Mission:
Opening doors to something deeper

 

A Mission workshop taught by Mission teachers gives students a chance to unpack a particular skill, technique or posture, and linger a bit longer than you would in a regular class. A workshop is a chance to explore and to ask questions. They are generally taught on a Friday night or at the weekend, giving students more time to sink in, reflect and learn.

Urban Yoga Retreat: Unify
with Anna Ashby & Jean Hall

Saturday 28th – Monday 30th December
£330

With special guests Vergine Gulbenkian & Nikki Slade

 

“The sound of raindrops needs no translation.” – Zen saying

 

We are delighted to offer the much loved Urban Retreat in collaboration with Mission. Held at the cusp of the year, our Urban Retreat will give space to reflect, practice and bring closure to what’s past, while welcoming in what’s to come. It’s an auspicious time of gathering where the combination of intention and community can amplify transformation.

 

This year’s theme, Unify offers the intentional space to release, reconcile and reconnect. It supports the cultivation of strength in the face of life’s challenges by recognising and experiencing wholeness as our essence. By engaging in the embodied practices of yoga, somatic enquiry, storytelling and chanting, this retreat will inspire and nurture presence and oneness.

 

Come and join two of London’s most well-respected and experienced yoga teachers, Anna Ashby and Jean Hall to engage in traditional, somatic and Restorative practices, and be inspired by Vergine Gulbenkian, a professional and esteemed storyteller along with the one and only, Nikki Slade, a pioneer in the London kirtan scene as they facilitate this not to miss opportunity to bid farewell to 2024 and welcome in 2025 within the gathering of community.

 

All are welcome to partake of this retreat.

Kirtan: Letting Go of 2024
with Nikki Slade

Monday 30th December: 2.00-3.15pm
£15

Nikki Slade, a pioneer in the London Kirtan scene will facilitate this not to miss opportunity to bid farewell to 2024 and welcome in 2025 within the gathering of community.

 

You do not need to attend the 3 day retreat to join this Kirtan.

 

All are welcome.

New Year's Day: Catch Your Breath
with Marion Pearce

Wednesday 1st January: 10.00am-12.00pm
£40

Join Marion for a two-hour masterclass combining techniques from various lineages such as Katonah yoga®, Kundalini, Vinyasa & Breathwork to set the conditions to feel a spark. Marion thinks that having a strong community is vital to our health and wellbeing and as an expat, she treasures starting the new year with her adopted family in London.

 

Expect all the Katonah folds & twists, a good shake out and a chunky seated practice to turn on your inner desires. Come learn how to set up the conditions that allow us to tap into our imagination, set the scene & follow through. You’ll leave feeling high, recalibrated and breezy.

 

All levels welcome.

New Year's Day: Yang to Yin
with Marcus Veda

Wednesday 1st January: 12.30-2.30pm
£40

Yang Bang Yin Ting. Rock(et) ‘n’ Roll out the New Year this Jan 1 with a rejuvenating two-hour practice of Yang to Yin moving meditation.

 

The first half will be a dynamic 4-Beat flow syncing breath to the beat, and the second half will be a mindful Yin practice finding stillness and calm. Take it up, then take it down and find balance in between.

 

Sweat out 2024 and breathe in 2025.

 

This workshop is open to everybody.

A New Year's Practice: We're Not Getting Out of This Alive!
with Aram Raffy

Wednesday 1st January: 2.00-4.00pm
£40

What’s the problem? This won’t last. Nothing ever does.

 

Times are rough and everything feels out of control, a Yoga practice can teach us there is much we can learn to control. Our breath, our bodies, our minds. We are responsible for a lot!

 

In spite of this, all that we build, that we cultivate, that we cling to. Ultimately we’ll have to let go. There’s no other choice.

 

Begin the year with a celebration.

 

A fun, highly charged practice. Exercising force of will and surrender in equal measure. A practice to cultivate compassion, gratitude and an inner strength that we can carry with us off the mat and into this impermanent world.

 

A practice to remind us that what we do is significant, that we are significant and the effect we have on the reality we find ourselves in matters.

 

No fear. As we hurtle through space on this rock at thousands of miles per hour. No one is in charge, no one knows where we’re going. Free yourself from fear and embrace the unknown. What a ride.

 

Everyone, no matter where you are in your practice, is welcome!

Reboot and Reset - a Journey of Breath and Sound
with Sally Connor and Pablo

Saturday 4th January: 12.30-3.00pm
£50

If you’ve ever experienced Transformational Breathwork and Sound, you’ll know it can feel almost miraculous!

