“Indaba believes passionately in the positive benefits of yoga and the great things that can happen when you feel good. The word Indaba is an ancient African term for “gathering”, and this idea lies at the heart of Indaba – to bring people together, provide the opportunity to step away from daily life, and take the time to reconnect both with ourselves and with the world around us.”
The last year has not done wonders for anyone’s levels of calm: the relentless uncertainly, teamed with a severe lack of sunlight and physical contact, is enough to knock anyone off their balance. Personally, yoga has helped a lot. I genuinely don’t think I’d have gotten through the first few weeks of our first lockdown without free online yoga from people such as Adriene Mishler (who – like many – I am now convinced is my friend!). I have benefitted hugely from these videos over the last year, as well as paying for classes from my favourite studios when I can, but its important to mix it up and try new classes or teachers once in a while, so that you don’t get stuck in your comfort zone.
Finally, Lockdown is easing (hopefully, this time for good) but I can’t help feeling that we’ve only just settled into this ‘new normal’, so being unceremoniously thrown back into the ‘old normal’ can feel equally as daunting as it did at the start. In terms of what this means for our yoga practice, it’s not enough to do a ten minute session for ‘feeling calm’ every now and then: we need to really focus on our practice and get as much as we can out of it right now, so that we can slow down as the boat gently steadies its rocking and life simultaneously speeds up.
The process
A lot of yoga services can be super expensive, so what are the benefits when there are so many free online videos out there? Back in the real world, I got the most from yoga when I went into class and gave an hour or so of my time a day – a couple of times a week – to my favourite practitioners, learning and developing on a more hands on basis. We might not be able to do that right now, but online yoga has really upped its game out of necessity.
I like that Indaba is just £10 per month so it doesn’t break the bank, but you get studio quality lessons – updated regularly – where you can tune in any time. They have different practitioners who teach in different styles, which fit into the Indaba ethos umbrella: bringing people together and reconnecting with ourselves. Something like this, an affordable class app from a London studio, is the perfect middle-ground as we come out of lockdown, as it provides us with high quality classes to take online and a real life studio with the same practitioners (May 17th couldn’t come soon enough!).
They also have a podcast where you can practice meditation, and workshops for those who want to delve even further into their practice. The classes vary in length, the practitioners change regularly, and they are catered towards specific physical needs – so you can really feel the results working for you.
Not only that, but because I’ve committed to doing it every day, I feel calmer, healthier and able to take a breath before I deal with whatever the unpredictable days ahead throw at me.
All in all, if you’re thinking of trying out a new studio to see if it’s the one for you, then £10 for a month is definitely the cheapest option that I’ve found – especially for a studio where the teaching is at such a high standard.
Class Schedule:
Neck and shoulders relief with Elisa Devlin – Yes! One for our poor work-from-home necks. I have been crying out for this class, and will be returning to it any time I find myself clawing at my shoulders, trying to give myself an impossible massage.
Five minute breathing exercises with Elisa Devlin – I replayed this every day before practice, just to remind myself that breathing is the first thing to get right.
Socks Yoga with Arianna Santucci – Yes! I love sock yoga as a concept. I used to be a gymnast, so the opportunity to work on getting my splits back was hella fun.
Chest Opener with Davide Felicella – I picked this because I’ve often had back problems that stem from me not opening my chest properly. It was quite an easy class, but I really felt that each exercise had been chosen in order to target specific areas, and as a result, it did exactly what it said on the tin!
