Gaja Yoga

Dancing into the week this Monday morning.
I want to thank everyone that came along to my ‘Revive and Restore’ workshop on Saturday. I loved sharing the space with you and I hope you all felt wonderfully recharged, challenged and grounded afterwards. Watch this space for more workshops coming soon. Already thinking of themes...
In the past we’ve had workshops on the sun salutations, chakras, hips, heart openers, yin, detoxing.... what area of yoga would you like to work with ...a bit deeper?
I get so much enjoyment from running these longer sessions because I learn from you every time. Seeing your progression and how relaxed you look at the end is the best reward from teaching. Thank you for practicing with me 😊.
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Still a couple of spots available for tomorrow’s Revive and Restore workshop if anyone would like to come and join me 🙋🏻‍♀️
We’ll begin by moving through a dynamic and playful vinyasa flow and then slow it down by enjoying a blissful yin sequence and a deeply relaxing yoga nidra.
Get in touch if you would like to come along.

Today I have been practicing a recipe for some vegan and sugar free treats for a post yoga snack at the workshop on Saturday 27th April. I’m quite impressed with these mini eggs and I think they look adorable 😂

Rejuvenate your body and mind in this mini morning yoga retreat.
Held at the Vine Hall in East Molesey. Saturday 27th April 10am to 12pm Price - £25.00
... We will begin by connecting with our breath and moving though an energising, detoxing and playful yoga sequence to build heat in the body and get the energy flowing.
We will then slow down, nurture and relax as we move deeper into the body with a blissful yin sequence and enjoy a deeply relaxing yoga nidra meditation.
There will be healthy snacks and herbal tea and you will leave with a little goody bag and feeling wonderful 🙏
This is open to all levels, so beginners are very welcome 😊
Please bring a yoga mat and wear something comfortable, with an extra layer for relaxation. Mats are available if you need one, just let me know.
*Please book your place with me before as places are limited.
Any questions please get in touch gajayoga@outlook.com
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Last night was the final Monday night Vinyasa Flow class in Thames Ditton (for now 😉) Thank you so much to all of you who joined me and for all the students that have come to this class over the past 3 years. Seeing the progression in all of you is what makes teaching so enjoyable. It’s all about the students and mine are the best!!
Fridays Nurturing Yoga class is still running weekly in Molesey, so come and get your Zen on 🧘‍♀️
... I will be letting you know about Yoga workshops and events soon, so keep an eye out for updates here.
Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you on the mat soon 🙏
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Nurturing Yoga is on as normal tonight. The heating is on full whack and we’re working on our solar plexus chakra 🔥 Can’t wait to see you on the mat 🧘‍♀️

*Class Update For Tonight*
I have just had a call from Elmbridge Halls to say the Vine Hall will be closed today for emergency gas repairs. So unfortunately there will be no class this evening in Molesey.
I'm very sorry about this, I will keep you updated but we should be back on as normal next Friday.
... Please join me on Monday evening for some Vinyasa Flow in Thames Ditton to get your yoga fix 🧘‍♀️
We are continuing the theme of moving through the chakra system in both classes and next week is all about the Solar Plexus, our power centre. I look forward to seeing you all on the mat soon.
Have a lovely weekend and stay warm.
Namaste 🙏
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Yogis, join me on the mat this Blue Monday 🧘‍♀️ We’re moving through the Chakra system in classes at the moment and tonight we are all about the Sacral Chakra 🔥
This chakra is all about creativity, play and joy. We will move through a creative flow and get a bit more playful with arm balances and postures to leave you feeling energised and challenged.
... Can’t wait to see you all 🙏.
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Seasonal Yoga - Meet your Psoas
Autumn is a time when nature begins to shed its leaves and slow down, and our bodies tend to do the same. It’s a strange time of year when we have a disconnect between what our bodies want to do, which is slow down, and what we feel we should be doing as we approach the festive season, which is speed up. This can leave us feeling depleted and out of sorts.
Over the next few weeks I will be tailoring our yoga classes to this tricky transitioning... period.
A great area in the body to focus on is the Psoas muscle. The deepest muscle of the body, often referred to as ‘The Seat of the Soul’, with the strongest connection to the spine. This muscle is so deep in our core that it is said that it knows our soul purpose.
This muscle has a big job of protecting the spine and absorbing shock from the ground up.
In our classes this week we will have a focus on giving this muscle a bit of love and doing postures that help to release and relax the Psoas muscle.
Hope to see you on the mat 🙏
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My new Nurturing Yoga class starts this Friday 7.30pm at The Vine Hall in Molesey.
Inspired by Yin and Restorative yoga. A gentle and mindful style of yoga to restore the body, calm the nervous system, and release tension. Moving through a gentle sequence to warm up the body and then working deeper by holding restorative poses with the use of bolsters and props for support.
... Meditation and breath work will be integrated into each class allowing you to really let go.
For more details please visit my website www.gajayoga.co.uk or send me a message :)
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Just a reminder that there is no class this evening. I hope to see you all next week 🙏 xx

