Foundations of Flow - beginners yoga series, with Stu Larsen

Join Stu Larsen for our next five-week, beginners yoga series at Kanuka Yoga Space.

This series is perfect for anyone brand new to yoga and wanting to learn more about the basics and how to get started with a new routine. Or, you might have an existing practice and are keen to come back to some of the basics, utilising your beginners mindset and strengthening your foundations.

Foundations of Flow

Beginners Yoga Series

Begins - Tuesday, 10th October

Time - Weekly, 7pm-8pm

Where - Kanuka Yoga Space

With - Stu Larsen

Use any Kanuka Yoga Pass

(excl Intro Offers)

Or, $120 for all five classes

Book Online

Or, email hello@kanukayoga.co.nz

Anyone with an existing Kanuka Yoga pass is able to attend (excl Intro Offers).

The series is aimed at preparing your body and mind for the regular weekly schedule.

New-comers welcome!

Our main intention is to encourage you to feel more empowered and safe in your body and mind. This is not about how flexible you are, how strong you are, how good/bad your balance is; we are practicing and exploring our choices in how we like to move, how we like to breath, and what works best for us as individuals; flexibility, strength and balance are positive outcomes that can happen naturally over time.

Yoga is a practice and a process and it often takes time to develop. We will combine healthy physical movements with interesting ideas on how you can make your practice suit your lifestyle.

This will be a fun, non-judgemental space where we can grow and learn from each other - open communication is more than welcome during the class.

About Stu

Stu was introduced to yoga as a teenager, and has maintained a regular practice since 2014. He completed his 200HR RYT in 2019 at RAW Yoga on the North Shore, and since has started his 300HR journey with Inspire.

Along with a love for mindful movements on the yoga mat, he loves outdoor adventure sports like surfing, snowboarding and multi-day hikes and his classes reflect his calm demeanour whilst bringing plenty of dynamic, energising physical movement to the class.

He really enjoys breaking down common myths about 'Yoga' and what is means to practice yoga in our modern world. He takes a practical approach, and uses a modern lens to ensure ideas and movements are suitable and accessible for everyone.

When he's not practising and teaching Yoga, he works full-time as a musician, playing as as a solo looping artist, in duos, bands and the occasional DJ set.

What To Expect?

Each class will follow a similar overall structure;

1. Arrive, class check-in and connecting with breath

2. Warm-up and move through shapes we've previously covered

3. Adding in new shapes and new learnings

4. Wind down with a closing sequence

5. Ending with Savasana or seated meditation

Breath will be a key component of each class (I haven't mentioned it in weekly outline below, but it will be at the forefront of each class).

It's important to understand that everyone has a very unique body type and bone structure. What is easy for one person, might be near impossible for another. Therefore, our intention is to provide you with enough options to explore that you can make the right choice for your unique body in each posture.

Stu will use the elements to help structure and guide the theme of each week:

Week 1 - Earth - Ground Yourself and Stabilise

Learn about Sun Salutations; a fundamental yoga sequence, why this is used in yoga and how you can modify this to suit your body.

Take time to explore different shapes in this sequence a little further, and using Earth as our theme we can think about our connection down to earth, how to ground ourselves and stabilise ourselves in different shapes.

Winding down class with a short beginners guide to meditation and how you can use this in your Yoga practice.

Week 2 - Water - Move with Fluidity and Creativity

We'll move through our shapes we covered the week earlier, and add in new postures like Warrior 2, Triangle, Side Angle and Pyramid. Again, taking extra time in these new shapes to discover how they feel for your body, how to modify the shapes, how to use props to support you and different ways to explore the same shape.

Using our theme of Water, we can think about moving with more fluidity in the body; having permission to release the idea of 'what things should look like', and what feels best in the moment. For example, less rigidity in shapes, and breathing and practising and open mind for the Water element to flow freely.

Week 3 - Fire - Cultivate Your Inner Fire

After our warm-up sequence, and going through some shapes already covered, we'll look at some standing balances which will test your focus in a playful way.

Using props and modifications to support the shapes, learn how what 'inner fire' could mean to you in a yoga practice. Stu will share ideas and thoughts for contemplation and you can take in what you like, and leave the rest!

Week 4 - Air - Open Your Heart, Trust Your Intuition

This week is themed around the Air element, which is closely associated with the heart space. So, we can learn more about heart openers and back extensions in a Yoga practice and how to safely navigate through these shapes in a regular class environment.

Week 5 - Ether - The Spaces In-Between; Bring It All Together

This week we'll move through a Vinyasa style class bringing together all the elements we've learnt in the previous weeks. For example, warming up the body and building some internal heat, moving through shapes you know and are now familiar with, testing your focus with some standing balance shapes, and slowly making our way back to earth to integrate the practice and find time for a meditation and relaxation.

This series will prepare your body and mind for regular weekly classes either at Kanuka Yoga, or at another studio of your choice. Or, it will help you become more familiar with Yoga if you decide to ever drop in to a casual class somewhere =)

If you have any questions for Stu ahead of time, please reach out us on our social channels, or over email - hello@kanukayoga.co.nz

We look forward to sharing space with you soon.

Thanks for practicing with us.

Kindly,