Tuesday 26th June - 6pm
Yogasana class with Arianna Stantucci
60mins of a dynamic Vinyasa flow. Linking Breath & Movement, mixing traditional and modern Yoga to some great tunes. All levels welcome.
Thursday 28th June - 6pm
HIIT class with Peter Mac
This HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session will push you to the limits in 30 minutes, giving you the best workout for your body. Through muscle toning and cardio, the class creates long lean muscle mass while burning fat, with rapid results. All levels welcome.
Friday 29th June - 6pm
Fierce Grace yoga class with Michael Eley
Hip openers, deep twists, upper body strengtheners, this fully rounded workout works 100% of the body. This unique class is a combination of Hatha, Power and Ashtanga yoga, Interval and Core Training and offers peak fitness, strength, flexibility and relaxation. All levels welcome.
Each class is just £5 with all proceeds going to Barnardo’s Children’s Charity. Space is limited so book your spot now...
*Please Note: All classes will take place outside and as such all events are weather permitting.
If the class you're wanting to book is fully sold out, please email ldnevents@landsec.com to register your details on their waiting list.
Don't forget to come workout ready, bring your water bottle (sustainable of course 😉) and your ticket information either on your phone or printed out.
To stay up to date with the latest action from Wimbledon Workout Week, follow the hashtags #Yogangster #WimbledonWorkoutWeek & #GreatBritSummer
We’ll be popping-up from May 22nd - 27th with all the latest collections & one or two exclusive pieces. We're also excited to be working with some of our favourite accessory brands, Chilly's Bottles & Liforme so you'll be head to toe yoga ready!
Plus on Thursday 24th our main man Goldie will be joining us for a one night only live set! Also joining us on the decks will be the talented Jonny Miller!
Whether you’re a yogi, drum and bass fan or both it’s not to be missed!
Shop Opening Hours
Tuesday: 11am - 7pm
Wednesday: 11am - 7pm
Thursday: 11am - 9pm
Friday: 11am - 7pm
Saturday: 11am - 7pm
Sunday: 12pm - 6pm
BOXPARK Shoreditch
2-10 Bethnal Green Road
E1 6GY
You can also pick up some Raw Living favourites in store, including Kate's Magic Mix and yummy vegan chocolate. Plus pimp your breakfast bowl with Granola for Gangsters delicious granola, now also available!
Shop Opening Hours
Monday: 10am - 6pm
Tuesday: 10am - 6pm
Wednesday: 10am - 6pm
Thursday: 10am - 6pm
Friday: 10am - 6pm
Saturday: 12pm - 5pm
Sunday: Closed
Yogangster Radio Schedule
If your not in London don't fret, you can listen online, worldwide!
Kicking off our series of events this month is Kate Magic founder of Raw Living. She took over the 4 To The Floor show to talk about all things yoga and the role that healthy eating, and particularly superfoods can play in supporting our yoga practice and helping us develop to become stronger yogis.
In case you missed it... CLICK HERE
https://www.mixcloud.com/
Fierce Grace Yoga teacher Sorcha Finch-Murray gives the Free Seed team an insight into the world of yoga!
In case you missed it... CLICK HERE
https://www.mixcloud.com/
William Sitwell talks all this tea with Tea India's Lisa Worthington.
In case you missed it... CLICK HERE
tps://www.mixcloud.com/
Yoga with Michelle Varchione
Why not have a go yourself and follow along at home, video coming soon.
Upcoming shows...
Sunday 28th - 10am
Tune into the culture channel for some morning meditation with Megan Grey-Hues & Lisa Vickery. Listen here...
http://
Tuesday 30th - 9am - 10am
Granola for Gangsters founder Sarah Napier will be telling William Sitwell how to pimp his breakfast bowl.
Wednesday 31st - 9am - 10am
Calum Best will be chatting with Kelly Ford about Best Me Life plus playing some of his favourite tracks.
