yoga express – Yoga Manchester

Yoga London Club by Matt Ryan

Posted on 12th February 2017 by Matt Ryan

Yoga London Club website

Well after the best part of 20 years I’ve finally managed to open my own Yoga Studio that’s dedicated to the practice and principles of Ashtanga Yoga and boy oh boy am I a very happy bunny! Yoga London Club will be compact and bijou , and is situated in the heart of North London in West Hamstead and will be fully functional on Monday 27th February – so please shout it from the rooftops and go tell all your friends family and colleagues who live darn sarf to come and look me up.

I started to practice Ashtanga Yoga many moons ago – is it almost 20 years ? Yikes ! To be honest I had no idea what ‘brand of yoga ‘I was practicing until after about 6 months when someone told me it was called Ashtanga. I was completely oblivious to the fact there were different types of yoga or what yoga actually was. I think at the time my only (mis)understanding of yoga was that it was some weird cult like exercise for old ladies in lycra practiced behind closed (Church Hall) doors. And then of course all that changed over the following few months when this incredible transformative mind/body holistic system pulled me out of the very big hole I was stuck in. After 6 months of practice I said goodbye to nightclubs and excess as I flew to Mysore South India to study with the late great Guru of Ashtanga Yoga Guruji Sri K Pattabhi Jois and immersed myself completely in all things Ashtanga. The rest as they say is history.

So here we are nearly 20 years on from then. I’ve set up Yoga Manchester and Yoga Express with it has to be said some big big help from a few amazing people I’ve had the very good fortune to get to know over the years. I even created my very own unique yoga prop – Nee-ji – the safe knee support for yoga & meditation. In April this year the inaugural Yoga Manchester Teacher Training Programme will be launched which I’m also reet proud of. And now the icing on the cake for me personally is my very own Ashtanga Yoga studio in the form of Yoga London Club (YLC).

YLC will have both Mysore Style Self-Practice sessions and counted vinyasa led classes , I’ve even thrown in a couple of Ashtanga short form Yoga Express classes for good measure – I like to accommodate. The very lovely Paul Jones who has been teaching the weekly Thursday class in Withington for the last 10 years is going to be joining me at YLC – he just couldn’t bear to be without me – well that’s a large fib to be honest , he’s moving to London for work but I’m extremely please he is and he has agreed to teach some classes at the new studio.

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JanAsana – Week 4

Posted on 12th February 2014 by Matt Ryan

Welcome to the fourth and final instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

JanAsana has been designed to get your New Year’s resolutions off to the best possible start and forms part of Yoga Manchester’s New Year New Body New Mind (NYNBNM for short!) initiative. With weekly instalments throughout January, Yoga Manchester will be offering tips and tools to help you pay attention to both the mind and the body to allow you to keep up your intentions!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the final section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes started on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

Smile at a stranger.

Heads down, a void, if not annoyed, look in the eyes is how we often move from A to B with little recognition that we’re surrounded by fellow, sentient beings which can add to the feeling of isolation we all feel from time to time. An artist recently reflected this so-called ‘urban solitude’ and replaced London Underground signs with fake ones – thought-provoking, genius and above all, spot on. So this week, smile at least once a day to a passer-by and see how it makes you feel!

Smoothie of the week

Green power is where it’s at this week, with kale and spinach our top ingredients that will super boost your diet. There are a few decent recipes on here, and our pick for all ginger beer lovers is the Kale, Apple and Ginger Smoothie. With the tingle of ginger and bite of apple, this will give your digestion a head start for the day.

Recipe of the week

Curried Butternut Squash and Kale

This recipe is in season, nutritious and so delicious! With only a handful of ingredients, a serving of rice is the perfect accompaniment to this recipe, which is courtesy of yoga guru Richard Freeman.

JanAsana Newsletter – Week 3

Posted on 25th January 2014 by Matt Ryan

JanAsana

Welcome to the third instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the third section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes started on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

Acknowledge five things I’m thankful for in the morning and evening.

Stressful living, bad drivers, and unexpected bills can make us feel as if there’s more to moan about than to be grateful for. Oftentimes, we are trapped by a negative mode of being which fails to recognise the significant things we have come to take for granted such as health, family, friends, shelter, environment – the list is endless. So each day this week, make a mental or physical note in the morning and evening of five things you’re thankful to have in your life.

Smoothie of the week

There was a brilliant post on Mind Body Green about cravings and how to replace these with healthier alternatives, which then led us to discover The Perfect Tonic recipe. Featuring hydrating coconut water and protein rich chia seeds, this helps to refresh the palate and quell cravings. Give it a go and let us know how you find it.

Recipe of the week

Breakfast pudding

It seems January 1^st marked the day the war against sugar began, with every magazine and newspaper jumping on the ‘war on sugar’ bandwagon. The thing is though, they’ve all got a point as sugar has zero nutritious value.

Evolution has designed us to love anything with sugar as back in the day fructose meant the food wasn’t poisonous, so we have our ancestors to thank for our love of sugar!

With all this in mind, we’ve been testing tasty sweet treats, and have come across the delicious Breakfast Pudding recipe that has as little sugar as possible but is ultra delicious and nutritious.

JanAsana Newsletter – Week 2

Posted on 13th January 2014 by Matt Ryan

Introduction

Welcome to the second instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the second section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes start on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

I’m going to take a three-minute pause in my day to mindfully breathe and pay attention to my thoughts.

Observing your thoughts and mindfully breathing for three minutes seems easy peasy, but is actually near on possible for many. Multi-tasking, technology, television, and day-to-day stresses ensure the mind has enough material to distract us with, placing our attention everywhere except the present moment. Listen to this brilliant three-minute podcast from Mark Williams to bring you into the here and now, and if you enjoy, perhaps buy his book, Mindfulness – A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world.

Smoothie of the week

Vanilla Milkshake smoothie

Yes, you’ve read correctly, Vanilla Milkshake is our smoothie of the week. Rather than being packed with nasties and tons of trans fats, this milkshake is made from only five ingredients: avocados, milk, vanilla essence, maple syrup, and a bit of salt.

Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fat which reduces ‘bad’ cholesterol and helps to promote a healthy weight as the body uses these to slowly release energy rather than being stored as body fat – who says you can’t have your milkshake and drink it?

Recipe of the week

Quinoa, chickpea, mango salad

This is quite possibly the most delicious salad ever! We know it’s winter but this salad is substantial, fresh, and a perfect replacement to the stodge-overload that was Christmas. Enjoy.

100g quinoa

275ml hot vegetable stock

1 medium onion

2 tsp medium curry powder

150g chickpeas, rinsed

1 tbsp lime pickle

2 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt

Small bunches coriander and mint, chopped

1 mango, peeled and diced

100g cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 Little Gem lettuces

1 Cook quinoa in stock for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Heat drizzle of olive oil in small pan and sweat onion with curry powder for 5-6 minutes until soft. Add chickpeas and cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Leave to cool.

2 Mix pickle and yoghurt. Toss together quinoa, onion and chickpea mixture. Stir through yoghurt dressing, herbs, mango and tomatoes. Spoon on top of lettuce leaves. Serve.

Until next week, TTFN!