summary
Valley of Ananda offers an authentic, balanced, and transformative yoga experience with the following focus areas:
Classical yoga consisting of the 12 basic poses of the Sivananda style.
Back care yoga for self-management of back problems, adapted the Dru Yoga.
Yoga for mental wellness, also adapted from Dru Yoga.
Hybrid sessions drawing from various practices and traditions to suit the needs of specific groups.
Sessions are currently run online, via zoom. We also offer one-on-one (private) sessions, small group (semi-private) sessions, yoga retreats and corporate services.
The daily schedules are as follows:
Classical Monday: intermediate level but beginners welcome
Back Care Tuesday: Dru inspired gentle session – all levels welcome
Wellness Wednesday: Dru inspired gentle session – all levels welcome
Mindful(ness) Thursday: Guided meditation and mindfulness – all levels
Beginners Friday: Hybrid session drawing from Dru back care and mental wellness programmes, with extensions for abdominal muscles and core strength
Beginners Saturday: Ditto
Beginners Sunday: Ditto
See details below.
Classical Yoga
The classical yoga offering of Valley of Ananda follows the Sivananda Yoga tradition, as expounded by Swami Vishnu Devananda. According to this tradition, there are five points to practicing yoga as a lifestyle. These are:
Proper exercise (asanas);
Proper breathing (pranayama);
Proper relaxation (savasana);
Proper diet (vegetarian);
Positive thinking and meditation (Vedanta and Dhyana).
The first three points (asanas, pranayama and savasana) are practiced during every session. The fourth and fifth point cannot be ‘practiced’ in a regular class setting, but are discussed and encouraged.
The session starts and ends with deep relaxation (savasana) and there are several episodes of relaxation in between asanas (or poses). The initial relaxation allows us to calm the mind and focus on the session that we are about to undertake. The terminal relaxation allows for a gentle transition from the session back to usual activities.
The breathing segment of the session (pranayama) encourages proper breathing using the full capacity (or close to it) of the lungs. The deep breathing further helps to calm the mind.
The Sivananda class consists of 12 basic exercises that were selected by Swami Sivananda as a balanced set that includes inversions, forward bending, backward bending, spinal stretches, and twists. students are not required or expected to get into all the poses to derive the benefits. Variations and extensions are introduced and practiced as students master the basic asanas.
The classical sessions are offered on Mondays and Thursdays. The primary audience are intermediate students with prior experience of yoga, but they are beginner-friendly, with appropriate modifications and adaptations.
Back Care
The back care offering of Valley of Ananda is based on the Back Care Programme of Dru Yoga. The practice, designed by physiotherapists, osteopaths, yoga therapists and GPs, consists of very gentle movements intended to help you improve the health of your back. While there it is not intended to replace the GP and other health professionals who diagnose and treat back pain, the gentle movements of the session are targeted to assist in self-management of back pain, where there is already a problem.
No prior yoga experience is required for this practice and students are encouraged to interpret the movements according to their particular abilities. It is therefore suitable for both beginners and intermediate students.
Back care sessions are offered on Tuesdays, and some practices are included in the beginners’ hybrid sessions on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Mental Wellness
Another gentle Dru session aiming to help you feel uplifted, joyful, at ease, restored and relaxed in your body, mind and emotions.
Like the back care offering, no prior yoga experience is required for this practice and students are also encouraged to interpret the movements according to their particular abilities. It is also suitable for all levels.
The wellness programme is offered on Wednesdays, and some of the practices are included in the beginners’ sessions during the weekends.
Small Groups
For face-to-face sessions, Valley of Ananda prefers small groups with a social group approach. It is common for like-minded individuals to form groups to encourage each other while undertaking specific activities. Common examples of such activities include learning a foreign language and playing card or board games. In a similar way, a social group can be formed to learn or practice yoga, with a yoga teacher as a guide or facilitator. Valley of Ananda’s services will include sessions for asana, pranayama, guided meditation, and discussions on yoga philosophy and lifestyle. The small group approach will encourage peer support in practicing yoga as a continuous lifestyle beyond the formal class times. It also makes it easy to give each participant individual attention during the sessions.
Form your own group of friends in a Covid bubble. Sessions can be held at an arranged location, I can come to you (subject to distance). Or, if you don’t have a suitable place, your group session can take place at my home studio. The group size would be four or six people for the same group price.
Yoga Retreats
Yoga retreats provide opportunities to put a pause in the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life and go away for an immersive yoga experience. Such a retreat would be held away from home in a residential setting based on an adapted ashram programme. Whether you have been a regular practitioner at a yoga studio or centre, or have not practiced any yoga in your life, you will benefit from such a focused practice and would come back recharged.
Hit the pause button on life and treat your group to an immersive weekend away from the hustle and bustle of everyday drudgery to rest, recharge, restore and renew your physical and mental systems.
Private Sessions
For those seeking a tailored and personalised experience. Even with the benefits of the small group approach of Valley of Ananda services, it is recognised that some practitioners may still prefer more personalised experience. Valley of Ananda therefore offers one-on-one services, completely tailored to the individual.
Corporate Group Sessions
Employers know the value of a healthy workforce, and encourage their workers to adopt healthy lifestyles and exercise. More proactive employers may want to go beyond just encouraging, to providing opportunities to make it easier for their workers adopt appropriate lifestyles. Options for such workplace healthy lifestyle programmes include yoga and mindfulness, which Valley of Ananda provides. The corporate services are similar to social groups services, but offered through the organisation and in office settings, usually during lunch breaks or at the start/end of the workday.
