September at Yoga House

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Dear Yogis,
In the midst of all this unsettlement, it’s of the upmost importance we continue to check in with how we are feeling. To make sure we feel grounded and equanimous… and we are here to support you.
In our early September newsletter we take a deeper look at the benefits of Yoga and how we can make moving our bodies a priority again. To help with this we are adding more classes to our schedule, introducing new teachers and offering four ways to practice with us. There are even some discount codes for new yoga wear!
We also take a look at what’s coming up on Sunday’s Yoga House Live, and our teachers are joining us live on instagram to share their passions. There are only a few spaces left to our Sound Bath this month and we invite you to join our Karma Yoga team.
Finally, we have an amazing and super easy recipe for The Happy Pear to warm you up as the days and nights get cooler.

WHY DO WE PRACTICE

Yoga really made an impact on the western world in the 1970’s and its popularity continues to grow. For something that was first thought of as a hippy past time, now has an increasing number of studies and medical research behind it showing the untold benefits.
As a yogi, you may have already felt some of the benefits – from reduced joint pain, increased flexibility, improved sleep and a better mental wellbeing, including fewer sniffles and colds.

Taking a look at some of the benefits..

Increased flexibility
This is one of the main reasons people find themselves on a yoga mat. Whether it’s wanting to touch your toes or do a backbend, continued practice will gradual loosen you up and you will get to your goal. With increased flexibility, you will start noticing aches and pains disappearing and find it easier reaching and bending during our daily routines around the house or at work. Tight hips can put strain on your knee joints and tight hamstrings can flatten your lumbar spine, which can cause back pain.

Strengthens muscles
When we build strength with yoga, we balance it with flexibility. When we lift weights at the gym, we build strength as the expense of our flexibility. Strong muscles protect our bodies and allow us to enjoy life. From easily going up a flight of stairs to running a marathon, we need our muscles.

Improves posture
Having good posture is more than standing tall and looking smart. Our spine holds us up all day and poor posture puts excess stress on it leading to fatigue. As we sit at our desk or kitchen table, drive cars or watch TV we slump our spine, our bodies may compensate by flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back. This can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine.

Increases your blood flow
Yoga gets your blood flowing. More specifically, the relaxation exercises you learn in yoga can help your circulation, especially in your hands and feet. Yoga also gets more oxygen to your cells, which function better as a result. Twisting poses are thought to wring out venous blood from internal organs and allow oxygenated blood to flow in once the twist is released. Inverted poses, such as Headstand, Handstand, and Shoulderstand, encourage venous blood from the legs and pelvis to flow back to the heart, where it can be pumped to the lungs to be freshly oxygenated.

Drains your lymphs and boosts immunity
When you contract and stretch muscles, move organs around, and come in and out of yoga postures, you increase the drainage of lymph (a viscous fluid rich in immune cells). This helps the lymphatic system fight infection, destroy cancerous cells, and dispose of the toxic waste products of cellular functioning.

Stress Management
The breath is the voice of our soul. Yoga regulates your breath and gives your lungs a chance to breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing has endless benefits to your mind, body and nervous system. Breath techniques learnt in a yoga class, can be taken into your daily life to help with work and life stresses.

HOW DO WE PRACTICE

Now we have looked at why we practice yoga and the benefits, it’s time to look at how we practice. We all know regular exercise is essential for a healthy life, however making it a priority in our hectic schedules isn’t as easy.

Take a moment and look on your phones and check your social media usage for today.
Some of us will be shocked by the hours wasted scrolling..
We will always find excuses, but moving your body everyday has to be a priority and a great way to get back into a routine. Below you will find four different ways you can access our classes at Yoga House.

Making your practice a priority is the first step. How are you practicing is the next. We have all experienced Zoom fatigue and it can become all too easy to switch your camera off and take it a bit easier.. You owe it to yourself to be present in your practice and be true to yourself. Finding your space at home to focus and be committed can be a struggle.

Changing things up might bring some renewed focus and vigour back to your practice. Here are some ideas you could try:

Getting Back to the Studio
It’s a great time to get back into the studio as class sizes are smaller. Finding your yoga community again and your sacred space for practice could be just want you need. You still have a chance to take advantage of summer offer of 4 Studio Classes for £20.
On Demand Classes
You can choose one of our On Demand classes and practice at a time when you know there will be no interruptions. Just email support@yogahouselondon.co.uk and request your class. £12.00 per month access free to members.
Try Something New
We have new classes and new teachers, all listed below for you to explore.
It might also be time for new yoga gear. Check out for great discounts below!

JOIN ONE OF OUR CLASSES
We now offer you four ways of joining our classes!
Our Lee Studio
Our Catford Studio
Our Online Platform
Classes on Demand

LEE

CATFORD

ONLINE

SEPTEMBER SOUND BATH

Gong + Alchemy Bowl Sound Bath
With Junior & Kasia
SATURDAY 19th Sep | 6pm | Catford Studio

A magical hour of Gong with Junior and Alchemy Bowls with Kasia.
Don’t miss it.
£20 or £17 for members

BOOK HERE

Bring your blanket and pillow to make
yourself super comfortable and enjoy this sound journey.
You can use a bolster if you bring a pillowcase to cover it.

