Light up your life, party in the dark with glow yoga

While practised in a darkened room, the usual health benefits of yoga apply – deep breathing -oxygenates the body and the mind, and the 90 minutes of exercise gets your body moving and activates the release of endorphins or “happy hormones”.

Glow yoga at Bodytree Studio. Delores Johnson / The National
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If you haven’t been fortunate enough to have anyone tell you you’re glowing lately, then a glow yoga class may be the best way to light up your life a little.

The classes have just arrived at Abu Dhabi’s Bodytree Studio, and on Thursday evening, 24 ­yogis danced and stretched their way toward the weekend in the dark at the inaugural class.

The 90-minute sessions were introduced to the studio by ­instructor Angela Muller Habig, who believes glow yoga is a great way to put some fun into regular practice.

“It’s just to give people who have a regular yoga practice, who enjoy yoga, the ability to have a bit of fun with it. This way it’s about the movement, the fun, the community, letting go,” stays Habig. “Often times when you practice, you think my yoga has to be this or it has to be that – warm up, sequence, meditation – it’s really, I find, beneficial to change it up.”

Habig, who has been teaching at Bodytree for two years, has been inundated with interested students who fancy getting the glow paint out and are keen to turn their usual Power Flow class – which is a playful yet ­vigorous, strength orientated practice – into something of a ­celebration.

“It’s a very energetic class that challenges your sense of ­balance, but you have freedom, because nobody is watching you so you can just go crazy. Who cares what he or she or whoever is doing. So this is a little bit of a club atmosphere,” Habig adds.

While practised in a darkened room, the usual health benefits of yoga apply – deep breathing ­oxygenates the body and the mind, and the 90 minutes of exercise gets your body moving and ­activates the release of endorphins or “­happy hormones”.

The glow experience

At the beginning of the class and with the glowsticks and body paint lighting up an otherwise dark room, the practice began. There was a noticeable positive energy and happiness in the small studio. People were taking selfies, and giggling with one another as they took in the pre-class “glow” before the flow.

The music began and the ­sequence of movements, which included usual yoga postures including downward dog, sun salutations, upwards facing dog, tree pose and others, took our minds from the darkened ­surrounds to our bodies – the ­essence of yoga.

The experience itself was not unlike any other yoga class I’d been to in the past except that the lights were dimmed and breakout movement actively encouraged. Not being a regular yogi myself, I enjoyed practising in the dark as I didn’t feel like I was being judged as much as I may have been in a regular well-lit room.

The upbeat tunes and fluidity of the class, which followed the Power Flow format, was the part I enjoyed most. When I couldn’t hold a pose, I was ­encouraged to dance it out or ­retreat to child’s pose. And when there was a break in the ­sequences, the class danced freely.

While certainly not a class for the faint-hearted, it is a fun way to exercise. Nadia El-­Dasher, who was visiting her former home from Cairo, Egypt, likened the atmosphere to a party. “It was amazing, it was like a dance party for yogis without the hangover,” she said. Georgio (surname withheld on request) – a regular at Bodytree – said he loved it and would “­definitely do it again”.

The class is for intermediate to advanced students, but can be enjoyed by anyone, so long as you know your own body.

The review was conducted at the invitation of Bodytree Studio.

• Glow yoga is expected to become a regular monthly or bi-monthly fixture on the Bodytree Studio timetable. A 90-minute class costs Dh95 and includes a free juice. For details visit www.bodytreestudio.com

mhealy@thenational.ae