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We teach traditional Hatha Yoga, a holistic science for health and wellbeing. Yoga Teacher Training.

Rory Viggers & Dory Walker
Yoga Teacher Trainers, Mind Mechanics, Meditation, Headstand & Inversion specialists, Global Retreat leaders, 25 years, Dona Holleman students. Feel awesome in body and mind through ancient practices for contemporary life. Our Yoga is inspired by our study of classical teachings of Hatha yoga in disciplines that include Iyengar, Sivananda, Satyananda, Krishnamacharya and Dona Holleman's Centered Yoga system. We offer weekly yoga classes, courses and workshops in Clifton - Bristol, the South West & London. UK and International Yoga Retreats. Holistic Treatments. Yoga Therapy. Private Tuition. Yoga in the workplace.

Partners in lifePartners in parentingPartners in adventuringPartners in business-ing Partners in learningPartners in lov...
15/10/2026

Partners in life
Partners in parenting
Partners in adventuring
Partners in business-ing
Partners in learning
Partners in loving
Partners in fun & mischief-ing
Partners in figuring things out
Partners in doing it differently
Partners in breaking the rules
Partners in trusting
Partners in believing
Partners in relationship-ing
Partners in playing
Partners in dancing
Partners in experiencing
Partners in deepening
Partners in calling each other out
Partners in raising our standards
Partners in visioning
Partners in failing & falling
Partners in making mistakes
Partners in getting back up again (& again & again)
Partners in giving
Partners in making frickin’ scary moves
Partners in doing it anyway
Partners in deciding it
Partners in choosing it
Partners in feeling it
Partners in receiving it
Partners in claiming it
Partners in co-creating it
Partners in keeping it unreal

Dory Walker here’s to all that unfolds at level 48 x

Happy Birth Day
Rory

14/10/2026

There’s a reason your legs feel heavy in the Crows & Cranes

And it probably isn’t because you need stronger arms
Or that you havent aligned with gravity

What I often see is people treating Crow as an arm balance
Which makes sense

Because that’s how it’s usually taught

Knees high on the arms
Lean forward
Balance

And what often keeps everything together is:

arm strength
leg grip
friction
gravity

The pelvis stays high
The weight drops into the arms

And the whole thing can be held together without the abdominals doing a great deal

This is why many people tell me

“My legs feel heavy.”
“I can get up but it never feels light.”
“One slip and I’m down.”
“I cant straighten my arms”

Here is the piece thats often missed:

The Bakasana family sit in the abdominal branch of the asana family tree

This is their functional role and transferable benefit

It’s what makes them one of the best counter posture for backbends
It’s what helps create support in the lumbar for forward bends

This is the piece that is often missing

The lesser-practised version makes this much easier to see

The legs wide
The shins move towards the triceps
The grip is less needed

Because something else has to happen
The lift has to come from the abdominals

Without that action, the posture doesn’t really leave the ground.

When this support comes online, the legs become lighter
The arms stop having to do everything
The whole posture starts working together

And this isn’t exclusive to the classical version

You can integrate the same action into any variation of Crow/Crane

And there’s more

You can start building the very thing that makes the posture lighter without even balancing on your hands

There is a specific drill I teach that gives you the exact same abdominal action with the feet staying on the floor

You get all of the support, control and lift without needing to balance

I’ll be sharing it the upcoming free 3-part Inversion & Arm Balance training

Reply CROW if you’d like an invite

Follow .kutir for more crow tips

13/10/2026

If you’ve been told to put all the weight into your arms in Headstand, with little to none on your head, you are making it harder than it needs to be

Your head is essential for Headstand

When you disconnect the head & neck from the design, you weaken the real structure

Which means you have rely on your arms

Which means you think you need more arm strength than you actually do

And when the structure is weakened you’ll need far more core strength than you otherwise would

Which means you think you need more core strength than you actually do

Disconnecting the main structure means your balance won’t be as stable

Which means you’ll wobble more, feel more fearful, or stay stuck to the wall

And your legs are going to feel much heavier

Which means you’ll rely on compensatory strength to lift them

See the pattern?

