yoga Network. The course will start on April 1st 2017 with an eight day intensive and continue with six weekend sessions over a total period of seven months. Full details of the course here.  

Workshops

We have a full itinerary of exciting workshops planned for 2017 including one day meditation workshops , a handstand master class and workshops to revitalise and restore energy - exciting stuff! For all forthcoming workshops please click here. The holidays are over and now it's time to get back on the mat - and always remember ..       Save Save

The Yoga Student What an amazing workshop! Hard work but worth every aching muscle! It was a true pleasure to work with Kino and Tim! There wasn't an asana which didn't feel more challenging than ever before! They definitely made us engage those bandhas from deep within! It's amazing what a difference simple changes can make to your practice...pushing those elbows together in every Ekam position! Engaging that uddiyana bandha on every jump forward and jump back (...and every other asana!) Working that trochanter  into those external rotations in those hip openers! And not forgetting lifting that sacrum and ribs high, to elongate the spine for those deep backbends! Thank you to Kino and Tim for sharing their knowledge and techniques with us and with such infectious wit and humour! I've got to say...it's pretty difficult holding those bandhas whilst trying not to giggle! The way Kino and Tim talked about yoga philosophy through the Yoga Sutras gave some real food for thought! What I hadn't realised when my body is 'screaming' holding Navasana and Utpluthih (Kino's favourite asanas to count super slow!) was, just observe the body, observe the challenge, and recognise this as part of the journey to my inner self, my inner spirit! The workshop really helped to put some of the challenges in my personal practice into perspective. Since the workshop, it's helped me to gain better self awareness, which in turn is enabling me to really focus the mind and truly feel the meditative qualities of my personal practice. Kino and Tim are inspirational teachers and I loved their talk about the obstacles we all encounter on our yogic journey. It's helpful to be reminded about why we committed to this beautiful, empowering, challenging, soul searching, lifelong journey. These reminders help to keep us inspired and to accept these challenges head on. It was encouraging that they were both so open about sharing their journeys, their own experiences and challenges, and despite there being 200 yogis at the workshop that did not hinder their ability give a personal touch to the experience. Their energy is contagious! If you ever get the opportunity to work with Kino and Tim I would highly recommend it! No matter how long you have been practicing Ashtanga yoga, we can always deepen our practice, and what amazing, inspiring and vibrant teachers to do this with! Thank you to all the Yoga Manchester 'Warriors' that assisted all us yogis! You made the whole weekend run swimmingly! A truly excellent workshop hosted by Yoga Manchester! Thank you!  

I have been practicing Ashtanga yoga for the last 15 years under the supervision of Matt Ryan, I attend Yoga Manchester classes on a weekly basis. I have felt a real transformation in my yoga practice over the last two years, since committing to a daily home practice and the monthly Mysore classes with Yoga Manchester.

Sapphire Raydon-Rennie   The Yoga Teacher I've been a student at Kino and Tim's workshops before, only when they've been operating as separate entities though, this time it was lovely to see them working together as a couple. They are both really warm people and even with their yoga 'celebrity' status there's no need to feel intimidated. After-all, being told what to do with your anus on a Friday evening is certainly going to break the ice! There were lots of wide grins at the sign-in desk - it was clear students were really excited to be there and as a teacher that makes me excited too! It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to assist Kino and Tim during the led classes, and to observe so many students practicing - shuffling the hands-width distance between the mats was certainly a test of my spacial awareness! When talking about the practice Kino and Tim skilfully balance years of dedication and respect for the Ashtanga method with a good sense of humour. While there's a thirst for technical instruction on the more challenging postures they offer consistent reminders to remain equanimous ('equanimity' was the word of the weekend with 'anus' following closely behind!) and stay on track with the focus of the practice - stay present. During the Q&A Kino and Tim kept their answers grounded in reality while still referencing philosophical concepts and relevant texts, they weave philosophy into real life choices and experiences very well - rather than it being a subject that remains distant or separated from the practice and our lives. It was nice to see nods of agreement when Kino steered a question about what she eats into making ethical food choices and thinking about the impact that we as consumers have on the world. I've done a reasonable amount of study over the years with some top teachers (although in the context of yoga study this constitutes a tiny, tiny tip of the iceberg). This includes a number of weekend workshops of a similar format, but I always learn something valuable - whether it's a reminder about the fundamentals of the practice (which we all need from time to time!) or a new technique/point of view that I can use in my own practice or apply to teaching. After all a yoga teacher will always remain a yoga student. Kino, Tim and their assistant Carmen brought a bit of Miami (and European) sunshine into the Gita Bhavan temple that weekend and I think we all took some of it away with us! I had three classes to teach after the workshop, I should have been shattered, but it's testament to the enthusiasm of them, the students and the Yoga Manchester Team that I was raring to go! Marie Harris

Read the word ‘tapas’ and patatas bravas and other little Spanish culinary delights come to mind. While I love tapas as much as the next person, recently I've discovered another type of tapas that has little to do with yummy paella. It was over a year ago I read in Michael Stone’s The Inner Tradition of Yoga about the term ‘tapas’, only to think “and what?” Fast forward a year, and the penny’s finally dropped. Stone describes the work of tapas as ‘the cultivation of skills that allow us to be present in the here and now whatever is occurring, whether positive, negative, or neutral’. The penny dropping moment came during my yoga practice where my mind was saying over and over “Can we stop now, I’m bored?” Rather than giving-in, I carried on until the little devil in my head had been silenced by my unwillingness to play ball and it was then I realised I was practising ‘tapas’. In yoga, ‘tapas’ is defined as staying in the tension of opposites that are trying to pull us in different directions. At opposing ends is aversion and clinging, and depending on the experience, we try to maintain something pleasurable or runaway from that which causes unpleasant feelings. Far from being a choice, our reaction to a situation is a habit that has been refined since childhood. We only have to think of a screaming child in a supermarket who is refused sweets to see where our current reactions stem, only we've modified our outward display of satisfaction/dissatisfaction to become more socially and age appropriate. Tapas is actively working in us all whenever we roll out the mat and begin practice despite the lure of the comfortable sofa. Staying with tight hamstrings in downward dog and unwilling hips in Marichyasana C proves to us each and every time that we can stay with discomfort as we know it will pass. And patiently embracing the impermanent nature of our feelings and sensations is the essence of tapas. The technique of yoga slowly breaks our habitual reactions and allows us, as Stone says ‘to hold ourselves in the fire of habit until we burn away that which averts the heat of change.’ So when I’m in Supta Kurmasana and I hear the little devil protesting, or I’m stood in a queue that’s insistent on making me late, I remind myself to accept and practice tapas. Likewise, I love Savasana on a hot summers day, but accept that all things come to an end thus practice tapas. Neuroscientists have proven that our brains are not hard-wired as it was once believed, and not reacting in habitual ways helps to create new patterns of being and responding. So when you’re next in class and are confronted with a challenging posture, or you’re on a delayed train, this is your moment to practice tapas until the opposites lose their pull, and you truly become present in the moment. I’m beginning to discover that it is these moments of patience that take us away from the same old reactions, and open up opportunities and achievements we once deemed impossible no matter how big or small. Enjoy your tapas. Yoga Manchester will be hosting author, psychotherapist and yoga teacher Michael Stone in October 2013. For more details, click here. Charlene McAuley teaches the Monday Sports Yoga class and the monthly beginners courses starting in September.  

Had a tapas moment you fancy sharing?

We’d love to hear about it – add your Tapas moment in the comments section below. Charlene McAuley