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who is lotte?
Who is Lotte?
I studied under Gert Van Leeuwen for three years, completing his teacher training course. Over thirty years, Gert has developed the ´Critical Alignment´ method of Yoga.
This maybe sounds a bit complex, but what it comes down to is that you improve your posture by first improving the alignment of your spine.
Our approach runs counter to most forms of Yoga, which focus mainly on muscular flexibility. ´Critical Alignment´ believes that this doesn´t deal with the long-term issue, as stiff muscles are usually working to compensate poor posture. Without spinal correction, stiffness will keep recurring.
Yoga with a use.
When your spine runs straight, better alignment for arms and legs naturally follows, meaning you need a minimum of muscle power to stay in balance.
In this ideal state, the skeletal structure is supported by the postural muscles. Despite the name, these muscles are underused in most people, resulting in muscle groups designed for movement being given over to load bearing. This over-work is the source of stiffness.
Preventing unnecessary stress
Stress often manifests itself in your body, as muscular tension. This tension ensures that muscles and joints become stiff. In combination with bad posture, this can eventually create RSI and related complaints.
During a Lotte Yoga School lesson, we search for tension in the body and learn to let it go through breathing techniques. If muscular tension lessens, the spinal column can return to its proper range of movement. At the same time, you build up strength in order to support a new, improved posture.
Body and mind are one
Bodily relaxation works on a mental level. Critical Alignment Yoga helps you learn to deal with stress in a more relaxed manner. Unusually in our culture, this new skill is taught not through the head, but through the body.
During my training, I´ve learned to translate my own bodily experiences into words as accurately as possible. Hopefully, this helps me communicate as clearly as possible with students. In class, we talk a lot about becoming more conscious of your body- the intention is to explain this growing consciousness in as technical and concrete a manner as possible. We do our best to avoid abstractions!
Perhaps you´d like to give it a go yourself- drop us a line to get a trial lesson.
Lotte Post