Creative Yoga London: Online Yoga Relaxation For Crazy Times cover photo

What we’re about

Hi, I'm Richard, Dru yoga teacher, 5 Elements acupuncturist, retreat facilitator, wellness coach and author of The Wellness Blog. I empower you to find what's essential to you and gives you the practical skills, impetus and knowledge to lead a naturally inspired life, measured from the deepest level of your perception, not through the eyes of others! I'm founder of both Creative Wellness and Creative Yoga, from 2012 I made this London's biggest weekly yoga meetup group, with some immensely unique and creative events - which were even featured in International Media. I took a break while working abroad in Portugal, helping facilitate retreats at a centre rated top 10 in the world by The Times.

Given the situation we all currently in I'm so happy to be hosting classes back online here and happy to help.

We are slightly hamstrung by what we can offer online but I'll do my best!

The cornerstone of successful transformational practice is...regular practice! We refer to yoga as a 'practice' and how I relate to this, is that ultimately yoga is a 'practice' for our life off the mat. So we 'practice' experiencing peace and harmony on a regular basis so it starts to become the common denominator for how we wish to feel, and pull the rest of our life towards that state, that essence of peace we find inside. If you don't regularly experience that sense of peace, then it can feel like we are 'wandering in the dark' and we just get used to feeling disjointed...

"Yoga is a sense of unity, which through repeated practice on the mat, starts to permeate through your entire being consciously as being your natural state. That feeling becomes transferable as the common denominator across all areas of your life.

The whole of life becomes your yoga practice, dropping things away which don’t tie in with that sense of unity. So it starts to permeate all — your social life, your relationships, your work; it all becomes your centre, your ‘practice’.

When your whole life becomes your practice, what exactly are we ‘practicing’ for?

It’s the sense of unity we feel in our heart, our core, as that aspect of us, some call it Soul, is forever unified and part of the light which Illumines all. So the yoga practice is ultimately about expanding the perfection of seed soul which exists within and making it as big as possible in your life.

Your life becomes your seed soul expanded; there is nothing excluded from the light that switches on when you do something you Love.

What is Love? It is the engagement with the prompting of your soul.”

— Richard

Why Yoga Changes How You Think & Feel:

SO WHAT IS DRU YOGA?

Dru Yoga is a very accessible, graceful and potent form of yoga. It is based on flowing movements, directed breathing, and visualisation. It works on body, mind, and spirit, improves strength and flexibility, creates core stability, builds heightened feelings of positivity, and deeply relaxes and rejuvenates your whole being. Dru Yoga is also gentle, relaxing, and focuses on creating an energy which facilitates the body to release, no need to push or force.

Using unique energy block release sequences, sessions work to subtly release energy constrictions which get held in our body, and particularly in our spine. There is also a particular focus on the Anahata chakra (Heart energy centre) which creates a heartwarming sense of well-being which lends itself to the body unwinding and releasing.

RICHARD SAYS...

Dru Yoga, Yoga of The Soul

Dru Yoga is truly a yoga of the Soul. My intention when I teach is really to get you to connect to an immensely deep place within you where you hold the creative intelligence that you need to connect with that enables you to thrive in your life. A lot of the time when our mind is busy we literally can’t hear ourselves ‘think’- or in essence hear our ‘deeper self’ talk to us and inform us what we need to do to keep our life moving forward.

Heart Opening

Dru has a fantastic way of ‘opening your Heart’ as it’s a gentle yoga which enables you to deeply relax, and when your Heart is relaxed the rest of your being follows suit so your entire body and mind becomes peaceful.

And the other affect of opening your Heart in this way is that it holds the aforementioned precious ‘deeper self’ information, the essence of your being and creative passions and potential within it, so when you are relaxed in this way it amplifies your awareness in your mind of what you need to do in your life.

While Dru is a gentle yoga, this subtlety is not to be confused with not being powerful! Some of the most powerful transformations we can have are the result of subtle inner shifts which then ripple through our being, our actions and therefore our life.

Learn to Love What's Inside

So it’s unlikely I’ll get you to stand on your head in a Dru class, but I might get you to listen to, and learn to Love what’s inside it. If that scares you, just remember that what goes on in your mind is linked to the body, and since Dru is a tremendously relaxing yoga, it’s the strength of the practice in relaxing and harmonising your body that calms the mind. So gather your courage and come and see what’s ‘inside’.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING...

"Just wanted to say I thought the class was beautiful…very comfortable and flowed through so many different exercises and techniques without feeling rushed. It was nice to lean on people and feel that we are together in this crazy little world, and I felt really relaxed and well stretched by the end. Thanks, Richard! I’ll be back!" – Julia

"Thank you, Richard! I really enjoyed your class and will be back next week! Haven’t felt so relaxed, peaceful, and calm for a very long time! Just what I needed! And it was fun to meet so many friendly social people tonight! See you next week everyone!"— Miriam

"Highly recommend this class, folks. I went for the first time last week. Richard guides you along to create a lovely balance between being energised and relaxed. Great for the non-flexible types like myself."— Vernon

VISIT RICHARD'S BLOG TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

• The Soul

• Nature and Interconnectedness

• Yin and Yang & The 5 Elements

• How The Mind Works

• Relationship Dynamics

• The Principles of Yoga, Meditation and Deep Relaxation

• Therapeutic Principles

• Diet and Digestion

• General Healthy Living Advice

LONDON EVENTS - AD HOC WORKSHOPS WHICH MIGHT APPEAR:

Couples Yoga

Finding shared activities are the life blood of a happy relationship. We will always have differences with our partners and lovers but finding things that connect you together are PRICELESS

You get chance to find new ways of connecting with your partner and learn some super fun partner yoga, connection and intimacy exercises you can also use at home.

Meditation and the Body-Mind Connection

So have you ever wondered what meditation is all about? Have you ever wondered what makes up the content of your mind and more about ‘who’ you are?

My expertise is in identifying and helping you understand the thought patterns which move through your mind — how they change and relate to the physiology within your body. This makes meditation practice much more effective, as my unique meditation and body-mind connection workshops unable you to understand what you may be experiencing during periods of meditation.

Other Ridiculously Creative Events

As and When!

Retreats

I'm extremely privileged that alongside my London project, for the past 3 years, I've also facilitated wellness programmes and retreats from an amazing retreat centre in the Algarve, Moinhos Velhos. These programmes are so good they are rated in the top 10 in the world by The Times!

A typical retreat will feature: Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness and Deep Relaxation, Optional Therapies, Holistic Education Sessions, A beautiful Spiral Walk letting go and creative visioning workshop, Beach trip, An evening meal out, Sauna, pool and Hot tub (of course!) And just lots of space to relax and connect!