 

Transformational breathwork is a therapeutic breathing technique that can relieve physical tension in the body, emotional stresses and blockages, leaving you feeling lighter and more connected to Self. Using circular breathing, you can move into an altered conscious state and access and release deeply buried obstacles and blocks. There is no other technique that can take you as deep into yourself, in such a short period of time, as breathwork.

 

After the Breathwork session, you’ll continue to lie on your mat, while Pablo will bring you into a state of deep integrative relaxation using sound. Sound healing has been used for centuries to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and enhance overall wellbeing. The soothing sounds and vibrations of the Gong, singing bowls, chimes and drum, will help create a meditative and immersive environment for you to assimilate and integrate all the benefits of the breathwork session.

 

We aim to show you the power of your breath and sound as vehicles for healing and enhancing your physical, mental and emotional health. The session will last for 2.5 hours, giving us space to set an intention and to share and integrate our experiences after the breathwork and sound. We will start with a breathwork session, moving into beautiful sound healing and floating off into bliss.

 

This workshop is suitable for everyone. For this experience, bring a bottle of water… you might want to bring a journal to make notes on your experience but this is not required. There is no movement component to this workshop, so no need to wear “yoga clothes” but please dress for comfort.

 

If you are aware of any heart conditions or brain conditions (ie. Epilepsy, PTSD) you may experience or could be/are pregnant please let Sally or Pablo know on the day.

Let's Be in Touch: A Hands-On Adjustments Workshop
with Marcus Veda & Nino Russo

Saturday 25th January: 12.00-2.00pm
£40

In this hands on assisting workshop we will look at the difference between active and passive adjustments and energetic touch, how to promptly spot which one is appropriate for the practitioner in front of us, and how to effectively deliver them.

 

How to be attuned in your assists- imparting clear and useful information through touch and avoid injuries to yourself (and of course, your students) when giving regular assists as a teacher.

 

This workshop is open to anyone who has (or is interested in) a 200hrs TT.

Active/Hypnobirthing Workshop
with Lolly Stirk

Saturday 1st February: 12.30-6.00pm
£200 (per couple)

This unique live workshop for women and their birthing partners is informative, practical and confidence-building. Knowledge is power and you will gain a good understanding of physiological birth and how to cooperate with and encourage this innate and evolved process to flow.

 

Your environment has an enormous influence on the way you birth and Lolly pays particular attention to educating your partner on how to hold and protect your space. She will draw on her many years as a doula, yoga teacher, certified hypnobirther and childbirth educator to provide you with the tools for working together before and during the birth. You will learn how to release tension and fear though education, breathwork, visualisation, movement and massage.

 

There will be a maximum of 10 couples attending this workshop, giving time for individual questions. Ideally, this workshop should be taken in the third trimester of pregnancy, but it can be taken at any time.

Emptiness and Form
with John Stirk

Sunday 2nd February: 12.15-6pm
£100

An Exploration into the Deeper Structure of Reality

 

Body, mind, sensation, intellect, consciousness, and experience are founded on a coalescence of emptiness and form, an understanding shared by eastern mysticism and modern physics.

 

By refining sensitivity, we will invite this coalescence to the foreground of awareness, and release a profound energy that promotes transformation on all levels.

 

Some previous yoga experience is required.

RocketBeats Adjustments Workshop
with Imi Wiseman and Alan Ellman

Sunday 16th February: 3.00-6.00pm
£60

This is a 3 hour deep dive into RocketBeats adjustments.

 

Our methodology is firmly rooted in assessing how to balance strength and flexibility and how there is no one size fits all adjust for any pose.

 

You will learn how to recognise different body types and how to adapt adjustments accordingly in a wide range of poses. As well as learning the methodology you’ll also have the opportunity to put it into practice on several different bodies and refine the skills with feedback from others.

 

You’ll leave with a better understanding of what balancing strength and flexibility inside of asana might look like, and how to apply the right adjustment to the right person at the right time, in a busy room, during a moderately fast paced class.

 

This workshop is suitable for you whether you’re already a RocketBeats teacher or are just interested in understanding a bit of the method behind the madness, and why our favourite adjustment is a good old fashioned poke in the ribs.

 

Photography by Gemma Bringloe @gemma.b.photography

Kirtan
with Radhika Das

Friday 21st March: 7.00-9.00pm
£20

Kirtan is a call and response musical meditation that takes a minute to learn, and makes you feel good just as fast. The practice is ancient but is fast becoming THE modern alternative gathering to help you discover your inner world, without waking the next morning with a crippling hangover!

