Over time, Emily Burningham’s gentle and restorative yoga classes have become well-loved and she has chosen to hold them in beautiful and historic venues – Burgh House, Quaker House on Heath Street, Christ Church in Hampstead Square and now the Old Kitchen at Kenwood House.
You don’t need to be fit and flexible to enjoy Emily’s Yoga Gently classes. They’re open to everyone, with no experience of yoga needed. And her soft stretching, posture-improving classes attract many older people to her classes.
“I don’t believe in pushing or forcing the body. My aim is to encourage thoughtful movement, to slow down, quieten the mind and breathe deeply,” Emily, also known as Em, explains. “The people who come to my classes leave feeling better – stiff and achy joints, tired backs and dodgy hips and knees are all considered! The yoga I teach can improve your emotional health and overall wellbeing too.”
Photo by Andy Tommo at Tommophoto
Emily’s Yoga Gently classes often blend Qigong soft flowing movements and what’s known as restorative yoga. There’s a lot of floor work, some chair yoga too, and a constant focus on being relaxed and breathing properly.
“Breathing deeply helps the body relax and open a little further. This is so useful if you’re experiencing tightness, tension or less mobility somewhere in your body.”
Introduced to yoga as a teenager, Emily eventually trained under the well-respected Jean Hall who teaches that it’s also important how a yoga posture feels, and how through slow and mindful movements, the body can release tension from the inside out. Emily describes her own method as “doing less to do more and being kind to our bodies.”
It was her mum who inspired Emily to start giving classes. “Yoga helps to keep aches at bay and is good for maintaining balance. It makes getting older easier!” says Emily.
Once her three children have been dropped off at school, Emily gives seven morning classes every week, with usually 8-12 people in a class. On a Tuesday morning the yoga class is in the big, airy space at Hampstead’s Quaker House, on Thursday morning at Burgh House in a wood panelled room with wraparound windows, and Friday mid-morning at the Kenwood House Old Kitchen which only recently opened to the public.
Visit Emily’s website for all the class times, prices and more info: www.yogawithem.me
Or call: 07974 707595
Cover Photo: By Andy Tommo at Tommophoto
