Qigong › Beginners Yoga
We know that yoga can seem intimidating and can seem like it’s a million miles away from what is attainable, achievable or even fun.
We also firmly believe that it really doesn’t matter how long your hamstrings are or whether you can touch your knees or toes or if you’re already in the cirque de soleil. Really that’s not what yoga is about. So what is yoga about?
To Movement for Modern Life, yoga is simply a tool. It is a tool which is guaranteed to make you feel better. Guaranteed. Starting with a little stretch and a little strength, you will find you feel a lot better in your body, and then you may start to breathe. You may start to feel some space in your head. In your life. You may start to feel that things feel possible that you never even knew were. But don’t take our word for it. Just get moving. Forwards ever, backwards never. Get moving and keep on moving a little bit every day. We have online yoga videos to e... Show more
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29:17Release Tension
A qi gong and yoga fusion sequence to release feelings of being stuck, feeling tense, or just when you’re not in your flow. With some chair variations to make all the practices more accessible, this sequence uses qi gong and yoga to clear out stagnation and shift your tension. A chair can be used in this practice to make the class accessible to all.
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24:13Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Ease
Third in the series, Qigong and Restorative Yoga focuses on finding ease. This class opens the chest and shoulders. Often, ease eludes us because we feel tension, we feel stuck in our bodies. The qigong class starts with a qigong practice which fosters ease through tension release and heart-opening. We will then do some gentle restorative yoga practices to finish. You'll need a yoga bolster or sofa cushion, and a blanket for the restorative yoga.
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26:56Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Balance
This is the second class in the three-part series, Qigong and Restorative Yoga. The first part of this class is a qigong elemental practice that will help balance the Chinese Five Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in your constitution. We will then do some quieting restorative practices to finish. You’ll want to have a yoga bolster or sofa cushion and a blanket.
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26:26Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Harmony
Finding Harmony is the first of three classes in the series of Qigong and Restorative Yoga. It focuses on harmonising breath, body movement and the balance of yin and yang. It can be hard to find harmony in our lives of conflicting needs and priorities. Class starts with active qigong and then go on to a relaxing restorative yoga class. Ideally, have a yoga bolster and two blankets. Alternatively, you can also use a sofa cushion and two bed pillows.
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28:37Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (5) Effortless Ease
In this final class of this series of yoga/qi-gong moves to nourish, support and revitalise the body and mind, we orientate our practice toward effortless ease. In Chinese this is a concept known as wuwei, or effortless effort. It is something we cannot strive toward but rather a quality that arises spontaneously through steady cultivation and practice. As such, we will take the ideas of rooting, rising, aligning and balancing and see what is possible in working with the fluid flow of effortless ease.
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18:53Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (4) The Yin/Yang Balance
With this class we take the ideas of rooting and feeling our body aligned between the skies above and earth below into a more full balance of yin and yang. This session will build a combination of strength and softness in the arms and hands and upper and lower body. When the energies of yin and yang come into balance in our bodies, it is known as the Tai Chi Axis.
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22:16Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (2) Rooting to Rise
In Chinese, there is a saying ‘gen shen di gu’, which means when the roots and deep the foundations are strong. From Moving with the Breath, we shift the focus to rooting firmly down in the earth and allowing our bodies to rise from this firm root up toward the sky. We will practice some more dynamic standing poses after an initial warm-up we practiced in class #1 to feel this connection more fully in our body.
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22:19Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (1) Breathe and Move
Start to move with your breath in this beginners yoga class. Feel supported, nourished and revitalised. This first class in this series begins with finding the breath, so the body and breath move together in simple sequences that help condition our respiratory and circulatory systems. This will allow you to feel more invigorated yet also relaxed, clear and calm. As well as being an accessible starting place for many students, this yoga class is also a nourishing standalone class for when you need to calm jangled nerves and return strong and grounded to your breath.
