A return to practice kind of class where we focus on really solid backbends. You’ll see ustrasana, anjaneyasana, and urdvha dhanurasana. We apply active range of motion mobilization in the joints, standing poses, twists, and inversions to find these often challenging poses. Lots of thoracic extension work and making space in your upper back to hold the extension you are creating. If you are looking for a good backbend practice, have at it here.
5.7 Twisting into Urdvha D
A robust practice that gets you into Urdvha Dhanurasana and shoulder stand. A large supine sequence to start is intended to restore your energy so you have enough reserves for the hard work of twists, side bends, and standing poses. You’ll see a lot of hip, shoulder and spine mobilization in this class aimed at some big chest expanding postures in the end.
A great practice if you want to really work and get into upper back and spine opening.
4.23 Vkratundasana, Bound Uttanasana, Kurmasana
This is a quieter and slower practice focused on finding a way into some deep forward bends where the shoulders are internally rotated, the hips need stability and mobility, and the spine needs to lengthen. I find these poses to be rather illuminating in bringing my system toward stillness. If nothing else, a great hips, twists, forward bends practice that will give you insights into how to deepen the requirements of these shapes in other areas of your practice. You will also notice a balance between static work and active range of motion mobilization work.
3.26 Bakasana and Parsva Bakasana
A steady stream into arm balances that require quite a bit of hip flexion and core strength— bakasana and its twisted version parsva bakasana.
As always very meticulous work to organize the body into making this postures more readily accessible and approachable. Expect strong work for the arms, core, side body, and hips.
A great one for an arm balance fortifying practice. Lots of options given.
3.19 Returning to Practice ~ Little Bit of Everything
A sweet and long practice with a bit of everything to help you open and return. Expect a solid, steady pace with nuanced looks at familiar poses. If you are looking for a spacious all around practice with detailed alignment to get your whole being back into the flow of practice this is a great one to come back to again and again!
1.16.22 Digestion & Integration ~ Side bends, twists, space in the spine.
This practice is focused on digesting not only our food, but our feelings and experiences. The sequence is focused on creating space for integration through grounding, side bending, twisting, and oscillating between opening/strengthening/mobilizing the shoulder girdle and then hips. This is not a sequence that has a specific destination to a peak pose per se. This is more about creating a quality for you to marinate in-one that allows for integration and digestion at every level so you come away feeling grounded and more clear. A very focused class in terms of alignment cues with a very steady pace.
12.18 Solstice Rooted Backbends
A challenging and deep class intended to inspire focus and fortitude. This foray into thoracic extensions includes lots of leg work, side bending, and some twists to access anjaneyasana, ustrasana, urdvha d, and eka pada urdvha d. Lots of good stopping places along the way, never asking you to exceed your boundaries. Rather, nudges up against limits and edges in a graceful, gritty way.
A great class if you are looking for backbending that is really grounded and rooted. Working the refinements of the edges of thoracic extension that will serve all your other backbends.
12.4 Lotus
A slow and steady approach to lotus. We focus mainly on a healthy hip joint — range of motion, flexibility, and strength to access this pose. So the goal is less about lotus per se as an end result, and more about a healthy hip joint. If lotus happens, then great. And if it doesnt the good work still prevails.
A great class for a long and slow, quiet practice.
11.20 Backbends (Camat Kurasana
This is a strong practice focused on activating the deep core in side bends and twists to get into some great backbends. You’ll find some familiar sequencing from the 90 minute class on 11.13 taken into more difficult variations. Peak poses include camat kurasana (“wild thing”), ustrasana, and some variations of kapinjalasana. You’ll find shapes and action repeat a lot to get us into the extensions required for these challenging shapes. Expect hard work and a detailed approach. A good class if you want to strengthen and harness your awareness of your deep core and maintain its strength to support in practicing big shapes. You’ll also come away having had a well rounded solid backbend practice.
November 6th Inversions: Deep Inner Resilience and Radiant Heat
This practice is a foray into inversions— handstand, forearm balance, headstand.
We stay away from most standing poses and focus on shoulder openers and basic hip openers. Paying attention to how shoulder opening connects to the deep core along with some essential hip opening and hamstring length helps us cultivate the awareness and strength needed for these upside down inverted moments. We oscillate between these opening postures (along with some side bending) and the inversions, progressively sequencing toward headstand.
You’ll learn some new techniques to cultivate your inversion practice and come away with a restored nervous system. our whole approach to the sequence is one that help us warm and sustain ourselves. We look to cultivate a deep inner resilience by quieting the nervous system by oscillating work and rest to create healthy tone in our systems.
