Strike a Yoga Pose While Hanging From the Wall or Ceiling at Little Mandarin’s Tranquil New East-Side Studio

There’s a misconception when it comes to using props like blocks, straps and bolsters in yoga. While some think they’re used to make poses easy, long-time yoga instructor Jowing Zhang thinks they can help deepen your stretch, strengthen your form and challenge your practice.

“Some think the people who aren’t good at their practice use props. But you can use these to make your practice more precise, more grounded, more aligned,” she says. “I can see my students using their props to feel that body-mind connection; they can hold poses longer and really feel the muscles work.”

All the usual props are available in Zhang’s three Little Mandarin yoga studios in the Nicholas Building in the CBD, Burwood Brickworks in Melbourne’s east and the newest addition, in Camberwell. But they’re not the only props she uses.

Little Mandarin’s one of the few studios in Melbourne that uses aerial hammocks, or long silk fabrics suspended from the ceiling that you can climb into, balance against or hang from in what’s called aerial or anti-gravity yoga.

“Through my aerial practice, I’ve [found] a new experience. In my mat practice, I learned to always push things away from you, so my upper body strength had limited improvement. After I learned aerial practice, I learned a new way to wake up my upper back,” Zhang explains.

Different aerial yoga classes are available across the three studios, but one style that’s exclusive to Camberwell is wall ropes yoga, which uses ropes, a swing and strategically placed sockets along the wall so you can hang upside down, balance with support and get deeper into poses.

If you’ve been to a few yoga classes, you’ll be familiar with common poses like downward dog, tree, lotus, chair pose, warrior, bridge and forward fold. But they feel different when you’re trying to do them suspended from the air or hanging off the walls.

“With some of the poses, you might be scared when you’re hanging there because they’re unfamiliar,” Zhang says. “But over time, [wall ropes classes] can create different muscle strength. In some parts of the body, you need to learn to release, while in other parts you feel tension from the wall belt. And there are definitely parts of the body where you need to engage.”

Little Mandarin does regular mat-based classes too, like vinyasa, hot flow and yoga basics. And just like the first two studios, the Camberwell location also has a room for reformer Pilates.

The studio is tucked away behind the Burke Road shopfronts. Climb the illuminated stairwell into a landing where you can trade your shoes for some cosy slippers, then walk into the studio designed by Wall Architects.

A mini jungle of plants, a massive arched mirror, a cosy bouclé couch and a sculptural water fountain greet you as you enter. To the left are the change rooms, toilets and the reformer studio; to the right, a massive centre-pivoting door leads into the bright and airy yoga room.

Zhang began teaching in local yoga studios after moving to Melbourne 13 years ago from Shanghai with partner Jamie Qi Zhou, who now helps run the business. Teaching classes in English was challenging, but she realised students learning in English when it wasn’t their first language were also struggling.

Opening her own studio had always been Zhang’s dream, so she established Little Mandarin to cater to Chinese students, but now it more broadly reflects Melbourne’s diversity. All the instructors can speak English, but most are bilingual or even trilingual, catering to Melbourne’s growing population of immigrants, international students and foreign visitors. Other languages spoken among the team include Turkish, French, Bahasa, Spanish, Greek and Korean.

Little Mandarin Yoga & Pilates
1/576 Burke Road, Camberwell (enter via rear)
0414 200 121

Hours:
Mon to Thu 9am–7pm
Fri 9am–4pm
Sat & Sun 9am–6pm

littlemandarin.melbourne