I’ve been doing ballet since I was four years old, and although I may not be as fit as I was when I did a class every day, I can still complete a basic barre with my eyes closed.
In complete contrast, I’d never done a yoga class before Barreasana and had been meaning to try one for some time.
So I thought Barrecore's new yoga-inspired ballet fitness class mash-up would be the perfect way to introduce me to yoga, without stretching me too far outside my comfort zone.
But this is a far cry from “yoga-lite” or even “ballet-lite” as I’d imagined it might be.
Do not be fooled by the candle lit studio or the gentle music. Barreasana is fast, demanding and will make your calf muscles burn – in the best possible way. I could feel my legs shaking and beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead.
Strike a pose
The class is designed to tone your limbs and tighten your core while leaving your spine feeling lengthened. An hour-long class can burn up to 500 calories.
It begins with a continuous flow of movements which fly through yoga poses such as downward-facing dog, warrior two, child’s pose and upward-facing dog.
Jumping up and down from the floor between each certainly got my heart rate going. Think burpees, but with nice stretches between each.
Although the instructor moved with lightning speed between moves, she darted around the room equally quickly to correct individuals’ posture.
However, complete dance or yoga beginners may struggle to keep up.
The class then moved on to work at the barre. A particularly gruelling section involved standing on demi-pointe (tip toe) and completing a long series of squats.
After that, my legs were visibly shaking when I tried to stand on one leg and extend the other leg backwards without the aid of the barre.
As someone who spent their entire childhood performing arabesques, I was surprised at how difficult the exercise was.
This is how it should be done
Aside from a short degage section – lifting a pointed foot off the floor about four inches, briefly holding in the air, and replacing – there was surprisingly little ballet content, which I found a little disappointing as a dance fan.
The final savasana - where we laid on the floor while the instructor touched our foreheads with lavender - was ridiculously therapeutic.
I left the studio feeling totally chilled and pretty smug with how hard I'd worked - if a little wobbly.
The next day, my achy 'I sit at a desk all day' back felt more loose than it had in weeks.
I've no doubt that a regular barreasana class would up my fitness and improve my posture, but at £28 for a single 60-minute session, it’s not exactly something I can justify doing every week.
I'd definitely recommend it as a treat though and it has inspired me to go check out other (slightly more affordable) yoga classes.
BarreASANA is now available at available at all Barrecore studios: Chelsea, Mayfair, Wimbledon, Chiswick and Alderley Edge. A 60 minute class is £28, although packages are available. See the Barrecore website for details.
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