Today there are 30 million people regularly practicing yoga around the world but what has made this ancient practice so popular?

1. Firstly think Jane Fonda in lycra! The 70’s and 80’s brought us the fitness boom in the US. This movement led to interest in many different forms of exercise, including yoga
2. Numerous research studies reveal the physical and emotional benefits of yoga, adding scientific weight to this ancient practice and attracting even more followers
3. Yoga is an ancient 5,000 year old practice; it has travelled and shifted and hybridized. Think of Yoga like an ancient tree with many branches and roots from its original self. It moves with the times and endures. With so many fad diets and workouts it has stood the test of time
4. Yoga is illuminated to the masses through its celebrity followers; think Madonna and Sting in the early days and now a whole bucket load of famous faces swear by the practice like Charlie Theron and Robert Downey Jnr. There is nothing like celebrity endorsements!
5. It is accessible to all – it suits all ages, shapes and sizes – it does not require high levels of fitness nor any special equipment just the body and the mind (and preferably a mat!) There are over 84,000 different postures and variations of yoga – so take your pick!
6. Yoga can heal - it is therapeutic and can be used successfully with conditions such as insomnia, back problems, digestion problems, asthma, improving circulation, anxiety and weight loss — just to name a few. It is often recommended to patients by osteopaths, acupuncturists, and other medical practitioners.

7. Yoga is regenerating - it benefits ALL systems; the circulatory, glandular, digestive, nervous, musculoskeletal, reproductive and respiratory systems. Everyone has something that could be improved by yoga practice
8. Yoga is a non-dogmatic spiritual practice but it is not religious. It is enlightened and special and spiritual and as humans we are attracted to this sense of something else in our lives
9. Yoga is an antidote to the negative effects of our modern lives; busy and stressful, running around the ant farm being bombarded by so much external stimulus – Yoga has the ability to calm us, to take us away from the madness and teaches us to 'be in the moment'. It helps us to balance ourselves – to add a little more Yin to our Yang!
10. Yoga is now a billion dollar industry; immaculate studios, fashionable clothes, accessories, retreats, DVDs, famous faces and famous juice cleanses – these all keep the yoga wheel turning – we see it in advertisements, on social media, TV and films – capitalism is fully involved and agree with it or not it does promote and maintain yoga within popular culture - and lets be honest; the more people that discover yoga, the better off we will all be! Namaste

The new studio is ready for its very first class ? Are you ready to celebrate with us? Free Jivamukti class staring at 18: 30!* See you there !

* please register ahead to make sure you have a spot

Regular Yoga Practice – Mindful Eating Believe it or not, one of the most frequent questions we get in the studio is :

Yes, yes yoga is great, but will it help me lose weight?

One way to approach this question is to explore how yogis eating habits change when they start practising.  A large part of yoga is about being mindful in our practice and in our life. When we are observing how our body reacts and how our mind wonders in a non-judgmental way, we are being mindful.

Research shows that this mindfulness often affects our eating habits. More specifically, Framson et.al. (2009) found that those who eat mindfully have lower a BMI.

What does eating mindfully mean? Avoiding wolfing down one’s food, closing out distractions (ehemm... like television or work), and saying no to comfort eating. So as my grandma used to say: make every meal an occasion!