Your first time to Albany Yoga Room?

Albany Yoga Room is not a one-size-fits-all yoga school

New to Yoga? Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced student we will treat you as a unique individual. We want you to find the teacher and the class that is just right for you to try different classes until you feel satisfied.

During class, if something is not working for you please don’t hesitate to let us know. We do expect you to listen to your body – notice the messages it is giving you – pay attention to signals it gives – if something feels wrong, don’t do it. If it hurts, ease off.

You don’t need to bring anything with you as we have all the equipment you need at the studio. However, feel free to bring your own if you prefer. We have a changing room and toilet but no shower facilities.

Try to arrive about 10 minutes before starting time. Please come in quietly, especially if you are running a little late.

Cash, EFTPOS, credit cards and PayPal are gratefully accepted.

Manage your own passes and bookings below.

Absolute Beginners 3 Week Course

See our timetable for times and dates

Have you always wanted to try Yoga but been a bit afraid to start?

Health Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is good for everyone – you don’t have to be young and flexible.
In fact the first thing most beginners say is “I’m really stiff”- so don’t worry, that’s why you need yoga!

A few other good reasons?

  • Regular yoga practice brings strength, toning and flexibility to your body and helps to ease the aches and pains that come from our less-than-ideal lifestyles

  • Many students find relief from back or joint problems, headaches and a variety of other physical ailments through yoga

  • Yoga can improve your circulation, your digestion and elimination and strengthen your immune system

  • It is widely accepted that gentle inversions (upside down poses) are helpful for balancing the hormonal system – especially good for women!

  • Yoga practice also teaches you how to relax deeply, enabling you to deal with stress more efficiently, to breath easier and to sleep better at night

  • After only a short period of consistent practice you will enjoy renewed vigour and energy both physical and mental

  • As you move deeper into your practice you will begin to feel uplifted by a new sense of balance and harmony in your life

Stress Management

The hectic pace of today’s world is taking a terrible toll on everyone’s health.
Stress is now recognised as the one common factor behind a multitude of diseases.

Yoga offers 2 distinct pathways to stress management:

  • The most specific practice to help relieve stress-related imbalances in both body and mind is Restorative Yoga. In this quiet gentle practice you will spend lots of time in comfortably supported poses simply breathing and stretching effortlessly until your body is completely relaxed. The deep relaxation of the body leads to a quietening of the mind and opens the opportunity for your body’s own healing mechanism to begin dealing with whatever problems exist. (For more see the Restorative page under Class Descriptions).

    This state of deep relaxation is also found (hopefully) at the end of every regular yoga class as we finish off each class with Savasana (Corpse Pose).

  • The less obvious pathway to stress management that we learn at yoga is a skill called svadhyaya – a Sanskrit word meaning self-study. Learning to observe the mind objectively is fundamental to treating anxiety.This art of self-study can allow you to observe physical, mental or emotional states in a neutral way. Svadhyaya can teach you how to observe an emotional state without being swept away by it.

    How? By watching for any stress in a particular pose you learn to note it, then pause before reacting. Watch where the stress goes in your body – the jaw? the neck?, the tummy? …. you learn to put yourself in an objective space in relationship to the thing that is making you anxious, and then choose how to respond.

    As you continue to practice, you begin to retrain your body and mind to create new responses to situations that would normally create anxiety. Instead of automatically stressing when a situation doesn’t go according to plan your reactions will become more conscious and more fluid. Less stress, less tension.

Tips for Beginners

It’s often difficult trying something different or going somewhere new

Perhaps you’ve never tried yoga before…or maybe you have…and the experience wasn’t what you were looking for.
Here at the Albany Yoga Room we want things to be different.
Every new student is welcomed very warmly and encouraged to work at their own pace. No pressure!
And if you come regularly for a while you will find yourself becoming part of a warm and welcoming group of friendly students – all happy to be there.

So, a few things you might like to know

  • If you arrive about 10 minutes early you will feel more relaxed when the class begins

  • Don’t eat a heavy meal for at least 2 hours before class

  • Tea and fruit a short while before class is fine, water after class is good

  • Wear clothes that can stretch – layers are good in case you get hot/cold

  • We practice barefoot

  • No need to book – just show up (except for Over-50’s or Mums & Babies)

  • Always tell the teacher before class if you have any injuries, back problems or joint problems

  • Also recent surgeries or medical issues such as high blood pressure

  • And remember – you are there to enjoy yourself. Don’t be competitive!

Looking for a great yoga class on Auckland’s North Shore?

We teach yoga classes seven days a week. Gentle, Iyengar, Flow, Pregnancy, Over 50’s, Beginners and general levels of Hatha yoga.

We hold regular courses for Restorative, Mums and Babies and Children’s yoga in addition to the Absolute Beginners Course below.

Absolute Beginners 3 Week Course

See our timetable for times and dates.

Have you always wanted to try Yoga but been a bit afraid to start?

Teachers at the Albany Yoga Room maintain a strong emphasis on the careful alignment of the body.

Arvinderfee

MEET OUR FRIENDLY TEAM
VIEW ALL OUR CLASSES AND COURSES HERE

“I started at Albany Yoga Room. It is such a heart warming experience right from the very beginning when you open the door to go in and you are greeted by a wonderful aromatherapy smell, then it’s shoes off and up the stairs to be welcomed always by the smiling face of a teacher. The quietness and calmness are really nourishing after a busy day and that’s without even starting on the yoga! For me, it is a real retreat from the outside world and a time to just focus on me and take care of myself – with no outside pressures. The teachers are really lovely and are all very supportive and encouraging and totally non-judgmental. I just love my ‘yoga time’ and can’t imagine life without it now.”

MORNY HILL