SUNDAY YOGA HOUSE LIVE

This Sunday at 18.15 on Instagram Live (which is free to watch) we have Lisa Hood joining us to talk all things Crystals. What are their unique qualities, how to charge them, cleanse them, crystal grids and how to programme your crystal to work for you.
You are welcome to submit any questions in advance or during the live chat and have your crystal with you when watching the session!

WHAT’S COMING UP IG LIVE
The Teacher Sessions

Our teachers are joining us in the coming months to share their knowledge
and passions on a range of fascinating topics.

September 20th | Yoga for Runners with Sarah
October 4th | What are your Bandhas? with Imir
October 18th | Moon Moments with Francesca
November 15th| Alternative Healing with Junior

You can catch all our previous IG Live sessions – Gong Baths, Sound Bowls, HIIT Session, Nutritional Talks, Meditation, Chat with Sustainable businesses on our IGTV channel.

SUMMER OFFER ENDING SOON

Our 4 STUDIO CLASSES FOR £20
Offer ends September 16th
This pass can be used across both studios and is valid for a month from purchase.
It’s available for new & existing yogis. It’s a great way to find your yoga feet and get back into a routine.

Easy Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

From The Happy Pear

Ingredients

2 red onions
2 cloves garlic
250g mushrooms ideally a mixture including oyster, shiitake, chestnut, button
3 tbsp tamari/ soy sauce
100ml veg stock or water
250g wholemeal penne pasta

Creamy sauce:
100g toasted cashew nuts
450ml soy milk or non dairy milk of choice
juice of half lemon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

To serve:
oregano or herb of choice to serve
1 chilli to serve

*To toast raw cashew nuts just heat a non stick pan on medium heat, add the cashew nuts and keep them moving till they start to brown. This should take between 5-8 mins, be careful not to burn the nuts.

Instructions

Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic, chop the mushrooms into small pieces. Fill and boil the kettle. Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the back of the pack.
Put a non stick frying pan on high heat and allow the pan to get super hot. Once super hot add the onions and garlic and fry until they start to brown.
Once they start to brown and stick a little add some veg stock (approx 1 tsp) or water to clean the pan and incorporate the browned flavour to the dish. This should take about 3-5 mins.
Add the mushrooms and fry for 2-3 mins again adding a little water or veg stock if they start to stick. You want to ensure you are frying rather than boiling (frying there is little or no liquid or water in the pan vs boiling the veg is submerged under water.)
Add 3 tbsp of tamari/ soy sauce and fry for a further 2 mins. Turn off the heat
Time to make the sauce, in a blender add the cashew nuts, soy milk or milk of choice, lemon, salt and garlic powder and blend till super smooth.
Put the frying pan back on high heat, add the sauce in on top of mushrooms and heat up and allow the sauce to reduce & thicken for 2-3 mins. Once the pasta is cooked use a slotted spoon to add pasta straight into the sauce. If the sauce gets too thick add a little pasta water to reach the desired thickness of sauce. Taste and season to your liking.
Chop the chilli (removing seeds if you want it less hot) and pluck the oregano off the stalk and serve to add flavour and garnish. Enjoy!

YOGA WEAR DISCOUNTS

Pop in to Sweaty Betty Blackheath and mention Yoga House for 10% off this weekend + next week or
check out V ayumudra and take 15% off with kasiab15 look for their new environmentally conscious range available in beautiful colours!

Do you fancy a free yoga class?
Join our Karma Yogi Team.
If you or you know someone that would like free yoga classes in exchange for help 30mins before and 30mins after class please get in touch to support@yogahouselondon.co.uk

FROZEN MEMBERSHIPS
From Monday 21st of September the final frozen memberships will be unfrozen and reactivated. We have built up a great timetable across 2 studios, including online classes accessible free to members, from dynamic to restorative, sound healing and pilates, and our timetable will keep growing. We have increased our safety and cleaning measures and the capacity has been reduced by 50% giving you more mat space in class. If you have any issues with the reactivation please email support@yogahouselondon.co.uk and we can help you further. An email will also be sent to you next week.

And finally….. a message from Kasia.

Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed coming back to the studio(s), it is so wonderful to see you all back on the mat in a safe environment. We have built Yoga House for the community and for the love of yoga (and pilates!), and I truly believe the benefits it has on our mind, body and mental wellbeing is second to none. We will continue to grow with our lovely teachers, reception staff and karma yogis and Yoga House will be a sanctuary away from the hectic everyday business that can take us away from who we truly are. Having a healthy routine again and creating a bit of extra time for yourself will only help you be your better self. Remember that looking after yourself, will only improve how you look after others. Apart from our regular classes, we are also hoping to restart our yoga retreats, so watch the space.

Lots of love x

THANK YOU FOR READING OUR NEWSLETTERS

We are here for you, please get in touch and keep practising.

LOVE from the YOGA HOUSE team
& Kasia x