Yoga, Pilates and Ballet Classes
The Balance Rooms Yoga and Wellness Centre offers a variety of different styles of yoga, pilates and ballet classes so there is a class for each and every person of all ages and abilities
YOGA
Kristina and Liz, our two certified Yoga teachers, combine in their own authentic and passionate style almost all types of Yoga practices from a very Gentle Yoga Flow to an intense Power Flow. The wonderful Chantelle, former owner and founder of the Balance Rooms, has kept teaching here on our wide screen, all the way from Canada, with her communicative energy and unique style!
Yin Yoga: Yin yoga is a calm and slow form of yoga that focuses on the holding of poses for 3-5 minutes to achieve an extremely deep stretch of not just the muscles but also of the connective tissues. A typical yin yoga class won’t cycle through as many poses as a typical hatha or vinyasa class, but will focus on going deep within each pose, and the use of the breath to stay in the poses is an important part of these classes. You will leave this class feeling deeply relaxed out and ready for a good night's sleep! This class is accessible to all levels.
​​
Restorative Yoga: This class is the most relaxing practice, using blankets, bolsters and blocks to support you in a few different postures for long periods of time. Your muscles will stretch and relaxed softly. It ends with a guided mindfulness meditation and will leave you feeling supremely blissed, and much more limber! This class is accessible to all levels.
​
Gentle Yoga: Gentle yoga is aimed at those who enjoy moving through the asanas at a much slower pace. It also involves a greater focus on breath work and achieving a deep sense of calm both physically and spiritually. This is a great practice for those who don't necessarily want to feel as if they've had a workout but who want to connect with their body and their breath in a relaxing space. This class is accessible to all levels.
​
Beginners' Yoga: join us for an introduction to yoga, a flowing approach that links the breath to your movements while stretching the whole body through easy yoga poses and sun salutations. Yoga for beginners typically includes basic poses, breathwork, stretching and relaxation techniques at the end of the class. It will help you improve flexibility, balance, and overall well-being. This class is accessible to all levels.
Flow: Flow yoga, also known as Vinyasa yoga or dynamic yoga, focuses on connecting the breath to the movement, with emphasis on movement series like The Sun Salutation and the Warrior Series. A vinyasa class will leave you feeling energised and connected to your body and your breath. Some knowledge of yoga poses or asanas and breathing techniques is recommended to follow this class.
​
Flow and Yin: A 30 minutes energising yoga flow, followed by 30 minutes of deep stretches with longer holds, moving beyond muscular stretch into the connective tissue. This class will leave you feeling fully relaxed and restored, ready for bed. Step out of the studio on a little cloud of happiness.
​
Power Flow: Power flow yoga is a form of Vinyasa flow yoga and is quite a fast paced form of yoga, with emphasis on movement series like The Sun Salutation and the Warrior Series. A power flow class will leave you feeling energised and connected to your body and your breath, and you will know that you have had a workout! A great option for those with yoga experience or those who are already quite athletic. Some knowledge of yoga poses or asanas and breathing techniques is recommended to follow this class.
​
​
​3 SPECIFIC YOGA PRACTICES
​
Over 50's Gentle Chair Yoga: This is a 45 minute practice for those with limited mobility, where the practice is based in a chair. You will strengthen your body, stretch your muscles and connective tissues, and you'll have time to connect with your breath. This class is accessible to all levels.
​
Core and Restore Yoga: Join us for a soft yoga flow on your mat, followed by a full body workout to improve muscle tone, body alignment, flexibility and core strength as you would with a Pilates class. The Core and Restore Yoga ends with a lon stretch of the deep muscles and relaxation. This class is accessible to all levels.
​
HIIT Yoga: time to get really sweaty! Typical intense Vinyasa flow warm up followed by 24 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training), where we do 3 sets of 8 mins. Each exercise will be done for 30 seconds and then we will rest for 10 seconds. Class ends with long deep stretches and Savasana. This class is accessible to all levels.​
​
CHILDREN'S AND TEENS' CLASSES
​
Children's Yoga for 5-10 years-old: We all know how important it is to start good habits when we are young, and yoga has been shown to be extremely useful for school aged children. Our children's yoga class will be open to 5-10 year-olds, and parents are more than welcome to stay and sit on the sidelines. Physically, it will help your little one become stronger and more flexible, and mentally it will give them a sense of calm and a way of coping with stress. Unfortunate as it might be, stress in primary school students is on the rise, and yoga can give them an outlet for this stress. Children's classes are only £5 per class. Most of our young students follow Yoga and ballet classes on the Friday afternoon for a whole hour of fun relaxing imaginative activity!
​
Teen Yoga for 10-17 years-old: We all know how important it is to start good habits when we are young, and yoga has been shown to be extremely useful for school aged children. Our acro yoga class will be open to 10-17 year-olds, and will build upon what they have learned in children's yoga. Physically, it will help your little one become stronger and more flexible, and it will include inversions and arm balances, as well as deep stretches. Mentally it will give them a sense of calm and a way of coping with stress. Unfortunate as it might be, stress in primary school students is on the rise, and yoga can give them an outlet for this stress. Children's acro classes are very reasonably priced at £5 per class.
