All posts by roger

Let’s challenge the top four reasons stopping people going to a yoga class

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , , , ,

I was on holiday recently and as usual I browsed the books in WH Smith’s before the flight out. A book caught my eye, called “The Art of Thinking Clearly” by Rolf Dobelli. I read a couple of chapters and was immediately hooked enough to buy it.

So what has this got to do with the top four reasons stopping people going to a yoga class? Well let’s look at those reasons before I explain.

stopping people going to a yoga class

  • Yoga is a religion, is very spiritual and involves a load of chanting
  • You have to be very flexible to do yoga and I am not
  • Yoga isn’t as good for you as other forms of exercise like swimming, running or the gym
  • Yoga is dangerous and I could hurt myself

There are thousands of articles, blogs, videos and podcasts that very effectively point out why these reasons are wrong.But I still hear them from potential participants. I have always been curious about why certain myths prevail when there is so much evidence available to debunk them.

Well “The Art of Thinking Clearly” gave me an insight into what is going on here. These four yoga myths prevail because of the way humans think and the way we filter information. The chapter in the book about “Confirmation Bias” was a revelation to me.

What is confirmation bias? It’s a tendency of people to seek information that confirms their beliefs. People gather or remember information selectively and then interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. They also tend to view ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position.

stopping people going to a yoga class
photo credit: asterix611 via photopin cc

So if someone has heard that yoga is a religion, despite the fact that they can find many arguments to the contrary on the Internet, they will select the articles that confirm their view-point and deliberately or subconsciously ignore those that conflict with their view. I read about churches stopping yoga classes in their halls because they hold this view. I can now see why it is so hard to convince them of the truth. Their belief is so deeply entrenched that they will only acknowledge the information that confirms their view.

As yoga teachers part of our job is to overcome these reasons that stop people from going to yoga classes.

  • Yoga is not a religion though for some it is a way of life. The elements that seem spiritual are more to do with realising your own nature, or becoming more self-aware.
  • You don’t have to be flexible to practice yoga. I guess this myth comes from pictures of very flexible girls with their legs wrapped behind their heads in very advanced poses. The fact is however flexible you are, you will become a little more flexible with every class you attend.
  • As a form of exercise yoga is just as good as swimming, running or the gym. Granted some forms of yoga are not aerobically challenging but Ashtanga or Power yoga will certainly raise the heart rate as much as an aerobics class. Yoga means stress reduction, better sleeping, better posture, greater flexibility and muscle tone, improved energy levels and more strength.
  • As far as yoga being dangerous and liable to cause injury. Well you can hurt yourself in any sport. As long as you follow the teacher’s instructions yoga is not a problem. Again this is a great example of confirmation bias at work. People will read an article or hear a news report about one or two injuries and take that as confirmation of their viewpoint. They ignore, of course, the many millions who do not get injured, mainly because the media do not report about that.
stopping people going to a yoga class
photo credit: asterix611 via photopin cc

I will continue to encourage people to practice yoga and overcome these objections. I did realise however that us teachers are also subject to confirmation bias. We will naturally seek out the information that supports our view. To become better at helping our clients we should have a closer look at the articles and reports that support the myths so that we can even better understand them and refute them.

Your turn: You might think that talking about “confirmation bias” was a strange concept to introduce into a blog about yoga. But I found the concept fascinating. What do you think? I would be very interested to hear your views. Please leave a comment below or post a link to your own blog.

Taking a trip through Unspoilt Mallorca

Travel, , , , , , ,

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when someone mentions Mallorca?

Could it be high-rise hotels and packed beaches teeming with sun burned Brits. Stag and hen week parties? Noisy techno dance music playing in nightclubs, pubs serving Tetley bitter and drunken hoards of youngsters staggering from one to the other?

Certainly Magaluf and some other Mallorcan resorts fit this stereotype. But most of Mallorca is unspoilt, beautiful, quiet and magnificent. You can find deserted beaches at the end of windy roads, hidden restaurants serving real Spanish tapas, and scenery that is breathtaking.

