Upcoming Events 2026/2027
Non-Residential Weekend Retreat with myself and Nadine Watton
25th and 26th April at Lila Yoga, Edinburgh
This retreat is a chance to retreat into your practice in community for a weekend. There will be a wide variety of practices over the weekend and workshops on backbends, inversions, meditation and chanting. For a full schedule and further details do email me. The cost is £165 for the whole weekend and spots will sell out. Contact me at contact@amyhughesyoga to secure your place.
From the Heart: yoga to free the respiratory muscles for pranayama and chanting
£35 14:00-17:00 Saturday 20th June at Lime House Yoga, Cornwall
This workshop is the antidote to the hunching and rounding of our shoulders and upper backs (thoracic), which closes down the respiratory apparatus. The yoga practice will explore dynamic and recuperative postures to free the movement of the ribs, diaphragm and intercostals; addressing the relationship between the common movements and muscle groups we hear about in yoga classes and the movements and muscles of respiration.
AYE Ashtanga Yoga Summer School
Thursday 27th – Sunday 20th August at Ashtanga Yoga Edinburgh
This is a really exciting opportunity to practice with the whole team at Ashtanga Yoga Edinburgh. We will be sharing a vibrant four days of long Pranayama and Mysore sessions with Emma Isokivi and myself. These will be followed by philosophy sessions with Samuel Horsley and then the afternoons will be workshops with Emma and I. I am very excited to share with my team in Edinburgh. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity to all be together. What joy. Check the website for more details.
Five Day Ashtanga Immersion
Wednesday October 21st – 25th at Lime House Yoga, Cornwall
This five day immersion is an opportunity to enjoy a deep dive into the Ashtanga system with an exploratory, accessible and non-dogmatic approach. Each day will begin with pranayama and a led or Mysore practice and there will be two further techniques workshops each day. That still leaves space in the schedule to explore the beautiful area around the studio, its garden, the dunes and beaches.
Mysore New Year Retreat with Amy Hughes and Nadine Watton – 7th-10th January 2027
Vinyasa New Year Retreat with Amy Hughes and Nadine Watton – 14th-17th January 2027
At Old Kilmun House, Shore Road, Kilmun, Dunoon, PA23 8SE
After so many years of booked out retreats, we have decided to run two in 2027. One will be a Mysore style morning practice and the second with be Vinyasa. The afternoons will be for yin and alignment workshops and there is a Yoga Nidra before bed each night. These have proven incredibly special retreats and are excited to return next year. Contact me at contact [at] amyhughesyoga [dot] com to express interest.
PAST EVENTS
New Year Retreat with Amy Hughes and Nadine Watton – 8th-11th January 2026
At Old Kilmun House, Shore Road, Kilmun, Dunoon, PA23 8SE
This retreat is fully booked with a waitlist, but do please get in touch if you are interested as we have had so much interest that we are considering putting on a second retreat later in the year! Contact me at contact [at] amyhughesyoga [dot] com to express interest.
Lime House Fundraiser for Palestine
Saturday 20th September 2-6pm
Sliding scale of payment from £20. Book here.
5 Day Ashtanga Immersion 10th – 14th September 2025 at Lime House Yoga, Cornwall
This immersion gives students a chance to come together for four full days of practice and workshops, enjoying a shared space, the thrill of collective movement and breath and an opportunity to evolve their Ashtanga practice. There will be pranayama and long Ashtanga led and self practice sessions in the mornings followed by workshops exploring how to personalise elements of the practice to unlock your energetic and physical potential in a sustainable way. Details and booking are through the magical Lime House: https://www.limehouseyoga.com/workshops/5-day-ashtanga-immersion/
Wednesday 8th January 19:30 – 21:00 @ Ashtanga Yoga Edinburgh
The Vinyasa Krama of Shoulder Opening for Back Bends
Integrating krama (small steps) to free up the rotations of the upper arm bones and the movement of the shoulder blades in order to back bend with greater emphasis on the upper back movement. This can reduce the load on the lower back and might begin to unlock more complex backbends. Students do not need to be practising full urdhva dhanurasana, but some experience working towards this would help.
Monday 13th January 07:00 – 09:00 @ Ashtanga Yoga Edinburgh
Spinal Decompression: a krama sequence for releasing the back
We will explore how lengthening the tissues of the back and side body can aid spinal decompression and relieve back pain. There will be a combination of dynamic and recuperative postures. This workshop will involve showing you the ropes – Amy is no expert, but will share a few great hacks for using the rope wall to aid spinal decompression.
New Year Retreat with Amy Hughes and Nadine Watton – 9th-12th January 2025
At Old Kilmun House, Shore Road, Kilmun, Dunoon, PA23 8SE
The Churning Rod: Twisting the Spine
In-person at Meadowlark Yoga – Sunday 17th September 2023 14:00-16:30
In this deep dive into spinal rotation – churning – we will explore dynamic and restorative twists to understand how they function as a catalyst for spinal health; improve posture; awaken spinal awareness for other groups of poses; reduce back pain and can even give rise to strong energetic release. We will consider the spine as our plumb-line, our centre, through which gravity connects us to the centre of the earth. Myth and storytelling will be woven in to suggest how churning and centring are at the heart of all meaningful yoga practice.
https://www.meadowlarkyoga.com/yoga-workshops-edinburgh
2022 Saturday 19th February Inverted World: Playing with dynamic and restorative inversions @ Meadowlark Yoga IN PERSON
Going upside down can bring up a lot of fear and aversion (dvesa). In this workshop we will delve safely into an inquiry into the importance of inversions in Yoga to understand why headstand and shoulderstand are referred to as the king and queen of Yoga asana. We will explore the importance of building the correct foundation and Samasthihi stability in a variety of inversions. After culminating in a playful look at handstand and forearm balance variations, we will absorb the regenerative energy of our practice in restorative inversions. This is not for complete beginners, a stable shoulderstand and some preparatory work on headstand is a prerequisite.
