When: Wed 18 dec, 20h-21h
The boxing club in Crouch End is apparently the place where it all started: Matt Garcia, a senior coach, started wondering why yoga was so unpopular with boxers. Determined to change this, he created the very first boxing yoga series, utilising his boxing knowledge in combination with professional dancer (and daughter of an Astanga’s teacher) Kajza's yoga experience, to develop a yoga work-out that specifically addressess the needs of boxers.
I am lucky enough to get a very special treat. 'Everyone seems to be already on holiday', Kikki, my teacher says. She is lovely, very friendly. I ask her about her background: 'Martial arts', she answers, but she has practised Astanga and hot yoga too. She completed her boxing yoga TT last October and is one of only five qualified teachers. 'But they are planning to do more TT to get more teachers on the ground, we have so many requests for classes'. I am told boxing yoga classes are equally popular across gender and that at last 'guys have a class that is strong enough for them, to make it accessible to men'. We agree that yoga can be very physically challenging nevertheless, and that there is more to it than fitness. With such a premise I got a bit intimidated, especially given I was the only student so there was nowhere to hide...still, we get going.
The series comprises a number of set modules and lasts 60m. I am told there is an advanced series too, but not currently taught yet. Postures are repeated twice, echoing Bikram's approach, and no props are used.
We start standing. No sanskrit, no breath calls. It gets better: in boxing yoga, clenched fists in guard is the new Anjali mudra. the class kind of flows in an unusual way, and admittedly, a couple of modules are very gracious: from standing to floor to standing to floor to balancing on one leg to floor again. It is actually seriously hard, full on core stuff (an insane number of plank and side plank in a number of variations), heavy on twists, good hip and spine alignment, no jumping, no inversions other than downward dog. I have had a lot of attention from my teacher, which probably resulted in quite an intense class. I am sure she is following the script, but hers seems just a series of instructions. And I appreciated her focus and effort but her spotting is quite destabilising. Anyway, the class is very dense, probably as there is no proper winding down here...to give you an idea, the last posture is warrior 3, practiced twice. Before a 60 second savana I only get a very short finishing sequence comprising hamstring strech followed by spinal twist and hip strech. 'It is so nice to teach to someone who practices yoga and have such a lovely downward dog', lovely Kikki comments at the end. 'And you are quite strong, too'. Good to know.
The series comprises a number of set modules and lasts 60m. I am told there is an advanced series too, but not currently taught yet. Postures are repeated twice, echoing Bikram's approach, and no props are used.
We start standing. No sanskrit, no breath calls. It gets better: in boxing yoga, clenched fists in guard is the new Anjali mudra. the class kind of flows in an unusual way, and admittedly, a couple of modules are very gracious: from standing to floor to standing to floor to balancing on one leg to floor again. It is actually seriously hard, full on core stuff (an insane number of plank and side plank in a number of variations), heavy on twists, good hip and spine alignment, no jumping, no inversions other than downward dog. I have had a lot of attention from my teacher, which probably resulted in quite an intense class. I am sure she is following the script, but hers seems just a series of instructions. And I appreciated her focus and effort but her spotting is quite destabilising. Anyway, the class is very dense, probably as there is no proper winding down here...to give you an idea, the last posture is warrior 3, practiced twice. Before a 60 second savana I only get a very short finishing sequence comprising hamstring strech followed by spinal twist and hip strech. 'It is so nice to teach to someone who practices yoga and have such a lovely downward dog', lovely Kikki comments at the end. 'And you are quite strong, too'. Good to know.
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