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Yogangster Class & Workshop Timetable
Friday 20th October
Flow with Elisa Devlin
1pm - 1.30pm
With 10,000 hours teaching experience and a degree in Maharishi Vedic Science, you are in good hands. A sound knowledge of anatomy, and a creative and continuously evolving sequencing, Elisa adopts a no nonsense approach to the physical training. Class style is precise, steady, dynamic, power flow. Learn to intelligently connect mind and body. Expect speedy progress, Yoga training with Elisa is guaranteed to elevate, connect and inspire.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
Dynamic Vinyasa Krama with Ahmed Zambarakji
2.30pm - 3pm
‘Vinyasa’ is the art of mindful movement. ‘Krama’ is often translated as ‘in stages’. In Vinyasa Krama, we move step by step into the final expression of the posture using your ujjayi breath as a guide.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
Hippy Arm Balances with Michael Eley
3pm - 4.30pm
A lot of the time balancing on your hands isn't just about how strong your arms and shoulders are, but about how easily you can move the rest of your body, in particular your hips! Through vinyasa-krama, pranayama and dharana, this workshop will work on both, hip opening and hand balancing.
All Levels Welcome
Workshop Tickets - £10
Sacred Geometry Vinyasa with Benjamin Sears and Goldie
6pm - 9pm
A Benjamin Sears signature, this practice shows how the body is its own measure in yoga and how the forms of asana calibrate us all towards a balanced and universal expression of self. A complete practice that will challenge all yogis to hold space holistically and express themselves physically to the beats of DJ Goldie.
All Levels Welcome
Workshop Tickets - £20
Saturday 21st October
Yogasana with Sindy Haque
1.45pm - 2.15pm
A high energy flow class with music and adjustments that will leave you feeling rejuvenated and connected with your inner self.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
HITT with Celebrity Trainer Peter Mac
3.15pm - 3.45pm
Join celebrity trainer and yoga enthusiast PMac for 30 minutes of high intensity timed training learning new tools to work your core, building strength and flexibility to support your yoga practice.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
Inner City Strife with Stewart Gilchrist
3.45pm - 5.45pm (Includes a 30 minute Q&A after 90 minute class)
The workshop explores the recent revolution in the last 100 years of modern yoga and the need to maintain the parampara (lineage) of the teachers. As the main yoga text The Mahabarata explains yoga is found from practising the balancing of opposites, dwandas. In our current mega-media urban existence this becomes a discipline in itself. Using asana, meditation, pranayama, mantra the yogi can find that balance wherever, whenever!
All Levels Welcome
Workshop Tickets - £20
Sunday 22nd October
HITT with Celebrity Trainer Peter Mac
11.30am - 12.00pm
Join celebrity trainer and yoga enthusiast PMac for 30 minutes of high intensity timed training learning new tools to work your core, building strength and flexibility to support your yoga practice.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
Rocket Yoga with Leon London
12.15pm - 1.45pm
This fun workshop will move through the rocket journey, stopping off at various points and looking at some of the more challenging poses. A rolling flow of inversions, arm balances and floating set to an urban soundtrack! Expect to work hard, sweat hard and surprise yourself along the way!
All Levels Welcome
Workshop Tickets - £10
Mindolistic with Megan Grace-Hughes
1.45pm - 2.15pm
A little holiday from your every day mind combining elements of Mindfulness, guided meditation and hypnotherapy. A session of pure chillness to leave you refreshed and rejuvenated.
All Levels Welcome
Open Class - Free
Book Tickets Here - OM Yoga Show
September 23rd | 7.30AM - 4.30PM
Victoria Park, London
It promises to be a jam-packed day kicking off with a triathlon unlike any other...
5K RUN
This is a 5K your way, so don't sweat it! Or do. Run or walk, prance or skip, stroll or strut - we don't mind. Just make it to the finish line.
YOGA
90 minutes of yoga flow with music to get you moving. That's the Wanderlust way. Whether it's your first or 500th time on the mat, you'll find your rhythm.
MEDITATION
Get your sit together. A 30-minute guided meditation will clear your mind, relax your body and complete the mindful triathlon.
Following the triathlon there's plenty more fun to be had with a choice of classes ranging from hula hooping to acro yoga, there's something for everyone!
Get refuelled with some of the delicious food available at the Kula market, there's everything from veggie burgers to ramen. And of course don't forget to come and visit us Yogangsters where you can pick the latest YG kit!
Book Tickets Here - Wanderlust London
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The Yogangster T-shirt worn by Goldie is available online now in either black or white...
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I have been practicing Bikram yoga for nearly three years now and I am still very much in love with it. I have been doing yoga since 1991, and I think I have tried most forms of yoga, but for me, Bikram takes it to a whole other level.
