Why My Yoga Classes Are Different (and Actually Work)

It’s my singing during class that makes all the difference. Hold on, that can’t be it. It’s the Disney-reference bingo that my crew started playing without my knowing. Oh wait, probably not that either.

OK, let me start again.

So, I think I’ve mentioned before that I left a troubled relationship in my late 30s. I was already going to the gym regularly (VERY regularly) and practicing yoga at home. After becoming single, I started going to a local yoga studio 3, maybe 4 times a week. And I loved it.

My flexibility was... fine. Not anything to make anyone jealous, but it was getting better. The yoga helped a lot, and I started to see subtle improvements. But what I loved most? The arm balances, the headstands, the funky poses. I deliberately chose the hardest classes so I could play at flying.

Inspired by my favourite teacher and in desperate need of a holiday, I jetted off to Costa Rica (to the place she trained) and did my yoga teacher training. It was, and still is, one of the best experiences of my life. We had an absolute blast. Shout out to Annabel at Yoga Revolution for making me a better human.

When I came back and started teaching, I stuck to the fun, flowy classes. And it was brilliant. But deep down, I’m a strength girlie. So when I planned classes, I started experimenting. How could I "load" a movement? Not with weights—with my own body. How could I make a stretch feel like a strength move?

Turns out, I was instinctively using something called PNF: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation. Fancy name, but here’s the deal: it’s a method of stretching that strengthens the opposite muscle group to the one you're trying to stretch. You contract one group to help the other one relax and lengthen.

For example, in a butterfly stretch (sitting up, feet together, knees wide), we want to stretch the adductors (inner thighs). So I get my classes to drive their knees down using their abductors and glutes (outer thighs), strengthening them while encouraging the inner thighs to relax and stretch further. 

Results? Fast. AND LASTING. 

I went from sometimes being able to hit a long Warrior II to always getting there—and staying there while cueing and chatting with the class.

Right at the end of my 30s (yes, I am no longer a 30-something), I decided I wanted to learn the middle split.

"That’s crazy," I hear you cry. "No one learns a 10-year-old gymnast's move in their late 30s—especially if they never could do it as a kid."

Wrong. I did. And now I can do a full middle split. Whenever I want. Because of PNF.

I now use PNF in all my classes because it works and it’s safe.

Want to give it a go? Check out one of my yoga videos. Let me know how much you sweat.

Oh, and if you're curious about the middle split magic, sign up for my email list and I’ll send you a secret video.