Freestyle Fitness Yoga™, a pioneering brand that has been at the forefront of blending yoga with fitness for 25 years, is proud to announce an exciting new chapter in its journey. As part of a rebranding effort to mark this momentous milestone, the brand will now be known simply as Freestyle Yoga™. This evolution reflects its enduring commitment to redefining the face of modern yoga while embracing a broader, more inclusive identity.
Since its inception, Freestyle Fitness Yoga™ has been a trailblazer in offering innovative yoga practices that fuse traditional yoga with the principles of fitness. Over the past 25 years, the brand has empowered countless instructors and operators via its unique approach. The name change to Freestyle Yoga™ honours this rich legacy while embracing a streamlined and forward-thinking vision for the future.
Why the Change?
The decision to adopt the name Freestyle Yoga™ is rooted in the desire to simplify and modernise the brand’s identity while staying true to its core values. “The word ‘fitness’ has always been a key part of our philosophy, but as yoga evolves and our community grows, we want our name to reflect the inclusive and transformative nature of our practice,” said Jayne Nicholls Founder of Freestyle Yoga™. “Freestyle Yoga captures the essence of our brand—dynamic, adaptable, and deeply rooted in the principles of empowerment and self-discovery”
Looking Ahead
As Freestyle Yoga™ embarks on its next chapter, the brand remains committed to:
Innovative Practices: Continuing to push boundaries with cutting-edge programs that blend yoga, fitness, and holistic well-being.
Cost Effective Education: Strengthening its global community of practitioners through accessible, inclusive, and inspiring education.
Future Evolution: Expanding its reach while maintaining a focus on the evolution of both yoga and fitness.
“I want every Freestyle Yoga Instructor to be able to teach all types of yoga using their fitness knowledge and experience.”
A Celebration of Legacy
To celebrate this milestone, Freestyle Yoga™ will host a series of events and initiatives throughout the year, collaborating with industry leaders. These efforts aim to honour the past 25 years while inspiring the next generation of yogis.
About Freestyle Yoga™
Freestyle Yoga™ is a globally recognised brand that combines the transformative power of yoga with the principles of fitness. Founded in 2000 the brand has consistently led the way in modern yoga innovation, empowering instructors to use their knowledge and experience in the teaching of yoga. With a focus on adaptability and self-expression, Freestyle Yoga™ continues to inspire and transform.
For more information about Freestyle Yoga™ upcoming events, innovations and to make contact with Jayne please visit www.groupxtraining or follow us on social media at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
I am a huge advocate of modern yoga as you all know and am still after 24 years constantly navigating what yoga brings into my life, life in general and what is typically touted as yoga in our society.
So I have started bringing group discussion/rants usually led by me into the beginning of class, and this week has really got me going. Led by the fact that my 10 o’clock appointment turned up at 8.50, ten minutes before class, leaving me such a short time to verbalise my massive complaint about the continued disservice that his company provides (trust me this is huge). So I entered class all fired up. We then discussed the topic of us being labelled ANGRY, even by ourselves. ANGRY defined by the fact that we speak our minds, stand up for ourselves and argue against bad treatment, injustice and poor service, often termed FEISTY in relation to women. Someone so rightly pointed out that if we were men, we would be titled ALPHA!
We discussed how our weekly sessions dissipated our anger and how much we need them. Now don’t get me wrong, I know that physical yoga is the medium we love and the same would happen if we met for an hour of Scottish dancing, so don’t think that I buy into the magic powers of a yoga practice. We work long and hard at tying up all aspects of yoga to improve ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually but this is actualised off the mat, not on it. Now back to the point of this blog. I have always been outspoken and hopefully stood up for myself and others in the process, it is true that if I were male I would be ALPHA and referred to as having “a huge pair of balls” all of the macho nonsense that serves our patriarchal society, but I am not I am female, not an ANGRY female an ALPHA female. The same applies to my classmates.
In conclusion we must keep reminding ourselves that being ALPHA can be tiring for us and inconvenient for our audience/victims, but we should never have to apologise for standing up and speaking out. Rarely will people listen, accept or react to a quiet request in todays society so if we have to raise our voice, be consistently firm, drop the F bomb when needed; in fact whatever it takes to express the courage necessary to be heard – then so be it.
j a y n e
I am thrilled to announce that Freestyle Fitness Yoga is one of the first recognised scopes of practice in the fitness industry!
Scope of practice is a set of guidelines that describe what a professionally recognised instructor can do in their job. It’s a celebration of everything you know and puts the power of change in your hands.
Freestyle Fitness Yoga instructors can now be professionally recognised by EMD UK, showcasing their skillset and making them more employable.