I believe raw foods and Bikram yoga are two very complimentary practices. The heat is really good for a raw body that may tend to get chilly, and both practices are about committing to a pure and disciplined relationship to the body so we can experience them as an amazing and wonderful vehicle to live in.
Through Bikram, I’ve learnt so much about my body and my relationship to it. And of course, I’ve also learnt a lot about which raw foods and superfoods are the best for peak physical performance and intense workout regimes, and that’s what I want to share with you here. Currently, I practice Bikram three or four times a week, and I find that’s enough to keep me in shape without over-exerting myself. To do classes every day is an enormous strain on the body, and I do wonder how people do that without taking proper care of their diets.
So here are my top tips for a raw vegan Bikram practice, and indeed any form of strenuous workout.
Remember with the superfoods that usually I advise small doses, but if you’re burning it off all the time, you can take a bit more. Keep stepping the dosage up until you find your level. You can’t overdose on superfoods; what you can do is take too much and set off a detox reaction, but if your body needs all those minerals, vitamins and amino acids, you’re going to feel absolutely wonderful when you give it what it’s asking for in such a pure and easy to digest form as the above superfoods.
Kate Magic is the UK’s leading raw food author. Check her out at rawliving.eu and katesmagicbubble.com.
]]>The whole article is still archived on the Evening Standard website
]]>In recent years there has been a large influx of yoga enthusiasts and practitioners nationwide. These days you can find a yoga class almost anywhere, from your classic yoga studios to local libraries and YMCAs. Even fitness chains have started to catch on, with many of them offering a wide range of yoga classes as an added benefit to their members.
The fact is, yoga is everywhere!
There are many benefits in maintaining a consistent yoga practice. Yoga has been shown to relieve stress, enhance mental focus, improve posture, improve mood and increase flexibility. With all of the life changing advantages of yoga, there is one question that remains: Where are all of the male yogis?
Read the rest of the article on the Huff Post Healthy Living pages.
Find out more about Quentin Vennue
]]>Bikram yoga has been such an eye-opener for me these last two years. When I first began I thought to myself this is so tough, why have I chosen what could be one of the hardest, and perhaps most intense, of all the yoga practices. Bikram yoga is based upon Hatha yoga.
When I’m in that hot room, in that space with lots of people all trying their best to work themselves out it is so interesting. You find all different shapes and sizes of people. It is pleasantly surprising how flexible the human body can be!
I found pray posture a very hard position to attain, but it goes to show that some of the easier postures can be hard going, which to be honest is a kind of analogy, as I always find simple things hard and complex things easy!
Thinking back to when I first began yoga it entailed some overwhelming experiences and to this day it really never ceases to amaze me. For everyone starting yoga, myself included, the first three months are the hardest, dealing with heat, the intensity, but also dealing with the ego. The main enemy for anybody in a baking hot yoga room and in general life is our ego – how to manage it and how it transcends. Being in that environment with likeminded people, for me, was a safe haven from the very start. Six months into doing yoga I started to feel the changes. One of the main benefits for me was the internal and psychological effect of it clearing out my mind and defining my thoughts. Most artists or alchemists get really complicated, complex thought processes, which for me with doing my music and art, I felt that yoga levelled it all out, put my thoughts and feelings onto an open playing field so to speak. This most definitely spills out into my daily life – I have a little more patience, a little more time to be not so self absorbed. A great aspect of yoga is that you can take the practices out of the room with you afterward.
My main inspirations during this time were Paul Dobson, Alexis and Cindy from Sohot Yoga in Soho. I met Paul very early on anmd we would discuss the benefits of yoga. Having Paul as a yogi, teaching all of us, was very hardcore, he is a tough guy in the way that he guides and operates, alongside Alexis and Cindy. They do get the absolute best out of you though, they know what you need to do to improve.
I spent the best part of the first year getting to grips with the standing head to knee posture, which I now think is my best one – its also one of the toughest to attain! It is a lesson to myself that when I accomplished this posture I had a kind of ‘eureka!’ moment, thinking “oh! okay! You got there now!” and realised that it is not about getting the hardest posture really good, it is actually about spreading energy across that hour and a half and about focussing and attainting all of the postures equally. Some days you will achieve the postures very easily, others they will not be as good.
