Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga
Why Ashtanga Yoga?
Your Ashtanga Yoga Teacher
Ashtanga Yoga Timetable
Ashtanga is the most energetic and challenging form of yoga, it's also very traditional with a lineage tradition. Emma is trained by a lineage teacher.
Ashtanga yoga combines flexibility, strength, balance and cardiovascular fitness as well as a cultivation of focus, curiosity, deep awareness and control of the nervous system.
It suits those who are happy to work at their physical yoga practice and to sweat and progress.
You'll learn the Ashtanga yoga sequence so that it becomes a joyful moving meditation and you'll notice your progression.
If you want to delve deeper there’s plenty to learn in this practice including the Sanskrit names, the Ashtanga count, mantras, philosophy and pranayama (breathing) and meditation practices, which you can pick up along the way, through the video library or through specific workshop sessions delivered at the Shala. Or you can pop along when you can and join in the peaceful yet joyful yoga sequence.
Our Ashtanga yoga students are a lovely, welcoming community.
We have 1 or 2 drop-in spaces per Ashtanga yoga class or you can guarantee a mat-space with our month membership options here
Ashtanga yoga combines flexibility, strength, balance and cardiovascular fitness as well as a cultivation of focus, curiosity, deep awareness and control of the nervous system.
It suits those who are happy to work at their physical yoga practice and to sweat and progress.
You'll learn the Ashtanga yoga sequence so that it becomes a joyful moving meditation and you'll notice your progression.
If you want to delve deeper there’s plenty to learn in this practice including the Sanskrit names, the Ashtanga count, mantras, philosophy and pranayama (breathing) and meditation practices, which you can pick up along the way, through the video library or through specific workshop sessions delivered at the Shala. Or you can pop along when you can and join in the peaceful yet joyful yoga sequence.
Our Ashtanga yoga students are a lovely, welcoming community.
We have 1 or 2 drop-in spaces per Ashtanga yoga class or you can guarantee a mat-space with our month membership options here
Hi. I'm Emma Lowther-Wright and I am very fortunate to have been trained to teach Ashtanga Yoga by world-renowned John Scott. John is one of the key teachers who brought Ashtanga yoga from India to Europe, he drew the well known Ashtanga sequence stick figures and with Lino Miles he recorded the count. John taught Madonna and Sting and teaches with an absolute joy of and curiosity about movement.
I am dedicatd to and immersed in the Ashtanga practice and continue to travel to study with senior 500hr international teachers including Eddie Stern, Scott Johnson and Greg Nardi. Ashtanga yoga rid me of severe IBS and regular sinus infections and is my daily practice, bringing me inner and outer strength, calm, focus and gratitude.
I teach with an emphasis on clear communication, empowerment, joy and compassion. I am especially interested in the neuroscience of yoga, how yoga can release physically held mental and emotional tension and how yoga can help us to live with greater joy, confidence and ease.
As well as studio classes I work within the community to bring yoga and mindful movement to all who can benefit including teaching in workplaces and education settings and to members of our community with physical and mental health challenges including those with deafness, who use a wheelchair and have cognitive challenges.
I am a lover of mindful rhythmic movement as a life-enhancing practice and am also trained in additional mindful movement practices including ballet fitness, Barre, Pound, BodyGroove dance and sound therapy meditation.
My classes are heart-lifting, empowering, flowing dances to the rhythm of the breath. I share movement and meditation practices with kindness, encouragement and joy - I hope to welcome you to a class soon.
I am dedicatd to and immersed in the Ashtanga practice and continue to travel to study with senior 500hr international teachers including Eddie Stern, Scott Johnson and Greg Nardi. Ashtanga yoga rid me of severe IBS and regular sinus infections and is my daily practice, bringing me inner and outer strength, calm, focus and gratitude.
I teach with an emphasis on clear communication, empowerment, joy and compassion. I am especially interested in the neuroscience of yoga, how yoga can release physically held mental and emotional tension and how yoga can help us to live with greater joy, confidence and ease.
As well as studio classes I work within the community to bring yoga and mindful movement to all who can benefit including teaching in workplaces and education settings and to members of our community with physical and mental health challenges including those with deafness, who use a wheelchair and have cognitive challenges.
