Yoga Workshop with Howard Napper – A Review

Howard is so knowledgeable, yet so pleasantly unconventional in his outlook to – and teaching of – yoga.

He emphasised that everyone is built differently so it is better to accept your limitations and to practice what suits you. Use poses as a tool rather than feel you have to achieve the perfect posture.

Unless you take copious notes or have a flair for memorising advice, most of us would probably agree that it is not possible to remember all that you are taught in a day’s workshop. Here are just a few things that stayed in my little ol’ brain after this workshop.

“It is tension and compression which hold us back.
The breath is all important – breathe into any areas of tension and visualise the breath in these areas.”

“Our hips move in six different ways – we have the ability for forward and backward movement, for abduction and adduction and for internal and external rotation.” We explored all these movements with various postures.

“Try this as an alternative way of moving into Cobra posture – from Down Dog come onto your hands and knees, release your toes and move your hands one hand’s length forward. Tilt your pelvis under then taking the your weight into your hands let your vertebrae down very slowly one by one visualising the areas of the back as you lower – lumbar spine ..…. thoracic spine …… cervical spine and keeping your head tucked in at all times …..then let the shoulder girdle release back and down and allow the eyes to look forward rather than taking the whole head up.”