2021 Saturday December 4th 2021 09:00-11:00 Freeing neck and shoulder tension through yoga @ Meadowlark Yoga ONLINE
Many of us hold tension in the same key areas of the body; the neck, shoulder region is one of those places for many of us. This area is deeply connected to how we carry mental and emotional stress. It is also strongly connected to our everyday physical patterns of movement; whether that is jutting the chin forward when working at a computer, hunching at a desk, carrying a baby, playing an instrument or even the pillows we use when we sleep. This can build up to cause tension headaches and nerve pain. This workshop will address how yoga – practised mindfully and generously – can release this stiffness and also consider ways in which practising in the wrong way can aggravate this tension. The practice will balance dynamic asana with deep releasing and restorative poses to ease out held tension and address how to practice in order to prevent future suffering in this area. This session is open to beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. https://www.meadowlarkyoga.com/yoga-workshops-edinburgh
2021 09:00 – 11:30 Saturday 18th September @ Meadowlark Yoga
Opening the Upper Back: Thoracic Extension in Asana and Pranayama
We will open with 30 minutes of pranayama for optimal lung capacity and rib cage expansion. Then address how the spine naturally moves as we breathe. Participants will deepen their understanding of spinal extension to understand why the inhale takes us into backbends in yoga. We will then venture into an asana practice focused on opening the upper back (the thoracic). We will explore a variety of classical backbends and restorative variations. There is no prerequisite for the workshop, but it would help if you let Amy know beforehand if you have any breathing or back issues.
2021 June 5th All Back to front: back bending as front stretching @ Lime House Yoga
In this workshop we will explore the relationship between the front and back lines of the body and the major hip flexors which connect them. Students will deepen their understanding of how – in the same way that forward folds stretch the back body – at best back bends stretch the front body. The practice will move between deep hip flexor stretches and exploratory back bends. This is suitable for practitioners who love and practitioners who hate back bends – the marmite group of asana.
2021 Sunday April 11th 14:00 – 16:00 ONLINE with Meadowlark Yoga
Spinal Decompression: exploring side body and hip flexor extension
One of the early sightings of yoga asana was by Alexander the Great who saw Indian sadhus hanging upside down in trees. Of course hanging is something our evolutionary ape-like predecessors did a lot of. We, on the other hand, engage in many activities or inactivities that can lead to sensations of compression in the spine. Whether due to too much sitting or overreaching in yoga backbends, we will explore a variety of postures that extend the side body, lengthen the flexors that attach at the spine and extension in forward folds to aid decompression. There will be a short dynamic exploration, but much of this practice will be deep, slow and low with a meditative focus on the breath. Hopefully we will all leave with quieter minds, more space to breathe into and maybe even a little taller. If you have current back pain do let Amy know, but this may be a useful workshop for you.
2020 Saturday November 7th 2020 09.30-11.30 @ Meadowlark Yoga Studio
Preparing Western Hips for Ashtanga Yoga
The lotus leg comes early in the Ashtanga standing sequence; unsurprising given the first students were young Indians whose hips were far more open due to the cultural practices of squatting and sitting cross legged. Western hips are not so well primed by lifestyle for the lotus and leg behind head postures of Ashtanga. This session will highlight how opening the hips is critical for the safe and pain free practice of Ashtanga Yoga.
Saturday May 2nd 2020 09.30-11.30 @ Meadowlark Yoga Studio
Building blocks for back bending
In this workshop we will literally be building some block structures to help build our backbends. However, we will also return to the fundamental principles of safe backbending which are the same whether you are dropping back or doing cobra. We will explore how to stretch the front body; focusing on hip flexor extension to find space in the lower back. We will also focus on opening the upper back so it participates more fully in backbends. We will explore a range of classical backbends with modifications and options for beginners and advanced practitioners alike.
Saturday February 1st 2020 – 09.30 – 11.30 @ Meadowlark Yoga Studio
Inverted World: Exploring dynamic and restorative inversions
Going upside down can bring up a lot of fear and aversion (dvesa). In this workshop we will delve safely into an inquiry into the importance of inversions in Yoga to understand why headstand and shoulderstand are referred to as the king and queen of Yoga asana. We will explore the importance of building correct foundation and Samasthihi stability in a variety of inversions. After culminating in a playful look at handstand, we will absorb the regenerative energy of our practice in restorative inversions.
This is not for complete beginners, a stable shoulderstand and some preparatory work on headstand is a prerequisite.
Sunday November 10th 2019 – 14.00-16.15 @ Meadowlark Yoga Studio
Opening Anahata: thoracic opening for building an upper back bend, improved respiration and removal of excess kapha
This workshop is an opportunity to explore different approaches to opening the upper back so that it participates more fully in back bends. The practice will address a variety of back bends both dynamic and restorative, with plenty of modifications and adaptions to suit all practitioners. We will explore the pranayama associated with building lung capacity and removing excess kapha in the body.
Sunday 7th July 2019 14.00-16.15 @ Meadowlark Yoga
Preparing Western hips for Ashtanga Yoga
The lotus leg comes early in the Ashtanga standing sequence; unsurprising given the first students were young Indians whose hips were far more open due to the cultural practices of squatting and sitting cross legged. Western hips are not so well primed by lifestyle for the lotus and leg behind head postures of Ashtanga. This session will highlight how opening the hips is critical for the safe and pain free practice of Ashtanga Yoga.
Booking through Meadowlark – https://www.meadowlarkyoga.com/events/