Still Water StudioYoga & Pilates · LlandaffLlandaff

First visit

Your first visit, in six parts.

Everything people wonder about and do not like to ask: which class, what to wear, where the shoes go, what happens if you cannot do a pose, whether you will be touched. Read it, pick a gentle or open class, and come ten minutes early. The first one is £8.

A quiet studio reception and tea corner with a pale wooden counter, a kettle, a shelf of teapots and cups, a bench with cushions and shoes lined up neatly beneath
A small yoga class in warrior poseFirst visit

Which class to pick

Before

Anything marked gentle or open. Gentle hatha, yin or gentle Pilates if you are new, stiff or unsure. Not a strong class, not the reformer, not because you are not capable but because the first one should feel easy.

The tea corner with shoes lined up beneath a benchFirst visit

What to wear and bring

Before

Anything you can move in: leggings, joggers, a t-shirt, layers for the stillness at the end. Bare feet or grip socks. Nothing else: mats, blocks, straps, bolsters and blankets are here, and so is water and tea.

The old chapel schoolroom with pointed windows on a leafy streetFirst visit

Arriving

Ten minutes before

Come ten minutes early the first time. Shoes off at the door, phone in the basket, say you are new at the desk and the teacher will come and say hello and ask about anything that hurts. Pick a mat anywhere; the back is fine.

A gentle mat class with a teacher kneeling beside a studentFirst visit

In the class

During

The teacher will explain every pose and show a kinder version. Take the kinder version. If something hurts, stop, and lie down if you like; nobody will notice or mind. Props are not a failure. Breathe through your nose if you can, and if you cannot, breathe.

A teacher adjusting a student on a reformerFirst visit

Being adjusted

During

Teachers ask before they touch, every time. Say no if you would rather not, or put the coin from the basket on the corner of your mat and nobody will ask. Either is completely normal.

A still river in morning mist with a cathedral spire beyondFirst visit

Afterwards

After

The last five minutes are stillness; stay for them. Then tea in the hall if you like, and the teacher will tell you honestly which class to try next. Your first class is £8 and nobody will try to sell you a pass.

Bring, and do not bring

Nothing but yourself, and a few things to know.

  • Wear anything you can move in, with a layer for the end. Bare feet on the mat; grip socks on the reformer (£6 at the desk).
  • Bring nothing: mats, blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, water and tea are here. Bring your own mat if you prefer it.
  • Eat lightly, two hours before if you can. A banana an hour before is fine.
  • Tell the teacher about anything that hurts, is pregnant, or has been operated on. They will not make a thing of it and will quietly give you different options.
  • Phones stay in the basket at the tea corner. There is nothing to film and nobody filming you.
  • Late by a few minutes is fine; come in quietly. After ten minutes the door is closed for the people inside, and your class is not charged.
Book a first class, £8Or the beginners' course
A small yoga class of six people of mixed ages in warrior pose on mats in a bright studio with a teacher at the front

The questions people do not like to ask

I am a man. Will I be the only one?

No. About a third of the mat Pilates classes and a quarter of the yoga classes are men, more in the strong classes and the early flows. Sam, who teaches most of the Pilates, is a former rugby player.

I am overweight. Is yoga for me?

Yes, and the gentle classes are built with larger bodies in mind: chairs available, props offered, poses adapted without comment. Eleri and Ruth both teach gentle classes where nobody is thin and nobody minds.

What if I need to leave early, or lie down?

Both are fine. Tell the teacher at the start if you need to leave early and take a mat near the door. Lying down in the middle of a class is a perfectly good choice and nobody will notice or mind.

Can I bring a friend?

Yes, and their first class is £8 too. Two beginners on the same mat row is the easiest way to start.

Your first class is £8. Read the first-visit page, then come.

Any gentle or open mat class, mats and props provided, the teacher told you are new, and the kinder version of every pose offered without being asked. Book in the app, send the form, or walk in ten minutes early; the desk is open half an hour before each class.

Book a first classThe first visit