 

You don’t need to be a good singer, a practitioner of yoga, or a follower of any religion or set of beliefs to experience the power of Kirtan. An open mind and willing voice are all that is required! Combining music, mantra, meditation and a few dance moves from time to time, kirtan offers a rich, immersive experience that has the power to change the world, one heart at a time.

 

New to Kirtan? FAB! Radhika’s Kirtan aims to deliver an immersive experience to both the toe-dipper, and the well-established floating yoga practitioner.

 

Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate those under 13 years.

Handstands: The Basics
with Yuval Ayalon

Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd March: 12.00-3.00pm
£165 for the weekend

Over the two-day workshop Yuval will teach you the basics of handstands. He’ll help you establish a solid base necessary to take your handstand practice to a new level, safely and efficiently.

 

You’ll learn the technical preparations for handstands and come to understand and experience the alignment points of a straight line handstand. You’ll experiment with some different handstand shapes, learn balance strategies, and play with various wall drills, as well as different ways to enter a handstand.

 

This workshop is for beginners who can hold a handstand for 20 seconds against the wall. It is also for intermediate handstandsers who want to revisit the basics and improve alignment and control.

Handstands: Advanced
with Yuval Ayalon

Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd March: 3.30-6.30pm
£165 for the weekend, £85 for one day

Saturday’s class will focus on refining the different shapes of handstands (tuck, pike and straddle) and adapting them for advanced level transitions and sequences.

 

Sunday’s class will focus on press to handstand, stalders, and the holy grail: one-armed handstands.

 

Both workshops are intended to give students a better understanding of how to practise complex handstands, and how to create or refine their own practice routine. While the workshops can be taken individually, you’ll get the most out of Yuval’s teachings by taking both.

 

These workshops are suitable for students with a committed handstand practice, and who can hold a solid handstand for at least 30 seconds.

WTF is RocketBeats?
with Imi Wiseman and Alan Ellman

Saturday 12th – Sunday 13th April, 2025
£200 for the weekend, £120 for one day, £70 for one session
(10% discount – Early bird price until 31st January)

This weekend is a deep dive into RocketBeats – a functional, fun, modern approach to dynamic yoga.

 

The weekend consists of 4 sessions – and each session is dedicated to a particular direction of travel.

 

Each session will have 2 parts:
A workshop based around strength and flexibility conditioning with a particular pose as the focus. Take what you’ve learned and have a go at implementing it into… A RocketBeats asana practice.

 

SATURDAY

  • UP – everything shoulders and upper body – shoulder strength, arm balances, inversions, binds and more
  • DOWN – everything hips and lower body – leg strength, standing balances,
    hip openers and more

 

SUNDAY

  • FORWARDS – everything forward fold – hip compression, core strength, pressing, floating and more
  • BACKWARDS – everything front body opening – core stabilisation, back body strength, backbends and more
The Heart of Ashtanga Yoga
with Saraswathi Jois

Friday 16th – Tuesday 20th May, 2025
£250 for all five days, £50 for one class

 

Join R Saraswathi Jois, Ashtanga Yoga’s senior-most female teacher, in a rare visit abroad from her shala in Mysore, India. At Mission, Saraswati will be accompanied by her daughter Sharmila and they will teach led Primary and led Intermediate Series as well as chanting sessions and a Conference.

 

Saraswathi will teach led classes at Mission — both the Primary and the Intermediate Series, as well chanting classes and the all-important Conference where you can ask this matriarch questions about “first breath, then gazing, then posture,” about integrating a daily practice into family life, about Sanskrit, or any questions you may have about the path of yoga.

6-Week Handstand Course
with Sammy Dinneen

Friday 14th March – 25th April: 5.45-7pm
(no class 4th April)
£115
This 6-week beginners’ handstand course embarks on a journey of balance, strength, and poise. The classes will unfold with careful guidance, focusing on foundational elements crucial for success.

 

You will delve into body tension, understanding weight distribution, and mastering proper alignment. Each session cultivates mindfulness as students gradually overcome fears and build confidence in inversions. Progression unfolds through drills targeting shoulder stability, wrist mobility, and body awareness.

 

With instruction, participants learn to kick up, finding stability against gravity’s pull. Amidst hard work and determination, you will discover newfound strength and agility on the palms of your hands.