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Yvonne Chapman
Yvonne was first introduced to yoga in her teens and returned to a consistent yoga practice in her late thirties as a way of gently regaining strength and well-being following a sport’s related back injury. On discovering how yoga can help with the stresses of daily life as well as maintaining physical strength and flexibility Yvonne found that yoga became a constant part of her life. Yvonne's interest, enthusiasm and commitment to yoga grew and eventually led to a desire to teach. Qualified by the British Wheel of Yoga, Yvonne has now been teaching for 4 years and draws on the varied yoga traditions of her teachers including, Viniyoga, Satyananda, Atma Vikasa, and Ashtanga.
In 2006 Yvonne attended a Yin Yang Yoga teacher training intensive with Sarah Powers and discovered that Yin Yoga gave her the consistent ease that she had been seeking in her body. She came away motivated to explore Yin Yoga, its link with the Chinese meridian system and its complementary effect on the more yang styles of yoga.
Yvonne's teaching is inspired by the much-needed calm and clarity that her practice brings to her own life. She aims to provide a safe, nurturing environment to allow her students to develop their own understanding of yoga and her classes encourage students to move at their own pace. She believes that yoga should be accessible to all no matter age or physical ability and provides modifications and alternatives to suit all abilities.
Yin Yoga – a quiet practice
Sarah Powers, international yoga teacher, has this to say about Yin Yoga – “If you’re accustomed to working the body hard in your yoga practice, Yin Yoga may at first seem too slow, too simple. But this complex practice of long, passively held floor poses is deeply nourishing and has myriad benefits. On a physical level Yin Yoga enhances the natural range of motion in the joints. By keeping your muscles soft, you release deep layers of connective tissue, creating more ease in all of your yoga practices and in seated meditation. On an energetic level, Yin Yoga enhances the flow of prana (life force) in the tissues around joints where energy often stagnates. Sequences are often geared toward strengthening certain energy channels, which support the organs, immune system and emotional well-being. Then there are mental benefits: holding poses for a period of time marries mediation and asana in to a very deep practice”. Yin Yoga is a perfect balance to your Yang life style. The essence of Yin is yielding and we are rarely taught to balance our Yang led culture of changing the world and leaving our mark, with the quality of acceptance, learning how not to struggle and just allow things to unfold. Yvonne teaches Yin Yoga on Friday mornings .