Gentle yoga in Maui
Move softly, at your own pace.
Gentle classes move, but slowly and without strain. Think slow hatha, gentle flow, somatic movement, chair yoga and easy-paced mat Pilates. You move more than in a restorative class and far less than in a vinyasa.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Gentle does for you
You get to move your whole body without having to prove anything. The pace leaves time to notice how each shape feels, so you can stay inside your own range. Many people find their body feels warmer and their breath steadier by the end. It is a soft way back in after illness, a long break or a hard week.
It suits you if
- you are new and want an easy first step
- you are returning after a break, an injury or a baby
- you like to move but not to rush
- faster classes leave you feeling behind
Read the full guide to GentleWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes run 60 to 75 minutes. The facilitator talks you through simple standing, seated and lying poses, with plenty of time to rest between them and several options for each. Props are normal: blocks, straps, sometimes a chair. The space is usually unheated, and you may get warm but you will not drip. Expect a long relaxation at the end.
Your first time
- Wear something you can move and sit in comfortably; no special gear is needed.
- Arrive a few minutes early and tell the facilitator about anything that needs care.
- Take every option to rest or use a prop; that is the point of the class.
Good to know
- Gentle does not always mean beginner; some gentle classes assume you know the basic poses, so check the description or ask.
- If you are recovering from an injury or surgery, check with your doctor or physiotherapist first and tell the facilitator.
Where it comes from
Adapting practice to the person is a core idea in modern yoga. Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, whose students shaped much of today's yoga, worked very differently depending on who was in front of him, and his son T.K.V. Desikachar developed this into what became known as Viniyoga: practice fitted to age, body and circumstance rather than a fixed sequence.
Gentle classes as a label spread through Western studios from the 1980s and 1990s, alongside forms built for people who could not easily get down to the floor. Lakshmi Voelker-Binder began developing chair yoga in the United States in 1982. Somatic approaches such as the Feldenkrais Method, developed by Moshé Feldenkrais in the mid-20th century, added the idea of small, slow, exploratory movement.
In Berlin, gentle classes show up in yoga studios, Pilates studios, Volkshochschulen and Vereine, and some are courses that statutory insurers (Krankenkassen) subsidize. They often sit at lunchtime or mid-morning, aimed at people who want to move without a gym feel.
Words you will hear
- Hatha
- The broad family of posture-based yoga; on a schedule it often means a slower style with held poses.
- Strap
- A cotton belt that extends your reach, for example around a foot.
- Block
- A foam or cork brick that brings the floor closer to you.
- Modification
- A different version of a pose that suits your body on the day.
- Chair yoga
- Yoga done sitting on, or holding on to, a chair.