There is a funny thing that happens when you have been practising yoga for a while.

You know the poses. You recognise the sequences. You can move through a Sun Salutation without really having to think about what comes next.

And that is sometimes exactly when it is worth slowing everything down.

Because Yoga Fundamentals isn't simply a class you take when you are new to yoga. The foundations are the things we continue working with throughout our practice.

How are you standing? Where is your weight? What are your shoulders doing? Are you actually breathing? And are you moving in a way that works for your body, or simply repeating something because you have done it a hundred times before?

Fundamentals doesn't mean beginner

There can be an assumption that yoga works in levels.

You learn the basic poses, get better at them, move into faster classes and eventually progress to more complicated poses.

But bodies don't really work like that, and neither does yoga.

A simple Warrior II can give you plenty to work with. So can Downward Facing Dog. So can standing well in Mountain Pose.

When we give ourselves enough time to look at the details, familiar poses often become much more interesting.

Where are your feet? What is happening through your knees and hips? Are you gripping somewhere unnecessarily? Can you create strength without creating tension everywhere else?

That isn't beginner work. That is simply good practice.

What happens when you slow things down?

In a flowing class, there isn't always time to stop and investigate every position.

Sometimes that is exactly what we want. We want to move, breathe, build some heat and enjoy the rhythm of the practice.

Yoga Fundamentals gives us something different.

We have time to break poses down, look at alignment, explore different options and understand why we are doing what we are doing.

You may suddenly notice that you always shift your weight to one side. That your shoulders tense when you are concentrating. That one hip moves completely differently from the other. Or that a small adjustment makes a pose you have practised for years feel completely different.

It is less about performing the pose and more about understanding what is happening inside it.

Your body isn't the same every day

This is another reason the foundations remain relevant.

Your body changes.

It changes with age, work, sleep, stress, injury, pregnancy, having a baby, exercise and simply life.

The version of a pose that worked beautifully for you five years ago might not be what your body needs today.

Learning the foundations gives you the confidence to adjust your practice rather than feeling that there is one correct shape you have to achieve.

You learn what you are looking for in a pose, rather than simply trying to copy what it looks like.

And then there is the breath

It is very easy to say "breathe" in a yoga class.

It is another thing to actually notice how you are breathing while your body is working.

When we slow the practice down, there is more space to pay attention to the breath and notice what happens to it as poses become stronger or more challenging.

Are you holding it? Rushing it? Can you soften somewhere without losing the strength of the pose?

The breath gives you an enormous amount of information about what is happening in your body.

Who is Yoga Fundamentals for?

Pretty much anyone.

If you have never done yoga before, it is a lovely place to begin because you have time to learn without feeling that you need to know what comes next.

If you are returning after a break, it gives you space to find your feet again.

If your body has changed after pregnancy or having a baby, it can be a really useful bridge back into general yoga classes.

And if you have been practising for years, it gives you an opportunity to look at familiar poses with a little more curiosity and perhaps notice things you have been moving past.

You don't need to be flexible. You don't need to know the names of the poses. And you definitely don't need to be a beginner.

Sometimes slower is exactly what your practice needs

There is absolutely a place for a strong, flowing yoga class. There is also something incredibly valuable about taking your time.

About asking why.

About noticing what your body is actually doing instead of automatically moving into the shape you know.

Yoga Fundamentals gives you the time to do that.

Not because you are going backwards.

Simply because there is always more to discover in the things we think we already know.