You can practice Ashtanga Yoga with Tamara and Emma on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Make sure to check out Hakan’s YouTube Channel, Yoga Diaries for more chats and insights
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Our senior Hot Yoga teacher (Jozef) - answers your HOT YOGA questions here:
1. What is your definition of hot yoga?
Hot yoga as I teach it, is a style of yoga were students while being in an artificially controlled heated room, do yoga postures which are based on a set sequence with the flexibility to introduce and integrate postures from outside this sequence, the focus is on alignment, breath and postural awareness in order to maintain, regain or improve their physical, emotional and spiritual lives.
2. Why is hot yoga good for you?
Practising Yoga in a hot environment makes the body reach its optimal working temperature more quickly if you like and when doing the floor series you stay warm whilst the profuse sweating cleanses all the pores of the skin.
3. Is hot yoga for everyone? What is the biggest difference between this style and other types of yoga besides the heat?
Hot yoga is for everyone who enjoys the benefits of asana work in a heated studio. I have had students who loved it and changed to another style later in their lives and vice versa. Besides the heat, my ‘hot style’ is a sequential style similar to other sequential styles but with a greater emphasis on alignment and breath as the element of flow is not present so there is more time to focus on these points.
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Who's Kate?
Now I have been asked, I’m not sure! I am…all sorts of things! So many labels, mother, partner, student, teacher…
But the things that make me tick are my family, friends, study, movement, sharing, being immersed in nature, the garden, preparing food, sewing. Life is complicated, I derive great joy from the simple things.
Why did you choose the Iyengar approach?
I did not begin my yoga journey in the Iyengar field at all, it was a strong Vinyasa class when I was 21 and I loved it! It was so energetic, fun and challenging. I felt the impact straight away and knew I wanted to go back. Wherever I was living and working I made sure to explore as much varied teaching as I could and practised diligently.
It was my Iyengar teacher though that supported me with her depth of knowledge in the practice during a period of extreme anxiety. Her practical supportive no-fuss approach was exactly what I needed and was the first time I had experienced yoga applied so deliberately without really using words. This type of practice reached so deep within the body and was so intriguing to me, the impact could be so clearly felt.
After I had my 3 children and met a new inspiring teacher I had the drive to explore deeper and perhaps become a teacher myself despite an internal voice saying “no way, you are just too shy!!!”. Inching myself in the right direction away from my comfort zone I committed to solely practise Iyengar yoga and see what happened. To my amazement, the subject of yoga became broader and more vast rather than narrow and restricted. It is complex and simple at the same time, so beautifully balanced. In the words of BKS himself “Words cannot express the value of yoga, it has to be experienced”.
Tell us the importance of Yoga in your life
My yoga practice and study is always a challenge to carve out time for and there have been moments I have felt it too hard within a busy young family to be asking for that time to practice and keep learning. But those are useful moments to evaluate and study in themselves, it’s a practice that keeps on revealing gems at every turn! It is honestly so interwoven into my existence that I couldn’t imagine my life without it.
Kate teaches our Iyengar Beginners Courses!
Check out the next dates here.
Name: Ali Cellini
Hometown: this should be a short answer question but it never is for me! I grew up in Kenya – a small town called Malindi, though now my family is all in Nairobi. That is home, but England has also always felt like home as I grew up partially (on and off) here!
Training background: I trained at a school called Purusha Yoga in San Francisco, where we studied in the Raja Yoga tradition – focused on Hatha, stemming into versions like Vinyasa, Yin, Restorative. Studying at Purusha was amazing as Joy Ravelli, the head instructor and owner of the studio, has been training teachers for more than 20 years, and the breadth of her experience, and that of the other teachers there, gave us a really in-depth well-rounded view on teaching, anatomy and the history and philosophy of yoga – enough to know that we were only scratching the surface and there is always so much more to learn!
What is your favourite yoga pose and why: Downward dog. Well there are a few... but I'm going to stick with downward dog. I love it. It is essential. It is place where you don't have a reason to forget any part of the body – in it I can be aware of all things, and the connection between all things, and simultaneously it is a place of great surrender. I can feel the ground. I can feel my spine's length. It is hard work and then also shifts into almost feeling restorative at times. In those moments it feels like home. The place to return to and feel like everything is right in the world.
What is your least favourite yoga pose and why: Hmmm, well I'd say that I actually kind of love my least favourite poses! For example, gomukhasana – cow face pose – is so very uncomfortable in my body, but it offers me the special practice of finding ease in a place of difficulty... and afterwards I always feel better for it. It's also part of becoming more self-aware, and noticing the things you really need (sometimes not what you're naturally drawn to). It's not about feeling good right now, but about the health and benefits (and perhaps good feelings in those) that come over time.
What is one of your mantras? Something like "Let what comes, come." I think often , in some form, about releasing the hold on things and the idea of control. And letting what is going to be, be. We do what we can, but we cannot control everything. It's about being decisive and also flexible – committed, but fluid. Being here with what is right now.
Do you have a go-to practice to get you through busy or challenging times? Music. In any form. I sing, so singing really helps me. But listening to music, being surrounded and engulfed by it, and singing – besides yoga, that has helped me through the most difficult moments and feelings. I could sit and do that for hours in times of sadness. I put the music on and am driven by it in times of busyness. With the right music on, I feel like I can do anything. And tea. And long showers. I find that anything that is a "pause," or that helps to slow down time, helps you in the long run because you realise that everything that needs to get done will, and everything else won't matter.
What can students expect from your yoga classes? In yoga, I found the ability to clear the space, to not feel surrounded, to release – I strive to channel this experience to others. To me yoga is like a dance; it is an expressive bodily language, and in it we move and search for the "sweet spots". My practice and my classes exist around this opportunity for clarity and expression – they are focused, challenging but accessible to all, but above all they are fun and inclusive. You will hear a lot of music – mostly unexpected! – and you will be provided with a place where you can come as you are (intentional Nirvana reference...). I believe in hard work and creating heat (tapas) where it counts and has purpose, but balancing this with softness and ease.
Where did you last go on holiday? Did you take your mat? My last holiday was in December and was actually my honeymoon! It was in Malta, was barely planned and was a beautiful, unexpected surprise of a place. I admit I did not take my mat as I was specifically there to have a break from EVERYTHING – we walked, ate, explored, and slept 10 hours every night! My practice in that period was to fully restore, and I'd say it was a massive success!
Something we may not know about you… Well, there are so many things... I am a big Trekkie. A Star Trek fan. Very big. I love stories in general, fantasy and science fiction above all. And I do not watch TV. But Star Trek is something I will always watch. Next Generation is my number 1. But is followed very closely by the Original Series and DS9. And yes, I have related many, many things from Star Trek to yoga ...and used them in classes.
Live long and prosper.
Catch Ali teaching at CAMYOGA:
Monday nights 20.00 at Mitcham's Corner. Click here to book.