I am a lover of mindful rhythmic movement as a life-enhancing practice and am also trained in additional mindful movement practices including ballet fitness, Barre, Pound, BodyGroove dance and sound therapy meditation.
My classes are heart-lifting, empowering, flowing dances to the rhythm of the breath. I share movement and meditation practices with kindness, encouragement and joy - I hope to welcome you to a class soon.
| Day | Time | Class Type | Drop-In | Membership |
| Monday | 7:30 - 9:30pm |
Mysore See guidance below |
£9 |
£30 per month 1 class per week |
| Tuesday | 7:30 - 8:30pm | Ashtanga Beginners Cours | N/A | £42 5 week course |
| Wednesday | 6:00 - 7:15pm |
Counted Half Primary |
£9 | £30 per month 1 class per week |
| Thursday | 6:00 - 7:00pm |
Counted Beginner Progression |
£8 | £30 per month 1 class per week |
| Friday | 6:00 - 7:30pm |
Counted Full Primary Advanced class |
£9 | £30 per month 1 class per week |
Mysore - in a Mysore Ashtanga class you work at your own pace with individualised guidance from me. To attend this class you will need to be familiar with the Surya Namaskaras (sun salutations) and standing sequence, you don't need to know them from memory as I can prompt you. I will then teach you additional postures as you progress.
I recommend that you attend one of the counted classes to become familar with the Surya Namaskaras and standing sequence before attending the class, unless you already have an Ashtanga practice.
I recommend that you attend one of the counted classes to become familar with the Surya Namaskaras and standing sequence before attending the class, unless you already have an Ashtanga practice.
Ashtanga Yoga Classes
Mysore Ashtanga Yoga
A Mysore class is a silent, peaceful highly personalised class in which the teacher works with each student in detail where needed. You can arrive and leave whenever you like during the Mysore class as everyone will be working at their own pace.
The Mysore yoga class gives you more time to explore postures you want to work on with me and to move through the sequence at your own pace. I will come along and assist where I think you might need help and you can indicate to me that you want assistance by sitting or standing still, there's no rush to get into or out of postures, I teach you additional postures in the sequence when you are ready and teach deepening of postures when you are ready. We can even create a specific yoga sequence for you with individual adaptations for your body.
It's a powerfully moving experience and a wonderful way to deepen your practice.
Counted Ashtanga Yoga
A counted class is what most of us are familiar with, I talk you through and demonstrate the yoga asana and every student is working at the same pace.
We have 3 durations of counted class each week (60, 75 and 90minutes). The 3 class durations are progressively more challenging with the 90minute class being the full Primary series. If you're a beginner join either the beginners course, the 60minute or 75minute class.
Ashtanga Yoga Beginners Course
Limited to 10 slots
Rise-up, spread those wings and be your power.
Ashtanga Yoga is an energetic practice of strength and grace.
It builds muscular strength, flexibility and balance through its postures.
It improves cardiovascular health through its flowing transitions.
It calms the mind by working on the nervous system.
It builds confidence and self-esteem as you start to find the postures easier (eventually!)
It’s a challenge - but it’s worth it.
Good, this guide is for you - you're in the right place.
We provide mats for you to borrow, or you can bring your own. As you start to build your yoga practice you'll very likely find that you buy a mat that you love and will want to use that one all the time, but if not - that's fine - you can use one of ours forever.
Whatever you're comfortable stretching and moving in. T-shirt or vest top and leggings, shorts or jogging bottoms. We practice bare foot - so no need for fancy trainers, you'll be leaving them downstairs anyway :)
Most of our classes are drop-in (except for where indicated on the timetable) so you will pay the teacher in cash when you arrive. The teacher will have a box or bowl by their mat.
The doors are generally open 15minutes before class, so from then up until class start time. If you're running late just creep into class quietly.
When I arrived at my first class I was pretty nervous and I just copied everyone else and hoped for the best, I lived to tell the tale and loved it (well I became a yoga teacher so...), but here's a guide.
