A NEW yoga group that is more about creating a supportive community than simple exercise class is about to be launched in Humshaugh.

Teacher Sarah Fae Knapper admits that she herself was “dragged kicking and screaming” towards her first taste of yoga, when it turned out a retreat she’d gone on dispatched participants for a three-hour session every morning.

She says now: “If you resist something, it means you actually need to break through it – what’s in the way is in your way.

“It was one of those things that was so challenging; it lit a fire in me.”

She is talking about Forrest Yoga, developed by American Ana Forrest as a means of ameliorating modern day life.

“She was very aware of the yoga tied up with Sanskrit and Indian words you can’t pronounce when it comes to positions,” said Sarah. “And she wanted to simplify all that.

“Her real focus was people who sit at their desks all day and spend a lot of time in their cars, so she developed a system, for example, that relaxes the neck - something that challenges the old systems that have you holding your neck in position.”

Deep breathing, putting people back in touch with their own bodies, and strengthening legs, feet and hands for bodies better able to ‘stand strong’ are key elements.

After an earlier career path that took her through broadcast journalism (she was the breakfast show presenter for Sun FM, in Sunderland, at one point) and what she found to be a very restrictive year as a teacher, she changed tack altogether.

Gathering up her courage, she got on a plane for Chicago and the 28-day intensive yoga course taught by Ana Forrest herself. One of the things that most appealed to Sarah was the sense of emotional release, the feeling of working through past issues and letting go, enabled by this particular form.

“It works on the premise that your biology is your biography,” she said.

“You might be stretching your muscles, but you are also purging your emotions stored within, so it becomes a really deep healing process.”

The fact that Sarah has had her own past battles with anxiety and depression has made her all the more determined to help others facing similar challenges.

“They say one in three people experiences mental health problems, but I think everyone is touched by it at some point in their lives.

“This class is for everyone though, whether that means a physical injury, chronic illness, chronic fatigue syndrome, and for any age between 16 and 80.

“Classes can be challenging, but they can also be tailored to the needs of the individual.”

Sarah, who works under the name of Sarah Fae, will launch the group in Humshaugh Village Hall on Friday, October 7. It will run for one-and-a-half hours each week, beginning at 11.30am.

Further information is available on her website at www.sarahfae.co.uk or by ringing her on 07880706084.