BASICS with Tara Stiles at The Om Yoga Show London

Early on Sunday I jumped on a train and headed along to the OM Yoga Show at Alexandra Palace, where I was greeted with this beautiful view across London. I'd never actually been to the palace before, but will definitely come back to explore - it looks like the perfect place for a run!

I was queuing to get into the show before the doors opened at 10am, and headed straight to the workshop rooms to grab a mat close to the front for the BASICS class with Tara Stiles! There must have been about 100 mats already laid out so it was a pretty packed session.

The idea of her yoga teaching is "flowing with ease" as she believes that forcing ourselves into situations (including yoga poses) creates stress hormones, such as cortisol. Strala classes are apparently therefore known for their laid back and energetic vibe. 

The class was definitely fun and pretty chilled out - Tara laughs a lot, and encouraged us all to do what felt good for us on that particular morning, giving the option at any point to ease off and drop back to a child's pose. 

As it was a BASICS class the poses were ones I was all familiar with, and didn't feel particularly strenuous- although I did manage to hold Crow Pose for about 2 seconds! The pace was quite slow, which I liked - it's been hard to find Vinyasa classes in London which don't move at a hundred miles an hour! 

There was a lack of the usual yogic names for poses, no "spiritual energy" talk, and straightforward explanations of the movements. To that end, it didn't feel like your typical yoga class, although I guess I haven't participated in such a large gathering before either, where the teacher has to wear a headset in order to be heard!

I managed to grab a few words with Tara before the class started - she was lovely and seemed genuinely interested in everyone's stories, and reposted my photos on Instagram afterwards! 

The rest of the OM Yoga Show was the usual mix of clothing, food, and stands with information on yoga teaching and holidays, as well as free classes. I actually didn't stay that long, but managed to grab 21 Nakd bars for £10 (bargain) and a discounted yoga bolster from Yoga Matters, in the same Ocean Green as my yoga mat - well, they've got to match!