Namaste as courses make yoga accessible

THE benefits of mindfulness are being made accessible thanks to donations-based yoga courses for rural Victorians.

The Yoga Partnership has two eight-week courses beginning in May, with one designed to help with anxiety and the other focuses on yin yoga, a slow-paced form of the activity.

The classes are online, meaning lounge rooms, verandas, back gardens and farm yards can become yoga studios.

Beth Burgess and Amy Booth started the organisation to meet the needs of the broader community.

“It’s a really simple concept, we saw a real gap in the market that yoga wasn’t reaching the people it could benefit most by being expensive or not meeting the needs of marginalised populations,” said Ms Burgess.

“We want to get yoga to people who need it most.”

The classes are tailored to each person as not everyone has the same capabilities.

“Yoga has such amazing benefits which are so well researched,” Ms Burgess said. “It works but it really needs to be tailored to the audience.

“We’re up against an amazing stigma that you need to be able to touch your toes to do yoga so we’re trying to break down that stigma as to what yoga is.

“People can come to a class and sit on a chair and they’re still doing yoga.”

According to Ms Burgess, one of the key reasons for offering the classes was reaching rural Australians is really important.

“Rural Australians just miss out and are a lot of the time miles away from a yoga studio or gym and are time poor,” she said.

“The classes help people connect with each other as they stay for a coffee online.

The yoga for anxiety course starts on Wednesday, May 10 and is free. The yin yoga classes are a $25 donation for the eight weeks commencing on Monday, May 8.

To find out more visit theyogapartnership.com.au.