The most commonly taught techniques don’t often align with the real mechanics

And if you’re only learning in yoga classes, there’s often only a few minutes to cover Headstand, so only a handful of key points can be shared

Having worked with thousands of teachers & students over the past decade, most had been taught the same instructions I was. The same cues that are still widespread today

Around 15 years ago, I stopped practising them after I was shown the flaws

That began a completely different approach that transformed my own practice and enabled me to support others to build a practice based on the real mechanics

By redesigning the posture, the legs become lighter, balance becomes steadier, staying longer becomes more easeful, and fear dissolves

If you’ve been told to put all the weight into your arms and your legs feel heavy...

There’s a good chance you’re making it far harder than it needs to be

I break this down in detail in an upcoming free training, where I’ll show you what an aligned method looks like and give you the starting blocks to begin redesigning your Headstand

For an invite, reply HEAD

09/10/2026

Crow / Crane is usually understood as an arm balance.

Which means a key piece often goes missing.

And that is something that can make your arms work harder than they need to & your legs feel heavy.

Looking only through the lens of an arm balance affects how you practise & teach it.

The focus will probably be more on stacking with gravity.

Some will even tell you you don’t need your abdominals.

And if you practise the most commonly taught version, with the knees high on the arms & the pelvis high in the air, gravity, friction & bodyweight can keep you there.

When you instead see Bakasana amongst the other asana families, a whole new level of possibility opens up.

Because the Bakasanas are abdominal poses.

That’s their role in the asana family tree.

It’s why they make an effective counterpose for backbends.

It’s why they support the lumbar region for forward bends.

It’s why they help maintain the health of the lower back.

That’s a very different intention from simply balancing on your hands.

Now this doesn’t mean “engage your core.”

That has to be one of the most unspecific & unhelpful cues ever.

Like any action, it needs to be specific.

When you switch on this abdominal engine in a specific way, you create lift.

You support the lift of the arms & body.

You make it lighter for the legs to leave the floor.

That happens because the abdominals are doing what they’re meant to do.

There is no universal meaning to a pose.

One teacher has one interpretation.
Another has another.

For one, Bakasana is simply an arm balance.
A fun challenge.
A party trick.

For another, it’s an abdominal posture that connects to other asana & supports the body in different ways.

The technique you learn isn’t universal.

It comes from your teacher’s intention & interpretation.

This is key to understand.

Because if the pose you’re trying to create doesn’t align with the intention behind the method you’re being taught...
..it isn’t going to happen.

I dive into this inside my free 3-part inversion training.

Including exactly how to switch on the abdominal engine in Crow / Crane.

Comment CROW & I’ll send you an invite.

08/10/2026

What so many people end up doing in Headstand is this.

Using their arms & core as the main focus to lift the legs & hold the pose.
And that makes sense.

Because this is how the most commonly taught methods teach it.

But what most people don’t realise is they’re making things far harder than they need to.

The reason is the design they’re using.

What’s missing is the key ingredient between the arms & the core.

The spine.

Think of a crane.
What enables the arm to move is what it sits on.
Without that, the structure collapses.

Headstand is the same.

If you couldn’t use your arms to bear weight in Headstand, would you still stay with ease, lightness & stability?

If the answer is no, the body isn’t doing the job it needs to.

From the top of the head to the feet, that vertical axial column is central to Headstand.

Every section has a role.
Every section has to switch on.

If you only use the arms, most of that structure stays offline.
So you rely on the arms & core.

That’s tiring.

It also makes you think you need stronger arms.
Or that arm strength is the problem.

The design is the problem.
Arm strength is the symptom.

Relying on arm power.
Bringing the pelvis too far back to lift the legs.

These are two signs the method is off.

And if this is you, it’s no surprise.
You’ve probably been shown this in classes & even teacher trainings.
Because this is still how it’s often taught.

What has enabled me, & long-term Headstand practitioners, to stay for long periods with ease is understanding how to engage the whole body.

Where the arms are light, working in cohesion with the rest of the body rather than doing the lion’s share of the work.

Time is key.

That’s why any promise to “nail Headstand in 7 days” has huge limitations.

Part of the support comes from progressively loading the body over time.
You can’t rush it or compress it.

It’s central to Headstand.

This is the method I teach inside Art Of Inversions.

