Om Yoga Show - Saturday 21st of October 2017

Om Yoga Show 2017 🙏

On Saturday the 21st of October I visited Alexandra Palace to attend the Om Yoga show and Mind Body Soul experience:

"From absolute beginners to the most die-hard yogis, there really is something for everyone at the OM Yoga Show London. This is the largest yoga gathering of its kind in Europe, and it’s a weekend not to be missed!"

I won tickets to the 3 days event through a competition on Facebook, which I extremely pleased about. This competition meant I could attend the event and I had also won a free yoga mat! I knew I wouldn't be able to make Friday because of work but I was eager to attend the Saturday show.

I flicked through the programme and chose some events I would like to go to, some were lectures and some were free yoga classes. There were multiple areas dedicated to yoga classes, one run by Pukka, More Yoga, Tea India and much more. They varied in level and subject, some of the classes were dedicated to yoga teachers to help them develop their craft and skills for teaching. 

I entered the palace with my bf, dressed in my lycra pants and large jumper ready for the free yoga classes. I used to do yoga every day, but in the past year, I haven't done a lot which is a real shame. So I was extremely anxious about doing a class in front of people...

I made porridge before I left but I only ate a couple of spoonfuls as I was terrified of letting out gas during the yoga sessions...hey, that's life. 

As we walked in their was a queue on both sides where you grabbed a paper bag and filled it with free goodies, I got some dairy-free chocolate made by Adam, A yogi shower gel, some Itsu seaweed and some chai tea (my favourite). The day was off to a good start.

<-----Delicious 😈

I had pencilled in a lecture that was happening at 11.15- 11.45am that was called 'Our greatest healing power - the Hara, our core and gut' with Janie Lamour. We wandered around a bit and then surveyed the map for the lecture booth. We arrived 10 minutes early and got ourselves some seats near the front of the stage. When she started she focused on the Hara, The Hara is located at the navel, about two inches inwards from the skin and it literally means 'sea of energy'. 

Janie told us that a lot of people store their energy in the upper part of their bodies, their shoulders, neck, chest etc. but your energy should be contained in the lower part of your body 'The Hara'. 

When you breathe deeply you should be inhaling from the lower part of your body and letting your belly expand and retract. A lot of people suck in to try and give the illusion of being slim but by doing this they can actually hurt their metabolism and they end up gaining weight. When you breathe through your nose your body automatically takes breathe from the lower part of your body and you breathe much deeper when you breathe through your mouth most of the air comes from the top of your lungs and your shoulders lift. Having energy and breathe in the top part of your body means that you are more susceptible to headaches, anxiety and panic attacks. She did some breathing exercises with us on our chairs and recommended we tried some specialised yoga at home. It was a very helpful talk and really opened my eyes about some of the things I was doing wrong and could improve upon. 

Pregnancy Pukka Class

After this, we had another walk around and made our way to the Pukka open class area and waited for the 12.15-12.45 class with Elena Voyce called 'Compassion in forward bends and backward bends'.
My boyfriend was less than eager to take part because of his flexibility and height but he gave it a good try! This picture was of the class before us that was centred around pregnancy.
We waited and then entered the area, the teacher started and our first task involved partner work, we supported our partners and helped them to bend forward and backwards - it was a lot harder than it sounds!

We then did our separate moves on the mat and it just showed me how weak my body was. My core was weak, I was shaking and I couldn't sit right because my posture was so bad from constantly sitting down...sigh. After the class, I had a massive headache but I also felt extremely energised. Yoga takes a lot of control and for some reason, mine had disappeared. After this, I was eager to get back into it and start gaining my power back. 

Yoga Teacher - Elena Voyc

After the class, my boyfriend and I were starving so we shared a vegetarian pizza (as all they served for the day was either vegan or vegetarian). We were both shattered so decided not to attend any more classes or lectures and just have a look around the stalls. 

I treated myself to a lovely black onyx ring (see below) and a crystal bracelet for my sister as I know she likes to collect them. We also bought some miso soup as Janie had mentioned it was good for the Hara and balancing hormones etc. 

Black Onyx Ring

Overall, it was a great day and extremely enlightening, I would definitely attend the event again once I was back into it a bit more! I could have also attended on Sunday but I had things to do before the week started.

If you haven't heard of it or want more information about the whole experience check out the website: https://london.omyogashow.com/

Namaste.