Unspoilt Mallorca
Port de Soller seen from the mountains

As I travelled to Mallorca this year I saw some of the the Magaluf crowd. Sharing the Jet2 flight with us was a gang of guys all sporting “Fat Grant’s Stag” T-shirts, individualised on the back with their nick names. “Chopper” was the loud one constantly out of his aeroplane seat and tormenting his fellow passengers and crew. “Murdo” was the good-looking one trying unsuccessfully to flirt with the cabin crew. “Fat Grant” himself sat quietly in the back row. Was he already regretting the drunken blur that was about to begin?

Fortunately Fat Grant’s crew were whisked away by bus into the concrete jungles west of Palma whilst we drove north through orange groves towards Pollenca. Here the countryside is quiet save for the sounds of dogs barking, birds singing and donkeys braying. Sometimes the sound of a strimmer or a power saw tries to ruin the peace but rarely succeeds.

Unspoilt Mallorca
Beach at Port de Pollenca

The foothills of the stunning Tramontana mountains frame the Pollenca countryside . Villas here all have private pools, outdoor barbecues, palm trees and flowers of all colours. The busy but very pretty Puerto De Pollenca is five minutes drive away. Close enough for when you run out of food and beer or fancy a meal in a restaurant, but far enough away to convince you that you live in your own private paradise.

When night falls there is no light pollution. Lie back and watch the stars light up across the sky. Look for shooting stars. You might miss some of them. Those you do see are like fireworks burning across the blackness.

This is unspoilt Mallorca. And there’s so much of it to see.

We took a trip to Soller, a quaint Spanish village nestling in a hollow valley surrounded by towering mountains studded with green pine trees. The drive to this oasis is both scary and beautiful. Perhaps only the Grand Canyon can beat the slopes around Soller for sheer breathtaking magnificence.

Unspoilt Mallorca
The Soller Trams

Sit in the main square in Soller and have a glass of fresh orange juice and watch the tram clank by on its way down to the port. Soller is one of the smallest towns in the world with a tram system. They built it in 1913. It’s still a popular form of transport and now a tourist attraction in its own right. Have tea at the five-star Gran Hotel Soller or pop into the cake shop next door and sample one of their multi-coloured macaroons.

Unspoint Mallorca
Port de Soller

Four kilometres at the other end of the tram’s route is the Port De Soller a huge horse shoe bay of sand, yachts, restaurants, bars and hotels. We really are a million miles away from the plastic pubs and pounding base riffs of Magaluf. I wonder whether Fat Grant is enjoying his hangover.

Unspoilt Mallorca
Sunny Spanish Streets

In the centre of Mallorca is Inca, one of the bigger towns. Thursday is market day and every street boasts a line of stalls and tables. Fresh fruit, green vegetables, meat, fish even live chickens and ducks, sit side by side with clothes, leather goods and household utensils. It’s like a department store on the streets. You have to haggle and obviously sift through some tourist tat, but you can find bargains in this maze of narrow streets.

Back to the Pollenca countryside for a few more days of good food and great wine.

Unspoilt Mallorca
Pollenca Countryside

When someone mentions Mallorca to me I think of these sun-baked days in the Pollenca countryside, the cafe culture of Soller and the market at Inca rather the concrete sun soaked replica of Blackpool where Fat Grant drunkenly celebrated his last days as a single man.

Your turn: What are your favourite hidden gems in unspoilt Mallorca? Please post your links or comments below and share your experiences.

Want to achieve fitness success? Look no further than Group Fitness Classes.

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you want to get fit?

Perhaps you have been down to the gym but found all those exercise machines a little daunting? It doesn’t help your confidence when there is some super-toned muscle-bound hunk running on the treadmill at break neck speed.

And let’s face it, running on a treadmill is quite dull isnt it? Lonely too, even with a personal trainer encouraging you on.

