Today I returned to the Life Centre in Notting Hill for Joo Teoh’s class at 3:15-4:45pm. Appropriately called ‘Yoga Level 2’, Joo offers a well rounded class with plenty of postural variations offered for those who wish to take it slow or be more challenged, and has a unique capacity for weaving together a sequence based on people’s needs and desires.
Today the requests were core strengthening work, shoulder openers and twists, and for the first 10 minutes or so Joo led us through an abdominal sequence that was just as much about the breath as using the core muscles. In his sequence, there were no fewer than five lunge-based twists, a variety of shoulder opening postures including garudasana and prasarita padottanasana c, and a handful of balances, including natarajasana with a belt. We finished with heart openers before winding down to a ten minute savasana under the umbrella of subtle lavendar scents wafting through the quiet room.
Joo’s teaching style is less about alignment and spiritual discourse, more about creating space and listening to the body’s needs. He consistently offers a slow yet dynamic (vinyasa based) class that isn’t overly demanding or thought provoking. This may be just what many people need before starting the work week; I certainly left feeling happy and relaxed.