YogaKutir

YogaKutir Inspiring yoga practices for mind and body. Classes, courses, workshops, retreats & teacher training. Welcome! UK and International Yoga Retreats. Yoga Therapy.

Welcome to yogakutir...

We teach traditional Hatha Yoga, a holistic science for health and wellbeing. Feel awesome in body and mind through ancient practices for contemporary life. Our Yoga is inspired by our study of classical teachings of Hatha yoga in disciplines that include Iyengar, Sivananda, Satyananda, Krishnamacharya and Dona Holleman's Centered Yoga system. We offer weekly yoga classes, courses and workshops in Clifton - Bristol, the South West & London. Yoga Teacher Training. Holistic Treatments. Private Tuition. Yoga in the workplace.

22/12/2025

Once you understand this, every inversion changes

Behind drills, cues & techniques, there are universal principles that govern all inversions
Most people are never taught them

When these 7 principles are missing, the body compensates with effort
Strength starts replacing intelligence
Everything feels heavy
Progress stalls

2 of the most important are gravity & elongation

Gravity isnt something to fight
It’s a vertical force that either drains you or supports you

When gravity isn’t optimised, parts of the body work far harder than needed

When gravity is fully aligned with, everything changes

In inversions, people often think they’re aligned with gravity.
Look closer & the whole body rarely is
Fear plays a huge role here

Fear of falling, tipping back, letting go

That fear keeps people stuck
Never fully leaning into what’s actually supporting them

With a precise, layered method, that fear dissolves
You only build on what’s already stable
No fast tracking
No missing layers
Gravity becomes your ally

Elongation is the second key principle

Elongation isn’t stretching
It’s always two directional simultaneous movement/force

Mayurasana makes this easy to see

I’m not lifting my legs
I’m moving forward into gravitational alignment
At the same time, everything from pelvis through feet moves back

It’s a seesaw
When forces balance, lift happens without less effort

These principles don’t just work physically
They work neurologically
Psychologically
Energetically

When inner architecture is missing, muscles do all the work
That’s when inversions feel heavy, unstable & short-lived

Inside Inversion Foundations, this inner engineering is what gives you the edge.
Alongside drills & technique, you learn how to apply these principles step by step

This is what…
creates lightness
removes fear
allows legs to float
makes inversions sustainable for life

Inversion Foundations opens in January

If this way of thinking resonates & you’re done muscling out inversions, reply INVERT for the invite

21/12/2025

Most people learn Crow in a very modern way.

Knees high on the triceps.
Pelvis lifted above the shoulders.
Legs neutral or internally rotated.

This version comes more from gymnastics and calisthenics than classical asana. It works for balance and can feel impressive.

But there is a trade-off.

Your abs can take a holiday.

When the pelvis is high and the knees grip the arms, leverage is reduced. With enough friction between knees and arms, you can stay up with surprisingly little abdominal engagement.

That is why modern Crow often feels thrilling, but doesn’t give much back to the body beyond arm and shoulder strength.

Classical Bakasana is a completely different bird.

Legs externally rotated.
Knees wide.
Shins, not knees, draw high toward the armpits.
Feet actively pull up toward the navel.
Pelvis and shoulders stay level.

There is no hiding from the abs here!

The extra leverage, leg position, and lifted feet create real abdominal and whole-body intelligence. You generate an upward curve through the centre of the body through the coordinated actions of hands AND feet.

Classical Bakasana is essentially Malasana or Baddha Konasana in the air.

And here is the part most people never hear.

You do not need to balance on your hands to access these benefits.

There is a grounded version I teach that develops the same deep core strength/engagement and postural support without holding the balance at all. In many ways, it is more functional and more useful than modern Crow.

When this classical version is trained properly, modern Crow suddenly feels easy.

Inside Inversion Foundations, we fully deconstruct and rebuild Bakasana from this perspective. Not just to “do the pose,” but to develop what transfers into every arm balance and inversion.

