They are currently located in Kensal Rise (NW10) and the centre is donation based only. At the beginning of class, as you sign you in, you can give any donation you wish to make. The funds raised support the provision of yoga therapy for adults and children with special needs (Special Yoga).
All yoga teachers are volunteers and passionately teach with the objective to make yoga more accessible in the community, as well as support the selected charities and causes. They schedule include quite a comprehensive offering in terms of styles and levels and they seem to be in expansion.
There is such a good vibe in this place. It is very spacious and well organised. As I check in for my first time, a lovely girl at the reception welcomes me and guides me through the basics. My class today is held in the main of three studios, a wonderful room with wooden floors and high ceilings and plenty of mats and props.
As I make my way in, James Giuseppe, the teacher, smiles and introduces himself. After a few years living abroad, he recently came back to the UK and got involved with this project. I ask him about his background: Iyengar, Sivananda, Vinyasa, Astanga. 'But you should know what I think about the physical practice', he says. 'This is only a mean to aptly prepare for meditation'. I am so pleased to hear it that I cannot resist but comment 'Well, guess we come from the same school'.
The class is 1h 45m long and is a solid, well rounded and heartfelt practice which encompasses meditation, asana and relaxation. He is a very experienced teacher, and this becomes evident from the very beginning of the class. His sequence is well designed and balanced, his instructions are very precise, his cues extremely accurate, his philosophy and anatomy references clear and accessible. There is only 7 of us, a mix of regulars and newcomers, and James treat all of us equally, proposing variations and providing adjustments to all - and yes, he remembers all of our names!
This is not fast food yoga, this is not a fashionably labelled session: this is just a great yoga class for everyone.
I am glad I have found Urbanananda: unpretentious, genuine, authentic: this is a great home to practice yoga and the kind of place I would love to go back to. I only wonder whether there are more places like Urbananda and why it took me so long to get there.
No comments:
Post a Comment