Andrea Newman Yoga and Rolfing

14/07/2025

These reflective summer yoga classes are online and all are welcome. Email invitations with Zoom link arrive in your inbox every Tuesday morning with an introduction to the session - send me an email at andrea@yogauk.com and I'll add you to the invitation list.

Access to class recordings available afterwards.
Find out more here: https://www.yogaandrolfing.co.uk

27/03/2025

Come and join us to expand your anatomical understanding. Learn ways to ensure your yoga students practice safely and better meet their individual healing needs in class.

CPD for yoga teachers online. https://www.yogauk.com/courses/anatomy-of-asana-workshop-parsvakonasana

26/03/2025

This is happening on Friday. Looking forward to it!

At this workshop for yoga teachers on Friday we'll be exploring joints, muscles, vectors, grounding, variations, adaptations for limitations, keeping vulnerable areas safe, and refining language use to increase sthira and sukha in practice. Find out more here: https://www.yogauk.com/courses/anatomy-of-asana-workshop-parsvakonasana

23/03/2025

Author: michael levin Aperture: 6.3 Camera: ILCE-7M4 Iso: 400 Orientation: 1

27/02/2025

Asana analysis, adho mukha svanasana, down face dog pose, downward dog, Intermediate practical anatomy workshop for yoga teachers. Applied functional and variational anatomy.

26/02/2025

🙏🏼

25/02/2025

SOMETIMES ALL YOU NEED IS A LITTLE SOFTENING
This is a post I wrote mainly for yoga teachers, but yoga practitioners may be interested too. It's about finding softness in downward dog pose.

SOMETIMES ALL YOU NEED IS A LITTLE SOFTENING

We’ve all experienced a yoga pose that is particularly challenging. Whatever that pose is for us, the feeling is always one of restriction in the body and breath.

I remember a student who was frustrated with this – I’ll call her Sue. She practised downward dog at home a lot, but her hamstrings never seemed to lengthen as she wanted them to.

“I’ve always had tight hamstrings,” she kept saying with a frown. “I stretch them all the time, but nothing changes.”

When I watched her, I could see that the problem wasn’t about her hamstrings!

Her back was hunched, her breath was restricted, and there was a lot of tension in her body. She was pulling so hard on her hamstrings that this was causing her pelvis to tilt backwards, forcing the rest of her body to compensate.

So I gave Sue a few verbal adjustments - bending her knees a touch more to slacken off the hamstrings, spreading her palms to get grounded, and giving some vector cues to enhance her spatial orientation.

As soon as we shifted the goal from ‘stretching the hamstrings’ to finding ways to allow pelvic movement, suddenly Sue experienced the pose differently. And there was a smile on her face.

She was no longer fighting her body. Her back lengthened, her breath eased, and she felt space in the pose for the first time. She also had learnt a different and more loving way to work on her downward dog pose in her home practice.

✨ This is why understanding functional anatomy matters.
Sometimes, all it takes is the right anatomically-informed cues from the teacher to find a little softening and a new experience.

🪴I'm Andrea and I’ll be writing more about roots and branches (grounding and spatial awareness) in my next article for yoga teachers coming soon. These appear every month in the Yoga Teaching and Learning Newsletter. Subscribe (free) from the home page http://www.yogauk.com (and to see previous articles).

For a deeper dive into the functional anatomy and teaching of Adho Mukha Svanasana see this forthcoming workshop here: https://www.yogauk.com/courses/anatomy-of-asana-workshop-down-dog

24/02/2025

24/02/2025

I'm very much looking forward to meeting up with a lovely group of yoga teachers on Friday! This workshop is the first of a series, in a new format. It's been a long time in creation - I can't wait!

❓ Yoga teachers - what’s the most common challenge you see in Downward Dog pose? Tight hamstrings? Sore wrists? Something else? Drop a comment below! 👇

Many yoga students struggle in this pose, and it’s not just about flexibility. Small shifts in approach can completely change their experience – helping them feel, not just follow your instructions.

This Friday 28th February, I’m running an Asana Analysis of Downward Dog workshop online, where we’ll break down what’s really happening in the body and how to cue to make a difference. Please do join me if you’re curious!
Andrea

📅 Friday 2.30-5.00pm GMT – Details at https://www.yogauk.com/courses/anatomy-of-asana-workshop-down-dog

17/04/2024

https://youtu.be/AmWvMDKVSY0?si=FYQnBHCnIASRvlfi

03/04/2024

https://youtu.be/QUVU_HjVr1I

21/02/2024

Rolfing is a way of improving posture and bringing more ease into movement. It provides a long-term multi-layered strategy for pain relief and can be deeply changing. I am a Certified Advanced Rolfer with a Rolfing practice in Bristol. Find out more here: www.yogaandrolfing.co.uk