Twelve months of live weekly training and support.
No shortcuts.
No 14-day promises.
Just the method, timing, and guidance required for real development.

If you want a different relationship with Crow (and all inversions) plus a core that really supports your practice, reply CROW for an invite.

20/12/2025

Effective methods give you more effective postures

If you wanted to learn ultra-running, you wouldn’t race next week if you’d never run before
You’d follow a method built by someone who’s walked the path, tested it, refined it, & understands what actually prepares the body over time

Asana is no different

There’s a reason traditional systems placed certain poses before others

Headstand is a perfect example

When I first began practising, there was a clear progression
Shoulderstand was learnt first to develop the back body, spinal support & postural intelligence required for Headstand. Yes, Headstand is not about arm strength

Only once Shoulderstand could be held comfortably for 5 minutes was Forearm Headstand introduced
5+ minutes here then Tripod came next, once another layer of postural support had been built

This was how most of my peers learned

Fast forward 25 years & many people now go straight to Tripod
Fast results. Fast gratification. Fast culture

It’s not their fault
Society rewards speed

You don’t have to learn Shoulderstand or Forearm Headstand before Tripod
But you do need to understand what those poses develop & why they were learnt first

They build compounded postural support from head to feet

Time & patience are disappearing from modern yoga
Even the instructions themselves are often rushed or incomplete

90% of the hundreds of students & teacher I support dont have a strength or flexibility problem. Its because of method, process & unrealistic timelines

The promise of “nail your inversion in two weeks” only reinforces this

Effortless inversions come from systems, not shortcuts

Life is a marathon, not a sprint
When you shift from ‘what can I achieve in 30 days’ to ‘what can I build in a year,’ everything changes

Longevity becomes the focus

I want to move, play, invert & stay mentally sharp for life
How I practise now determines that future

This is a premier approach
It takes time, commitment & accountability
And it is absolutely worth it

This is the approach inside Inversion Foundations
We begin January

Reply INVERT for an invite

If you want deep foundations, a complete methodology, & personal support, this is for U 🚀

18/12/2025

When it comes to teaching asana, I’ve become obsessive about details I never would have even thought to look for 15 years ago

Not to be clever
But because I’ve seen what happens when those details are missing

It’s similar to how elite sports coaches work
They don’t just look at the obvious physical skill
They look everywhere

Sleep
Home life
Nutrition
Timing
Environment
The structure of training itself

Because they understand something most people don’t want to hear:
there is no fast track without consequence

If one ingredient is missing, the result is compromised
Fast-track methods don’t remove steps because they’re unnecessary
They remove them to get a result quickly

And that always shows up later

When it comes to inversions built on real biomechanical principles, time & phased learning aren’t optional
They’re the edge

The first time I encountered this level of practice & teaching, it was humbling
Like a chef who thought they were advanced because they’d trained with great teachers suddenly walking into a triple Michelin-star kitchen & realising they were still in kindergarten

Same ingredients
Completely different understanding

That moment opened me to what’s actually possible
Not just refining what I knew, but looking in places I’d never thought to look
Adding elements most people don’t even consider relevant

I shared recently about energetic blueprints & their role in asana.
Some trainings mention bandha, but usually as something you “do.”
A physical action

What I was shown through Dona Holleman’s asana laboratory was different
Not doing
Allowing
Letting the body’s intelligence come online

This isn’t unique to Yoga
Martial arts, healing systems & traditional movement disciplines all work with energy
Historically, yogis did too
Not just for enlightenment, but for function

Inside Inversion Foundations, this is what I’m sharing
The incremental steps
The sequencing
The energetic, neurological & structural processes that give you a real advantage

Not just more strength
Not more flexibility
But the things that change how the whole system works

The Ferrari engine
We begin next month

reply INVERT for an invite 🏄

17/12/2025

Imagine your body as hardware, with your software running within it
Your software determines your unique perspective, how you see things & how you react

You see a dog
Your software could interpret: cute, friendly animal
Another human’s programme could say: run to the hills

Same dog
Different software
Different response

State of the art hardware is great. A strong, flexible body
Upgrading hardware can bring enjoyable experiences, pleasure, capacity

But if the experience is still running through the same software programme…

If practice doesn’t change the software, you’ll be stuck in a loop of perpetual regulation
Practising not to transform, but just to cope

What if you could install a different programme, one that allows you to see things differently & therefore respond differently?

