Yoga is such an amazing practice both physically and mentally.
We had the chance to attend a Flow with Anna yoga class and can we just say, we loved it.
Flow with Anna is run by the amazing instructor Anna Heffington who is a full-time yoga instructor. She has virtual yoga classes every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Anna's goal is to reach everyone, so if you are a beginner or have been doing yoga for a while, Flow with Anna is perfect for you!
We also had the chance to talk with Anna about her yoga practice and the different tips and benefits of yoga.
BENEFITS
Some great benefits of yoga can do reduce anxiety and depression, it helps your respiratory system and heart flow better, and to help your body become flexible, but some benefits can go deeper than that.
While talking to Anna, the main thing that she discovered for herself was that her mat is her sacred space. A lot of people don't really have a certain space that is just for them, especially if you live or share a space with someone else. I love that Anna mentioned this because in life, there will be a few things that you can call yours, but when you get out in the world (marriage, children, work), you are constantly sharing something with someone. Through yoga, as Anna said, you can make your mat your home and your sacred space as long as you can or would like.
A mat is something no one else can take away from you. Your mat is something you can take with you to different places to either practice yoga or meditate.
On the mental aspect, Anna said for her, yoga has helped her create a routine and consistency. "The more you stay consistent with yoga, the more benefits you will start to see."-Anna Heffington
Through my practice of yoga, I have learned about different benefits that have helped me in my practice including creating that sacred space Anna mentioned and also just letting my body flow and seeing where the poses take me mentally and physically. I love doing meditation throughout the day when needed because it helps me clear my mind and understand the ways I can use my breath.
I love how creative yoga can be. Yes, it is an exercise, but it is also an art form that gets your body moving in so many creative ways.
YOGA PRACTICES
For yoga flows, I love Vinyasa which is what Anna teaches along with Yin (restorative), and power yoga. If you don't know, Vinyasa is moving as one with your breath. It means you will be moving into different poses while using your breath with doing one movement with an inhale and another movement with an exhale.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I use to do Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube during quarantine (who I also like), but sometimes it can feel kind of repetitive and alone sometimes, but if you want something fresh and new with that community feel, Flow with Anna is a great option to feel safe and welcomed without having that feeling of being judged or not welcomed.
When I would take yoga classes in person at a local yoga studio in Jacksonville, I would always back down from poses that I could do because I would be too afraid that I would fall out of it and would get judged which limited my abilities and caused a setback. Being able to go to a class and let my body tell me what to do instead of stopping my body from doing what it could, made me feel great.
Taking a class with Anna gave me that feeling of empowerment and giving my body the freedom to grow.
- Azalea Brown
I’d like to bring another perspective to the table as someone who hasn’t really done yoga more than a handful of times. I definitely don’t have a yoga practice like Azalea does, but when she asked me if I’d be interested in taking a class with her and writing a blog post about our experience, I was in.
For the majority of our yoga class with Anna, I was just sitting on the mat listening because certain poses simply weren’t comfortable for me and I didn’t want to end up hurting myself. Even though I wasn’t doing much physically, I could still feel the mental benefits of taking that time out of my day to be present. I was basically meditating. I felt more relaxed than I have in a while after that class, and I didn’t feel bad about just sitting there because Anna kept reminding us that just being there was enough!
I was grateful that we had the opportunity to talk with Anna a couple days after our class. I asked her a few questions that may seem really simple to some people, but as someone who is new to yoga these were genuine questions I had. One big takeaway from that conversation was that you don’t necessarily have to get out of your head to do yoga. You actually want to be in your head. Yoga is something you do for yourself. It's meant to be a selfish practice. You can bring every part of yourself into your yoga practice.
Yoga can be whatever you need it to be FOR YOU. I may not have been doing the poses, but I was present. I had an awareness that some of those poses weren’t for me as a beginner. I’d try some, but if it was painful, I’d get out of it.
Some advice from Anna: “Find your edge, but don’t go past it”.
I definitely could have tried harder, but it’s not about that. It’s about taking away from it what YOU need... just taking the time out of your day to show up for yourself. This was my first time doing yoga in a long time. I honestly was sitting listening a lot of the time because with some of the poses I was worried that I’d get hurt, and by worrying I wasn’t present. I wanted to fully experience the class without my anxious thoughts controlling me.
It honestly sounds like I let them control me by not even trying some of the poses, but I actually felt more in control choosing not to do them. Like I said before, by not doing certain poses I had the ability to be more present and less worried about getting hurt.
A benefit of Anna’s classes being virtual is that you aren’t worried about anyone else in the room and can do whatever feels right to you without feeling judged. There’s no need to worry about being judged when no one can see you! If that is something that has kept you from yoga classes in the past, try out a Flow with Anna class!
Anna also mentioned that 90% of yoga is off your mat. It’s more of how you take the mindset you have on the mat out into the world. Learning this actually makes it easier to want to take another class because it isn’t about following along perfectly. It’s about learning to listen to your body and realizing only you know what’s best for you. As Anna said, “You are your best teacher.” So if you don’t want to do a certain pose, you don’t have to. You are allowed to be as selfish as you want on the mat because it is YOUR space!
And by being selfish on the mat, you discover that you have your own needs out in the world just as you do on the mat. With yoga, you learn that it's okay to put yourself first. Give it a try!
-Lindsay Brown
For those who have never done yoga before, Flow with Anna has some amazing classes for those anywhere in their yoga practice. For those beginners and those experienced, it is a great way to flow in a safe space.
If you would like some resources on yoga to help deepen your practice, Anna has shared some of her favorites which can be found on our resource page.
If you would like to follow or take a class with Anna, her links are below:
Instagram: @flow.with.anna
To view Flow with Anna's class schedule and to book a class, click here
Follow us on Instagram: @sustainabilities_
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