Yoga Styles

Prema likes to incorporate the different aspects of Hatha yoga in her classes; including asana (physical practices), pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation. She uses the Satyananda style of teaching, which works on the understanding that we are all unique. That we all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses. That it is not about how you look in your posture, compared to the other people around you, but about working on extending your own abilities and gaining the most from each posture or practice.

Asana (physical practices) one of the most important aspects of yoga is developing awareness. When practicing yoga asana we develop this awareness of the physical body. Posture, movement, stretching and compression, and the flow of breath. It is important to work within your bodies current limitations in a patient and non-competitive way. Through Asana we can promote increased strength, flexibility, circulation, reduces excess weight, stimulate and tone organs within the body, improve digestion and work towards correcting disorders within the body so we can function at our optimal level.

Pranayama (breathing techniques) comes from the Sanskrit words ‘prana’ meaning energy or breath and ‘ayama’ meaning control. Through manipulating the flow of breath we can increase the amount of oxygen taken into the body, and also increase the amount of carbon dioxide we expel from the body, purifying and cleansing the organs and blood of the body.
Different pranayamas produce different effects, expanding breath capacity, balancing the mind and body, vitalising, tranquilising, heating and cooling. As these practices are developed so are the understandings of the effects and we can apply them to different situations to create certain effects. All pranayamas should be practiced with care, and with the guidance of a teacher, as some do have contraindications.

Meditation can be considered both a state and a practice. Just as asana and pranayama work to purify the body, meditation works on purifying the mind. It can improve mental functioning including memory, concentration and positive thinking. It helps to calm the mind, increasing the ability to cope with the stresses and strains of daily life. On a more physical level it improves physical health by decreasing muscular tension, pain and works at normalising the blood pressure.