A creative practice with the option to fly! You can absolutely skip this, and enjoy the hip mobility we’ll focus on for preparation. Similar to side crow, we’ll be shifting weight into the upper arms for Koundinyasana (named after the sage). In modern contexts, this is sometimes referred to as Flying Splits. Feel free to enjoy your Dragon and leave the arm balance! Plenty of benefits without, and suitable for all levels. Two blocks & a strap for this practice.
Enjoy this playful practice, as we work towards Side Crow, or Parsva Bakasana. This pose requires spinal mobility in rotation and an awareness of how to distribute your body weight, much more than epic strength. If you’re fearful of arm balances (which is completely normal!) have some cushions handy for support. We’ll enjoy familiar poses as we build heat with twists. Have fun with this energising practice.
Creative use of two blocks as we bring our attention to the strength of the obliques to prepare us for rotation through the spine. Twists are of course a healthy way to work with the mobility of the spine as we energise the body and stimulate the nervous system. The more subtle, or esoteric aspects of this practice, call to mind parts of our life we're ready to let go of; thus creating space to ask ourselves what we’re ready to invite in, welcome and nourish.
Put a pep in your step as we focus on strengthening the whole of our backside. Particularly relevant for those of us spending a lot of time sitting, or anyone looking to increase their awareness and strength of the posterior chain. We’ll use a strap and a block in creative ways to target the spine, hip and shoulder regions. Enjoy the twist into half camel at the end to squeeze out the juice!
Side lying Hip CARs will begin our practice, as we prepare the hips and lower limbs for a Cossack squat. Test your hip mobility balancing a yoga block on your back in hip abduction. Anticipate a kinetic stretch for a kneeling lateral lunge, isometrics for your ankles, balancing work and more. Release unwanted tension by using healthy muscular tension throughout your ranges of motion.
Two blocks for this practice as you move through creative mobility work, starting with the hips, then spine and shoulders. Familiar yoga postures peppered in. Nothing overly strenuous as we focus on our major joints (hips, spine and shoulder health). An intelligent, accessible, and balanced practice that feels like a healthy maintenance routine when you want to move but not overly exert yourself.
This practice explores the motion of “pulling” from the upper body, as we cultivate awareness of our upper back and lats (latissimus dorsi), and how to create strength here. This is a creative practice which will leave you standing tall and feeling wide awake. Use this class to develop your pulling strength to balance out typical pushing motions on the mat.
This practice is a little more MO than YO. We start with elevated hip capsule CARs and active work for hip abduction to strengthen our derrieres! This practice is all about developing control throughout the hip joint. It’s through this type of training we actually develop strength and mobility within and around the joint. You’ll need 2 blocks for this practice, and a cushion / or the ability to roll your mat to provide additional padding for your knees for one technique.
Expansive front body opening / posterior strengthening is our focus today. Move dynamically through a "no chaturanga” Sun Salutation C which creates anterior space from the knee to the shoulder. Backbends of course can remind us to remain open hearted, particularly relevant when we experience closing down or shutting off from others. Enjoy the satisfying sensations that arise when we approach movement at the spine with awareness and intelligence.