Move, North Berwick: we try some dynamic yoga at this seaside studio

I’ve been intrigued by Move Yoga since it opened earlier this year.

The studio is in a rather incongruous spot, in the public car park in North Berwick, but up some stairs on the first floor.

Founded by Katy Wakefield, they offer barre, sculpting and various kinds of yoga classes for all levels.

I thought I’d try the Dynamic version, since I was feeling unusually energetic on a Monday evening. This falls into their Move Fast category, with more meditative practices falling into Move Slow. Your first session at this location is free, and I was happy to see mine was being taken by yogi and long distance swim athlete, Lisa Shaw, who is one of the six teachers here.

I’ve been to her classes in Edinburgh before, and she always offers sessions that are fun and challenging. She also plays a great soundtrack of electronic music, which works really well with the movements.

The studio is low lit, with mirrors running along one wall, and, in the corridor, there are nooks and hanging spaces to put your coats and paraphernalia.

I took my own mat, as it’s a thicker version to cushion my old joints, though they also provide them.

The 75 minute session started with some gentle meditation, wrist rolls and stretching. There were some sequences that rippled from plank to crouching, then to child’s pose.

Then it geared up into some very dynamic movements, with flow sequences that got faster and shorter. There were some balancing poses that I’ve never done before, and they seemed to kick my brain into gear, as well as my body. We’d go from three legged dog to lizard pose, then swing the back leg round, and over the top of the other knee into a twist, before standing on the top leg and lifting the other. Then we’d move from that off-balance and asymmetric pose to a straight-on standing one. Wow. This required a lot of concentration but I forgot that my body could actually do stuff like this. I tend to move like a robot in my daily life, and am not as feeble as I think.

There are other poses too, ones that stretch the hamstrings, and test my hip flexors. All the bits that have been asleep, while I atrophy at my desk all day.

I got quite a high from doing in this class, and it reminded me why I loved yoga in the first place. Movement is medicine, as Wakefield says.

Dynamic Yoga, Monday evenings, 7.30pm to 8.45pm, 45 Melbourne Place, North Berwick, first class is free, then £12 each, with other pricing available, see www.moveyoga.co.uk