Working up an appetite at yoga clubs

Stretch: Yoga with a yummy incentive
Courtney Rubin10 April 2012

I can resist the siren call of chocolate post-workout, but cooking something healthy is a stretch — in my impatience, I've been known to eat an Innocent veg pot cold. Surely there has to be a better way to refuel.

Enter the latest US import: clubs that pair workouts with specially tailored recovery meals — and, often, some lessons in nutrition. Joanna Johnston, who started a yoga and Ayurvedic meals club after feeling starved during her hour-long trip home from class, says: "Yoga does prepare you for a good meal, so I thought it was important to give people a well-balanced spread afterwards."

The feasts are a cut or four above the gym smoothie bar or café: even Gordon Ramsay is getting into the act — he's teaming up with personal trainer Sam Warrington for a fitness and cookery day. Here's a sampling of where you can work (out) for your food.

The Breakfast Club
Whose idea? Yoga Rocks!
What? Gentle hatha yoga-based workout with music, followed by energising breakfast.
Who for? Those who want to om and yum — and don't have to work early.
The deal: New Yorker Kurt Williams combines his passions, organic food and yoga, with a monthly "healthy eating/healthy living" session at 9am at The Brickhouse. Expect lots of spinal twists, liberal use of the word "supercool" and a breakfast packed with superfoods and whole grains. Mats provided.
Get moving: £12 for an hour's yoga, then breakfast, thebrickhouse.co.uk

The Gourmet Group
Whose idea? Kick Supper Club.
What? Like a good dinner party — only one you can't regret in the morning.
Who for? Those who want to kick up their fitness and cooking skills.
The deal: Gym owner and former Thai boxing champ, Sophie Pittaway, leads an hour-long beginner-friendly yet calorie-torching workout of skip rope, kick boxing and circuits. It's fast and fun — your abs will get at least as much of a workout from laughing as they will from the crunches. Then Maria Elia, author of The Modern Vegetarian, serves up virtuous victuals even a foodie could love — the best-tasting healthy dinner I've had since I went to a five-star spa in the US.
Get moving: £75/three hours, kick.uk.com

The Hardcore Hippies
Whose idea? Sadhana at Alchemy Centre.
What? Kundalini yoga and chanting, then breakfast.
Who for? Yoga purists for whom sunrise isn't a stretch.
The deal: Yoga has some strange positions, but being squeezed into the spot next to the teacher — it was the only place left — at 5.30 am on a Saturday pretty much takes the granola for me. Kundalini is one of yoga's oldest forms and features dozens of sequences, a friendly classmate told me. Afterwards, we tucked into huge bowls of porridge with dried figs and apricots, plus oatcakes and fruit.
Get moving: Donation/two hours of yoga, then breakfast, alchemythecentre.co.uk

The Restorative Retreat
Whose idea? Yummy Yoga.
Who for? Those who want a quiet night out.
The deal? It's hard to hear instructor Pam Norman above the car horns. It doesn't help that I'm freezing, but it's a credit to Norman — a supportive teacher with a soothing voice — that I lose myself in the gentle postures. Afterwards, cook Bonnie Brulee, who runs the Full House Supper Club, makes dishes such as couscous with butternut squash, feta and cashews and my fellow diners (mostly entrepreneurs and City folk) and I agree it's delicious.
Get moving: £17 for an hour's hatha yoga and vegetarian supper, 6.30pm, Tuesdays, pama-yoga.com/Yummy-Yoga (mats and extra clothes not included).

Other groups:
Frame gym and Nosh Detox's "Rejuice Sundays" — yoga, stretching, cardio, juices (£89, moveyourframe.com)
Gordon Ramsay and Sam Warrington's Fitness and Cookery Day — bootcamp followed by cooking and tasting (July 8, Tante Marie, Gordon Ramsay's cookery school, £199, samwarrington.com)

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