Your software is programmed through the past
Your ancestral & lived experience
How you were brought up
Things said to you on repeat
Experiences you were put through
Mainstream narratives

It has coded how you see, act, & react
Your past is living you

You can feel this on the mat
The moment your shoulders grip or a familiar story appears
The body responds before you have consciously chosen

The most powerful transformation for a life of reduced stress & expanded possibility comes through a software upgrade

For many people, the software runs on autopilot

The first key to any spiritual practice is noticing
To realise the software is often running the show

From awareness, reprogramming becomes possible
New software can be installed

When you believe your programme is real & the only way, this is where danger lies
Unconscious software reacts rather than responds

Your ability to see things differently is where significant change happens
In your day to day life & the human race at large

Next time you practise, pay attention
Notice what, or who, is running your software

We are beginning a new series called Mind Mechanics
It explores these ideas deeply, opening the heart to a radically different operating system

If you are tired of managing yourself
If regulation feels like maintenance rather than freedom

Reply MM

16/12/2025

We often assume that if someone can practise a pose exceptionally well, they must also be exceptional at teaching it

There is no direct connection

You can be highly skilled in your own body & still struggle to teach a room full of different bodies
And you can be deeply skilled & able to teach anyone in front of you

The problem is we polarise it
We assume it has to be one or the other

I regularly support teachers & students who have studied with incredible inversion practitioners
People who look effortless
People who hold beautiful poses

Yet they are still stuck
Why?

Because practising a pose & teaching a pose are 2 very different skills

Just look at sport
Some of the greatest players never become great managers
Some of the best managers were never the best players

You absolutely need to know the ingredients
But teaching is about knowing how to apply those ingredients to many different bodies, nervous systems, fears, & histories.

That is a different level of skill & communication

Studying for many years with Dona Holleman showed me how rare this combination really is
Exceptional personal practice & world-class teaching

Learning how to work with any body
How to see what is missing
How to understand principles
How to support someone honestly instead of selling timelines that don’t hold

Which brings me to something else I see constantly

Fast-track promises

Learn this inversion in a weekend
Float your legs in 2 weeks
Master arm balances in days

That’s not how real mastery works

Iyengar didn’t learn that way
Dona didn’t learn that way
No serious inversion practitioner did

Progress takes time
And patience is the part modern culture struggles with most

The people who make lasting breakthroughs aren’t chasing shortcuts
They’re building something properly

This is why I teach inversions (& all asana) the way I do
Not as quick fixes or party tricks
But as a long-term relationship with the body

Inversion Foundations is not a sprint
It’s built for people in the long game

If that’s you, reply INVITE and I’ll share the details

16/12/2025

Things change when you go slow

When you move slowly, momentum disappears
And when momentum disappears, every missing piece gets exposed

You can’t cheat the process
You can’t muscle your way through it
Every part has to be online, frame by frame

This is why slow movement is so revealing

On a physical level, it shows you exactly where you’re compensating
On a deeper level, it brings softness, control, & awareness that speed never allows

But there’s another layer most people are never taught

Your brain moves fast
Your body (in comparison) does not

Unless it’s under threat, the body responds through sensation, timing, & felt readiness

This is why the first phase of all inversions is Preparation

Not just physical preparation
Psychological preparation

Before the body moves, it needs to feel the movement first

When you visualise the action & the quality of it, something changes
The body starts to organise itself
The nervous system begins to cooperate
Movement is no longer forced or commanded

