classes – 2nd Avenue

Ring in the new year with rest

Teaching my final yoga class of 2025 last week was bittersweet, as I’d expected it would be. The yin practice at Østerbro Hot Yoga was slow and deep, with a candlelit yoga nidra and savasana. My favourite way to end a class and very fitting for the season.

December calls for cosiness (the famous Danish hygge!) and soft lights and finding comfort. More than ever this time of year, I believe in slowing down and stepping out of the frantic pace of life with all its stressors and worries and demands. And, if you’re in the Copenhagen area, I’m offering two special ways to do that in January 2026.

Softening into spring & summer

Laura's smiling eyes with a background of fluffy pink feathers — Photo taken at Sonja Lackner’s incredible exhibit in 2021

I’m teaching two more online yoga classes as part of the current series. Both will use lots of props to create wonderful nests—although probably no pink feathers!

I won’t be teaching over summer, so this is the last chance for a while to join me live on Zoom—or enjoy the recorded sessions anytime over the weekend.

Calming the disquiet

There’s a swirling sense of anxiety. And it’s making me unsettled.

Woman wearing a white disposable mask holding up one thumb (like thumbs up) — We all doing okay?

I know logically that I’m quite well-protected. It’s not a challenge to stay fed and sheltered and entertained. I’m pretty healthy and likely to stay that way. I have just about every creature comfort at my disposal. But those rational thoughts don’t stop me from fretting about the state of the world.

A few things help: talking with friends, family, and a professional (shout out to Building Bridges for excellent online counselling), giant hugs from my very-in-bubble husband, staying off social media if I’m feeling meh, getting into nature, cuddling with Sofie (she’s less and less amenable, but occasionally consents), and meditating.

A (flat) twist on an old favourite

I love savasana. Practicing it. Teaching it. Evangelising about it.

Feel your feet pressing into the wall - Laura lying on a grey yoga mat with the soles of her feet against a white wall

And after more than two decades practicing yoga and loving corpse pose, I’ve discovered a new way to lie flat on my back. Pressing the soles of my feet against a wall has brought a new twist to this old practice—and given me a newfound appreciation for the possibilities of the pose.

Meditation for compassion

Laura seated in well-propped easy pose demonstrating a gently moving meditation to encourage compassion — Laura mid-way through an easy, five-minute meditation to encourage compassion

Most of us could stand to show ourselves and others a little more kindness. And I feel that need for compassion is more with the amplified sense of hatred, fear, confusion, and division that’s reflected in my social media feeds.

I ended my last online Yin Yoga class with a short meditation to encourage compassion for ourselves and others and I’ve recorded this short practice to share more broadly.

What does it mean to really rest?

Much of what we think of as ‘resting’ is pretty active. Watching Netflix, reading a book, listening to a podcast, scrolling through Instagram, paying attention to current affairs—all tasks that require our brains to be engaged and alert. It’s rare that we allow ourselves to simply be, letting the mind drift and the body be entirely idle. Even catching some zzzs isn’t the same as conscious, deliberate rest. Our brains work like crazy as we dream and our cells shift into maintenance mode while we sleep—not to mention that we wind up in all kinds of not-so-comfortable positions when we subconsciously shift in bed.

Darkness inspires deep relaxation

This coming Saturday I’m teaching a special extra-long yoga class at Younion Yoga to mark the Winter Solstice. It’s the third year I’ve led this seasonally-driven session and I particularly love using yoga to embrace darkness on this longest night of the year. The inspiration for the practice fits perfectly with my teaching style: deliberately slow, purposely restful, mindfully self-centred, well-supported—and with a bonus literary touch.