Step by step.
No gaps.
Fully aligned with Physics & the body’s Mechanics

I’ll be sharing more of this in the next free 3-part Inversion Training where you can see the full picture

Reply HEAD for an invite

#

I was 23 and remember feeling like I had diamonds in my pockets that I needed to share.A lot has happened since then.Tho...
07/10/2026

I was 23 and remember feeling like I had diamonds in my pockets that I needed to share.

A lot has happened since then.

Thousands of classes. Hundreds of workshops. Over 100 retreats. Years of study and practice.

But also motherhood, loss, mistakes, change, empty classes, full rooms, questionable yoga trends, plenty of lessons and a lot of growing up.

>>> See the slides >>>

Through all of it, one thing hasn’t changed.

I still believe deeply in these practices and in their capacity to change the way we meet ourselves and our lives.

And 25 years later, I still feel like I have diamonds in my pockets.

Over the coming months, we’re going to be celebrating Yogakutir25 with a series of special events, gatherings and a few other things we’ve got planned.

More soon.

When I started teaching, I didn’t have a website and we were latecomers to social media.

Newsletters were how we shared what we were doing and stayed connected.

So I’d love to know... have you been on that list from the very beginning?

Or can you remember how we first connected, either with me or with Rory?

I’d love to hear.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Dory x

06/10/2026

On most occasions when your arms go up overhead, the shoulder blades move up towards the ears

This is key for backbends and for arm balances such as Handstand

What many people get muddled is applying the same focus to Headstand

Because this is an exception to the rule

And so many misunderstand this

In fact, if you have been told to let your shoulder blades go towards your ears in Headstand, you’ve probably also been told to keep all the weight in your arms.

Because essentially you are practising Forearm Stand with your head lightly touching the floor.

This isn’t Headstand.

The mechanics are very different.

The structure is different.

The effects of the posture are different.

So if you struggle to stay longer...

Think your arms need to be stronger...

Have been told to do Dolphin reps to build more strength in the arms and shoulders...

Find it hard to lift the legs with ease (or at all)...

Or your balance is short-lived or shaky...

This is a method problem.

Not a you problem.

You are simply using a design that makes the posture much harder.

Because it doesn’t utilise the most effective structure.

This is how Headstand is often taught, even by some great teachers.

Because they were probably shown this way too.

And if you have the strength, you can get away with it.

Headstand is a long-duration posture.

I have been specialising in it for a long time.

I’m involved in some research looking at how Headstand can positively affect our brainwaves.

And one of the early things we’re seeing is this:

How you do it matters.

Because an arm-heavy design means you are using far more physical effort than you need.

And you actually keep the real structure weaker.

There are many commonly taught cues that compromise the design and make the posture much harder.

I stopped using these 15 years ago, yet they are still among the most commonly taught today.

I break this down in detail in an upcoming free inversion training and show you a far more effective and aligned approach.

Reply HEAD for an invite

Technology has made so many things quicker. I embrace itLess admin & more time with my kids is a win.Yet somewhere along...
04/10/2026

Technology has made so many things quicker. I embrace it

Less admin & more time with my kids is a win.

Yet somewhere along the way quicker became positioned as better.
And right now, Yoga has a problem with it

“Headstand in 7 days”
“Learn [any pose/practice] in Record Time”

My 25-year-old self probably would’ve loved that.
Maybe it’s a generational thing

Which got me thinking

When someone says “Headstand in 7 days” (or any pose/practice).
What exactly are we calling Headstand?

We talk about a pose as though there’s an agreed standard.
There isn’t.

Take Headstand.
Even with all the hours in the day, 7 days of techniques won’t give you the finished article - ever

A fast-track Headstand isn’t speeding up the same thing

It’s lowering the bar of what someone is calling Headstand

That’s a key difference

Then there’s “slow”
Who decided 6 months was slow?
Slow compared to what? 7 days?

What if it’s simply the time it takes?

I have a long-term Headstand practice
I practise daily
So do my peers
And I don’t know one who’d suggest you learn it in that timeframe

I think some of this comes down to our relationship with waiting.
My Gen X experience was very different

We waited a week for the next episode
Waited for photos to be developed (half were rubbish)
Waited for faxes
And an eternity for the first webpage to load

I don’t want any of that back
But nobody called it slow
It was simply how long things took

Time constraints were never a thing growing up with Yoga
It’s a new generational phenomenon
Where speed is rewarded

7 days sounds more attractive than 7 weeks

In Yoga, fast isn’t the benchmark

A promise to get you there quicker comes with compromise.
And underneath it is the suggestion that faster = better

Don’t believe the hype

7 is a number plucked out of the air
Add a zero (or 2)
Give yourself permission to take the time it takes

Because if you’re promised 7 days & you’re still learning on day 8
Who failed?
You? Or the number?

