A Yogic Odyssey: The Ultimate Guide

Why on earth would someone pay money to do some simple stretching with so-called ‘meditation’ thrown in? To confirm my prejudice, about three years ago I went along to one […]


Why on earth would someone pay money to do some simple stretching with so-called ‘meditation’ thrown in? To confirm my prejudice, about three years ago I went along to one of the pre-season yoga sessions at the sports centre. But instead, to my chagrin, I learned that Yoga is in fact quite fantastic and have been doing it one to two times aweek ever since.

At its most basic level, Yoga is the use of breathing to deepen stretches and improve flexibility. However, Yoga extends far beyond this into developing balance, lung-capacity, core-strength, cardio, and even refining proprioception (whatever that means). Yoga is great, and the endorphin kick is at least as good (if not better) than running or going to the gym.

So where’s the stretch at in St Andrews? Here, I have compiled a complete guide for all those looking to get in to, or improve, their bending and breathing skills.

Sports Centre, all £3.20 

Claudia, Friday 17:00-18:00, Beginner 

This class only runs during term-time, so has actually now ceased until September. The class began with a long focus on breathing, including a great introduction of Ujjayi breathing and then some basic asanas (postures/positions) were introduced. I found this class a bit slow and basic but it provides a very good introduction, particularly for anyone who isn’t flexible to start with.

Gill, Wednesday 19:00-20:00, Beginner

Similar to the Friday class, a good introduction to Yoga. Fairly basic Hatha yoga class which does not assume any knowledge of asanas, so a good way to learn basic postures. But again, a bit too long spent in Savasana (breath control) for my tastes.

Keeligh, Monday 17:00-18:00, Intermediate

This class was a bit of a mix of Vinyasa and Hatha elements. Vinyasa flow classes walk a fine line between moving quickly, but also holding postures long enough to deepen the stretch. I would say this class errs slightly on the side of moving too quickly, but this does make it a bit more demanding in terms of cardio. Less explanation of the finer technique (foot spacing in Tadasana, etc.) so not the best class if you haven’t done any Yoga before.

Madira, Wednesday 13:00-14:00, Intermediate to Advanced

A vinyasa flow class, where basically you switch to a different posture every 3-5 second inhalation/exhalation. I think this class gets the timing right in terms of vinyasa flow, which can be hard. The teacher Madira is something of a legend and has a really good depth of knowledge concerning Yoga.

Madira, Thursday 11:00-12:00, Beginner to Intermediate

A good introduction to Hatha Yoga, in which most asanas are held for a long time, rather than rapidly cycled like in Vinyasa flow. In contrast to most Sports centre classes there were few students and a lot of old people. Not as cardio intensive as the vinyasa flow class, but really good stretching.

Madira, Friday 11:00-12:00, Intermediate

Actually not Yoga, but Yogalates, the megazord formed when Yoga and Pilates combine. This class basically takes common Yoga postures and adds in elements of Pilates Matwork. Things like leg lifts, abdominal crunches, etc. The only time I went to this class it was taught by a guest teacher, so it may be more or less physically demanding normally.

Madira, Friday, 12:00-13:00, Advanced

Billed as the only ‘intermediate’ Yoga class at the Sports Centre. This intermediate Hatha Yoga class is the best thing ever. Despite being Hatha yoga, the class tends to be fairly cardio intensive and is fairly demanding in terms of core strength, so I would definitely recommened it to the more advanced among us.

Town Hall, Rosalind Garton, £3.20, all classes Intermediate to Advanced. Tuesday 18:00-19:15,  Tuesday 20:00-21:15, Wednesday 17:00-18:15, Thursday 11:15-12:30.

This Hatha yoga class was interesting. There were some atypical poses, and the sun salutations were done in a slightly altered manner than the norm. The class seems to be a fairly static group of regulars, so less time is wasted on explanation and the teacher was also able to offer more personalized attention. The Town Hall is a really nice venue for this, is quite warm, and the evening classes get sunlight streaming in through the western windows at the right time of year.

All Saints Church Hall, Lori Leigh Davis, £4 Wednesday, 18:00-19:00, Intermediate

A vinyasa flow class run by Matsy Yoga. The class does a different focus each week, so the time I went it was all core twists. Good, standard class, mostly non-student participants. I was worried the church hall was going to be freezing but it was fine.

Freds Emporium, Caitlin Heavey, £8 Thursday, 10:00-11:00, Intermediate

I didn’t actually attend this class, because you can only book in fairly large blocks, with the next block running from the beginning of June for six weeks. The class is described as improver, “suitable for those with some yoga experience or those who are returning to yoga after illness or injury.” The classes are run out of the Pilates studio on South Street, so note that Caitlin offers eight other pilates sessions per week which can also be block booked, and one pay-as-you-go session on a Saturday morning. In comparison to the rest of Yoga in St Andrews, here you are paying a premium for smaller class sizes and more personal attention.

image ©Benjamin DeLong