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01:01:34Building Strength Softly
You don’t need to push harder to get stronger! Usually we associate strengthening with firming, but instead of firming, we can soften into our strength. When we are tense, adding pressure does not build strength, it creates more barriers. In this yoga and qi-gong fusion class, we discover ways to find strength and openness by softening away from pressure, tightness or tension. This accessible but strengthening class is great for anyone who feels they are a bit tight in their shoulders, hips or back. Whether a beginner or advanced, you will discover some new sensations in your yoga practice here. This is mainly a yoga class, with some qigong movements incorporated periodically. You’ll need two blocks, a strap and a bolster.
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24:20Standing Tall
This gentle yoga class, with some qi-gong movements is a perfect antidote for those of us who spend too much time sitting at desks each day. Also great if you're feeling like you could do with an emotional recharge, perhaps at the end of a long day, or when life is challenging. With standing poses and gentle strengthening poses, this class uses the power of intention to clear out a tough day and bring in the new. You will need two blocks and a strap.
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32:57Induce Sleep
This class is a mixture of yoga and qigong to help you to release anxiety, quiet your mind, clear your mind and prepare for sleep. Movements are gengle and accessible and don't involve full stretches, you are encouraged to not take a full stretch, but to use a chair or perhaps the edge of your bed for some of the yoga poses.
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23:52Focus The Mind
Easily distracted? Do you frequently find your monkey mind wandering? Regain laser-like focus with this yoga/qi gong fusion class to help you to calm the mind, sharpen your focus and increase your capacity to concentrate with qi gong to clear tension and balancing poses to regain your poise. You will need a chair handy.
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37:31Morning Practice: Fluidity and Flow
This morning yoga and qigong class is focused on circular, smooth movements through the body and joints to set you up for the day. With some beautifully awakening qigong forms such as variations of swimming dragon followed by active sun salute variations and fluid movements through standing poses. Enjoy waking up all your senses in this awakening flow!
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24:24Rebalance Yourself
A gentle sequence to calm and rebalance your emotions after a stressful time. There are times when we can be knocked off our centre, maybe something as simple as someone has said something that has shocked us, or we are needing to rebalance after grief. This mixture of calming yoga, qi-gong and breath-work practices will calms and quieten your jangled nerves after a shock or stressful moment. These rebalancing classes are gentle and many poses may be done in a chair.
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29:21Stoking the Fire
Great for mornings, if you're lethargic or you have cold feet or hands. A gently awakening qi-gong and yoga fusion class designed to raise the body heat if you’re feeling cold or lethargic, perfect for getting moving on cold wintery mornings. Using a chair to increase accessibility. With fluid and heating qi gong poses to gently increase strength, stability and balance and yoga to increase flexibility. You will need a chair.
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29:24Energy Booster / Wake up your Qi
Awaken your energy at any time in the day with this qi-gong practice. Perfect for starting the day, but also as an energy boost during a mid-morning slump is just perfect. This class uses various energy techniques and can be done on a chair as well as on a mat, so is perfect for all levels and physicalities. Wake up your qi with this short practice using qigong, yoga, breath-work and various energy techniques to give your energy a big boost. Remember to use the power of intention in this class, and in life! Keep a chair handy.
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21:59Take a Break: Yoga & Qigong Part1: Exhale + Sooth
Take a short break from studies or your work. Much of our body’s tension is muscular, but actually, what the muscles and our body crave when we feel tight is deep, satisfying breaths.This short practice releases tension by focusing on exhaling fully and uses Burmese qigong, chest and shoulder openings and forward folds to calm and sooth the mind. Perfect for taking a break to release tension during the day, but also great after a hard day's work. Clothing by Rumi X.
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23:32Qigong Flow
This qigong flow practice starts with some warmups for the joints, cultivation of qi between the hands, and then moves into what we think of as “water salutations” – fluid movements that feel like the equivalent of yoga’s sun salutations. It’s a practice that warms the body, actively stimulates, guides and moves the qi, and helps to quiet the mind. Enjoy!