The mental & energetic blueprint forms first
Then the body follows

This is where everything shifts

Less effort
More control
More lightness
Longer holds without fatigue

This was one of the biggest breakthroughs in my inversion practice

Floating the legs in Pincha without kicking
Staying in Headstand & Shoulderstand long enough to experience the real effects, 10+ minutes with ease
Moving into arm balances with clarity instead of force

Very few trainings teach this
Speed & visualisation are rarely addressed
Yet they are fundamental to the first phase of the process I teach
And every other phase is built on top of this

This is exactly how inversion principles are taught inside Inversion Foundations LIVE

Not by rushing
Not by forcing
But by building the system properly, from the inside out

This one shift alone can be the difference between legs that feel like lead & legs that float

Doors open soon
Reply INVERT if you want the invite

Your inversion practice depends on this more than you realise

14/12/2025

There’s a pattern I see over & over again.
Newer students, long-term practitioners, even teachers… the same thing shows up:

Most people don’t realise they have a headstand or pincha problem.
Because the bar for what these poses should feel like has become incredibly low

For many, “headstand” means:
kick up
hope for balance
stay 10–30 secs
come down exhausted

And “pincha” means:
kick until something catches
hold by force
pray the arms don’t slide

This is what most online programmes teach.
This is what many TTCs still teach.
So people assume it’s “normal.”

Then 2–3 years later… they end up with me.
Not because they failed.
Because the method they learnt never showed them the real pose.

Here’s the difference:

My bar for Headstand:
Effortless for 5+ mins
Legs move like feathers
Balance steady (even blindfolded)
Zero fear
Breath is the passenger, not the engine

My bar for Pincha:
No kicking
Pause anywhere on the way up/down
Stable shoulders
Slow, controlled movement

You don’t have to want this level.
But when you learn a model built at a higher standard, you finally see everything the fast-track methods skip

Because:
If you kick up, you bypass the mechanics
If you rely on arm strength in headstand, the real foundation stays asleep
If you were only shown “how to get up,” you were never shown how the pose works

Most people don’t need another tip.
They need the whole blueprint from the ground up.
Otherwise you’re stacking info on top of shaky foundations

A Michelin-level chef wouldn’t give you a few steps & expect a 5-star dish.
They start at the beginning
That’s how mastery is built

That’s exactly how I teach inversions.
Step by step
No missing pieces
No rushing
Not in 2 days. Not in a weekend.
Real change needs time, feedback & a method that finally makes sense

This is what Inversion Foundations is built for

It’s for:
students who want to learn properly from day one
teachers/practitioners who’ve done “all the right things” but still don’t have the ease, lightness or control they know is possible

Inversion Foundations begins Jan 2026
Spaces are limited

Reply YES for the invite

13/12/2025

Most people treat lifting the legs in headstand like a separate moment.
As if the lift starts when the feet leave the floor.

But that’s not how the pose actually works.

The lift begins long before your legs even think about moving.

It starts the moment your contact points meet the ground:

• the head + wrists create the current
• the arms + shoulder blades direct and amplify it
• the feet (yes, while still on the floor) gather the energy that becomes the lift

What unfolds is a support system that travels through the head, neck, spine & pelvis — & the legs simply catch the wave.
You need far less core strength than you think

This is why you need far less core strength than you think.

If your headstand relies on arm strength…
If you’ve been taught to keep weight out of your head…
If you’re muscling your way up or hoping for a lucky balance…

You’re missing the upward current.

Your head is part of the foundation — without it, there’s no channel for the lift to travel through.
And that’s why so many yogis end up kicking, wobbling, or gripping through the core.

When I teach headstand, most of the work happens before the legs move.
Once the foundation is alive, the last two phases — movement + balance — almost do the work for you.

If you’re kicking up, collapsing, or inconsistent, it’s not because you can’t do it.
It’s because the current isn’t flowing yet.

When you follow the 4 Vital Phases of Headstand step by step (without rushing ahead), headstand becomes inevitable
and the legs simply float up, light & effortless.

