The yogi: Kimberley Stokes
The pose: Side plank (Vasisthasana)
The location: Urban Yoga in Dubai
The benefits: Arm balances bring a little magic into your life – expect them to tone and sculpt your arms as well as strengthen your wrists and core. Vasisthasana also improves your sense of balance and is said to reduce anxiety and fear. If you practise this pose regularly, with patience, you’ll manage to get there.
About the yogi: Kimberley is an Ashtanga yoga teacher from Vancouver, Canada who trained at Yoga Thailand with expert Paul Dallaghan. This yogini has lived everywhere from Uganda to Singapore and right now, the UAE is her home. She recently opened her own New York-style loft studio called Urban Yoga, a gorgeous light and airy space in the heart of Dubai. In 2011, Kimberley made the decision to escape the corporate world: “You know, life is too short for stress. After a lot of mental wrestling, I resolved my deeply-held fears about leaving my job and took a new path,” she says. Yoga has given Kimberley a stronger sense of being comfortable in her own skin. “I’m a self-confessed type A personality with a natural tendency to take things to heart, to feel things intensely and to be determined to a fault,” she admits. “Yoga allows me not to take life or myself so seriously. Today, I no longer have a fear of the future.” Besides doing beautiful asanas, Kimberley loves horses, basking in the sun, plane rides, and exploring new cities with her husband.
