Introducing Yoga I Am . . .

I’ve recently been to meet the newest member of Experience Nottinghamshire, Shakti Shira Bassi, at her new wellness retreat centre called Yoga I Am in Nottingham’s Creative Quarter. Warmth surrounds you the minute you walk through a somewhat hidden door at Yoga I Am, a lovely surprise in a fairly commercial area of the city. The studio is the first room of the cottage where our yoga session is to take place, however the cottage is also home to three bedrooms where Shira and team run wellness retreat breaks. Guests will definitely feel comfortable at this ‘home from home’ sanctuary in the city. Although they offer many more products and services, I have been invited to experience an introductory session of Yoga I Am’s private yoga practice. The session is on a one to one basis with Shira and is tailored to my needs, as I’m recovering from a hip injury. We prepare with a mantra, acknowledging Ganesha, the widely worshipped Hindu god, famous for being the symbol of clearing obstacles. We also choose a personal focus to concentrate on during the session, mine being space and freedom. After the mantra we begin with a warm up. I’ve been a regular yogi, attending a kundalini class on a regular basis, however I’ve never had a personal one to one session before and found it really is the next level of practice. Shira tells me exactly, describing every part of my foot, how to stand throughout the session and because she only has me to worry about, she corrects me all the way through. Before we do anything we vigorously let go of any tensions with a sequence of movements guided by Shira. I follow her lead. We then do a series of sun salutations, moving from pose to pose in rhythm, synchronising our breath with the postures. Shira watches my every move, explaining things step by step and helping me with postures that will benefit my hip injury. We finish our session by switching off with a relaxation, soon bringing our personal awareness back into the room ready for meditation. Mediation, guided by Shira, centred on my personal focus and involved the repetition of Om. As we finished meditation I took time out before hurrying back to work to become aware of how I felt, particularly in my hip area which was noticeably looser and the pain I was experiencing in my leg and vanished. Shira explained that much pain is actually trapped emotion, and if this is true, I definitely let go of the troublesome emotion which was hindering me at my session with Yoga I Am! I definitely recommend spending time at Yoga I Am to everyone. You really don’t need to be interested in yoga in particular, just in the health benefits of everything the centre can offer you. If you are visiting Nottinghamshire and want to escape from it all, and either learn something new or just indulge in the therapies the centre can offer, get in touch with Shira and the team. You won’t be disappointed.  Yoga I Am also have a sister centre in the warmer climes of Ibiza. Similar packages and services are offered there as to Nottingham. Please speak to the Yoga I Am for more information.