Pop your shoes in the crates by the door and walk into the class, pop your class fee into the box/bowl. Either say "hi I'm new" to the person who looks like the teacher if you feel like it, or if you sit or stand on a mat the teacher will spot you as new and come and have a chat. All that said, we're pretty good at spotting whose new and making sure you're not lost!
Pop your shoes in the crates by the door and walk into the class, pop your class fee into the box/bowl. Either say "hi I'm new" to the person who looks like the teacher if you feel like it, or if you sit or stand on a mat the teacher will spot you as new and come and have a chat. All that said, we're pretty good at spotting whose new and making sure you're not lost!
Whichever one sounds as though you would like it (expect if you're not pregnant - then you shouldn't go to the pregnancy class, or if you're a woman - then you won't want the male only class!)
The timetable indicates whether a class is gentle, energetic or inbetween. The class descriptions give more detail.
If you want a slow class, holding postures for 5-10 minutes, with soft music - go for yin. If you want something energetic and challenging seeped in tradition go for Ashtanga, something in the middle - go for any of the other classes.
The timetable indicates whether a class is gentle, energetic or inbetween. The class descriptions give more detail.
If you want a slow class, holding postures for 5-10 minutes, with soft music - go for yin. If you want something energetic and challenging seeped in tradition go for Ashtanga, something in the middle - go for any of the other classes.
All the yoga classes build flexibility so take your pick.
Then you're better opting for Ashtanga Yoga, or Energetic Hatha.
The Yoga for Anxiety course and the Release and Relax courses are perfect for calming, especially for beginners.
If you've completed those courses, don't fancy them, or you just want a drop-in class the right one depends on what works for you. If you think that it would help to be still and quiet with small movements, holding postures for several minutes - go for Yin. If you think that it would help to be moving and focusing on matching your breathing and movements - go for Ashtanga. If you think something inbetween would work - go for Hatha.
If you've completed those courses, don't fancy them, or you just want a drop-in class the right one depends on what works for you. If you think that it would help to be still and quiet with small movements, holding postures for several minutes - go for Yin. If you think that it would help to be moving and focusing on matching your breathing and movements - go for Ashtanga. If you think something inbetween would work - go for Hatha.
Most humans are a bit wary of new stuff, we recognise that and we're super-friendly and welcoming and help to make you feel comfortable. Our students are all also very lovely.
Good! Yoga will help you to become more flexible, strong, fit and well balanced. More importantly though it will also help you feel healthy, sleep better, feel calm, focus more and generally feel good. Most of us fall out of postures sometimes and have a giggle, that's all part of the yoga.
Good! All of the above applies to you too.
It depends on the class but something like....a calming opening maybe some guided breathing and body awareness, maybe guidance on calming the mind. Some gentle warming up stretches. Then the yoga postures - the teacher will explain them all and demonstrate them if needed. Then a lovely relaxation at the end, you might even get a blanket! Then you go home feeling happier and calmer.
We're pretty proud of how well trained, highly qualified, experienced and specialist our teachers are. We're a pretty geeky yoga-obsessed community of teachers who continue to undertake continuining professional development.
All of our teachers are trained by registered yoga tecaher teaching bodies - either Yoga Alliance or British Wheel of Yoga and many also hold additional yoga teaching qualifications.
For example, Emma (Ashtanga) was trained to teach by world-renowned Ashtanga teacher John Scott and deepens her learning with Scott Johnson as well as studying trauma, neuroscience and the body-mind connection. Alison (Yin) was trained in yin by internationally-respected Yin teacher Sarah Powers. Danielle (Pregnancy, children and post-natal) has extensive qualifications in teaching pregnancy and postnatal yoga and health.
All of our teachers are trained by registered yoga tecaher teaching bodies - either Yoga Alliance or British Wheel of Yoga and many also hold additional yoga teaching qualifications.
For example, Emma (Ashtanga) was trained to teach by world-renowned Ashtanga teacher John Scott and deepens her learning with Scott Johnson as well as studying trauma, neuroscience and the body-mind connection. Alison (Yin) was trained in yin by internationally-respected Yin teacher Sarah Powers. Danielle (Pregnancy, children and post-natal) has extensive qualifications in teaching pregnancy and postnatal yoga and health.
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