October 23rd Resilience and Arm Balances
A foray into three challenging arm balances the require lots of core strength, shoulder stability, and quad/hamstring opening. The sequence follows suit to much of the work done in the July, August, September- working with expanding the back body, latissimus and learning to create massive organic energy. You will see some familiar poses and ways of working them but in the solid direction of the arm balances.
Expect lots of twists, core, side bends, hamstrings and inner thighs.
All of this is practiced in the vein of cultivating resilience in our systems. Through focuses practice, we dredge into the depths of our capacity—into our wholeness and fortitude. Have at it!
September 25th Group Practice
Welcome to a sweet and soft practice through spacious backbends and into Urdvha Dhanurasana. Our approach is to oscillate between shoulder, hip opening, twists and spinal extensions. This approach creates hopefully a well paced approach through deepening bends. A great class for those who want to work on upper back strengthening, creating more internal space in the spine and a look at Urdvha D.
September 4th Group Practice
In this group practice we take the work of past recent weeks on back/side/inner body space and the latissimus into some foundations of backbends. Nothing fancy or flashy here. We are looking at common poses in new and nuanced ways. We’ll use some twisting, standing poses and side body stretches along with back body spaciousness to get into variation of anjaneyasana and ustrasana. Both of those back ben postures are non weight bearing on the arms and thus require us to really get good at expanding up and out to go back. Detailed instructions and well paced, this is a class that will help you deepen your back bend practice and a lovely way.
August Group Practice ~ Surya Yantrasana
A look at Surya Yantrasna (compass or sundial)— a pose that requires hip opening, hamstring length, twisting and back bending. The approach toward it focuses on the back body space, side body length, latissimus awareness that carries into also opening the inner thighs such that we can access the involution needed for this posture. You will see familiar shapes and techniques we worked on all August and into September. Strong and steady work with a wide away of postures. Peak pose approach here. A good one for hip opening practice with plenty of twists and upper back openings. Also if you want a good foray into accessing this often difficult pose.
June Group Practice ~ Inner Body Bright
In terms of “advancing” our practices, we need no always and only look at how big and complex our poses can be. So much of the deepening and advancing of our practices is rooted in our capacity to expand and refine our inner awareness. We can bring more and more layers of nuance to familiar postures. Even, utilizing more foundational postures as containers to practice consciousness and attention.
That is my focus and intention in this practice. We work with the principle of expanding and brightening our “Inner Body” here in each pose. We can experience our Inner Body as full and wide and bright. We can experience it as dim, contorted, or shadowed. Your Inner Body is your awareness of your insides. Here we practice casting the light of our awareness upon ourselves in such a way that we feel brighter and fuller as ourselves. Even when we feel small inside, it is possible to use our breath and awareness to expand to the edges of ourselves. We use lots of familiar shapes to give space through the outer form for your inner body to emerge more fully.
Expect lots of familiar shapes for the legs— standing poses, hamstrings, hips mixed with side stretches to free up the spine even more.
A focused class on inner depth and awareness more so than big postures. Steady and detailed work that will make your standing poses and hips feel great!
May Group Practice ~ Lower Body
We focus this month on the lower body by working shapes and actions to open the pelvis, all sides of the legs, and free the spin. In this practice we take these actions into supta trvikurmasana and hanumansana. All of which are building blocks for poses like surya yantrasana, and visvamitrasana. Some twisting, psoas releases and shoulder openers are sprinkled throuh out to keep massaging the freedom in the spine and to capitalize on the mobilization in the pelvis and legs.
The work is steady, methodical, repetitive and hopefully leaving you with a sense of groundedness and some freedom in your body.
The energetic focus here is on what Structural Integration calls “Domes of Lift”. Think of these as trampolines or arches that create buoyancy in the body. When these domes of lift work harmoniously together, there is lightness, springiness and integrity that comes along the centerline.
The poses this month may not be fancy, but the awareness required to cultivate these actions is an advanced skill.
Let’s Practice.
February Group Practice ~ Backbends
I loved this practice of really focused work for the shoulders, upper back and spine. We approached backbends for this month by working the actions for thoracic extension in different planes of movement and orientation. We work the building blocks for deep ustrasana that can ultimately become kapotasana, scorpion, and raja kapotasana poses. This months goal was to work more foundational poses in deeply extensive ways to build greater capacity.
You’ll feel really worked, but in a grounded way. And you’ll gain a greater knowledge of where to work for deeper backbends in your repertoire. A really great class if you want to do backbends but not full wheel. If you want to work on perfecting ustrasana (camel pose), and work foundations in bigger ways.