Today is a Moon day. Moon days are new moons and full moons. In a traditional Ashtanga yoga practice a moon day is a day of rest, this is because we can often feel the effect of the moon. Maybe feeling more tired, headstrong or generally feeling a little unbalanced. So in tonight’s class we are going to honour this and focus less on creating energy through our usual dynamic flow, and focus more on a mindful flow. Using our breath to help us look inwards. We will open up our ...hips, heart and incorporate some back bending. We will move through moon salutations to keep the body moving and hopefully leave the class feeling nourished.
Sometimes it’s hard to step back and give yourself some self care. We so often want to push our bodies. Use the moon day as a day for tuning into what you need and give yourself some much needed love and attention 🙏 Hope to see you tonight xx
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In tonight’s class we’re going to focus on inversions. When you hear inversions in yoga you automatically think headstand, forearm balance and super challenging poses like this. In Yoga an inversion is any pose where the head is below the heart. A very simple one would be downward dog.
Inversions have a lot of benefits. They positively affect the nervous system by stimulating our ‘rest and digest’ state. They create heat and energy in the body, which is needed right now as... we are suffering the longest winter 😒 They are great for blood flow and they are fun. As kids we would turn ourselves upside down all the time but we stop doing that as adults. So let’s introduce some play into our practice.
Don’t worry, we won’t spend the whole class on our head, we’ll just be including more poses that give our heart a rest and our body some energy.
Hope to see you there 🙏
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Just a reminder that there is no class this evening. Have a cosy night in instead. Wrap up warm, drink lots of tea and rest.
See you soon, if I can get out of the north with the snow that’s coming 😬

Brrrr it’s cold outside. In tonight’s class we will focus on building heat and energy up in the body as we tend to feel tired and sluggish at this time of the year. And you can look forward to a longer savasana as rest is also important to prioritise to help nourish the body.
Work with the breath is really helpful too. Ujjayi breath is a warming breath and is a breath you can use throughout your practice. I have put a description of the technique underneath.
... Stay warm, drink teas and add a pinch of cinnamon.
See you on the mat 🙏
Ujjayi Breath: With Ujjayi breath you breathe in and out of the nose with the lips sealed - no breath passes the lips. This also serves to build heat in the body. The lips gently close and although the breath is passing through the nostrils the emphasis is in your throat.
You create a constriction in the throat as if breathing in and out of a thin straw. Whilst maintaining a closed mouth position be mindful of held tension in the teeth, jaw, throat and/or neck – let it go. You can feel the breath stroke the back of your throat as you inhale and exhale. This comes hand in hand with the audibility of the breath, compared often to the sound of waves or Darth Vader. The tone, the audibility is smooth and steady, continuous uninterrupted cycles of inhales and exhales, often you cannot tell the difference in sound between the exchange of in and out breath cycles.
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It’s our last class of the year on Monday evening. Let’s focus on letting go of what didn’t serve us this year, to create space to welcome in what will serve us in the new year. Hope to see you there 🙏 Have a lovely weekend xx

Chaturanga is a pose we do a lot in a vinyasa flow class. It has a lot of benefits being such a strong pose, but can also be quite challenging which can lead to misalignment.
This is a good article going into this pose in depth :)
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/chat uranga-dandasana

Autumn's energy causes us to take stock and decide what to hold on to and what to let go of in our lives. Just like the trees begin to shed their leaves, in order to grow we often have to shed parts of ourselves too. Autumn can trigger 'old stuff' which you need to acknowledge and let of. This can leave you feeling vulnerable, so it's really important to comfort yourself at this time of year. Get cosy, rest and nourish yourself.
... My classes will incorporate a little more of a restorative vibe in order to allow you to take rest and allow your body to heal.
Join me on the mat tonight at 7.30pm 🙏
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