EMDUK are the national governing body for group exercise, dedicated to achieving a vision of healthier communities through group exercise. They work with instructors, operators and organisations across the sector to provide help, support and advice and to ensure that group exercise continues to inspire people of all ages and abilities to take part in physical activity.
We tend to measure our success by what we see in the here and now, what social media tells us and the frequency in which it drops into our feed.
Success happens over time. An instant success is a lottery win, our wins are not a measure of our success. Success is governed by achieving our goals no matter how big or small. The things that we do to achieve success are not those things that we share on Facebook, they are achieved behind the scenes, over time with diligence and focus.
It is no wonder that people often stop before they even start in this industry!
Before you scroll down to see just who it is that questions the relevance of people post 50 presenting at this and other conventions, just hear me out and read my post.
I wait with anticipation each year to see if I am in the final cut of the IFS video, just one clip sums up the emotions linked to creating content, presenting sessions and communicating with a host of people eager to experience what we create. I do wonder though – What do you see? Do you see age or do you see talent?
I began presenting at IFS in Blackpool in 199something! and over what is now decades my sessions have ranged from slide, step, aerobics, conditioning, PT, HIIT, Unite, Freestyle Fitness Yoga, Yoga, masterclasses, lectures and workshops, you name it I have done it and each year I leave motivated and inspired to do more – including this year. What is even more important is that each year I do contribute more and continue to cultivate change in an industry that I have helped to evolve from its formative roots to present day. It is the term presenter that fails us quinquagenarians as we are so much more than that. What we provide is wisdom, something that is generated over time via experience. A legacy, based upon the impact that our work has had on the people who attend and the pathway that our industry has followed. Reliability, a simple and yet so underrated quality that enables people to depend on us from year to year. You see for those of us who still provide ongoing content at events such as IFS, we are the living proof that the fitness industry is a place where careers are made.
What do I share with Rachel Holmes, Ceri Hannan, Steve Watson, Stuart Harrop, Tony Stone, Cherry Baker, Lydia Campbell, Rachel France (and more)?
We create and evolve our own content.
We have built businesses much bigger than our own presenting persona.
We have successfully amalgamated a love of what we do with an understanding of how the industry has progressed.
Now for the big reveal.
It was me who questioned Am I Too Old? A necessary self evaluation really as painful as it might be. After my first session someone fed back this comment – “Thanks Jayne, as usual the perfect blend of education, content and humour”. Phew! As long as people gratefully receive what I have to give and what is important to me as a human being, I will continue to show up for as long as I can.
Age is not just a number, it is so much more than that.
I wonder how many of you have lip synced mantras in class with no understanding of the syntax, meaning or the reason for their repetition? So willing are we to indulge “authentic yoga”, we dive into it with egoless abandon. The benefits are that if we repeat it often enough, familiarity makes us more comfortable and we gain confidence in the order and pronunciation of the Sanskrit texts. But! My question is does this lead to the desired effect?
The function of a mantra is to create vibrations in the inner consciousness, whereby repetition by us the mantrins might bring us closer to the ultimate spiritual divinity held in the sacred syllables. My guess is that this reward is experienced by a handful of practitioners who dedicate time and understanding to the authentic understanding of the mantra.
This brings me to my eternal conflict with the practice of modern yoga versus traditional yoga. The adoption of divinity as a by-product of taking part in or teaching yoga concerns me and often leads me to question every word that comes out of my mouth and every thought that enters my head. At what point do regular people turn into beautiful souls?
Back to mantras and their place in our yoga classes. Here is a link to my favourite – with a general thought process of “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” If you can harmonise with and it helps to clear your mind and bring you peace then read no further. If you would like a modern perspective and some simple tools to help you empathise with the verbal and mental practice of mantras then this might just help and who knows where will progress in the future.
Our relationship with music dates back to conception and to a greater or lesser degree manifests in pretty much everything we do. Influences come from family, friends, peers and every external medium of communication that we are subjected to. At some point we find a genre or style that moves us and this can define how we aesthetically present, think and conduct ourselves in the modern world. I wonder if you have ever played one track over and over again becoming so familiar with every word and lyric that it almost becomes yours? I lose count and can still recite every word of Grease, Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Regatta De Blanc and The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Sardust & The Spiders From Mars to name just a few.
Songs have motivated my teaching of yoga from day one. Imagine my delight when I found Disturbed’s version of Sound Of Silence a song that embodies thrash metal but leaves you with goose bumps from head to toe. It is a perfect choice for meditation in movement and an enabler for those who find silent yoga a little sterile. Lately I have encouraged working with lyrics as a method of modern mantra in an attempt to help people with their intellectual wellness. Chanting lyrics either out loud or internally is the first step to eradicating our fear, anger and depression. It helps all of our bodies systems from the central nervous to cognitive. When looking to escape from the conflicts of our day to day existence, familiar lyrics that we empathise with can improve our mental health, ease stress, and take us to a higher level of consciousness. Chanting also improves our memory and powers of concentration, which is crucial – I hope you agree?
