Anna B Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher

"All movement matters and all movement can be impactful. In fact, that’s what we are designed to do as humans"

"I would argue that increasing the ability of one's tissues to tolerate load by strengthening the body at all angles and ranges is a much more effective strategy for injury-prevention than "alignment" is."

"When we’re disconnected from our bodies, we’re disconnected from our internal wisdom and gauges of what is best for us, whether that is in the realm of career, relationships, food, movement, or anything else"

The nervous system controls tension in the hamstrings and stretching them to make them ‘longer’ is an antiquated myth, not grounded in any anatomical reality. Pulling on any muscle in a static stretch will not make a muscle longer!

Love this 💕

"I believe that modern yoga developed as a tool to help us live better and more meaningful lives in the context of the modern world. To me, this is a positive and valuable thing. I don’t feel that I need to do the same yoga that select groups of men in medieval India did in order for it to be legitimate or worthwhile"

"In theory, I was all about self-acceptance. It's just that I had not yet transformed into the self I wanted to accept."

"There needs to be different kinds of teachers because there's not just one kind of person"
I ❤️Jessamyn Stanley

"We need to stop trying to stretch our curves and parts when doing asana and instead learn to engage the body as a whole...
...Three simple tests determine whether a pose serves the human design:
It should allow the spine to maintain its natural curves.
... It should not restrict the ability to do deep, diaphragmatic rib-cage breathing.
It should have a real-life correlation to functional movement positions."
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"If many of us understand the word ‘yoga’ as meaning, ‘to unite’ or ‘to connect’, why are we spending so much of our time pulling ourselves apart?
...Natural movements like walking, climbing, squatting, crawling and bending and twisting within comfortable ranges of motion are what the body is designed to do. Allowing the weight of the body to be entirely placed upon the delicate cervical spine, twisting so far that the ribs are in danger of displacing, and attempting to cultivate flexibility to the point at which you could probably earn a good living in the Cirque du Solei – is not what most people’s bodies are made for"

"You cannot be body positive and support diet culture at the same time. The two are mutually exclusive"

Yoga has taken on the characteristics required to be accepted by our culture. It values the effervescent surface over depth, privileges male voice over female, replicates uneven power structures, and positions yoga as a package to consume rather than a ceaseless, intensely personal process. Let’s make no mistake – there is nothing that is accepted or propagated by late capitalist, neoliberal, patriarchal, colonising white culture that wants you to feel whole, worthy, or connected. Happy people don’t buy Product, and are disinterested and even bored by the notion of having power over others. To be accepted by mainstream culture, yoga has had to stop being Yoga.

We've been going to Anna's yoga classes for over 3 years and are hooked! Anna combines her incredible expertise and experience with a focus on movement that combats the pressures from everyday living. Its perfect if you find youself sitting at a desk a lot or pounding the treadmill doing repetitive exercises. The classes build strength and suppleness and at the end of the session you feel calm but energised. A great start to the weekend

I've taken classes from many different yoga teachers over the years, studying a variety of styles, and Anna's classes are a revelation. Her attention to physiology is key: both in an approach that treats each student as an individual with their own physical requirements and limitations, and in her incorporation of the latest findings in order that her classes address rather than reinforce existing imbalances. As someone with assorted past injuries this is essential, and whenever I now take a class with another teacher - when travelling, for example - it always feels lacking.