Don’t choose the number
Choose the teacher

An exceptional teacher isn’t trying to beat the clock

Things take the time they take
And that is different for all of us 🙌

02/10/2026

There’s a reason your legs feel heavy in the Crows & Cranes

And it probably isn’t because you need stronger arms.
Or that you havent aligned with gravity.

Most people treat the Crow poses as an arm balance
Which makes sense, right?

That’s how it’s usually taught

Knees high on the arms
Lean forward
Balance

And what often keeps everything together is:

arm strength
leg grip
friction
gravity

The pelvis stays high
Weight drops into the arms

And the whole pose can be held together without the abdominals doing a great deal

So even when they’ve done all things, people still tell me

“My legs feel heavy”
“I can get up but it never feels light”
“One slip & I’m down”
“I cant straighten my arms”

Here’s the piece thats often missed:

The Bakasana family live in the abdominal branch of the asana family tree

This is their functional role & transferable benefit

It’s what makes them one of the best counter posture for backbends
It’s what helps create support in the lumbar for forward bends

And its the piece that is often missing

The lesser-practised version makes this much easier to see
Legs externally rotated
Feet under naval
Shins move towards the triceps

Grip is needed less
Because something else has to happen

The lift comes from the abdominals

Without that action, the posture doesn’t really leave the ground.

When this support comes online, the legs become lighter
The arms stop having to do everything
The whole body works in cohesion

And this isn’t exclusive to the classical version

You can integrate the same action into any variation of Crow/Crane

And there’s more

You can start building the very thing that makes the posture lighter without even balancing on your hands

There’s a specific drill I teach that gives you the exact same abdominal action with the feet staying on the floor

You get all of the support, control and lift without needing to balance
I share it in the upcoming free 3-part Inversion & Arm Balance training

If you’d like an invite, reply CROW

Follow .kutir for more crow tips

01/10/2026

Headstand influences my state of mind as much as seated meditation

If I’m tired, stressed, unfocused, scattered, low, Headstand shifts things - & the new state lasts

I feel like a million dollars
Refreshed
Focused
Present
Awake
Clear
Calm yet energised
Amazing physically too

The baggage of stress & thoughts I went in with no longer has a hold over me

Sounds incredible, right? From one pose

Here’s the thing
It didn’t used to do this

The conditions need to be right

I need to be comfortable for time
The posture effortless & light
Breath relaxed
So balanced & centred I can practise blindfolded

This wasn’t available at the beginning
That was down to the method I was using

15 years ago I stopped using the commonly taught method & moved to one that aligns with physics & the body’s mechanics

I practise Headstand daily, separate from my regular asana practice
Usually in the afternoon slump
No need for caffeine :)

I don’t even call it Yoga
I don’t care what it’s called
I care about the effect

I’ve specialised in this pose for years, obsessing over how to practise efficiently, safely & long term

Because how you practise matters

If it’s heavy
If your arms take all the load
If the head doesn’t connect to the floor & play its vital role

The experience is different

I’m curious what’s happening inside, so this year I began research into its effects on the brain

The data is early, but there are fascinating indicators

Changes that make me curious about what’s happening neurologically

And indications that how you practise & time in the pose may matter

Any pose I practise now, I want to know:

What is the fullest possibility of this experience
How does this shift my state of mind
How can my body benefit

Real life application is the name of the game

How you practise makes a difference

Many common methods make you feel like YOU are the problem

Not strong enough
Not flexible enough
Too much fear

What you think is the problem is often the symptom

The real problem is the method

I unpack this in a free training & share a more aligned approach to a stable, lighter & effortless Headstand

Reply HEAD for an invite

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Clifton

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Monday 6pm - 7pm
7:15pm - 8:45pm
Tuesday 8pm - 9:30pm
Wednesday 6pm - 10pm
Thursday 6pm - 8:15pm
Sunday 6pm - 7:30pm

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