If you’d like to hear how to access the complete headstand blueprint — one that doesn’t rely on arm strength & aligns fully with the biomechanics of the pose — reply YES, and I’ll send you details.

11/12/2025

Does this sound familiar?

You learned headstand in a group class or on your teacher training.
Maybe you can get up… but something still isn’t quite there.

Maybe you:
• still feel fear
• can’t lift your legs smoothly
• rely on the wall
• feel heavy or unstable
• fatigue in the arms
• can’t stay for long

And you’ve probably heard all the usual cues:

▫️ Keep the weight out of your head
▫️ Your arms do the work
▫️ Grab opposite elbows to set your distance
▫️ Dolphin reps build the strength
▫️ Press your hands into your head
▫️ Walk your feet in until you can’t anymore

You try them… yet your headstand still doesn’t feel how you hoped.

I get it.
I was in that loop too. More practice. More arm strength. More drills.
Different teachers, same cues.

Then about 15 years ago I had a moment that changed everything:

It wasn’t me.
It was the method.

Those commonly taught techniques — still taught today — miss the real foundations of headstand.
That’s why progress feels slow or inconsistent.

Once I understood the true mechanics, everything shifted:
• legs lifted with ease
• balance became reliable
• arm fatigue disappeared
• the pose felt light, not effortful
• long holds felt natural

I’ve shared this blueprint with hundreds of students & teachers since — and the results are the same every time.

Headstand isn’t about “stacking hips over shoulders.”
It’s about awakening the internal support system most people never learn.

I’m opening a live container - Inversion Foundations - where we’ll rebuild every inversion — headstand, pincha, handstand, shoulderstand & more — using the same clear, biomechanical principles.

If you want to be part of the first group, reply LIVE and I’ll send you the invite.

10/12/2025

If you want to float your legs in Pincha or Headstand, there’s one concept you absolutely need to understand

[SAVE THIS]

In Yoga asana, your legs are attached to your pelvis — not the other way around

This is the whole game

Because the moment you flip that relationship in your practice, everything changes

When you build an inversion around the idea that the legs lead & the pelvis follows… you have to kick
You create an inversion based on momentum & hope
You skip the mechanics that actually generate lift

This is why most people stay stuck in the “kick & pray” cycle for years

When you build the inversion from a pelvis-driven model, the mechanics finally make sense:

The foundations organise
The support system switches on
The directional forces align
The legs become light

This was the catalyst for my inversion breakthrough 15 years ago

Not more strength or drills
A completely different design

once this clicked, everything upgraded:

Floating legs in Pincha
Slow, controlled, blindfolded entry in Headstand
True support in Shoulderstand
Understanding the architecture of Press Handstand
Complete control in arm balances
Awareness across every asana

A pelvis-centric inversion relies on having the right base & support
Most commonly taught methods don’t use it — because most teachers were never taught it

Most instructions focus on “getting into the balance” & hope that strength somehow builds once you’re upside down

That was me too
I followed the same methods everyone else was using (the ones still used today)… until one intervention changed everything

Since then, I’ve helped hundreds of students & teachers rebuild their inversions from the inside out using a blueprint that actually aligns with the body

This is exactly what I teach inside Inversion Foundations LIVE

A complete inversion system built on pelvic-centred architecture & the most effective mechanics

Enrolment for Founding Members is open now
You get lifetime access
We start in January
Spaces are limited for individual support

If you want an invite, reply PELVIS

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13 Princess Victoria Street
Bristol
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About us

We are passionate about the full spectrum of yoga. We live, teach and embrace the richness of a yogic lifestyle. We endeavour through our teaching to share our own experience of yoga as a transformative practise on and off the yoga mat. Our classes are inspired by our study of classical teachings of Hatha yoga in disciplines that include Iyengar, Sivananda, Satyananda, Krishnamacharya, Scaravelli and Dona Holleman's enlightened asana work. We teach group classes and private lessons, host courses, workshops, retreats, and organise Teacher Training programmes.