Author: Gerry Lopez

I have been practicing 4/5 classes a week for nearly 5 years now and I have been through ups and downs with my practice; however I have been looking at myself and I have realised that I tend to miss certain postures due to the difficulty or just the nature of them.

Missing out postures in Yoga can happen; you maybe really tired, you may not be in the mood or just not in the right frame of mind to be in class but are there as you know how beneficial the practice is for you.

Attempting the posture that you fear is the most important thing you can do for yourself, whether it is 1% or 10% of the full pose, it really doesn’t matter because your full capacity is your full capacity and by attempting the posture slowly but surely you will eventually get into the complete pose.

During class I see many people sit out postures, the most infamous are Triangle and Fixed Firm due to the inability to go into the full posture. With Fixed Firm I completely understand that the pain maybe too much or you don’t feel as comfortable as you do in other poses, but if you attempt at least a part of the posture, over time with regular attendance you will eventually be able to get into it fully.

I personally have been tackling fixed firm for around 4 years now and this is due to a serious knee problem however I always attempted the posture and I have progressed a lot – from absolute agony and minimal range of motion to hardly any pain and an increased range, this is purely because I attempted the posture. If I can do it so can you and before you know it your bum will be on the floor and you will fixed in. That goes for all of the poses – regardless which one it is you just have to try and attempt it and eventually you will be doing the full pose. Like everything in the world you have to start from somewhere but if you don’t start from somewhere you will certainly not end anywhere.

As a fellow student I just wanted to write about challenges that many practitioners face, and having an off day is human but just be true to yourself and give it a 100% as often as you can and the benefits of your yoga practice will start to show in your life outside the yoga studio.

A Speech from Kula’s Director – Gerry Lopez – At Kula Wellbeing’s Launch in July 2016

I’ll start briefly by sharing a bit about where I come from.

I was born in London, son of a Mexican mum and dad. We moved to Mexico when I was 3 and I spent my early life there until my early 20’s. My curiosity and, of course, the British weather called me back to come and explore London.

I spend most of the first 15 years pursuing a financial career working between banks and hedge funds. It was fun, at least for some years. However, over time the realization that something was missing for me was growing by the day. I wanted to have more exposure to people, to different ways of living and thinking. I wanted to be able to contribute to the wellbeing of my community.

So in 2011 I started the year trading stocks in a hedge fund. By summer, I was sweating my life away in my speedos next to 400 keen yogis training to be Bikram yoga teachers. What a life changing experience!

The goal was to make something out of the hobby that keep me sane, but more importantly share this life changing therapy with others.
I wanted to create a space where people could connect with themselves surrounded with people that share these values. This is what Kula about! A space for you, where you can leave the world behind.

Kula in Sanskrit means ‘a community of the heart’ a community where people gather together to nurture themselves. Kula’s aim is to provide you with an environment of love, compassion, discipline, hard work and fun.

We live in a hectic world. In a vibrant city with a lot of challenges. All that is great. However, sometimes we need to recharge the batteries and nurture ourselves. Rebalance our body and mind. This will greatly help us to deal with our challenges. The idea is that we can all together make the world a better place.

Let me tell you a bit about what is happening in Kula ?

Yoga

Kula is still committed to the Bikram Yoga practice. The Bikram Yoga series has incredible benefits for our body and mind. It has changed my life and I am proud to tell that pretty much every week I hear an inspiring story of how the Bikram Yoga practice has positively impacted someone’s’ life.
So, although we will be introducing exciting wellbeing classes. Workshops and activities our aim is to affect the Bikram Yoga timetable as little as possible.
Bear that in mind we will have the facility to split the current yoga room into two rooms. A 40 people hot room (fire) and a 20 people ambient room (earth). Of course we will still have the ability to have the full hot yoga room.

We will be introducing alternative yoga styles with a particular focus to those that complement the Bikram Yoga practice. e.g. Vynasa, Yin Yoga.
We will as well be looking to incorporate scheduled body movement classes. e.g. I-Flo. Some of you had the opportunity to experience the fantastic Demo that Baris’ and his team has performed.

We will be also be testing over summer dynamic hot Pilates from PBB.

Meditation

We are incorporating Gong meditation workshops. We’ll have Yoga Nidra classes and potentially Mindfulness. The idea is to incorporate some meditation sessions in the regular schedule.

Massage and Bodywork

We are increasing the number of therapist in the Energia room and will soon be opening a 2nd therapy room. We currently offer to you an Osteopath, Physiotherapist, Traditional Chinese medicine including acupuncture and coping, Deep Tissue and Sport massage, etc.
These therapists by themselves or in conjunction with the yoga practice are an incredible way to keep our body and minds health.

Nutrition

Of course we have Jessica, who just got married last week, as our resident nutritionist. We’ll keep running nutrition workshops, like the one we had earlier today where you can learn easy and powerful ways to have a healthy and balanced diet. Nutrition challenges where you can incredibly boost your health and individual therapies.

Psychology

We will be incorporating it little by little. Initially offering to you workshops that will help us to work better in dealing with our emotions. e.g. Heart Math, Visions and Goals.

Of course we will be having exciting retreats with all the above activities will be combined. Currently we are looking at places in Ibiza and Greece! We’ll keep you informed.

Kula exists thanks to all of you. We have all created it together. A space full of interesting people. People that love life; live in a demanding city and takes time to take care of them.

Thanks to all Kula staff. Thanks to Michelle, Kula’s manager, that makes everything happen in a harmonious way. She has been here from day 1. Thanks to every member of staff the put their heart in their work. Together we always aim to provide to you, our students, the best possible experience.

I am very grateful to all of you.

Thanks to all! Love you!