This is why I love group fitness classes. They aren’t dull at all. You feel motivated not only by the instructor but also by the other participants. There’s a social element as well as healthy competition.

group fitness classes

The first class I ever went too was Body Pump over ten years ago. I remember being a reluctant attendee. My legs were on fire the following day with the sheer agony of delayed onset muscle soreness. But after a few classes I began to notice results – a difference to my physique and my stamina.

Soon after I discovered Body Combat, the martial arts based fitness class from Les Mills. I was hooked and eventually went on to train as an instructor. And yoga followed on soon after.

I now teach Body Combat, Body Balance, Hatha Yoga and Power Yoga in clubs around Edinburgh.

I love it more now that I did when I started and do you know why?

group fitness classes
photo credit: Gamma Man via photopin cc

It’s not just the social aspect of the classes although I have made some really good friends because of it. It’s not just the adrenaline rush of 30 or 40 people shouting “Kiai” whilst performing a roundhouse kick, or the beautiful sight 30 or 40 people looking strong and proud in Sun Warrior pose.

No it’s the sense of achievement you can see on the participants faces when they master a move, meet a goal, or make a lasting change that benefits them physically. It’s an achievement getting slightly more flexible after each yoga class. It’s an achievement pushing their aerobic capacity in Body Combat.

For me as a group fitness class instructor, there simply isn’t anything better than seeing that look of achievement on their faces.

Whatever your fitness goals there is a group fitness class out there that will be perfect for you.

Your turn: What is your favourite group fitness class? I would love to hear about your achievements, or your stories about your favourite classes. Please leave a comment below and share your experiences.

A Candy-floss Killer – Review of Stephen King Joyland

Entertainment, , , , , , , , ,

Do you like a good whodunit?

Stephen King’s latest novel about a serial killer and a traditional fairground is a departure from his usual dark horror territory, but it’s a swift enjoyable and cracking read.

review of stephen king joyland
Book cover

I’ve struggled with some of Stephen King’s recent novels which are over one thousand pages long. Joyland is short by his standards, at just under 300 pages, more like the short novels that appear in his story collections. As such it is an ideal summer read for the garden or on holiday by the pool with an ice cold beer in your hand.

For someone who grew up near Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach with its smells of candy-floss and popcorn; the rickety racket of old wooden roller coasters; the eery sounds of the Ghost Train and the screams of thrill riders, King’s book describes perfectly an imaginary seaside fairground in the USA. Thanks to his excellent prose it’s easy to see the Carolina Spin Big Wheel and the Horror House Dark Ride and the Thunderball coaster as the backdrop to a murder mystery.

Devin Jones is a student running away from a doomed romance who seeks solace for the summer at Joyland Park. He learns to run the rides, banter with the eccentric employees, entertain children by “wearing the fur” – a very hot and sweaty Howie the Happy Hound costume, and masters the “carny” – the secret language of the fairground industry.

Joyland employees tell the story of Linda Gray, a pretty girl whose killer cut her throat on the Horror House – a dark ride like Blackpool’s Ghost Train. Some of them claim to have seen her ghost and Devin becomes intrigued by the story. A little investigation reveals that there are more victims of the same killer. Who is he and most importantly does he work at Joyland? Is he one of its eccentric showmen?

Away from the park, Devin strikes up a friendship with Annie Ross and her terminally ill son Mike who he teaches to fly a kite. Stephen King creates a very convincing relationship for these three and within a few pages he coaxes us to believe in and indeed to love them. Mike might be able to see ghosts. Could he be the key to setting the troubled spirit of a murdered girl free so she can rest in peace at last?

Devin’s life in and out of Joyland come together in a satisfying reveal off the killer’s identity at the end, and an emotional conclusion to his friendship with Mike and his mother. It takes a skilful author to bring tears to my eyes but Kings last pages had me sobbing into a hanky.

Joyland is a joy. Part murder mystery, part romance, part carny history with a little touch of the supernatural to remind you that the master of horror wrote it.

Your turn: Do you agree with my review of Stephen King Joyland? What other books have you read this summer? Please leave a comment or a link to your own views.