Today is International Yoga Day, and to celebrate we speak with Retrofit Yoga instructor Elena on the benefits she sees students gain when practising Yoga.

How important do you think yoga is to everyday life?

I believe that in a busy modern world we all need something that brightens up our inner skies and helps us to better connect to ourselves so we could live fully, both physically and intellectually.

Is Yoga just for people who want to meditate and relax?

Yoga builds strength, flexibility and confidence and can help to lose weight, relieve stress, improve immunity and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Meditation and breathing techniques help to keep the mind sharp and clear and improve overall well-being.

Those physical and mental transformations will make you fall in love with your body and life on a deeper level.

Have you had any feedback from Retrofit Members about yoga?

The Retrofit member’s feedback is that yoga makes them feel stronger, more flexible and gave them a new appreciation for self-development. It made them feel calmer and more balanced.

Also, it helped to remove physical issues and pains in the lower spine, and shoulders caused by sitting and working in front of a laptop and to feel great afterwards.

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS

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QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS 🔥

- How long have you been practising yoga?

My yoga journey started 10 years ago. I moved to London from a different country and was trying to juggle a career in banking and family life.

- Have you always been into yoga?

What began as an escape from stress and stiffness caused by a demanding corporate job soon became a passion and a daily discipline. Not only did yoga make me stronger and more flexible but I also felt calmer, happier and more balanced. I got inspired to get qualified and start teaching so I could share my love of yoga and its benefits with everyone around.

- If you could do one type of yoga for the rest of your life what would it be?

It would be hard to choose one! I’ll probably try to find a balance between practising yin yoga which is slow, deep and transformative and a dynamic style such as Rocket or Mandala, which are physically challenging, playful and very creative! Also, meditation and pranayama (breath work) would be practised alongside 😁

- How do you find yoga helps you connect better to the outdoors or to other people?

By doing yoga you become healthier, happier and more balanced. This means you can serve everyone around you better. When you love and understand yourself, you can give and receive love from others and make beautiful connections with the world around us. Also, as you feel healthy and energised, you feel a boost of creativity which makes you go places, travel, spend time in nature and enjoy every minute of it.

- What do you think are the main reasons people don't do yoga?

They say they are not flexible enough, haha To me it’s the same as saying you are too dirty to take a shower!

Also, I think sometimes they may feel overwhelmed by what they see about yoga in the media and in the press because it makes people think they have to be flexible before you even start, which is a misconception. I would encourage people to give it a go and use this opportunity to learn more about themselves as we are all so unique and special. During my classes, I always encourage beginners and provide options and less challenging postures to they are confident and can have fun while progressing to the next level.

- And how would you encourage them to begin?

To start yoga, I would suggest small group classes like the classes that Retrofit offers are a perfect option to learn the foundations first. I recommend people start from slow styles like yin so they can learn more about each pose before going to a more movement-based class like vinyasa flow.

Also, I would suggest always having a chat with an instructor so they come to the best-suited class for them and their goals.

If you’d like to learn more or get in touch with Elena, you can follow her @bloomyogalife or book onto her Yin Yoga class this Friday at 18:00.

Yoga: How to connect with yourself on a deeper level