BALLET
​​Adèle, our certified ballet teacher from Paris, will teach with a friendly pedagogical approach so that all students can feel better at the end of the class, in their mind and in their body!
​
Ballet for complete beginners: This slow pace ballet foundation class will be best suited for complete beginners who wish to dance while learning the name of steps, still working on positioning, posture and alignement. Also called Silver Swan for the over 50's years-old dancers, the practice of ballet is recommended to help with mobility, posture and coordination and prevent early signs of dementia. You will be accompanied during your ballet practice by beautiful classical music. This class is accessible to all levels.
​
Beginners' Ballet: If you have always dreamed of getting back to ballet but was not sure that you could start again while already being adult, worry no more. This class is designed for beginners to learn and cement classical ballet movements and coordination, working at the barre and in the center with Pliés, Tendus, Adagio and little jumps. We work on specific movements depending on everyone's physical abilities and balance.
​
Intermediate Ballet:​​ The Intermediate ballet class is the perfect course for dancers who already have a good knowledge and application of classical ballet technique or dancers who have already completed at least a few months of the Beginners class. This class will bring more of a challenge in term of pace and complexity of movements. It requires strength and stamina for more complex Adagio, Allegro and diagonales combining pirouettes and faster steps. A great way to improve strength, flexibility and grace!
​
​3 SPECIFIC BALLET PRACTICES
​
Over 50's Gentle Chair Ballet: This 45 minute practice is perfect for ladies and gentlemen with limited mobility, or coming back from an injury, as the practice is based on a chair. Accompanied by beautiful classical music, you will strengthen your body, stretch your muscles and connective tissues, and work gracefully on your posture and musicality. This class is accessible to all levels.
​​
Core and Restore Ballet: Join us for a full body workout starting with a warm up standing up or seated on your mat, followed by some core/legs/glutes strengthening exercises, as you would in a Pilates class, but also working on ballet movements and coordination. Core and Restore Ballet ends with a long stretch of the deep muscles on some beautiful classical music and relaxation. This class is accessible to all levels.
​​
Floor Fitness and Stretching: Also called Floor Barre or Gentle Pilates, this class made on your mat will follow the same pattern as a classical ballet class at the barre, starting with warm up, legs, core and glutes exercises, then adding coordination between the upper and lower body to finish in a beautiful Adagio and a long stretching before reverence. From improving mobility and coordination, to core strenghening and legs flexibility, Floor Barre is the perfect class for the end of a long day!
​
CHILDREN'S AND TEENS' CLASSES
​
Children's Ballet for 5-10 years-old: We all know how important it is to start good habits when we are young, and ballet has been shown to be extremely useful for school aged children. Our children's ballet class will be open to 5-10 years-old, and parents are more than welcome to stay and sit on the sidelines. We start with a fun warm up following the Royal Ballet Technique, followed by 3 to 4 exercises at the barre, before working in the center on musicality, stage play, choreography ...
Your child will become stronger, more flexible, will learn to clap on the count with the other students and to be part of an ensemble of other happy dancers! Ballet is not about performances or having the perfect cou de pied. In Adèle's mind, it is more about having fun, sharing a moment all together, choosing a beautiful choreography to work on, achieving the goals you have set for yourself and doing the best that you can. Children's classes are only £5 per class. Most of our young students follow Yoga and ballet classes on the Friday afternoon for a whole hour of fun relaxing imaginative activity!
​
Teen Ballet for 10-17 year-olds: Announcement soon ...
PILATES
​
Pilates: Chantelle, our Pilates instructor from Canada, will teach a series of precise movements to work on core, legs and glutes strenghening while focusing also on breathing and alignment to stregthen and lengthen the body. Pilates uses slow, controlled and precise movements to strengthen the deep stabilising muscles found in the neck and shoulder, the spine and the pelvis. This is important because these deep muscles stabilise and support your spine. During Pilates classes, you will have the option to work with props like Yoga balls, weighted balls and magic circle.
​
Yoga Pilates Fusion: Chantelle is passionate about both her yoga practice and her pilates exercises, and it's about time that they were both available to clients in one class! Join Chantelle on her mat for some gentle yoga warm up, followed by pilates spinal alignment and core strengthening, all finished with some deep yogic stretches. Leave practice feeling stronger, more aligned, and more balanced, from the inside out!
​
Gentle Pilates: Taught by Adèle, this practice is designed at a slower pace than a regular Pilates class. It is still made to enhance and strengthen your entire core and work on alignment. Not only you will work on the front abdominals, but also the obliques, the side abdominals, the pelvis floor, and even the back, arms, legs and glutes. This practice will be entirely down on the mat, so no need to worry about getting up and down, and always with variations offered by our teacher depending on your abilities. We end the practice with a long stretch of the deep muscles on classical musics.
​
Over 50's Chair Strength and conditioning: Taught by Kristina, this 45 minutes class is targeted to build strength and balance in a safe and supportive environment. The majority of the class will be sitting down, and there will also be some standing up, with the support of the chair. We will use a wide variety of equipment, from weighted balls to magic circles, all to help your body become stronger.
​​