Now for the fun part….
I have selected three of my current favourites for you to try. You do not have to accompany them with yoga, you can run jump, ride or simply meditate the words.
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that’s not the shape of my heart
Written by Sting so powerful for me as he was my first love! The lyrics tell the story of a card player who plays cards or gambles not because he hopes to win but because he wants to “figure out something” eluding him. According to Sting, the gambler gambles mainly because he wants to understand “some kind of mystical logic in luck”.
So when your hopes on fire But you know your desire
Don’t hold a glass over the flame
Don’t let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road
I saw Mumford & Sons in South Africa with dear friends, knowing very little about them and subsequently becoming a huge fan. This mantra is for those missing loved ones and looking forward to sharing their company.
Well, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day. So, throw those curtains wide. One Day Like This a year would see me right
The beauty of this track is that these lyrics repeat over and over again. It is a message of uplift and positivity. The perfect modern mantra and one that I have such fond memories of teaching in Ibiza and evidence that this practice really works.
So welcome to the world of modern mantras. An invitation to indulge your passion for music with an authentic and introspective mindset.
GXT recently held a symposium for industry experts to meet and discuss the creation of guidelines for Hands On Adjustments (HOA) in all genres of group classes.
We looked at the following:
Insurance implications.
HOA for increase in range of motion (ROM)
HOA for awareness and posture
HOA for comfort and therapy
The results of this discussion formulated guidelines that we feel will benefit new and experienced teachers when deciding whether to include HOA’s.
It’s a strange trait of our time that we are so often told that you can, you can, you can until we do and then we are told that it’s wrong. It is just this way so often when learning how to become a yoga teacher. There is definitely no right way and everything you learn on any course will help to shape what they call the yoga journey. There is so much information to take on board that dates back thousands of years. Only small extracts will truly resonate with you and these are the parts that you will focus on and teach in your classes. One thing always leads to another and when you are ready you will choose something else. The journey is never ending and you only have to be a couple of steps ahead of the people you teach. If you want to be a yoga teacher this is how you do it.
Are you ready to begin your yoga teacher training online?
When enrolling on a yoga teacher training, make sure that you are taught to understand why you say what you say rather than giving a one size fits all approach.
We would love to meet you so make sure that you visit the GXT facebook page or tag us on instagram.
Our final day is dedicated entirely to you! Finding time each day for silence and stillness. Time to switch off and allow yourself the luxury of experiencing the here and now just for a few moments. Replenish and nourish your body with your breath. Clear your mind of the past and the future. Find your practice. Find that place. Whatever works for you. Thank you so much for following our 7 day Yoga Pose Challenge. My name is Jayne Nicholls and I am a fitness professional. Award winning creator and founder of Freestyle Fitness Yoga
Are you ready to begin your yoga teacher training online?
When enrolling on a yoga teacher training, make sure that you are taught to understand why you say what you say rather than giving a one size fits all approach.
We would love to meet you so make sure that you visit the GXT facebook page or tag us on instagram.
Day 6 of our Yoga Pose Challenge. Let me guide you through a better way to hold yourself in the crescent moon pose. This is one of my favourite postures for opening up the hips and quads and really working into the lower abdominals. A beautiful balancing posture that can be easily incorporated into a sun salutation or even used on its own as a long holding pose. Why not try this with me today? My name is Jayne Nicholls and I am an award winning fitness professional. Owner of GroupXTraining and creator and founder of Freestyle Fitness Yoga.
Are you ready to begin your yoga teacher training online?
When enrolling on a yoga teacher training, make sure that you are taught to understand why you say what you say rather than giving a one size fits all approach.
We would love to meet you so make sure that you visit the GXT facebook page or tag us on instagram.
We’ve made it to day 5 of our yoga pose challenge and it’s time to just go for it! The handstand is something I’ve always wanted to master and it’s still work in progress (as you will see!) No technical tips from me today just something of a personal challenge. If you are not so confident to throw yourself around then handstand onto a wall for support. A great exercise is to hold your handstand for prolonged periods of time. It is a great way to build strength in the shoulder girdle. Once more confident notice how you feel in the stand and refine your posture in the upside down position.
Are you ready to begin your yoga teacher training online?
When enrolling on a yoga teacher training, make sure that you are taught to understand why you say what you say rather than giving a one size fits all approach.
