Yoga classes in India

The ancient art of yoga combines relaxation and breathing techniques with physical exercises (or postures) that can greatly improve fitness, strength and suppleness. Practiced properly, it can be the ultimate way to de-stress and focus the mind after a day on placement at the same time as burning off a few calories.

The classes

To make participating as convenient as possible, we offer daily yoga classes exclusively for our students without you having to leave the Work the World house. Sessions are held on our open-air roof terraces from Monday to Friday in the late afternoon as the sun begins to set. This avoids the fierce heat of the day and fits in comfortably after placements have finished but before dinner.

One of the great things about yoga is that it is perfectly suited to mixed ability classes, and it's quite normal to have complete beginners practicing alongside those who are much more advanced. This works because each of the postures can be developed and as you gain more flexibility you can push harder, further and lower!

Participating in a one-hour session five times a week, most people notice a definite improvement in the first few weeks. So even if you've never done anything like yoga before, this is a great opportunity to try it out and perhaps continue with classes when you return home.

“The yoga sessions at the house are really good fun, and definitely a good work out. We do a full session involving a warm up, sun salutations and lots of different positions to do/at least attempt. Our teacher is really friendly and a very good teacher, and everyone noticed how much they improved over the time we were there! I felt so relaxed afterward each class that I was chilled out for the rest of the night!”

Sarah Holborow, Medical Elective, July – Sept 2008

Our yoga masters

Like any strenuous activity, yoga can be dangerous if you don't have the right guidance and supervision. Our regular teacher, Ms Manjusa, is a highly respected Yoga Master from one of southern Kerala's top institutes and has been teaching beginner to advanced classes for many years. She's a great teacher, and some of the positions he is able to get his body into make the mind boggle!

How to join in

You can sign up for the classes either when you book your main placement or at any time up until you go out to India – just email or give us a call. Whichever one of our houses you're allocated to, we'll make sure you can join classes there from the first weekday after you arrive (or as soon after that as you want to start).

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