For those reading that do not know, Bikram yoga takes place in a room heated to 115 degrees for one and a half hours. There are twenty-six postures and you start with a breathing posture and finish with a breathing posture. Over the last two years the postures have changed for me. The advances happen very, very slowly. The best way for me to describe it is it’s a bit like watching a black and white photograph change into colour over a period of time, which if you only came for three months, wouldn’t be as bright and would start to fade. You see the best results after at least a year of attendance and then bam! – the changes are astounding!
Weight loss is a big factor in yoga and from when I first started to now I have lost around 25lbs in weight, which is a considerable amount. I have also fasted four times, I find it really helps. I fast perhaps every six months, and for anyone starting yoga I thoroughly recommend this clear out. The Lemon Detox Diet uses a mix of of maple syrup, brown sugar, lemon and cayenne pepper, and you can find a lot of information about this online. This helps to sort of re-wire my dietary needs, for example when you have a workout in the gym you can come out craving high energy foods or perhaps say you are on a calorie controlled diet you may find yourself wanting all those high fat, high calorie things, the Lemon Detox Diet resets your body’s way of needing foods. I found using this alongisde participating in yoga has been really, really fruitful. Quite literally with all the lemons ha ha!
One of the stabilisers in my life has been having Sohot Yoga, which is based on Balsover Street, with another branch based in Victoria. I feel it has been a sort of safe haven, somewhere I do not have to talk or communicate with anyone, all I have to face is myself and my inner demons and to be honest that has been quite an unbelievable process. The high heat certainly attributes to that, it brings forth so many emotions that were perhaps buried within. You wouldn’t get that in the gym! When you are in session the first half an hour is getting your body warmed up and then suddenly all of these emotions fly forth. Things from your past can hit you or you find yourself thinking ahead to the future. Every now and then you will hear a yoga teacher say “stay in the room, you are in the present” – being in the present is one of the greatest gifts, hence it being called a present! I found that being in that room at first facing past issues became incredibly intense at some moments and I felt the need to sit out of a few postures. Even now two years later I may sit out of a posture, because what I could do yesterday does not necessarily mean I can achieve it today. Sometimes I would think “how the hell can I not do that?!” but it may be that you have emotional things going on or simply that your body may be tired.
Yoga comes from an emotional level sometimes, but we need to remember that it is actually a medicinal practice originating in India. The founder, Bikram Choudhury, was a weightlifter who sustained an injury that crushed and destroyed his knee. His doctors said that he would never be able to compete again, let alone even walk properly. Lo and behold a yogi made contact with him in India and he began to practice everyday in the searing heat. This rehabilitated his injured knee and leg. He had the idea to take this form of practicing yoga in the heat to the Western World in the form of heated rooms as it helps you gain maximum flexibility. There were the foundations of Bikram yoga. This is only a very small amount of information on this and Wikipedia has a very indepth article regarding his background and beginnings.
When I came into the yoga world it was completley new and different to me. One of the greatest things was being able to meet Bikram Choudhury alongside a few of the other teachers when they came to London. Believe me when I say he is mad – as mad as a hatter, but a really, truly inspirational guru, one of those people who make you feel overwhelmed a kind of ‘wow!’. Who would’ve thought that I, Goldie, a bad boy from Wolverhampton, with everything I have been through from childhood to the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll – or rather drum ‘n’ bass, would be doing yoga! I honestly never thought that I would find anything that would improve my life in such a positive way. Its really quite funny and surreal all at once!
One of the things about this branch of yoga is that it can be practiced anywhere in the world because it has a philosophy – the practice is the same everywhere you go. I can be on tour in New York, Sydney, New Zealand, absolutely anywhere, and I can find a Bikram centre where I can go and practice exactly the same 26 postures, the same dialog and its amazing that I can do that. Just recently I was in New York where I practiced and was taught by Amanda Basinger, an incredible opportunity and experience as she is also the New York champion. To become a teacher and open a Bikram centre you have to attend a rigourous teacher training programme in Los Angeles for eight weeks, practicing twice a day which for me would be a dream to do and something I want to pursue by the end of this year. To have, let’s say, the kahunas to go and do that would an amazing achievement for me. I think that for the rest of this year though its all about practising. I have seen friends who attended with me in Soho, Nicky Copsey and Beth become teachers right under my very eyes and it has made me stop and think wow! It is so uplifting to see people you know take that leap. They are now doing fantastic lessons which I sometimes attend. It is very uplifting being taught by people you started off practicing with. The thing that I love about yoga is that the yogis still practice religiously – they really take the time to keep it up. One morning you may go into a session to find five teachers all practicing together! It really made me laugh when I saw one of Nicky Copsey’s tweets saying “I cant believe it! I have five teachers in my class from my 10am, oh my God! I had better get my ‘A’ game on!!” I really did find that hilarious!
