Yoga teacher Susanne Jones will be offering classes in chair yoga, general yoga, and meditation, from this coming Tuesday, February 6, at the GUOOF Hall.
With 10 years of hands-on yoga and meditiation teaching experience, aswell as online teaching, Ms Jones thought it was time to offer the classes to the Broken Hill community.
“I love it. It helps me a lot through my life, and I just want to offer that opportunity to other people here,” she told the Barrier Truth.
“I say my yoga is for everybody. My classes are lots of fun, I like to laugh a lot, and I love to teach people who think they can’t do yoga. It’s not an exercise program as such. It’s more about understanding yourself and understanding your capacity and your limitations and how to work with your body to get you through your day.”
Having practiced Iyengar yoga for a long time there’s a lot of focus on correct alignment, with Ms Jones saying chair yoga – which still uses traditional yoga poses, except with a chair – gives people support to move their bodies in a meaningful way.
“In my classes, I focus on strength, building and balance. Chair yoga is really good for people who are less fit or think they don’t know anything about yoga or who are older [and] is a way for people to be in a correct posture, but not having to put all the weight on the legs or move,” she said.
“My aim is always to get people, especially people over 45, to be able to get up and down on the floor and up off the floor and so we use the chair to do that. Because especially as we all get older, we lose our balance and confidence and because we lose that confidence, we do less and it becomes a vicious cycle around moving and getting there, and the chair really helps to do it.”
For those with reservations about getting into yoga, don’t be alarmed, says Ms Jones.
“Some people are afraid because they don’t know how to do it but I teach to the people who are in the room, and I love teaching beginners and working with where people are at and then slowly build. That’s the same for meditation and for yoga,” she says.
“Don’t be afraid because we won’t do anything that’s going to hurt you. You don’t have to stand on your head or be a pretzel! It’s not about that. For some people, it’s just about eventually getting their hands above their head. I modify all the postures and everything so that you can easily get into it.”
Chair Yoga: Tuesdays 10am-11am
Meditation: Tuesdays 6pm-6.45pm
General Yoga: Tuesdays 7pm-8.15pm
Chair Yoga and General Yoga is $15 per session class (or five classes for $60 or 10 classes for $100). Meditation classes are priced at $50 for a six-week program (or $10 per session). All classes are at the GUOOF Hall, 161 Blende St.
Those with equipment already including yoga mats, blankets, blocks, and belts are encouraged to bring them along, and to wear comfortable clothes that you can easily move around in. For more information, visit themeditationspace.com.au or call 0433 911 956 to book and register for classes.
