About Gentle yoga
Being present and feeling good in your body
What is Gentle yoga
The word gentle has a general meaning of “kindness, softness, quietness”…
However when applied to yoga everything is relative.
For me my understanding of Gentle yoga is mindful, slightly slower (but not too slow) hatha yoga with pauses to breathe. I provide pose options for different bodies and levels of fitness but I never seek for students to push themselves beyond their limit. It is about being present in the moment and feeling good in your body. A practice that is maintainable over a lifetime. Yoga here is in the context of asana or physical practice but may also holistically include elements of the other 7 limbs of yoga such as breathe work (pranayama).
It is for most ages however people in general classes need to be able to stand, sit and kneel. It is heartening to see people from different walks of life – mums and dads, university students and academics, FIFO workers, white collar and blue collar workers, over 50s, all coming together in class.
Gentle yoga reflects a need in our society to slow down and become present. It is a movement that counters the trends that drew attention in the 1980’s and are still present today that yoga is not for everyone, highly difficult and competitive.
‘Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind’ (Patanjali, Yoga Sutras).
What Gentle Yoga is not:
Slow yoga.
Chair yoga.
Yoga specifically for seniors – its for anyone who feels the need to slow down, calm the mind and feel their bodies.
People who do not do any physical practice, walking for example is fine.
About me
I have been teaching yoga for 10 years having obtained a Diploma of Yoga teaching in 2012 (Nature Care College, Sydney) but been a student of yoga for 29 years. At different times I was a student of Iyengar, Yoga Synergy and Hatha yoga. All gave me great benefits at different times. Life has led me back to gentle Hatha yoga.
My training at Nature Care College in Sydney was part time over about 3 years and involved instruction from some well known senior teachers across Sydney. It started when I was working at IBM in St Leonards and discovered that Nature Care College was just opposite where I worked. I straddled two worlds – corporate and student while completing my Diploma of Yoga Teaching. The course covered many facets of yoga including an introduction to yoga therapy and pranayama, history and philosophy of yoga, asana practice and anatomy and physiology taught from a western perspective as well as eastern.
I now reside in my hometown of Perth where I am a level 2 Yoga Australia (YA) teacher and I am aiming to be a senior teacher in 2024. I teach gentle yoga during the week with a focus on gentleness and mindfulness. I also teach a Thursday night class through Arthritis WA for people living with arthritis. I have personal experience of radiotherapy and surgery for DCIS.
In addition to yoga I hold an MBA from University of Western Australia and have worked in different corporations and small business. The corporate experience brings me compassion and understanding for those who are in the workforce and a desire to help and make a difference to employee and individual wellbeing.
When I’m not teaching yoga I like to spend time walking with my rescue dog Prince.
Contact Stephanie for more info.