It is a beautiful thing, I guess, that all of the work I have done in the last two years has been driven by yoga. My wife has also been a massive source of encouragement in supporting me. I will always remember David Bowie saying to me that it is important to acknowledge what rebirth is – a re-invention. I never understood at the time but over the years I have gained a definite perspective of it. I like to reinvent myself, as many of my fans and supporters will have seen over the years. Yoga has certainly changed and helped to ‘rebirth’ me – I am making a new album, my single is out this week, the video is done and I’m working on my many art projects. At the moment im working on some really, really beautiful things.
I went through a very dark period in my life about sixteen eyars ago, just as I was at the top of my game. I got married, then had a really nasty divorce, lost everything and that had an awful water skiing accident where I sustained a spiral fracture of the left femur which completley destroyed my leg – thinking of it that reminds me of Bikram himself?! – I was down and out, drinking every night, getting off of my head trying to forget all the rubbish surrounding me. I spent a long time trying to find myself with no luck. Things started looking up when i met my wife Mika and reconnected with some old friends, including Michael Copperman. I remember seeing him and sayin “Man why are you so bloody zen?!” to which he replied “Bikram baby!”. I remember being a bit dismissive until he suggested I joined him for a practice session. I started going every week and then suddenly once a week became twice, which in turn became three times a week, four times a week and eventually five days per week! I now average four days per week. For any of you thinking of making a bit of a life change or even just improving general health and fitness believe me when i say it becomes a game changer too! It has been an amazing, beautiful, at times hard even, experience. The people I have met through yoga have been inspiring.
I want to make it clear that you should give Bikram yoga, at the very least, three months of attendance, because once you start practising and take that energy away with you will understand the impact it has upon your daily life. When I wake up now I am so thankful for being alive, energised, fit, well, healthy and getting the things I need to do done! I have become a sort of a monster in all honesty, but im grateful for that! I am 46, turning 47 this year and I am in better shape than I was aged 30. I can breathe better, I sleep like a baby, I eat healthy, I feel absolutely amazing!
A friend got in touch with me, a guy called Kevin McGregor, after he saw an article in The Observer about yoga. He works for the Bikram Yoga Federation. He is a great guy, he loves music. He came out with me to one of my gigs and stayed for about four hours and we decided to go on a practice session the next day even though we were a little worse for wear, but we did it and it was fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, I still go out and I may have the odd tipple, perhaps a glass of wine – (or two!) every now and then, I mean come on its yoga and i’m not the Dalai Lama alright?! Everything in yoga is about having a balance and that in turn helps to equalise everything within your life.
I have seen my whole life change doing this. Not only have my needs changed but my body has, my attitude has, my entire outlook on life has and I want to attend practice sessions. This is an amazing, ongoing journey.
Well this has been an introduction and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading it! Watch this space!
Peace
Goldie
NB: I would like to take the chance to thank Bill Thwaites, Elaine Ruddock and Lorraine Bell at Sohot Yoga who have turned my life around and made it fantastic. Thanks to you guys it is now bright and rainbow filled if you like! They are my Bikram family who help me practice and took me under their wings. I have genuinely felt the love. This is now about me going out there and spreading the love for all of you. Thank you so much for everything.
I would also like to thank Paul Dobson who has been as hard as nails and kept me on the straight and narrow so to speak!
Also a big thank you to Cindy and Alexis, who I sometimes wanted to scream at ha ha!
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To coincide with the release of the retrospective album 'Alchemist' featuring all of his most well know tracks and some underground gems Goldie speaks to BBC Breakfast about how Yoga has changed his life following a water skiing accident.
Watch the interview over on the BBC News website.
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