I saw an ad for an advanced yoga class and my curiosity got the better of me!
I’m reasonably bendy-gandy but don’t practice between classes (eeek) nor can I do the Lotus position hence I found the thought of an advanced yoga class intriguing, if a bit scary. But after 15 years of ‘normal’ classes I decided it was time to push my comfort zones. So with my big girl yoga pants on and a white knuckled grip around my mat I headed out to the Purple Dove yoga studio in East Kilbride.
Yoga that’s intensely stretchy
Turns out I had nothing to worry about, not because my bendy-gandyness was or wasn’t up to par, but because everyone was lovely. In fact, when I arrived the girls who were waiting on the class invited me to sit and join them.
The class was short and sweet, just an hour with a seated relaxation at the end. The postures were intense and more importantly, with the opportunity to hold them, something which doesn’t happen quite so often in my other classes. There was also no hiding, with only 5 or 6 people in the class everyone got their own little pointers to get the most out of their asanas. That said, 12 people turned up for last week’s class so I guess good word of mouth is beginning to spread.
Intermediate postures or asanas
With the exception of the moon salutation, the postures Allison (the instructor and owner of the studio) included were all ones I was familiar with including – seated twists (Ardha Matsyendrasana), standing poses (Padangusthasana, Utthita Trikonasana) and forward bends (Janu Sirsasana), to name but a few. The difference was, as mentioned earlier, in holding the posture that little bit longer to give you time in the pose to, for example, guide your elbows closer to the floor, or experience the intensity of a seated forward bend with both hands wrapped around your ankles.
Poses to be scared of?
Not really, thank goodness! While I do fancy having a wee go at an arm balance (maybe Crane, Firefly or Peacock if we’re going the whole hog), it’s not something I wish to attempt (i.e fall over) in public! I think the class is geared toward those who have been doing yoga for a while, are reasonably familiar with a different range of poses and want to focus on getting a little bit more out of them.
The Purple Dove Studio
The studio is new and fully equipped with spare mats, yoga belts and blankets. It’s freshly painted, spotlessly clean and has a little coffee area in the reception. There is one downside – the main yoga studio is huge with a great big high ceiling that lets all the heat out. Allison has loads of heaters on the go and you can choose how close to the heater you want to be, but if like me you prefer to be snug, it might be an idea to wear an extra layer.
The studio is located just off the Whirlies roundabout in East Kilbride with easy access from Hamilton and Glasgow. It’s actually located in the Nerston industrial estate which makes it doubly easy to get to with no issues over parking.
Grab yourself a timetable.
The drop in rate is £5.00 per yoga class and despite my having a gym membership that comes with 3 yoga classes a week, more often than not I now find myself heading out the Purple Dove intermediate class on a Monday night.
The timetable is here and they have a Facebook page too.
The studio runs various yoga classes throughout the day with baby yoga on a Wednesday and yoga for pregnancy on a Saturday. In addition to yoga classes you can also try Tai Chi, Pilates, meditation and at the moment, Salsacise. It’s not just Allison who teaches, a number of yoga teachers take classes including my teacher for many, many years, Barbara.
Have you any suggestions for other intermediate yoga classes in East Kilbride or Glasgow? I’d love to hear about them.
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