Right before Christmas a series hit the screens for those of us that have Disney+: Limitless, where actor Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor) puts himself through a series of challenges to uncover how we can live better for longer. That's a theme I have always applied to Unwind as well, I call it graceful ageing. Whether you want it, or not, you are ageing. I am, too. We all age from the day we are born. Unwind Yoga Studio exists, because I discovered yoga as a way for me to "regenerate damage, maximise strength, build resilience, supercharge memory and confront mortality" - and I wanted to share it with you. If I can influence some of my life to live better for longer, than I want to explore that possibility. Anyway, back to Thor. In "Limitless" Hemsworth talks about new scientific research into how you can unlock your body’s superpowers to fight illness, perform better and even reverse the aging process. As I was watching it, I started to take notes. Four topics of "Limitless" stood out for me as relevant for Unwind:
Stress-proofing.
Memory.
Strength.
Acceptance.
We have good scientific evidence, that practicing yoga affects all of these areas positively, and at Unwind we teach yoga that is slower, helping you to de-stress, improve memory and accept what is with optimism. I then found more research showing: If you're looking to put the brakes on ageing and embrace life to its fullest, healthy strength training should be top of your list.
Yoga is a great way for you to increase your stability and flexibility, build muscle tone and it doesn't matter how old or how fit you are. By doing yoga two to three times each week, you'll also preserve bone density and lower your chance of developing osteoporosis. Building muscle can help reduce depression, improve sleep, and lower the risk of disease, too. Even though we teach slower yoga at Unwind, you will build strength: Combining lengthy holds with connecting movement makes it a nice balance of intensity and mobility.
You find yoga classes that use free weights and resistance bands on our schedule Yoga+ (Weights) and Yoga+ (Core) is an advanced class focusing on upper body and core strength, ideal if you have back aches, shoulder & arm pains, or want to learn to do arm balances. Ashtanga is a wonderful yoga practice that combines using your body weight to become stronger, more mobile and overall fitter. As Ashtanga follows a fairly strict routine, it's also meditative and calming, you don't have to think much and follow the flow. Energetic and powerful. Fusion (Yoga+Pilates) is a blend between yoga and Pilates to help you build muscle and stamina, and give you the additional benefits of focus and relaxation that yoga brings. And a Restorative to Nidra class is one of THE best ways to destress and help with memory. Nidra has been shown to shift your brain waves into a state of regeneration and repair. Yin yoga is about yielding - stopping to use muscles (so no muscle strength building here) allows the body to squeeze, twist and stress deep tissues. Those deep tissues need the stillness of Yin holds to respond and regenerate. Yin is a wonderful way to keep the body subtle, and the supporting tissues strong.
Unwind Yoga Studio is not just a studio where you come and do yoga. There is a philosophy behind the way the schedule is planned and classes are structured. Every aspect has you in mind: your health and wellbeing in body and in mind.
Yoga trials at Unwind are £19 for 4 classes: Try Unwind Yoga now.