About Lucy Burton Yoga..

The practice of yoga is an ancient spiritual and philosophical path, of which twisting and folding your body into funky poses is but a small part.. But it's the part that has us peeking our nose through the door to get a better look, improving our strength and flexibility and calming our minds at the same time.

I teach primarily vinyasa flow yoga, so in a class with me you will flow through a sequence of yoga poses, or asana, linked by breath. As we focus in our attention to the movements of our bodies and the steady rhythm of our breath, the worries and stresses of the day begin to fall away, allowing our bodies and brains much needed rest.  Practising yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which has numerous health benefits including lowered blood pressure, better mental health, lowered stress and anxiety levels, better digestive health etc. Physical benefits of yoga include improved posture, increased flexibility and joint stability, improved lung capacity, reduction of back pain and full body strengthening.

So now you know some of yoga's many indisputable benefits, let me tell you a little more about my take on it. I've been practising yoga for over 15 years, and finally trained as a yoga teacher in early 2015.  'Yoga' literally translates as 'union', usually taken to mean the linking of breath, body and mind.  For me that union is the meeting of the physical and the mental.  Of acceptance. Through practising asana we develop greater appreciation of all that we are, physically and mentally. Your body is the most incrediible instrument you will ever own, and the only one you will have the priviledge to inhabit. Yoga teaches us to accept, embrace and celebrate ourself exactly as we are. In your yoga practice you may find yourself attempting poses that you never imagined yourself capable of, and succeeding! You are stronger and more awesome than you know! For me, developing a regular yoga practice has built my confidence, and taught me to trust and value my body.

Mentally, practising yoga brings the same benefits as meditation. Space to simply exist without being bombarded by the many things constantly clamouring for your attention. Space to consider before finding yourself reacting to external events in a destructive or mentally exhausting way. Space to find and nurture yourself. Space to be you.

Yoga brings you back to you.

And if all that sounds too 'tree huggy' for you, that's also fine. It's your yoga practice. :) The purely physical practice of yoga will stretch out your tight hamstrings, ease your back pain, strengthen your core and improve your posture.

Lucy holds a fully accredited 200 hour teaching qualification in Vinyasa Flow and Hatha interdisciplinary yoga with Frog Lotus Yoga international, and is fully insured, first aid trained and DBS checked.