Spinal Chord
For more information on courses visit www.list.co.uk
Alternatively, get out and about with your exercise – Cycling Edinburgh (www.cycling-edin burgh.org.uk) has all the info on organised groups cycling around town, from 10-milers to break you in, to epic 70-mile coast-to-coast runs. Best of all, most of them are free – just show up with your bike and go! The Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op (tinyurl.com/ 8jqwfe) runs foundation cycle maintenance courses starting at £24.47 if your bike needs a tune-up first. If you don’t fancy braving the weather but still want the bicycle workout, head to the Leith Victoria Swim Centre (tinyurl.com/yabs3uf) and check out the RPM studio – 20 brand-new fitness bikes, with 17 classes a week to choose from. . . . free my creative side
The Edinburgh College of Art (www.eca.ac.uk) offers evening courses over a period of several weeks or two-week intensive summer classes. Courses include specialities such as Glass Design or Illustration, as well as general introductions in the How To Be An Artist series. Practical courses start around £80, and Creative Thinking classes – focussed on individual artists and their working practices – are available for £55 each.
in
stained Creative Glass Designs in Edinburgh (www.creativeglass designs.co.uk) offers beginner’s courses glass production. Five-lesson courses run on weekday afternoons for £95, or a standalone Saturday class is available for £80 for seven hours. In Glasgow, RDW Glass (www.rdwglass.co.uk) runs an initial six-week course of evening classes for £125, after which their studios and assistance are available for your use at £15 an evening.
Fireworks Ceramics Studio (www.fireworksceramics.co.uk) in Glasgow runs two £90 courses that cover all aspects of pottery, from developing the skills needed on the pottery wheel, to hand-
RDW Glass 18 THE LIST 7–21 Jan 2010
Shivago
building ceramics and glazing. Courses run for two-hours once a week, for six weeks. The L e i t h S c h o o l o f A r t (www.leithschoolofart.co.uk) has evening courses in Jewellery as well as the standard drawing and painting classes, which are also available in the daytime.
. . . just relax!
So far, everything we’ve featured is about doing something new, extra and challenging. If you’ve already got enough of that in your life, maybe you should relax a bit! The Aditi Yoga Centre in Edinburgh (www.aditiyoga centre.com) offers a range of yoga classes for all ages as well as tai chi and pilates. Beginners courses are £70, with more experienced drop-in classes available from £10. There are also several varieties of alternative therapies, including
Cycling Edinburgh
massage, acupuncture and reiki, starting at £25. M e t t a in Glasgow (www.yogamassage .co.uk) offers many of the same services, along with training courses for £695 if you fancy being a practitioner as opposed to just a client. If even yoga seems like too much effort, visit Shivago in Edinburgh (www.shivagothai clinic.com), and simply lie back and let them work the wonders of their wide range of Thai massage techniques on your body. They specialise in therapies such as acupressure and Thai Cupping treatment, used to cleanse blood and relieve energy stagnation.
Yet less active still are floatation tanks – Willow Trading Rooms in Glasgow (tinyurl.com/yadpnn3)
and E d i n b u r g h F l o a t a r i u m (www.edinburgh floatarium.co.uk) offer one-hour sessions of simply floating on your back and enjoying perfect peace and solitude, for £30-£35. . . . be daring
If all of our suggestions so far seem a bit tame, then go for something more suspenseful! There’s a couple of places in Scotland that offer the chance to learn the arts of aerial dance and trapeze. All Or Nothing, based in Out Of The Blue Rehearsal Studio in Leith (www.aerialdance.co.uk) and Spinal Chord in Glasgow (http://spinal chord.com) offer introductory courses from as little as £12.