Partner yoga focuses on silent communication

Looking to connect with your significant other on a different level this Valentine’s Day? Why not start by getting into their mind while they help you get into a yoga pose.

A local yoga studio is hosting two sessions of partner yoga on Feb. 13 and 14. Through the class, couples will focus on synchronized breathing, wordless communication, aromatherapy massage, yoga postures and sensual foods, while experiencing “the opportunity to reach a deeper level of intimacy and connection,” the studio’s website states.

Lana Boyuk, director of OM Yoga Space and Manipura Studio, described partner yoga as “a whole new way to express your devotion to your significant other.”

She said many of the couples participating are “looking for different ways to go deeper, to rekindle their enthusiasm for each other, and to discover a different way to show their love and openness with each other — a new way to communicate.”

A certified yoga instructor for 12 years, Boyuk started dabbling in intimacy yoga five years ago. She has since developed her own interpretation of partner yoga and began offering it to the community. Those who have participated tell her the class has left an imprint on them. “They say they’ve never done anything like this before with their partner,” the yoga instructor said. “It’s very tender, it’s very loving, it’s nurturing, it teaches compassion and presence. And it’s playful as well.”

While Boyuk said there is an aspect of partner yoga that focuses on the different postures and poses, the main focus is on communication.

“We tend to overlook how many different ways there are to communicate with each other — by body language, by how you look at somebody, how you touch them, how you listen to them,” she said. “I think words get in the way a lot of the time.

“What we really feel isn’t necessarily what we mean. Sometimes the language isn’t there. What I’m trying to get across is how can we interact, bond, communicate with our partner, without using words.

“It doesn’t take a lot of time, that’s what’s so tragic,” she added. “You can sit with your partner for five minutes and just breath with them and look into them — that is such validation. You don’t need to talk and we forget that.”

Of course, there’s a sensual side to it, too.

During the session, couples will be guided through hand massages with their partners, learning how both to give and receive the massages open-heartedly.

“There’s so many nerve endings and pressure points in the hands,” Boyuk explained. “It’s about the touch — being able to give that from your heart, fully, and to receive it, without pulling away, just dissolve into the touch.”

Another important aspect of the partner yoga session, like all forms of yoga, is learning to breath properly — in this case, learning to breath together. “It is more tantric, the breath practices, but it’s ... creating that union and symmetry with each other’s breath cycles,” Boyuk said. “Breath is life.”

She said the average demographic of participants in the partner yoga classes is between 35 and 50 years of age. And prior experience with yoga is not necessary. “The men are predominantly all beginners, maybe half of the women have done yoga,” she said. “Most of them, it’s just curiosity.”

Spots are still available for the Feb. 13 session, running 6:30-8:30 p.m. at OM Yoga Space, 61 Elm St. The cost is $59/couple. Boyuk can accommodate up to 11 couples for the session. For more information, or to register for the class, visit www.yogasudbury.com or phone 662-1359.