Find your zen and connect with your mind, body and soul this International Day of Yoga.
International Day of Yoga is celebrated on June 21st each year, in honour of winter and summer solstices – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the shortest in the southern hemisphere.
Yoga is an ancient practice and form of mediation that has been increasingly popular in the Western world. It provides invaluable benefits to both mental and physical health, helping you develop inner awareness and focuses the body’s attention on being present. It helps to improve breath and strengthen the mind and body.
This year, we got the team at Bodhi involved for International Day of Yoga and explored a range of studios around Sydney, experiencing both conventional and more unique practices. Read about our full experience below!
Hot Yoga – One Hot Yoga
It had been awhile since I dabbled in Hot Yoga but thought this was a great excuse to visit the One Hot Yoga Studio. The space itself is beautiful, calm, clean, serene and minimalistic with high New York style loft ceilings, industrial windows, soft rounded walls and billowy white curtains.
The room is heated to 37 degrees which is the same temp as the human body and they take you through a set sequence flow which is suitable for beginners. The flow is a blend of 3 styles vinyasa, Iyenger Bikrim. This is a complete practice from the tip of your fingers to your toes which encourages you to move your spine in all directions.
It is more about mental fortitude than physical ability and the heat allows you to go deeper into your practice as the heat is a neuro muscular relaxant which means you leave the session feeling calm, warm and chilled out - ideal in beating the Winter blues. While it felt like a solid workout, the heat left my muscles feeling relaxed and a great way to stretch out after a day at work!
This studio is unique as it uses a Hydronic water heated system, generating a more even temperature and large ceiling fans help keep the air flowing so it’s not too stuffy. Most studios use infrared which can lead to stuffy rooms and patchy heat distribution depending on where you are seated.
If you can, come in early to acclimatise to the studio temperature, drink plenty of water before during and after. Eat a few hours prior to practicing so you don’t feel faint.
Laughter Yoga – Mind Body Energy
I’ll admit, the team and I didn’t quite know what we had signed up for when we had the lovely Alison from Mind, Body, Energy come to Bodhi and run a laughter yoga session but we definitely left with sore faces and positive energy from all the laughing. Laughter Yoga is a unique exercise routine which combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing. Some of the benefits of this practice include mood elevation, increased oxygen within the body leading to greater mental clarity along with stress relief.
Alison runs Mind, Body, Energy, a mobile mind training clinic and was able to come to the restaurant and run the session in Cook & Philip Park for us. The first part of the class was very interactive and involved deep breathing, clapping, chanting, movement and laughter exercises, which were then followed by 10 minutes of Yoga Nidra at the end to unwind.
It was great opportunity to try something different, let off some steam and connect with our colleagues. Alison is incredibly professional, genuine, warm, friendly and very engaging, making the session feel very relaxed and fun. We recommend coming in with an open mind and we noticed the staff leaving the session on a high and radiating postive energy which was reflected throughout their dinner service later that day!
Aerial Yoga – Studio Arise
I was definitely a newbie to Aerial Yoga but in the spirit of International Day of Yoga, thought it would be a good one to try out (despite the initial paranoia of falling whilst upside down).
Aerial yoga is a hybrid type of yoga combining traditional asana, pilates, and dance with the use of a hammock that is suspended from the ceiling. We visited Studio Arise in Chatswood, which was super cute but basic as there were no change rooms or lockers space. The staff were really friendly and easy to learn from which was great.
The class itself had just about every muscle in your body moving with lots of lifting, pushing, stretching and my favourite part, swinging (and upside down!). A lot of it is mental so make sure you relax and trust that the hammock will support you. The more you worried about falling etc, the harder it was to really immerse myself. The hammock can support 950kg so don’t let fear get in the way and enjoy! As someone who loves a bit of an adrenaline hit, it was lots of fun, challenging and a full body work out that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Finishing in a cocoon like state inside the hammock felt transformative of the caterpillar into a butterfly. I found it a great workout and would encourage anyone to try it as you might surprise yourself!
Kundalini Yoga – Collective Healing
Kundalini yoga is known as the ‘yoga of awareness’ and is practiced to activate the spiritual energy that is located as the base of your spine. It involves precise and repetitive movements in the form of chanting, singing, and breathing.
Years ago I had heard about Kundalini energy through tantric sex. Kundalini is energy coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine which can be drawn up through the body and its 7 chakras. It was thought that once the energy reached the crown of the head chakra you would obtain enlightenment.
The practice is a combination of movement, breath (pranayama) meditation, chanting and visualisation. A more spiritual practice that helps to increase self-awareness and consciousness.
The asana sequences are called Kriyas so a pose is done with a specific breathing technique which is meant to unblock energy allowing it to flow. These can be rapid repetitive movements or you may have to hold pose for an extended period of time.
The gestures you make with your hands when doing the pose are called Mudras and each mudra has a specific meaning and promotes a certain mindset. The chants are called Mantras which are positive affirmations spoken at the beginning and throughout the practice.
We tried the Kundalini Yoga class at Collective Healing Studio, located on a side street off the busy hustle and bustle of King St Newtown. Go into it with an open mind and it was a good practice for shifting energy. We felt refreshed and refocused after the day at work.