About Oakwood Yoga

Namaste and welcome to Oakwood Yoga. I teach a variety of Yoga classes in person and online in Allestree and Darley Abbey in Derby, Belper and Fritchley village, as well as offering 121 sessions in Ambergate and regular masterclasses. Please read on to find out more about Yoga and how I teach as well as a little more about my journey to teaching yoga. 

The Branches of Yoga

There are five main branches of yoga:

Raja Yoga
the yoga of meditation

Hatha Yoga
the yoga of balance

Bhakti Yoga
the yoga of love & devotion

Jnana Yoga
the yoga of knowledge & wisdom

Karma Yoga
the yoga of cause & effect

All of the above can be found in my classes in one form or another!

About Phillipa

I went to my first class whilst on holiday, 19 years ago, and have never looked back! I am not sure what first hooked me in but it was when I discovered that yoga was about the whole person rather than just the physical person that I became so interested.

Although I love the Asana (posture) work for strength, flexibility and co-ordination, yoga works on so many other levels, and it started to help me understand some of my ‘life’ questions. There is something new to enjoy every day. I often get asked how long I have been practicing…to be honest I have been practicing all my life, it is only in the last few years that I have been able to label it.

I obtained my teacher training diploma with the British Wheel of Yoga. I cannot believe how fortunate I am to be able to share my learning and love of yoga, and to see how it really makes a difference to people. I love sharing yoga – I love learning from those that come to class – I love the fact that we are all equal in a yoga room, no matter what our ability, experience or knowledge.

I learn so much from my students and my many teachers… and from watching and listening to nature. I have learnt so much about myself as well…and that means I can help and share with so many other people around me. I love yoga. Too many I’s in there but hopefully you get the picture of how much I am in love with the benefits of yoga!

Yoga is a major part of my life, but outside of yoga, I enjoy gardening, travelling and trekking. My lovely husband Nick and I spend most holidays trekking in Nepal—a truly beautiful country. Not only is the scenery spectacular, but you can find so much peace there, and the people are so friendly, open hearted and generous. I can talk for hours on Nepal! I love being out in nature, be it walking in the Derbyshire Peaks, gardening or even cycling on the odd occasion! Food is another passion so if I can find something local to bring home and cook – that wraps up a perfect day!

My Style of Yoga

I am often asked what my style of yoga is. I find this really difficult to answer. I trained with the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY), and have completed the Satyananda Integration Teachers Course. So to give my teaching a name I simply call it Classical Yoga, looking after the whole person; giving us tools to help with the busy lives we all lead. It includes all the asanas, the breath work, meditation, mantra and chanting, and a class often includes the practice of Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a deep relaxation – and we all need a bit of that!

I love being out in the garden or walking. Being in touch with all of my sense. I have a deep love of nature and often weave that into some lesson plans! The scope of yoga is vast and I rule nothing out – but I only share what I have tried and think others will find beneficial or interesting. My suggestion is to come along for a couple of sessions, and if you like my way of teaching fantastic. If not, I can try and help you find someone more suitbale for you. We all have different needs at different times. I have been teaching weekly classes since April 2010; weekend retreats since December 2012; and in 2014 I started running regular monthly workshops – allowing a little extra time to focus on different elements of yoga.

When you practise yoga you are working with the mind, the body and the breath. In Hatha Yoga (‘Ha’ means sun and ‘tha’ means moon), we are working to balance the solar and lunar – the yin and yang – energies in the body, mind and spirit. It really does not matter what other name you give your practice, as long as you are practicing with awareness, being here and now – and really importantly, accepting and appreciating what you have now.

I am often told that ‘I cannot do yoga as I am so inflexible’. My response is always ‘if you are breathing you can do yoga – in fact you already are doing yoga’! By practising the asanas (postures) you become more flexible, but yoga is so much more than just the asanas, it helps you breathe properly, it helps you relax, we learn to meditate to help find that peace within…I could make a huge list! Please give yoga a try. It really can make a difference to how you feel and how you cope with the stresses and strains of daily living.