It?s called ?downward dog? and is a much-loved yoga position where you adopt all-fours, drop your head and extend the hips into the air, the idea being to stretch the backs of the legs and spine.
But this pose is done with a difference. Instead of just holding it ? the essence of yoga ? my instructor orders me to lift one leg high and repeatedly perform up-and-down micro-movements. It works the chain of muscles that go from the back of my legs to the buttocks. And it?s pure murder. ?It?s to help tone and sculpt your bum,? says my instructor, Allie Hill.
Next up comes another traditional yoga pose, a forward-facing leg stretch called a crescent lunge. Only this time we?re instructed to pick up some weights and do bicep curls at the same time. Meanwhile, funky (and distinctly un-yoga like) music blasts out of the studio speakers.
Imported from America and new to the UK, this is pulse yoga, a revamp of the ancient practice designed to appeal to women who are too intimidated to go near a gym ? and to men put off yoga by its wimpy associations with incense and meditation.
?I wanted to offer something different,? says Hill, 38, who has taught yoga to Aston Villa Football Club, among others. ?In the US, yoga?s more mainstream and incorporated into elite sports. They offer all these crazy classes, like yoga spin, and I loved the idea of introducing weights into my practice.?
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